Nice guy drama heroes - do such exist?

[dangermousie]

In light of Ji Oh's spot-on slam of modern-time kdrama heroes ("he doesn't work either, right? But he uses money like there's no tomorrow I bet. Going to Europe, Africa, India, not caring if people are dying of hunger. He's very selfish. And he treats everyone like crap, thinking he's the only innocent one.") I was thinking: which ones do buck the trend?

I love myself a dysfunctional rich boy protagonist, provided it's portrayed as dysfunctional (e.g. Jae-Min in Bali) but which modern-day kdrama heroes do not meet the above standard? Which ones are poor, or working class, or rich but hard-working and considerate?

Let's start a list - I am interested in collecting

1. A Love to Kill (poor)
2. Tree of Heaven (sort of - poor then a mobster)
3. My Girl (rich but hard-working and kind)
4. Delightful Girl Chun Hyung (sort of - immature but very kind)
5. Hello Miss (rich but an angel in every way)
6. Piano (hard-working and poor)
7. Lobbyist (sort of - hardworking if international arms dealing for the mob counts. Hmmm. Nice to people though when not in the line of work)
8. Marry a Millionaire (hard-working, poor, not too bright, and an angel in the flesh)
9. Worlds Within (heee, shocking, I know! Working class, though ironically he meets his own 'selfish' criteria at one point, at least as regards the heroine)
10. Sweet 18 (hardworking prosecutor who is also soul of kindness)
11. 18 v. 29 (a sweet and loyal movie star. Heh)
12. Last Scandal (duh - at least after the first couple of eps - does that count?)
13. Snow Queen (poor and very sweet)

The nicest of them all is the Hello Miss or Marry a Millionaire guy, no doubt.

I am sure there are more, both of the ones I haven't seen or the ones I've just forgotten. Suggestions? :)

Come on, Go soo wants to know your opinion!

Comments

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

Powerful Opponents (Gwan Pil! you forgot Gwan Pil!)
The Vineyard Man (hard-working farmer, sweetest guy ever)
The trio from Triple (quit their cushy company jobs to struggle as their own independent company)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I have repressed Powerful Opponents from sheer heartbreak over Gwan Pil not getting what I thought he deserved. :P

Ooooh, also Green Rose - modern Count of Monte Cristo retelling, really good, and unlike the original Count (whom I loathe), Go Soo was incredibly lovely and sweet, even with the revenge. (Btw, it's something you might like - he angst shirtless randomly and meditates through martial arts. Heh. Also, so much hurt/comfort, it's insane).

OT but would you like me to put my Worlds Within ramblings under cuts - you are the only person who they can affect as I don't think anyone else on my flist plans to watch it.

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

Shhhh. In my head he's in a nice well-balanced threesome.

*covers eyes* I have way too many dramas already -- I'm suffocating under the weight of my own backlog -- I haven't watched any more WW yet either. Green Rose shall go on the hugeass list of doom. Shirtless, you say?

I'm a-okay with ramblings as long as the images aren't spoilery; I can scroll past the text.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Shirtless. It was hilarious - he took time in the middle of his horrific travails to scrub in a stream. LOLOL. Green Rose the beginning eps have almost as much angst as Dog/Wolf (the latter actually sort of stole its opening scene from GR).

Re: Worlds Within. OK :) Watchit!!!! There are so many make-outs.

[lain7.livejournal.com]

K-drama only? Hmmm, if Seungha in Mawang can be considered a hero, I'll overlook the revenge part and declare my love. He worked his way up against the odds and is an angel to those who most need kindness. He treats the good people in his life with genuine care. I especially want to commend him for showing that a person who often acts 'cold' can still be sensitive and polite. Coldness and niceness aren't mutually exclusive.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think jdramas have well-adjusted nice people as heroes more often then kdrama for some reason.

And yeah, Seung Ha could qualify. If it wasn't for his revenge plan, he would have been quite the ideal citizen.

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

Han Kyul and The Voice from Coffee Prince
Kim Shin from Story of a Man/The Slingshot though he had the whole revenge thing going on but still one of the nicest kdrama heroes ever
Kim Rae Won's character on Gourmet was hardworking and sweet
Oh and Hyung Tae from 9 End 2 Outs who was hardworking, a good supportive friend and totally normal

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

I agree with Kim Rae Won in Gourmet! LOVE him :)

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

Eeee someone else who's actually watched Gourmet! Wasn't he just so charming and wonderful and understated? Absolutely one of my favourite male characters in dramas.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Good list!

[popaddict.livejournal.com]

I don't know why but the only thing I took from this list is that I should give Sweet 18 a rewatch. It's been a long time since the first viewing but I remember thinking it was cute.


P.S. I'm normally not attracted to Go Soo, but damn if he doesn't look super delicious in that pic. Woo.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love Go Soo - he's gorgeous in a manly fashion :P

Have you ever watched Green Rose with him btw? It's an awesome modern take on Count of Monte Cristo. More people should watch it :)

[popaddict.livejournal.com]

No, never watched it. Strongly recommended, uh? I think I'll watch that instead of Sweet 18, it's always nice to find something new. I also quite like the Count of Monte Cristo.

Is it a mass of angst? Unlike you, too much angst grates my nerves.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It has a fair bit of angst in the beginning (as it's a Monte Cristo story we do have to see why the villains have to pay) but you can ff through that and then it eases up a lot.

[mishane.livejournal.com]

Hyung Tae from 9 Ends 2 Outs.

Middle class (not too rich, not poor, average) nice guy. Your average, every day guy.

My favorite nice guy is still Hello! Miss guy, although he might have been TOO nice. . .letting LDH walk all over him.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The problem with making HM guy too nice too soon, it just made Da Hae look like a nutter for being such a bitch to him.

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Goong: Shin is rich and a bit cold but he's kind at heart? :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heee. I think every drama hero is kinda at heart. But I think Shin would probably fall under Ji Oh's category, at least superficially :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Vineyard Man, Fantasy Couple (he tries to be a jerk at times, but fails miserably), 1% of Anything (unless we're counting a short temper against him) and every historical drama I've seen so far (Damo, Emperor of the Sea, Hwang Jin Yi, Legend, the first 3rd of Dae Jang Geum).

ETA: I know you said modern dramas, but I want to know how "my village was wiped out and my father killed and I spent my adolescence as a slave" results in a nicer guy than most contemporaries.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

From what I remember of Fantasy Couple (which I watched in a state of exhaustion on a train, so my impressions might be doubtful) he kinda was a jerk at first, of an overactive variety. Didn't bug me because she gave as good as she got. I have no idea why FC made me feel so blah - there was nothing in it I had a problem with and the concept is cool, but for some weird reason it never clicked. Maybe it's the actors.

"my village was wiped out and my father killed and I spent my adolescence as a slave" results in a nicer guy than most contemporaries.


Because if they aren't like that, they turn into the antihero antagonist and work out their issues slicing people up thus getting rid of all their stress and emo and being able to be nice to those who remain alive? :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

His jerkiness tended to be a direct reaction to her arrogance, which typically resulted in serious problems (not annoyances, but loss of income and such) for him. I like it more than most modern kdramas, but then, a part of that is that I can't picture him as anything but a nice guy, and she's never reduced to standing around while he sorts out his issues.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

True - I really do wonder why FC left me indifferent, the only one of Hong Sisters' dramas to do so. It did give me an undying love for Han Ye Seul after seeing her as Anna, so yay! (She made me think of Korean Cordelia). I think it's the hero - I didn't dislike him but just couldn't really connect so the romance left me cold.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Anna is very much a Korean Cordelia. And, honestly, the typical modern kdrama hero types are so very difficult for me to like that the simple fact that I couldn't seem him in that mold probably made automatically like him.

[timescout.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Shin from Slingshot. Ha Eun from Resurrection too, he's lovely even if he's forced by cicumstances to turn to revenge. He still agonises over the collateral damage and tries to avoid it. Hmmmmmm.... do I see a pattern here. :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I really need to continue with Resurrection. I really liked what I saw and then got sidetracked.

[joonni.livejournal.com]

right now, Yoon Sang Hyung's character in My Fair Lady. (poor hard-working)
The main character from That Fool. (working class hard-working sweet man)

Currently, I am very into kind, hard-working male leads. Or just well-adjusted people.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Well-adjusted is nice :)

I am going to check out MFL verrrry soon.