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dangermousieI have realized that I am a lot pickier about my drama heroes than my drama heroines. I can count the number of drama heroines I really disliked on fingers of one hand, but my standards for drama heroes are considerably tougher.
If you want to avoid your hero being blackballed by yours truly, then perhaps you should avoid:
1. Evilness - Everyone loves a sexy anti-hero or an angsty bad boy, but there are some actions that will forever place you beyond the pale - if you kidnap small children and put them in mortal peril (Yelu Xie in Yang Clan) or engage in rape (Myung Hun in East of Eden), I don't care how hot you are and whether you occasionally help old ladies across the street - I hate you. And I will always hate you.
Contrast with Jo Min Woo from Giant. He's done many awful things but none of them unforgivable, and he loves his OTP above all.
2. Incompetence - I will forgive many things in a character who is competent. However if you cannot carry out your plans properly and keep tripping over your own feet - do you know how unattractive it is? See - My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.
Contrast with Dr Min from Thank You. Now there's a man who can save a life with no equipment or support. Super-competent is super-sexy.
3. Immaturity - if you are a grown-up, behave like one. Stop acting like a toddler unless you are a toddler. There are few things less appealing in this world that an immature man. If I want to watch someone immature, I will watch a baby. At least they have an excuse and look cute. Romcom kdramas seem to looooove immature heroes (Attic Cat? Full House? 18 billion other dramas?) but I do not. The only way immaturity is not a total deal-breaker is if the character is young, it doesn't last long, and he posesses no other flaws from this list. NOTE; immaturity is different from a character who is goofy but steps up to the plate whenever required without a second thought (see - every character Hu Ge ever portrayed)
Contrast with my all-time favorite hero, Xiao Chuan from The Myth. He may have a wacky sense of humor and be lighthearted when needed, but he is pure steel when it matters.
4. Cowardice - Number 1 dealbreaker for yours truly. I can overlook almost anything in a drama hero except for cowardice. Man up, drama hero! While jumping in front of a truck (or a charging Mongol horde) to protect your loved one/small child/your honor may lead to short life expectancy, cowering in the bushes earns you nothing but contempt. See My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, where I could not get past ep 4 because I despised the cowardly hero so.
Contrast with Hyun Joon from IRIS. There are few heroes braver than he is.
5. Not being able to stand up for the woman you love - ugh. How unappealing is that? I believe that ties to cowardice but is rather more specific. If you love her, fight for her and/or try to protect her. If you are too weak/selfish/useless to even take proper care of the person you supposedly love most, what good are you in this world? See Jun Pyo in Boys Over Flowers - supposedly he loved Jandi so much but he let himself proceed with the wedding to another while whining and not doing anything constructive except for leading Jandi on. Coward!
Contrast with Yang Guo from Return of the Condor Heroes, who fought for Xiao Long Nu against the whole world and never backed down.
6. Selfishness/Spoiledness - See Jun Pyo again. Spoiled brats are unappealing whatever their gender. Go work for a living, you loser and stop being so coddled.
Contrast with Song Tae Ha from Chuno, who would fight for what is right no matter what it costs him:
7. Weak - are you henpecked by your wacky girlfriend? In thrall to your parents? Are you what is popularly known as beta hero? Stay away.
If brainwashing didn't take, nothing will. Muhyul from Kingdom of the Winds sums up why I adore alphas.
8. Thoughtless - think every kdrama hero who treats a woman who loves him like dirt while mooning over some secondary girl who smiled at him 10 years ago or is a jerk to a past girlfriend (I was never able to warm up to romance in Lawyers of Korea because hero treated his ex horribly. I kept thinking that is how he will treat the heroine in ten years). A prize you are.
Contrast with Commander Hwangbo Yoon from Damo. The very opposite of thoughless.
9. Clingy - there is a difference between devoted and clingy. The latter knows he is not wanted but sticks like a pathetic burr anyway, doing anything to guilt/trick/blackmail/annoy heroine into acceptance. Not sexy. Not at all.
Contrast with Ying Xiong from Black and White. Now there is a man who's never backed away from anything but he knows when to step back from wooing a girl who doesn't want it.
10. Stupid - Nobody likes a dumbbell. Unless you have a medical condition, use your brain please.
Contrast with Lee Sun Joon from Sungkyunkwan Scandal, who rescues people using his brain.
Looking at that list explains why my favorite drama genres are wuxia (and other period dramas) and revenge sagas. If you are trying to avenge your family/become King's bestest warrior/save the Princess, you don't have time to whine or be a coward, and any spoiled immaturity gets knocked out of you pretty quickly.
If you want to avoid your hero being blackballed by yours truly, then perhaps you should avoid:
1. Evilness - Everyone loves a sexy anti-hero or an angsty bad boy, but there are some actions that will forever place you beyond the pale - if you kidnap small children and put them in mortal peril (Yelu Xie in Yang Clan) or engage in rape (Myung Hun in East of Eden), I don't care how hot you are and whether you occasionally help old ladies across the street - I hate you. And I will always hate you.
Contrast with Jo Min Woo from Giant. He's done many awful things but none of them unforgivable, and he loves his OTP above all.
2. Incompetence - I will forgive many things in a character who is competent. However if you cannot carry out your plans properly and keep tripping over your own feet - do you know how unattractive it is? See - My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.
Contrast with Dr Min from Thank You. Now there's a man who can save a life with no equipment or support. Super-competent is super-sexy.
3. Immaturity - if you are a grown-up, behave like one. Stop acting like a toddler unless you are a toddler. There are few things less appealing in this world that an immature man. If I want to watch someone immature, I will watch a baby. At least they have an excuse and look cute. Romcom kdramas seem to looooove immature heroes (Attic Cat? Full House? 18 billion other dramas?) but I do not. The only way immaturity is not a total deal-breaker is if the character is young, it doesn't last long, and he posesses no other flaws from this list. NOTE; immaturity is different from a character who is goofy but steps up to the plate whenever required without a second thought (see - every character Hu Ge ever portrayed)
Contrast with my all-time favorite hero, Xiao Chuan from The Myth. He may have a wacky sense of humor and be lighthearted when needed, but he is pure steel when it matters.
4. Cowardice - Number 1 dealbreaker for yours truly. I can overlook almost anything in a drama hero except for cowardice. Man up, drama hero! While jumping in front of a truck (or a charging Mongol horde) to protect your loved one/small child/your honor may lead to short life expectancy, cowering in the bushes earns you nothing but contempt. See My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, where I could not get past ep 4 because I despised the cowardly hero so.
Contrast with Hyun Joon from IRIS. There are few heroes braver than he is.
5. Not being able to stand up for the woman you love - ugh. How unappealing is that? I believe that ties to cowardice but is rather more specific. If you love her, fight for her and/or try to protect her. If you are too weak/selfish/useless to even take proper care of the person you supposedly love most, what good are you in this world? See Jun Pyo in Boys Over Flowers - supposedly he loved Jandi so much but he let himself proceed with the wedding to another while whining and not doing anything constructive except for leading Jandi on. Coward!
Contrast with Yang Guo from Return of the Condor Heroes, who fought for Xiao Long Nu against the whole world and never backed down.
6. Selfishness/Spoiledness - See Jun Pyo again. Spoiled brats are unappealing whatever their gender. Go work for a living, you loser and stop being so coddled.
Contrast with Song Tae Ha from Chuno, who would fight for what is right no matter what it costs him:
7. Weak - are you henpecked by your wacky girlfriend? In thrall to your parents? Are you what is popularly known as beta hero? Stay away.
If brainwashing didn't take, nothing will. Muhyul from Kingdom of the Winds sums up why I adore alphas.
8. Thoughtless - think every kdrama hero who treats a woman who loves him like dirt while mooning over some secondary girl who smiled at him 10 years ago or is a jerk to a past girlfriend (I was never able to warm up to romance in Lawyers of Korea because hero treated his ex horribly. I kept thinking that is how he will treat the heroine in ten years). A prize you are.
Contrast with Commander Hwangbo Yoon from Damo. The very opposite of thoughless.
9. Clingy - there is a difference between devoted and clingy. The latter knows he is not wanted but sticks like a pathetic burr anyway, doing anything to guilt/trick/blackmail/annoy heroine into acceptance. Not sexy. Not at all.
Contrast with Ying Xiong from Black and White. Now there is a man who's never backed away from anything but he knows when to step back from wooing a girl who doesn't want it.
10. Stupid - Nobody likes a dumbbell. Unless you have a medical condition, use your brain please.
Contrast with Lee Sun Joon from Sungkyunkwan Scandal, who rescues people using his brain.
Looking at that list explains why my favorite drama genres are wuxia (and other period dramas) and revenge sagas. If you are trying to avenge your family/become King's bestest warrior/save the Princess, you don't have time to whine or be a coward, and any spoiled immaturity gets knocked out of you pretty quickly.
