Second lead syndrome is so real and its affecting viewers everywhere. Kind of makes you feel like the world is not fair. Here are some of the dramas that gives us second lead syndrome.
1. Princess Hours/Goong(2006)
This drama was the first one to give me a second lead syndrome. i found myself yelling at the screen like seriously? You are gonna choose him? purlease. The show is set in an alternate, 21st-century Korea which has retained its monarchy and imperial family since 1945. A common high-school girl tries to find her way after she is unexpectedly married off to the Crown Prince. so, let’s be honest, i’ve always thought Shin Chae-kyeong had more chemistry with Prince Lee Yul than with the crown Prince Lee Shin.
2. She Was Pretty (2015)
A romantic comedy, about two past acquaintances who meet again after they’ve gone through a reversal of fortunes and appearances. Hwang Jung-eum as Kim Hye-jin was a beautiful girl from a rich family. After her family’s publishing company went bankrupt, she experienced hardships then lost her beauty too and Park Seo-joon as Ji Sung-joon the youngest deputy chief editor in Korea. Stubborn and arrogant but also brilliant in his work. Contrary to Hye-jin, he was unattractive and shy but grows up to become handsome and successful. Immediately after returning to Korea, he contacted his first love, Hye-jin. Why would she end up with Sung-joon after he made her life miserable before she got a makeover over someone that liked and saw who she really is from day one. i just don’t get it.
3. Cheese In The Trap. (2016)
The drama focuses on the life and relationships of a group of university students, particularly the difficult relationship between hard-working scholarship student Hong Seol (Kim Go-eun) and her deceptively kind senior, Yoo Jung (Park Hae-jin). Jung is the rich and popular heir to Taerang Group and seemingly has a perfect life. However, although he seems nice and kind to everyone around him, he is quite manipulative with a penchant for destroying those that irritate him, often by using others. Let’s be honest, Yoo Jung is a sociopath and to see Hong Seol not end up with Beak In-ho is quite disappointing.
4. Strong Woman Do Bong-soon(2017)
Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young) was born with superhuman strength. Her strength is hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family. Her dream is to create a video game with herself as the main character. She desperately wants to become a delicate and elegant woman, which is the ideal type of her crush, In Guk-doo (Ji Soo), a police officer. Thanks to her strength, she gets a job as bodyguard to rich heir Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), the CEO of a gaming company, Ainsoft. In contrast to Guk-doo, Min-hyuk is an eccentric man who is playful, a little spoiled, has no regard for rules, and dislikes policemen. He has recently received anonymous threats and has even been stalked, leading him to hire Bong-soon as his bodyguard after seeing her beat up a bunch of men after they threatened an old man who was an elementary school bus driver. This is one of those dramas that makes it so difficult. You don’t mind who she ends up with but at the same time, seeing one of them walk away still breaks your heart.
5. You Are Beautiful.(2009)
Ko Mi-Nyeo & Ko Mi-Nam (both played by Park Shin-Hye) are twin brother and sisters. They grew up in an orphanage and never knew their parents. As a young adult, Ko Mi-Nyeo is set to become a nun. On her way to pick up a ticket for Rome a strange man catches up to her. The man’s name is Ma Hoon-Lee (Kim In-Kwon) and he explains that he’s the manager for popular boy band “A.N.JELL”. He also explains that her twin brother Ko Min-Nam, who just joined the band, was seriously injured and sent to America to recover. Ma Hoon-Lee then pleads to Ko Mi-Nyeo to impersonate her brother until he recovers. For her brother’s sake, Ko Mi-Nyeo reluctantly agrees to play her brother. This i think is one of the worst ones. Hwang Tae-Kyeong (Jang Keun-Suk) treats her badly, only caring about her once in a while and Kang Shin-Woo (Jeong Yong-Hwa) treats her like a queen and she still ends up with Tae-Kyeong? Yeah, that makes sense. And don’t even get me started on Jeremy. It’s just too heartbreaking.
6. While You Were Sleeping (2017)
While you were sleeping is a combination of the legal drama and fantasy genres, focusing on the tale of three young adults who have acquired the ability to see the future through their dreams: field reporter Nam Hong-joo (Bae Suzy), rookie prosecutor Jung Jae-chan (Lee Jong-suk), and police officer Han Woo-tak (Jung Hae-in). Some of these dreams show crimes that Jae-chan has to investigate and disastrous events that either the three of them have to suffer. Troubled by these dreams, the trio collaborate with each other to prevent these ominous dreams from turning into reality and to take down one of their archenemies, the corrupt lawyer Lee Yoo-beom (Lee Sang-yeob). This is one of those dramas i was talking about. You like who she ends up with and the same time, don’t want to see the other one walk away. Let me put it this way. Lee Jong-suk or Jung Hae-in. This one is not that easy.
7. Reply 1988
Reply 1988 is the third installment of tvN‘s Reply series. It revolves around five friends and their families living on the same street in a neighbourhood called Ssangmundong in Seoul. A nostalgic look back at the year 1988. It’s hard to pick just one of the Reply series but am going with this one. I love who she ends up with, that didn’t mean the syndrome isn’t there.
8. Boys Over Flowers
The story of Geum Jan-di(Ku Hye-sun), a normal girl who finds herself attending a prestigious private school after saving a student’s life where she meets the infamous F4 boys led by Gu Jun-pyo(Lee Min-ho). he is just the biggest jerk and cry baby you ever met. He lives in his own world and thinks everyone is beneath him. And then you have Yoon Ji-hu ( Kim Hyun-joong) who is kind and selfless. Granted Jun-pyo changed his behavior but i still think Jan-di should have ended up with Ji-hu.
