Secondary Guys Can Get the Girl, But Can Secondary Girls Get the Guy?

[walkwithheroes]

I had this thought the other day: Korean dramas are changing. Now a days, Secondary Guys sometimes get the Lead Girl; see How to Meet a Perfect Neighbor, Beautiful Days, Dr. Champ, Queen of Reversals, among others, for examples. And, Secondary Girls can get their own storylines, too. No longer do they have to be the bitchy and evil woman trying to snag a man that clearly isn't interested. No, she can be her own person with her own story and possibly her own love interest. See IRIS, Gloria, Secret Garden, and Someday for a few examples.


So, that makes me wonder: will there ever be a drama where due to whatever reasons (writers, fandom want, chemistry between actors, etc) the Secondary Female Lead will get together happily and end up with the Male Lead? Personally, I'm not sure that the writers and producers would do this, even if online fans demanded it. Why? Because, the Female Lead is (usually) the bigger star and because we usually met her first. Most Korean dramas seem to be aimed more at females than males. When I watch a Korean drama, I notice that we usually met the female lead first. We get to know her and we are meant to root for her. As viewers we are meant to identify with the Female Lead. It might not work if she doesn't get the Male Lead. . .right?


Well, maybe.


There was that little drama called Style, where Lee Ji Ah was said to be the Female Lead. The average K-drama heroine - a twenty-something working girl looking for success in work and in love. Only, the viewers identified with and rooted for Kim Hye Soo's character - the Secondary Female - who was Lee's character's mean boss. In the end, the drama focused a bit more of Kim's character and she broken K-drama's biggest unwritten rule - she got the man in the end.


Maybe K-dramas are changing more than I thought. And, maybe, just maybe the new breed of Secondary Female Leads can get the Male Lead. Maybe the new breed of Secondary Females are getting to be their own people. I for one, can totally get with that.

Comments

[lightsjustright.livejournal.com]

I notice that we usually met the female lead first. We get to know her and we are meant to root for her. As viewers we are meant to identify with the Female Lead.

That's really true. I can watch a drama if I hate the male lead, maybe, but if I hate the female lead I'm gone. And I didn't know that about Style! Interesting.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

That's true. I can watch a drama if I dislike the male lead, as long as I like other characters. But, if I don't like the female lead - I usually bail after three or four episodes. I've never seen Style, but it seems (from what I've read) that fan reaction was more positive toward the Secondary Female, so the writers and producers changed the direction of the show. Interesting, indeed!

[lastingdreams8.livejournal.com]

This is a very interesting question. You're right about being introduced to the lead character first and identifying with her, because we learn more about her for longer...but I wonder if any drama could logistically advertise a story where the secondary gets the guy...it would almost seem like the secondary girl becomes the lead somewhere along the line.
But, if they established that she was the secondary from the beginning, like the format in Style, then perhaps it would work for more dramas. If it was due to star power, they could hire the more popular actress as the secondary, but then, would people see it in the same light they see her as a lead female?
I would be interested to see this implemented more in the future :)

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

.but I wonder if any drama could logistically advertise a story where the secondary gets the guy.

Doubtful. What I think is that it would have to be a change in the middle of the drama. Due to fans or chemistry. From what I understand, in dramas if the secondary male gets the lead female, it usually changes toward the middle of the drama and is usually due to fan reactions. So, perhaps it could be done the same way with secondary females? The drama advisers and plans for FL and ML to live happily ever after, but fan reaction is (for whatever reason: dull female lead, chemistry, etc) is positive for the SL and ML, so half way through the story changes. The FL can get what she wants, just not the ML.


they could hire the more popular actress as the secondary, but then, would people see it in the same light they see her as a lead female?

Maybe or maybe not. I've seen several dramas where a more famous woman has played secondary lead to a lesser known up-and-comer. It usually happens with a network wants to prop a newbie or when an actress (or actor) is getting back into tv after a long period away.

[lastingdreams8.livejournal.com]

it usually changes toward the middle of the drama and is usually due to fan reactions
Gotcha. I've only started delving deeper into kdramas, so I haven't noticed the patterns. But knowing that some of these shows can and do change writers midway, especially with their live-shoot system, I can see this happening more and more.

I've seen several dramas where a more famous woman has played secondary lead to a lesser known up-and-comer
Oh yea, true. But, if they were almost equal in acting experience, only one had slightly more star power than the other...I wonder how that would play out.
Thanks for your in-depth answers :)

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Yup. Even when they don't change writers, they still change storylines due to fan reactions, scheduling, etc. And Korean dramas and their live-shooting is just one big mess sometimes, but is good on other levels, because they can change things that fans just aren't liking.


But, if they were almost equal in acting experience, only one had slightly more star power than the other...I wonder how that would play out.

I'm not sure. I'm sure its happened though. It happens a lot with the male lead and secondary lead.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

The most famous case of "Secondary girl wins it all" is probably "Queen Seon Deok". Although the secondary lady didn't get the guy (he was her son, so this wasn't really possible), but she got much more attention, won all the prizes, and even won that year's Daesang (Grand Prize). The creators didn't mean this to happen, but Ko Hyun Jung in her role of scheming lady Mishil just stole the show from the main lead (THE TITLE CHARACTER). Honestly, Ko Hyun Jung is awesome. The show even went down in ratings (by 10% I think!) when Mishil died. This was such a huge drama, as well, that seasons biggest drama.

Interestingly, "Queen Seon Dek" is also a drama where a secondary guy, Bidam, gets the main lady instead of Uhm Tae Woong's character who was intended to be the Queen's big love. The creators had to change the story because Kim Nam Gil had become incredibly popular very quickly. Bidam is Mishil's son, BTW.

As to the secondary girl getting the guy, as far as I have heard, Coffee House was like that (but I haven't watched it). And "Slingshot". Slingshot was like that most definitely, I was sure that the pairing were not intended the way they ended up.

I am want to check Style now. :D

As to the focus, I think you are right and many Kdramas are shown from the main lady's perspective. But there are some that are not (Slingshot, Bad guy, Mawang)

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I didn't watch "Queen Seon Deok," but I had heard all about Ko Hyun Jung getting all the attention and prizes. But, that wasn't too shocking. Ko Hyun Jung is perfect and one of the best Korean actresses alive.


The creators had to change the story because Kim Nam Gil had become incredibly popular very quickly. Bidam is Mishil's son, BTW.


I remember that! It really was a show all about the secondary leads.


Re: Coffee House, I don't really agree. Park Si Yeon was always promoted as the female lead and her character married Kang Ji Hwan 's. But, the writer did spend an awful lot of time putting KJH's character in cute and OTP-ish moments with Ham Eun Jung's character. So, it was confusing for a while.


Slingshot was one that I had thought about mentioning as a drama that broke the 'lead girl wins all, even guy' rule. But, it wasn't a romantic drama, not really. So. . .I left it out.


You're also right about the perspectives in dramas. Romantic dramas, Family dramas, and even Comedies usually look at things through the female perspective, and really that's what I was thinking about as I wrote this post. But, more dramatic dramas, revenge dramas, or crime dramas usually take the male perspective. I think that shows you a bit about Korean culture, actually.