There’s nothing like a good girl and bad boy relationship to make any drama show riveting to watch. It’s a constant tug-and-pull between the characters on whether they will give in or if the bad boy will change his ways for her. K-dramas are no strangers to this storyline dynamic.
These bad boy characters either won over the heart of the female lead or sadly didn’t. Regardless, these characters, despite their aloof ways, still had audiences’ hearts beating fast. Who wouldn’t fall for Park Bong-So, the mysterious late-night courier from Healer? These K-drama bad boys may be rambunctious but are sweet to the core.
Jo Sang-Gu (Move To Heaven)
Available to stream on Netflix.
The macho underground fighter Jo Sang-Gu is brought to life by Lee Je-Hoon in the thrilling K-Drama Move to Heaven. After Sang-Gu’s brother unexpectedly dies, he suddenly has to assume guardianship of his nephew Han Hu-Ru (Tang Joon-Sang), whose work involves cleaning up the belongings of those who passed.
Sang-Gu and Joon-Sang got off to a rocky start due to previous misunderstandings. However, Sang-Gu starts to shed away his aggression and anger as he learns more about Gu-Ru and his work. Sang-Gu’s journey towards becoming a more empathic person has captured the hearts of viewers, given that he’s a handsome fellow to boot.
Shin Se-Gi (Kill Me, Heal Me)
Available to stream on Viki.
The K-drama Kill Me, Heal Me is a show that tackles heavy topics such as abuse and mental health. In the show, a rich man with dissociative identity disorder named Cha Do-Hyun (Ji Sung) is struggling to keep himself in check due to the ordeal he experienced as a child. One of his personalities named Shin Se-Gi is tough, stubborn, and sometimes violent, which makes him a bad boy.
Se-Gi is in love with Oh Ri-Jin (Hwang Jung-Eum) and is extremely protective of her. Se-Gi barely cares about the thoughts of others, but if Ri-Jin is involved, he’ll do everything in his power to make her happy. The K-drama deals with heavy themes, but Se-Gi’s enthusiasm to charm Ri-Jin does help lighten up the mood.
Goo Jun-Pyo (Boys Over Flowers)
Boys Over Flowers is a K-drama remake that is more popular than the original show it was based on, which is the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden. In the show, the Shinwa School resident bad boy Goo Jun-Pyo (Lee Min-Ho) picks on a headstrong girl named Geum Jan-Di (Ku Hye-Sun).
Because Jan-Di is just as stubborn as Jun-Pyo, the bad boy is surprised to learn that his antics won’t get under Jan-Di’s skin. The two then unexpectedly get close as Jan-Di starts to gain the trust and support of Jun-Pyo’s friend group. Jun-Pyo’s feelings of hatred and disgust that he directs towards Jan-Di then starts to transform into genuine love once he realizes that he’s found his match.
Wang So (Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo)
There are a lot of romance K-dramas that feature fantasy elements, but not a lot of them have bad boys that make the audiences swoon. Case in point, the popular drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo features the tough as nails Prince named Wang So (Lee Joon-Gi).
Wang So might be feared by the other members of the royal court, but he melts whenever he interacts with Hae Soo (IU). It’s entertaining to watch a bad boy such as Wang So try his best to not develop feelings for Hae Soo, but of course the prince fails due to Hae Soo’s charm.
Han Moo-Gang/Black (Black)
Han Moo-Gang (Song Seung-Heon), also known as Black, is a bad boy by association. In the South Korena fantasy/thriller drama, Black is a Grim Reaper. That amps up the bad boy factor quite a bit. The show follows a known homicide detective who becomes possessed by a powerful Grim Reaper after his death.
Black has no regard for the rules of the human world when trying to solve a cold case connected to his human body and other bizarre events. He gets bad boy status not only for wearing black but for the way he changes when he meets his female lead. He soon starts to fall for her and break the rules of heaven for her.
Kang Ji-Woon (Cinderella And The Four Knights)
This K-drama is a fun spin on the classic fairytale Cinderella. A bright yet lower status student finds herself living in luxury with four handsome and rich cousins. Kan Ji-Woon (Jung Il-Woo) is the aloof, cold, and rebellious loner of the four who had fans hooked from the start.
When audiences first meet him, it’s clear that he has an anger issue because he constantly gets into fights. He’s ill-tempered and it seemed like no one could tame him. His cold exterior was only a façade to how lonely and sensitive he really was. Along the way, he opens up and comes to fall in love with the female lead.
Choi Young-Do (The Heirs)
Availble to stream on Netflix.
Choi Young-Do (Kim Woo-Bin) is tagged as being a K-drama character that isn’t necessarily datable. He’s narcissistic, thinks highly of himself, and likes to make people’s lives miserable. He was the proclaimed bad boy in the drama, The Heirs. While fans couldn’t help but dislike him in many ways, he still had hearts fluttering. He did bully his classmates after all.
In the drama, he goes after the female lead simply to annoy and anger his former best friend. Along the way, he actually starts to care for her. He’s rude and often childish bad boy demeanor still had fans rooting for him.
Han Seo‑Joon (True Beauty)
The K-drama rom-com, True Beauty has fans buzzing. The drama is based on a highly popular webtoon of the same name. While the drama is gaining attention for its cute and quirky high school version of a Cinderella story, one male lead is also catching the audience’s eye.
Han Seo‑Joon (Hwang In‑Yeop) is the second male lead and the bad boy of the show. He ticks off every marker from riding a motorcycle, dressing cool and getting into the occasional fight. Not to mention a rivalry with the main male lead over the girl. Seo-Joon not only has fan blushing but also feeling for him as he starts to realize he might like the female lead.
Hyun Tae-Woon (School 2017)
Mild spoiler warning for the K-drama, School 2017. The 2017 K-drama is one of several series that follows a similar storyline. It centers around a group of high school students, especially the female and male lead. A cheerful and kind-hearted 18-year-old finds herself in a dilemma when being accused of the troubling acts of a secret student crusader.
Hyun Tae-Woon (Kim Jung-Hyun) is the rebellious son of the school’s director who dislikes his father. After a tragic event from his past, he becomes distant and a bit cold. Throughout the show, he and the female lead are at odds ends as ‘Student X’ causes havoc. Tae-Woon had fans swooning even before it was revealed who he really was.
Baek Kyung (Extraordinary You)
Imagine realizing that your life isn’t your own? In reality, it’s been written for you as part of a webtoon. In the romantic teen K-drama Extraordinary You, that’s exactly what happens when the female lead realizes her life is part of a fantasy world. In an attempt to write her own story, she looks for love. A love story that might involve the bad boy, Baek Kyung (Lee Jae-Wook).
Kyung is completely aware of her feelings towards him but couldn’t care less. He’s rude, arrogant, and treats the lead poorly. Only when he thinks she starts to like someone else does he realize his mistake. He changes his ways in hopes of winning the girl. Not to mention, he also has a complex family life.
Cha Moo-Hyuk (I’m Sorry, I Love You)
I’m Sorry, I Love You is a K-drama for any fan who’s in dire need of a good bad boy story. Cha Moo-Hyuk (So Ji-Sub) is an original character who will have fans rooting for him from beginning to end. His story isn’t a fairytale as he lives in Australia as a scam artist and swindling tourists out of their money.
Like most bad boys, he also doesn’t have the best past. He was abandoned by his mother and was mistreated by his adoptive parents. He returns to Korea and soon meets the female lead. It’s a classic story of the bad boy realizing that there’s more to life than his criminal ways. Moo-Hyuk had fans applauding his life-changing moments that also had them in tears by the end.
Goo Dong-Mae (Mr.Sunshine)
Goo Dong-Mae (Yoo Yeon‑Seok) is a character that had most fans feeling hot and cold. He still managed to have fans on the edge of their seats with his storylines. Dong-Mae was a central antagonist who had a soft spot for the show’s strong and badass women. After his parent’s death, he flees to Japan and becomes a fearless samurai.
Throughout the show, he does many conniving and deceitful acts that are hard to forgive. But the way that he interacts and cares for the female lead had fans awing. It’s a typical bad boy story of him being rigid but becoming a big softy when it comes to the woman he has a deep affection for.
Lee Kang-Doo (Just Between Lovers)
Just Between Lovers uses many K-drama tropes to make for an interesting and worthwhile drama. One of them being the aloof and jealous male lead. Kang-Doo (Lee Jun-Ho) once dreamed of being a professional soccer player until a tragic accident during the collapse of a local mall leaves him injured.
He now has little regard for his own life and still harbors anger for his tragic loss. In the drama, he has fits of rage and feelings of resentment towards those who were responsible. Kang-Doo sees little reason for a bright future. He makes decisions knowing it might affect his overall health. Behind his facade, he cares for those closest to him and comes to let his guard down to fall in love.
Kwon Shi-Hyun (Tempted)
Kwon Shi-Hyun (Woo Do-Hwan) is inarguably one of the most profound and memorable bad boys to appear in a K-drama. Tempted had fans nervous through and through and experiencing an intense love story. Shi-Hyun is known as a wealthy teen and heir to JK Group. He also lives on the edge and lives a party life with his best friends with little consequences.
His deceitful ways occur when he makes a bet with his friends to woo and make the female lead fall in love with him. Shi-Hyun effectively destroys her heart, but it’s too late seeing as they already fell in love. Fans ended up rooting for him to get the girl and change his ways. The show is must watch for riveting teen drama and romance with a twist.
