Friday Feature: Always a bridesmaid

Junggugeo Kaenada,

The second female leads in K-dramas seem to have it all: looks, money, and the attention of the male lead. Obviously, we’re supposed to root for the underdog female lead, but, sometimes, we love the fabulous, rich bitch more.

The Heirs


I could really extend kudos to every other female character on the show aside from lead female, Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye), but I’ll give the honour to evil robot, Yoo Rachel (Kim Ji Won). Whereas Eun Sang spent much of the show being a weepy wet napkin, Rachel basically did what she wanted. Granted, what Rachel wanted was to slap people and generally act like a huge bitch, but at least she kept me entertained with her evil robot stare and catty remarks. Now, if only Eun Sang could have borrowed enough of her attitude to approximate a backbone, “The Heirs” might have been worth watching. – Only 만

Dal Ja’s Spring


Oh Dal Ja (Chae Rim) is the cheerful and spunky heroine at odds with her diva co-worker, Wi Sun Joo (Lee Hye Young). It would seem that Sun Joo is beyond redemption after she sleeps with Dal Ja’s boyfriend then leaves him, because she is bored. Yet, one can’t help but admire Sun Joo; she doesn’t suffer fools, is a pro at her job, and her aloof exterior belies a strong sense of justice. She puts her job on the line to defend Dal Ja from being slut shamed, then gives her a much needed kick in the pants for being a passive scapegoat. In her advice to Dal Ja, served with a six pack of beer, it turns out that Sun Joo is a no-nonsense advocate of the contemporary single female. – Junggugeo Kaenada 중국어 캐나다

Emergency Couple


Shim Ji Hye (Choi Yeo Jin) may be one of my all-time favourite characters in a drama, one of the few I’d enjoy spending time with. Who wouldn’t? She’s a good doctor who cares about her patients, she’s cool-headed, confident, strong, funny and every scene is instantly sexier when she appears, especially if Kook Cheon Soo (Lee Pil Mo) is there to look amused or outraged. Plus, she does ballroom dancing! For fun! – 만

I Need Romance 3


Male lead, Wan (Sung Joon) is so busy trying to change female lead, Joo Yeon (Kim So Yeon) back into a human being that he doesn’t even consider Se Ryeong (Wang Ji Won) as anything more than a friend. It’s his loss though, because Se Ryeong is perfectly happy to hug him, look stylish, and tell it like it is. Her cheerfully blunt honesty about her failings and her feelings make her a standout in a cast of robots, suckers and “Sex and the City” rejects. The only thing we can fault Se Ryeong on is her taste in men, but she is not reconciled with robot, Tae Yoon (Namgung Min) by the end of the series, so we hold out hope for her and Wan. – 중국어 캐나다

Let’s Eat


I’m not usually a fan of the Pollyanna type: the eternally optimistic ditz who lives on nothing but sunshine, rainbows, and lollipops. Yoon Jin Yi (Yoon So Hee) spent much of “Let’s Eat” either following Goo Dae Young (Yoon Doo Joon) around like a lovesick puppy, or cheerfully fulfilling such pedestrian dreams as crying herself to sleep over a manga, or talking about orgasms with her neighbour unni, or giving surprise gifts. Either it was her unabashed love of food, or I’m just not as jaded and cynical as I think I am, because I found Jin Yi surprisingly charming. – 만

Protect The Boss


Eun Sul (Choi Gang Hee) was such a kick ass female lead that I felt the male lead did not deserve her. Better that she continue living with her best friend, Myung Ran (Ha Jae Suk) and rival turned roommate, Na Yoon (Wang Ji Hye). Myung Ran is the reliable rock who has backed Eun Sul since their high school deliquent days, and who dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. Na Yoon starts out as the rich bitch, then turns out to be a naive weirdo who latches onto a resistant Myung Ran for comfort, and ends up benefiting from having actual girlfriends. The three women form such an entertaining and endearing unit that it is kind of a shame when it is broken up by the standard pairing up of the couples. – 중국어 캐나다

Readers: is there a second female lead who came first in your heart?

And since the male lead won’t choose her, she is all yours. Rejoice in the Comments below.

14 Comments

  1. Hwi Kyung (Park Hae-jin) of My Love from the Stars! He’s funny, persistent and he never turned into an antagonist even after all the things that had happened. He was so dedicated to Cheon Song Yi until the very last episode! Haha 🙂

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  3. Really loving your Friday features! My favourite one is Ji Hye from Emergency Couple. She’s sensitive and fun to be around, and always gives good advice. I’d like a friend like her, hehe.

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    1. Thanks for reading! Yeah, Ji Hye is one of the few drama characters I’d like to hang out with… I guess we’ll have to share her 😀

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      1. I think that’s it. She wasn’t faking her personality. The way she expressed her jealousy was very childish, and it for sure made her less appealing. Thank goodness she got over it.

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  5. I am fairly new to the Kdrama world (just caught the “bug” around mid-February and now I’m in hook, line and sinker!), so out of the list you made here, I’ve only seen “I Need Romance 3” and I must say (and I agree with you) that Se Ryeong’s character is richer and more alive than Joo Yeon’s. Too bad Wan wasn’t into her. His loss, I guess…

    I am glad I came across your website because you’re helping me pick which shows to watch. For a newbie like me, it is quite hard to do so with the many Kdramas out there — past and current. So thank you for creating ‘Noonas Over Forks’ and happy 100th day anniversary! 🙂

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      1. To date, I have already seen 9 Kdramas (That Winter The Wind Blows, To The Beautiful You, Boys Over Flowers, You Are Beautiful, Shut Up Flower Boy Band, The Great Doctor, Coffee Prince, I Need Romance 3 and Lie To Me) and currently watching 4 (Flower Boy Next Door, Bride of the Century, Creating Destiny and I Do, I Do). It’s still a very short Kdrama list but I already have a favorite — Coffee Prince (and to think I almost quit watching it after the first few minutes!). I can’t explain it but CP’s been lodged in my brain from the moment I saw it and gives me the feels whenever I think of it (I’m even listening to its soundtrack right now!). Plus, the chemistry between Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun Hye is simply fantastic! I don’t know if another Kdrama can top the love I have for this show.. I’m searching though.. Any suggestions?

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      2. Ooooooh… something as good as Coffee Prince is tough; it’s the hands-down favourite at Noonas Over Forks. Check out our Drama Ratings page for some recommendations. If you’re looking for something with great chemistry between the leads, I would highly recommend Master’s Sun. It has its flaws, no doubt, but it’s a great pairing between the leads.

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  6. If I had the power to make a Heirs 2, I would’ve made Rachel the lead and explored her relationship with Young Do and Kim Won. She definitely deserves it.

    And as for Ji Hye, I kinda hated her cause I was a Jin Hee and Chief shipper. 😛
    She was one sexy, intelligent, gusty, caring….. basically every positive adjective in the dictionary except for the “being able to slap some sense into Chief” part.

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    1. I guess they had to give Ji Hye a flaw… if she’d been able to slap some sense into the Chief, she would have basically been perfect. Sigh.

      Rachel, Young Do and Won… now that’s interesting. I don’t know if it would have been romantic so much as a struggle for who could be the bitchiest. I would totally watch that. 🙂

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  7. I don’t agree on what you’ve said in I Need Romance 3. For me, I don’t think its Joowan’s lost for not considering Se ryoung as more than friends. I think its Se ryoung’s lost because while she experience from a heartbreak with kang tae yoon, she didnt give herself a time to fall for Wan, she just let herself hold from painful memories, and still believe that there’s still hope for her and tae yoon…. without knowing that its already impossible to happen, because at the end of the drama Kang Tae Yoon prefer to live alone in other country so he can find his own life. To bad for Se ryoung! I feel sorry to her character! And for Joowan, I feel happy that he didn’t fall in love to Se ryoung, because if that’s gonna happened, then he would be end up like kang tae yoon! Joowan deserves to fall in love to a woman someone like shin jo yeon…because even of she’s not rich and stylish like se ryoung, she’s the woman that really fits for Joowan, because she understands him more and knew him more since they were still toddler!

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