Hey guys!. In this post, I’ll be discussing a list of Top 5 Kdramas Where NO ONE GET The Girl. You have heard of Kdramas where the female lead ends up with the male lead, leaving us to suffer with a heavy case of the second lead syndrome. And while rarer, in certain Kdramas, second male leads also get the girl, turning the table in the Kdrama world.
But what if for once, nobody wins, and the female lead ends up with nobody as the series closes? Wait no more, because today, we are providing you with an entire list:
1. Mirae’s choice - Marry Him If You Dare.
If you are fond of the trope where a character rewinds time to change their fate, then you should probably give Mirae’s choice a try. The series brought to us a dilemma of Mirae, the female lead, who after an encounter with her future self, learned that she was doomed for a miserable fate.
Determined to live a better life this time around, the normally meek Mirae finally decided to leave her comfort zone, and pursue her dream of becoming a television writer. And it was in this pursuit that hers and the male leads’ worlds finally collided. Yes, that’s male leads with an “s”, because frankly, both of these characters are not taking the back seat.
First, there’s the prickly and upright news anchor Kim Shin, who worked in the same station as Mirae. Then, we are introduced to the handsome cameraman Se Joo, who’s actually the network’s heir in disguise. Like its title, the series’ main focus is Mirae’s many choices: from her choice to leave her old work and quit her old attitude, to her choice between these two attractive love interests.
It was a completely fair playground, really - as each male lead has his own charms, and the screen time was equally divided between the two. You can try guessing who will get the girl, but it will just be for naught, because Mirae’s Choice’s ending was the definition of leaving people hanging.
The final episode built us up for Mirae’s feelings, was super close to revealing the final guy, and then it just… stopped. Basically, we get this open ending where Mirae could have ended up with whoever or no one at all.
2. When the weather is fine.
With Seo Kang Joon and Park Min Young as the leads, ‘When the weather is fine’ didn’t perform particularly well when it aired. Still, the series has got its special charms, telling the tale of cellist Mok Hae Won, as she quitted her job in the city to settle down in a tranquil village where she once lived. It was there that she reunited with Im Eum Seob, a former neighbor and classmate, who now owns a bookshop on the corner of the village.
In a sense, ‘When the weather is fine’ could be a bit too slow for the regular viewer. But it was an escape from life for viewers that did enjoy it, the same that it was a story of escape for our main characters. Hae Won, in particular, moved to the village as a way to escape her normally bitter and harsh life. She and Eum Seob soon find warmth in each other, and like every other Kdrama couple, they fall in love.
And yet, romance is not the central theme of the show. It actually leans more towards self-discovery, and re-definition of self, as Hae Won slowly but surely gained back her confidence and appreciated herself. At the end of the show, what we get is pretty bittersweet, as the couple break up, and continue on their respective lives. But, we can see how they changed each other for the better.
While Hae Won rid herself of the aching loneliness as she continued on in the city, Eum Seob redefined his way of showing love. He has now come less hesitant with his adoptive family, and continues to dote on his sister. ‘When the weather is fine’ really shows that romance is really just a side character in our lives, and that it’s better that we understand ourselves and learn from our experiences, love or not.
3. School 2013.
Not all high school students have to be in love, and not every high school drama needs to be about love. A prime example of this is ‘School 2013’, and this drama has seriously shown us how a school drama could be done. Set in Seungri High School - one of the worst senior high schools in Seoul, academically-wise, ‘School 2013’ really provides a full picture of the student life, with both the good and the bad.
Starting the series, we are introduced to Class 2 - the bottom of the bunch, with the worst grades and terrible student representation. We are also introduced to Se Chan and Eun Jae - the class’s two homeroom teachers, whose philosophies always seem at odds. ‘School 2013’ is special in that it never just focuses on just one main character. In fact, everyone in Class 2 gets time to shine - even the most secondary one.
Like other ‘School’ series, ‘School 2013’ also unveils the many issues prevailing at school, from the teacher-student relationship to bullying, school suicides, and school violence, and many many more. Still, when watching the series, some particular characters stood out. We have Lee Jong Suk as Go Nam Soon - a rebellious student that’s elected the president of class 2.
Then, there’s Kim Woo Bin as Park Heung Soo - a student with a violent past and now has resolved to stay quiet in class. Finally, there's Park Se Young as Song Ha Gyeong, an ambitious student that dislikes being stuck in such a school. Throughout the series, we get snippets of Ha Gyeong crushing on the handsome Nam Soon - but that’s… basically all the romance we get, and the couple never got together even as it ends.
Instead, Nam Soon’s friendship with Heung Soo was much more highlighted, and this bromance was so popular that both actors were basically shot to stardom. So there you have it, if you want a school-themed series with interesting tales to tell, and yet are not interested in high school romance, ‘School 2013’ might just be a perfect fit!
4. Record of Youth.
Like its title, Record of Youth is all about young people in the process of establishing themselves. In the series, we are going to follow Sa Hye Jun, a model from a working-class family striving to become a top actor. His career was on the decline, and he was heavily criticized at home, told to enlist already, and ‘work an actual job’.
On the side, there’s Hye Hyo, Hye Jun’s best friend from a wealthy family. He’s also an actor, but with backing from his family, has had more luck in the acting field. Hye Jun had always been insecure next to his rich best friend, but the table was finally turned when our female lead made her appearance.
Entered Ahn Jeong Ha, who quitted her job in a large company to pursue her dream as a makeup artist. She had always been a fan of Hye Jun, following him since the beginning and always supporting him from afar. And of course, the two soon fell in love as their worlds collided, slowly but surely establishing their respective careers. And yet, young love does not always last long.
As Hye Jun grew more popular and Jeong Ha became busier with her own salon, the couple’s relationship also wavered. At the end, we see the couple breaking up, opting to be just friends, yet still continuing to support each other.
In a way, ‘Record of Youth’ is realistic in showing that relationships don’t need to last, and a break up doesn’t have to be messy. People can fall out of love and not be miserable, for it was just a tiny part of life. Hye Jun and Jeong Ha had been each other’s youth, but as they matured, their love better stayed in the memory. Yes, this is another series that ends with the female lead thriving despite having no man.
5. My Mister.
Following the struggling female lead Ji An, My Mister is remarkable in many ways. It shows the real struggles of being poor and having only your back to rely on, the many stones life throws at us, but also the beauty of life in return. The story started when Ji An was tasked to find the weakness of Dong Hoon, her supervisor, and thus get entangled in complicated feelings as the two go closer.
While it is obvious that Ji An had quite the crush on Dong Hoon, it is more because she never had a proper father figure, and Dong Hoon is one of the rare men who actually treated her nicely. Meanwhile, Dong Hoon is the second child in a family of two brothers, and had never hesitated to treat people with kindness, Ji An included.
To some, Dong Hoon’s gestures towards Ji An may seem a bit romantic, but that’s just Dong Hoon’s character, and he doted on her in a brotherly way. My Mister is the story of two struggling people that grow because of each other, never needing to be romantic, and that’s one of its charms. Despite being a story about love, ‘My Mister’ never becomes romantic.
Ji An never ended up with her crush, but rather slowly overcame her adversities, helping Dong Hoon by her own means. It was a series that showed that we don't need the girl to end up with anyone to be happy in life.
What are your thoughts about the mentioned series? Do you know any other Kdrama where the female lead never ended up with anyone?
That is it from today’s post on Top 5 Kdramas Where NO ONE GET The Girl. If you do not agree with the points in the post and have some of your own opinions, share them with us in the comments section down below.
Also, Read: