11 Korean Dramas That Will Make You Experience Second Lead Syndrome

Korean drama junkies have surely experienced this condition at least once in their (oftentimes, years-long) love affair with K-Dramas. That condition when you root, not for the male lead, but for the other one who is sweeter, more thoughtful, and more self-sacrificing—even if you know all too well he wouldn’t end up with the female lead, leaving your heart shredded into pieces.

This is called “Second Lead Syndrome,” and dramaland has happily churned out quite a good number of series touching on this trope over the years. These dramas uphold the pure, unselfish, I’ll-give-up-my-life-for-you kind of devotion and romanticize unrequited love. Many of these second leads have eventually moved on to become the lead themselves and among the best korean actors (Yoo Ah In! Seo Kang Joon! Jung Hae In! Ji Soo!)

Here are 11 Korean dramas you can watch on Viu that are most likely to inflict on you a nasty case of second lead syndrome:

Kim Jung Hwan (Ryu Jun Yeol) of the hit series Reply 1988 is arguably one of the most loved second male leads of all time. He has always harbored a crush on his childhood friend and neighbor Sung Deok Sun (Lee Hye Ri) but has never mustered enough courage to tell her. We all held our breath at that famous alley scene, when Jung Hwan and Deok Sun were standing so close to each other. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, he chooses to avert his gaze (define respect!) making us root for him even more. When he realizes that his other childhood friend Choi Taek (Park Bo Gum) likes her, too, he decides to take a step back and give way. This gesture of unselfish love resonated among viewers and ensured Jung Hwan’s place among the best second male leads of all time.

Fortunately for Jung Hwa and Deok Sun shippers, the two actors ended up dating in real life!

It’s hard to beat “Korea’s National Boyfriend” Park Bo Gum’s charms, especially in his role as the adorable Prince Yeong in this series which saw his popularity skyrocket to stratospheric heights. But, Park Jin Young’s Yoon Sung certainly held his ground and gave us serious second lead syndrome in the process. What greater act of love is there than laying your life for the one you love knowing full well that she already has her heart saved for someone else? Even before this grand, yet fatal, gesture, Yoon Sung has already been Hong Ra On’s (Kim Yoo Jung) best buddy, staunchest defender, and most trusted confidante. Well, that only plunges the dagger a little deeper into our poor hearts. 

Okay, let’s set the record straight–male lead Park Hyun Sik’s Ahn Min-hyuk is actually quite the sweetheart. He’s not your typical tsundere archetype (the cold, indifferent male lead) as he rather dotes lovingly on the titular Do Bong-soon (played by the ever-adorable Park Bo Young). But Ji Soo’s bleeding heart portrayal of Guk Doo, Bong-soon’s first love, gave many K-Drama fans a bad case of second lead syndrome.

Serious yet caring, cold yet loving, Guk Doo hits all the right notes—just not the right timing. We can actually blame him for not getting the girl. If he only found the courage to tell her directly and not just drop hints that aren’t too obvious to our superheroine, maybe they could have ended up happily ever after!

Boys over Flowers is that one drama that loves and embraces K-Drama archetypes—the poor, plain, yet feisty heroine (Geum Jan-di played by Gu Hye Sun) catches the eye of two extremely rich boys. One is a bit of a man-child but finds his way eventually (Lee Min Ho’s Gu Jun-pyo), whereas the other has been perfect all along (Kim Hyun Joong’s Yoon Ji-hoo). This drama perfectly encapsulates one of dramaland’s most painful truths: that being Mr. Perfect doesn’t always guarantee you’ll get the girl. Ji-hoo is everything that Jun-pyo isn’t–calm, collected, caring. We all know who the girl ends up with but we still choose to sink with the other ship.

It can be said that Yoo Ah In’s impeccable portrayal of the gruff yet (secretly) gentle Moon Jae-shin eclipsed male lead Yoochun’s cold and arrogant Lee Seon-joon. We all knew there was no chance that he'd get the girl despite all his efforts, but we all rooted for him anyway. Maybe because there’s always something swoon-worthy about being the silent protector doomed to being the man not chosen. Admit it: If you were Kim Yun-hee (Park Min Young), you would’ve chosen Jae Shin in a heartbeat!

It’s not that the titular amnesiac Prince Lee Yool/Won Deuk (played by the EXO's Do Kyung Soo) isn’t charming, it’s just that second lead Jung Je Yoon (Kim Seon Ho) gives the Crown Prince a good run for his money with his dashing good looks, gentleman ways, and admirable intelligence.

His respect and loyalty towards the Prince despite being rivals made us fall in love with him even more. Oh, and those dimples are plus points, too! 

Unlike the other dramas on this list, second lead syndrome is not quickly evident in Encounter (a.k.a. Boyfriend) as it’s rather easy to dismiss the second male lead (Jang Seung Jo’s Jung Woo Seok) as the villain. It’s only as the series progresses that we get to know the sacrifices Woo Seok made for his ex-wife Cha Soo-hyun (Song Hye Kyo) so he can protect her from his abusive mother. When a younger, handsome man (Park Bo Gum’s Kim Jin Hyuk) slowly inched his way to Soo Hyun’s heart, Woo Seok stepped up his game, albeit, a little too late. Plus, we all know nobody stands a chance against Bogummy’s 100-megawatt smile. 

Second lead syndrome takes on a little twist here. Instead of the second male lead vying for the affections of a lady, he’s actually in love with his best guy friend. Hoya’s heart-tugging portrayal of Kang Joon Hee sure broke a lot of hearts out there. It’s a painful reality that second leads have it more difficult, but obviously, difficulty takes on a whole new level in Joon Hee’s situation. Despite knowing he hasn’t got an iota of a chance, he continues to be a great friend to Yoon Yoon Je (Seo In Guk) and the apple of his eye Sung Shi Won (Jung Eun Ji).

Bae Kyung (Lee Jae Wook) is the epitome of the tsundere. Arrogant, rude, and mean towards the female lead Eun Dan Oh (Kim Hye Yoon), it’s admittedly a little tough to like him at first. However, once he realizes his errors, his character development is no short of extraordinary that it’s not hard to root for him despite the male lead being more likable (Rowoon’s Ha Ru). Moreover, his past traumas make him a truly sympathetic character. We all knew quite early on that Bae Kyung doesn’t stand a chance, but we’re sure we all wanted him to have his own happy ending. 

The enigmatic Yoo Jung (Park Hae Jin) oozes with intelligence and charisma, it’s not much of a wonder for the female lead Hong Seol (Kim Go Eun) to fall head over heels for him. However, bad-boy-but-not-really Baek In Ho’s (Seo Kang Joon) unrequited love and devotion for Hong Seol is probably the highlight of this series. It was sad enough to see In Ho pining for Hong Seol, but what made it especially heartbreaking was when she ended up liking his nemesis Yoo Jung. But, as in all devoted second leads, he remained caring towards her. It doesn’t help that Seo Kang Joon’s eyes convey so much emotion.

Most of us were probably torn between wanting time-traveling married couple Ma Jin Joo (Jang Na Ra) and Choi Ban Do (Son Ho Jun) to get back together or for her to end up choosing Jang Ki Yong’s Jung Nam Gil. And boy, Jang Ki Yong was perfect as the ideal K-Drama hero—rich, smart, and falls for the lead’s quirkiness—except he was the second lead so we knew our hearts would be bleeding at the series’ end. Who can forget how tall and tough Nam Gil didn’t shy away from wearing his heart on his sleeve? Ladies, let’s just swoon together.