From Kim Hee Ae & Moon So Ri to Song Hye Kyo & Han So Hee… K-Drama has turned to the era of stories with two female leads
The small screen in 2023 will be filled with various narratives about women characters rather than romance between men and women.
As combinations, such as “Queen Maker” Kim Hee Ae & Moon So Ri, “The Price of Confession” Song Hye Kyo & Han So Hee and “A House with a Yard” Kim Tae Hee & Lim Ji Yeon. have been confirmed, the keyword for 2023 dramas is definitely “two top female leads”.
Kim Hee Ae, Song Hye Kyo, Kim Tae Hee,… legendary actresses are carrying out active activities
Kim Hee Ae will make her drama comeback after three years since JTBC’s “The World of the Married” with Netflix’s “Queen Maker”. This Netflix series tells the story of Hwang Do Hee (Kim Hee Ae), a genius image maker and former strategist for a large corporation who jumps into the election to make Oh Kyung Sook (Moon So Ri), a human rights lawyer who is called “justice rhino”, become the mayor of Seoul. Although it deals with stories about the election, the drama is not limited to only the political genre, and it will target a wide range of viewers through the diverse style of the character and the unique acting performance of each actor. In particular, the audience will feel the strong solidarity between the two female characters as Hwang Do Hee, who pursues perfection, and Oh Kyung Sook, who is easygoing, become more similar as they get close to each other. The two actresses’ performances and chemistry, as well as the development of the story, are expected to be the key figures that determine whether the drama will succeed or fail.
“The Price of Confession” stars Song Hye Kyo and Han So Hee are also considered one of the most highly anticipated drama projects this year. Fans are raising high expectations for Song Hye Kyo, who successfully made an image transformation through “The Glory” and proved her limitless potential, and Han So Hee, who has solidified her position as a rising star by portraying different characters in various hit series, such as “The World of the Married”, “Nevertheless”, and “My Name”, to show amazing chemistry in “The Price of Confession”. Attention is focused on the new faces and chemistry the two actresses will show through this work, which depicts the bloody chronicle of two women surrounding a murder case.
Lim Ji Yeon, who reached her heyday thanks to the success of “The Glory”, will meet Kim Tae Hee in “A House with a Yard”. Based on a novel of the same name, “A House with a Yard” is a suspense home thriller that overturns the fantasy that “a happy home is a house with a yard” through the suspicion and self-awareness of a housewife who used to enjoy a happy life in a perfect home that others envy. Known as Kim Tae Hee’s comeback work after two years and Lim Ji Yeon’s next project after “The Glory”, this series is arousing keen interest from drama fans.
From ‘one top’ to ‘two top’ trends, narratives about women have diversified
From Netflix’s “The Glory” to JTBC’s “Agency”, and Netflix’s “Kill Boksoon”, dramas recently featuring women’s narratives have been receiving explosive attention. These female-led dramas are expanding their scope from one lead to two leads, allowing the producers to introduce a wider range of subjects and stories.
Explaining why stories about women are drawing so much attention, drama critic Gong Hee Jung said, “Women have not been highlighted in the main story for the past years. That’s why stories of women entering the big world are new and interesting. Some were depicted less vividly than stories about male characters, and some are developed to become materials for later productions”.
In particular, male-female romance has been repeatedly portrayed through dramas for a long time, so this makes stories about women and their chemistry stand out and gives viewers new experiences.
Critic Gong continued, “In K-dramas, no matter what story is being told, the male and female leads often end up in a romantic relationship. However, works led by women focus more on the characters’ lives and solving problems, offering a new and unique kind of entertainment that breaks away from the old type with romance that the public already expect from the beginning.”
Source: Naver
