Old K-dramas have troupes that viewers are fed up with, but there are some cliché that, even now, remain common.
A true K-drama will never miss out on the “common troupes”, or cliché, that always appear in the most iconic K-dramas. While these troupes can get unrealistic or perhaps even cringey at times, they still have their own alludes and add to the popularity of the Korean wave.
Let’s check out these classic troupes that even now we find in K-dramas
1. Terminal Illnesses
It’s no exaggeration to say that terminal illnesses kick-started the whole K-drama genre. Back in the olden days, 8 out of 10 classes would have a dying male or female lead.
An iconic work with a terminal illness as its central theme would be “Autumn in My Heart”, which robbed hearts and tears from the young and old alike. The resounding success of this K-drama ended up with numerous others that take the same inspiration, and endless protagonists who suffer from terminal illnesses.
Then, K-dramas have knocked things down a little bit, and “terminal illnesses” have turned into health conditions or issues, such as amnesia, allergy, or coma, that may or may not be cured.
Nevertheless, it seems that the audience is far from being sick of terminal-illness tragedies, and modern K-dramas, such as “Big Mouth”, also take their own spin on this classic cliché.
2. Wealthy and “arrogant” male leads
A male character who’s rich, handsome, arrogant, yet gentle on the inside never fails to earn the love of K-drama, regardless of time and age. Even though they are young, many K-drama male leads would already be the chairman or CEO of a huge company with both power and wealth, and they all have a special fixation on the female leads, teasing them and making things difficult for them.
Still, the moment they fall in love, these male leads would do a 180 and transform into this super gentle and caring boyfriend material. In addition, despite being a beast on the business field, they are always clumsy, innocent, and somewhat adorable when it comes to the romance department.
These “cold to the world and soft to only you” guys are unrealistic, but heart-swooning to most K-drama fans. Therefore, despite knowing clearly that they will never appear in real life, people adore these characters and even dream of falling in love with someone like them.
In addition, this troupe can be found in various K-dramas both old and new, ranging from the 2004 classic “Lovers in Paris” to the more recent “Business Proposal” – showing that it is not going away any time soon.
Source: DAN
