If there’s one thing that Korean content lovers get served in plenty then that is Kdramas with love triangles. Wherever one goes, this is the one typical trope that just can’t seem to be escaped by audiences. Not only has this archetype led to many broken hearts oscreen, but off-screen as well. Second lead syndrome is more real than ever and we have the creators of these shows to blame for. Many a times, the same actors have got enrolled in the same stereotype of love stories, thereby getting roped into the same old complications.
While many viewers want do writers to do away with this trope, others seem to love it wholeheartedly and live for the angst, pain and tears that follow these binge sessions. So, whether you love them or hate them, you’re stuck with them, and have once again landed in the midst of an article dedicated to them. You might as well just go through this cycle of pain again and relive your angst-fulled memories for the millionth time. Here goes nothing. Get your tissue boxes ready because here come the rivers of tears.
Kdramas With Love Triangles That Push Us Into the Angsty Void
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo
While it’s quite evident how the story is to proceed especially with the narrative itself overtly rooting for her and Nam Joo-hyuk’s Joon-hyung, the 2016 K-drama also introduces the puppy love angle from Kim Bok-joo’s (Lee Sung-kyung) perspective as she falls for his older brother, Dr Jung Jae-yi. Yet, as you have it, her innocent crush on the older guy isn’t reciprocated, while Joon-hyung continues to fall for his childhood friend on the side. Over the season, she gradually moves on from her crush on Jae-yi, and again, the one by her side, helping her get through those feelings is Joon-hyung.
Their years’ old story eventually flourished into a healthy and balanced friendship, with Joon-hyung finally getting the right opportunity to confess his true innate feelings for Bok-joo, which, in this case, are reciprocated, making for a heartwarming love arc that I still haven’t moved on from even in 2023. Lee Sung-kyung and Nam Joo-hyuk were the ultimate OTP back then, and them dating each other in real life at the time only further backed their affectionate chemistry onscreen.
True Beauty
Cha Eunwoo, Moon Ga-young and Hwang In-youp’s love triangle in this K-drama based on a webtoon is one of the rather recent dynamics that incited severe debates choosing between “Team Su-ho” and “Team Seo-jun”. Like many Korean dramas, this one, too, riles up a backstory with Eunwoo’s Su-ho and Ga-young’s Joo-kyung having shared a significant part of their childhood together, only for their high-school grown-up versions to realise later. And with that information itself, the show’s ultimate endgame had been sealed.
However, to raise the tension, their all-too-sweet friendship and then love story meets its bystander in In-youp, who plays the quintessential bad boy character with a heart that melts upon Joo-kyung’s sight. The triangular complication doesn’t end there. Things get even messier and angsty owing to the fact that Su-ho and Seo-jun are also childhood friends, who’d severed ties due to a tragedy, and with them having fallen for the same girl, the situation only gets worse.
Start Up
Viewers watching this drama series at the time knew well ahead of time what was coming for them, and it still didn’t stop them from watching it and getting massively hit by the inevitable second lead syndrome. Suzy, Nam Joo-hyuk, And Kim Seon-ho’s characters get embroiled in a tiresome love triangle, as most viewers call it. Suzy’s character’s mind is already made up, and though her feelings never truly waver, it was Kim Seon-ho’s character that received attention the most. As a result, it isn’t necessarily a triangle because the pairing is quite evident from the get go and the characters seem to be aware of their feelings too, it’s just that the second male lead’s heartstrings get tugged at, without his feelings ever getting reciprocated in any way at all.
Also read: 7 Kdrama Co-stars Who Dated in Real Life: Son Ye-jin -Hyun Bin, Lim Ji-yeon – Lee Do-hyun, and More!
Record of Youth
Depicting a closer to reality slice-of-life drama saga, the 2020 Record of Youth series ultimately closed its story circle, proving that sometimes, some relationships don’t work out in the end, but that doesn’t always call for hard feelings between those who initially shared different emotions for each other. Ahn Jeong-ha, Sa Hye-jun & Won Hae-hyo make for a grounded and relatable Kdrama love triangle, especially with adept actors like Park So-dam, Park Bo-gum and Byeon Woo-seok playing the respective parts.
Jeong-ha is a talented make-up artist finding her pace and stand in the entertainment biz who’s smitten with the the underrated show-stopping model Hye-jun. When the two finally meet due to a show’s schedule, their budding friendship initiates and then blossoms into something more. In the meantime, Hye-jun’s deep-rooted aspirations of wanting to take over the acting field start taking a flight, while his rather well do to childhood best friend Won Hae-hyo is already at the top of his career in the same field owing to his mother’s connection in the industry.
As Hye-jun finds his footing in the entertainment industry after a lot of hits and trials, Jeong-ha starts developing a friendship with Hae-hyo, which ultimately blossoms into something more for at least one of them.
Extraordinary You
The iconic K-drama that gave rise to an even more iconic love saga, and a legendary ensemble cast! Waking up inside the mystical world of comics, Kim Hye-yoon’s Eun Dan-oh is taken aback on finding out that she’s merely a character inside a comic book, that too a secondary one. The thought of her life’s agency not being defined by her, rather by someone i.e. the author of the book is too heartbreaking for her. And so, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to take matters into her own hands, in order to pen down a life of her design that preferably doesn’t end on a tragic note for her character.
Along comes a nameless character played by SF9 Rowoon, who’s somehow been missed out by the author, and in him she finds a world of wonders and her true happiness and hope, leading her to name him Ha-ru (meaning – day). It’s soon after that Ha-ru starts realising his own fate upon falling for whom he was always meant to be, but the heartless author in question has already woven Dan-Oh’s red string of fate with that of Lee Jae-wook’s Baek-kyung who’s so far only been a puppet in the hands of writer, or is that so?
Itaewon Class
Park Seo-joon, Kim Da-mi and Kwon Nara’s fate were intertwined in a complicated love triangle in this 2020 drama series. Although the series was quite direct with its approach towards who the show runners were rooting for, they still granted with these love complications only to make things worse. Things were hard for Park Sae-ro-yi early on. While he was incarcerated for his attempts to kill the son of Jangga Group’s founder, the girl he’d loved in high school was offered a scholarship by the founder himself, only for her to join his conglomerate as an official later on.
Upon his release, he struggles to keep his new bar-restaurant running, and the constant reminders of his old love working for his nemesis , and flourishing, don’t help either. Enter Jo Yi-seo, the one and the only online influencer who can help make things work for Sae-ro-yi’s business, and yes, of course, she falls for him in the process.
Our Beloved Summer
Leading a coming-of-age arc, Studio N’s first original series revolves around a young talented artist Choi Ung, who was on the far end of the socially likeable scale while his ex-girlfriend Kook Yeon-soo was leading her class back then. Ultimately breaking up at the time, the two part ways on the worst note possible and swear an oath to never cross paths ever again.
However, as things usually go down in a romance series, fate works its magic around and pulls them together when a documentary about their relationship is to be fleshed out a decade later. Coerced to sit together for the camera due to their common friend, producer Kim Ji-ung’s earnest desire, they’re brought back to the same place. Things aren’t as easy for them to reunite just yet because Ji-ung has also had a long-time crush on Yeon-soo since school days. On the other hand NJ, a pop idol’s entry into the scene extends this love triangle into a love square as she’s got her eyes on Choi Ung.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Kim Seon-ho seems to be champion of love triangles in K-dramas, only this time he actually gets the girl. This light-hearted series involves characters Yoon Hye-jin, Hong Du-sik and Ji Seong-hyun. With Shin Min-a, Kim Seon-ho and Lee Sang-yi playing these characters respectively, the second love interest is quite unexpectedly brought into the plot. Despite the obvious love arc, the story wasn’t a straightforward given, rather by introducing a genuine second male lead, the drama series adds complexity and makes choosing either one of the men a hard ordeal due to their well-written individual character storylines.
Reply 1988
Still regarded as one of the best K-dramas of all time, this series brings on a love dynamic that’s meant for the books. As the third instalment of the tvN series, Reply 1988 puts up a severe challenge for good friends Choi Taek and Kim Jung-hwan as they both take a liking for Sung Deok-sun, who, too, makes things worse as she ends up liking both of them.
The best bit about the series is that unlike many love triangles that have often left viewers crying for the second male lead, this one will have you rooting for both the boys in the equation. Delving deep into relationships and how time and patience figure into making either the best or the worst out of it, this K-drama is a must-watch for lovers of love stories.
Alchemy of Souls
Lee Jae-wook, Jung so-min and Minhyun were caught in a triangle of emotions in one of the biggest K-drama titles. This one grants Jae-wook’s character a seat at the “male lead who gets the girl” table. Keeping on with the traditional trope, the series again invested in a love triangle that everyone knew where it was headed ultimately. Minhyun’s Seo Yul came in as one of Nak-su’s old friends, and of course, some of his interactions with her became cause for a riot of jealousy evident in Jang-wook’s eyes.
All That We Loved
Centred around 18 year old youthful love and friendship, the TVING drama series of 2023 stars EXO Sehun or Oh Se-hun, Jo Joon-young and Jang Yeo-bin. It’s foremost about friendship between two boys who have distinct interests and personalities. Sehun’s character is the top basketball player who’s got the school fawning over him and then his best friend played by Jo Joon-young tops the academic section. When the latter needs a kidney transplant, his best friend steps forward, and once the surgery is completed, Joon-young’s character develops a cellular memory. It results in both of them falling for the same girl at the same time, who has her own secrets to keep.
Which of these Korean drama love triangles have got you sobbing like anything? Let us know your favourite picks in the comments section below.
More Than Friends!