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While the K-drama romance between the main couple is often the main attraction of a series, there are times when the second lead K-drama romances steal the spotlight from the main couple. Whether with their sizzling chemistry while turning from enemies to lovers, or depicting a more heartbreaking story than the lead couple, the second lead K-drama romances sometimes surpass the popularity of the lead romances.
K-dramas are known for their romance tropes with love triangles, tragic endings, and whatnot. While the drama may come under any genre, such as horror and supernatural, among others, romance as a theme plays an important role in these dramas. To see your favorite characters, whom you have been rooting for from the beginning, finally coming together gives an exhilarating and satisfying feeling. This satisfying feeling is sometimes provided by the second lead K-drama romances.
Here’s a list of ten second lead K-drama romances whose sizzling chemistry topped the main leads’ romance.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's opinion and contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.
10 second lead K-drama romances that had more fire than the official romance
10) Hee-kyung and Joon-woo (True Beauty)
True Beauty starring Cha Eun-woo and Moon Ka-young as the lead couple had all the attention of the viewers. However, the second lead couple was not far off from them. Im Se-mi’s Lim Hee-kyung was Ju-kyung’s (Ka-young) older sister, and Oh Eui-shik’s Han Joon-woo was a teacher at Saebom High.
Their love story was intense and captivated fans more than the lead couple's story. Furthermore, their unwavering commitment toward each other made us root for them. However, it is one of those second lead K-drama romances where there was so much hesitance from the male lead, but the female lead's efforts to not give up on their relationship complete the love story.
9) Oska and Seul (Secret Garden)
Hyun-bin and Ha Ji-won might have captured your hearts with their performance as Kim Joo-won and Gil Ra-im, as well as their romance. However, this popular Korean series has one of the best second lead K-drama romances to keep you hooked.
Oska/Choi Woo-young, played by Yoon Sang-hyun, and Yoon Seul, played by Kim Sa-rang, were the second lead couple, who broke up long ago due to Oska’s fault and reunited again. The reunion brings many buried emotions back, but they don’t act upon them. The pushing and pulling between the emotions of the couple makes their story more entertaining.
Moreover, the growth and redemption arc that Oska’s character goes through, understanding his faults and trying to rectify his mistakes, brings the two closer, making for a relatable and endearing story.
8) Cha Hyeon and Ji-hwan (Search: WWW)
Search: WWW is one of the best Korean series that focuses largely on female leads and their lives and friendships while competing on the professional front. While romance is not the main focus of the series, the second lead couple, Cha Hyeon (Lee Da-hee) and Seol Ji-hwan (Lee Jae-wook), are sure to make you swoon with their love story.
Just like their personality of fire and ice, their chemistry also mirrors the contrast, which is hard to ignore in the show. Ji-hwan might play villainous roles in the films, but he is introduced as one of the warmest characters, whose patience balances Hyeon’s tough yet enthusiastic personality.
From being hesitant toward their feelings for each other to the eventual confession, which ended with a kiss, their story gives the authentic K-drama vibe, making this one of the most adorable second lead K-drama romances.
7) Gyeo-ul and Jeong-won (Hospital Playlist)
Hospital Playlist is a comfort show for many, and the friendship and relationships of the 99z group are sure to make you miss your friends. Amid all the fluffy feelings the show provides, the second lead couple, Gyeo-ul and Jeong-won, captivate the viewers with their slow-burn love story, and that's why they are on this list of second lead K-drama romances.
From pining over each other for a long season, the two finally confess their feelings at the end of season 1. Season 2 brings them closer as they become supportive of each other through several personal challenges, such as Gyeo-ul confessing about her father’s abuse of her family and Jeong-won, without judging her, just accepting and supporting her as she deals with her personal issues. Their slow but worth-it kind of second lead K-drama romances often eclipse the lead couple.
6) Yeong-seo and Sung-hoon (Business Proposal)
While the cuteness of the main couple might grab all your attention in this popular rom-com K-drama, the second lead couple also helps in keeping you hooked in the narrative and humor of the drama. Young-seo is the female lead, Shin Ha-ri’s best friend, who falls in love with a stranger after seeing him in a convenience store.
As in the most clichéd scenes from K-dramas, Young-seo meets the stranger again after moving out of her house, as he turns out to be her neighbor. Furthermore, the stranger is none other than the male lead, Tae-moo’s secretary, and a close friend of his.
Although a clichéd and tried and tested trope of Korean series, their story comes out perfectly. You will find yourself engrossed in their story and captivated by their performances, making them one of the finest second lead K-drama romances.
5) Yi-chan and Chung-ha (Twinkling Watermelon)
While Ryeoun’s Ha Eun-gyeol and Seol In-ah’s On Eun-yoo may have captured your hearts with their playful yet endearing love story, the story of the future parents of Eun-gyeol is also nothing short of magical.
In the show, Eun-gyeol unintentionally travels back to 1995 and befriends his own father, and tries to prevent the tragic accident that will eventually make his father deaf. Unknowingly, Eun-yoo also goes back in the same timeline and takes the identity of her mother, who looked exactly the same, to prevent her from marrying her father so that she won’t be born.
While completing his mission, he also tries to make his father, Ha Yi-chan, played by Choi Hyun-wook, fall for his mother, Yoon Chung-ah. Although his efforts don’t always bring them closer, they both find their way toward each other on their own, first becoming friends and later learning sign language to communicate with each other. Their pure and sincere affection for each other makes their story one of the best, and they deserve to be on the list of the best second lead K-drama romances.
4) Choi Nam-ra and Lee Su-hyeok (All of Us Are Dead)
Finding romance amid a zombie outbreak might not be the first thing on anyone's mind, but watching a Korean series without any romantic tropes is never worth it. In All of Us Are Dead, the lead couple are childhood friends and eventually become a couple while fighting for their survival together.
However, it is difficult to miss the endearing, quiet glances shared by the second lead couple: Choi Nam-ra and Lee Su-hyeok. The quiet class president and the former delinquent student’s love story might be impossible in a real-life situation, but during a zombie apocalypse, while they fight to keep themselves and their friends alive, made for a perfect situation to fall for each other.
Although their story is incomplete as we are still waiting for a season 2, Su-hyeok and Nam-ra captured many hearts with their chemistry and became one of the best second lead K-drama romances.
3) Seo Dan and Seung-joon (Crash Landing on You)
Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok’s story might have made you cry, whether it's a happy or sad moment in Crash Landing on You. However, more than them, it was the second lead couple that had us rooting for them to end up together, and it has to be one of the best second lead K-drama romances.
The daughter of a wealthy North Korean department store owner, Seo Dan, is supposed to get married to Jeong-hyeok but eventually falls in love with a conman from South Korea hiding in the North, Seung-joon.
While trying to deny her feelings toward Seung-joon, she does eventually fall for him after unintentionally meeting him several times, and also hides him when the corrupt officers who helped him reveal his location to the gangsters who are ordered by Se-ri's brother to kill him. He gets shot to save Seo-dan, who asks him to stay with her, but while reminiscing about their day eating ramyeon, Seung-joon dies, making it a tragic love story.
2) Sunny and Grim Reaper (Goblin)
When we talk about tragic love stories, Goblin always comes to mind. Eun-tak and Kim Shin’s love story can be defined by their longing and commitment in the face of their tragic fate. However, theirs isn’t the only tragic love story of the acclaimed Korean series, as next in the second lead K-drama romances list is the grim reaper and Sunny’s story.
Unlike the lead couple, their love story has been tragic in more than one life, as in their previous life, Sunny was married to King Wang Yeo who later became the Grim Reaper and supported her brother Kim Shin against her husband and as a result was executed. Their love story was strategic, but it is one of those second lead couples that we rooted for until the very end.
1) Myung-ju and Dae-young (Descendants of the Sun)
Descendants of the Sun’s lead couple, Song Joong-ki’s Yoo Si-jin and Song Hye-kyo’s Mo-yeon, had a lot of chemistry and are still one of the favorite K-drama couples for many. But the second lead couple also kept us on the edge of our seats with their story, and hence, tops this list of second lead K-drama romances.
While waiting for Mo-yeon and Si-jin to be together, we also found ourselves asking whether the second lead couple, Jin Goo’s Dae-young and Kim Ji-won’s Myung-ju, would end up together or not. While Myung-ju’s feelings about Dae-young were out in the open, it took much time for Dae-young to finally express his feelings for her, giving us one of the best moments in the show, and has to be number one in the list of second lead K-drama romances.
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While many lead couples depict the perfect love stories, once in a while, second lead K-drama romances make us hooked on their love stories and root for them more.
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