My guilty pleasure story is that of the tsundere hero who starts out cold and close minded, and ends up becoming a marshmallow thanks to the heroine and the all encompassing power of love.

I actually recently posted about this on my fan wall!

I realized my true catnip in stories of any medium is simply characters who have been dealt a difficult hand by life finally being shown the kindness and love that they never had but deserve.

A journey through law, justice and order. A hero who sets out to rewrite the corrupt justice, police, military system, or a corrupt chaebol organization the hero sets out to transform. Whether or not the hero is at the helm(Undercover) or is an under dog working from the buttoms up. The friends and alliances made and gained along the way. The painful betrayals and loss that come along with it (One Dollar Lawyer, Into The Ring), the lessons learnt and classes taken from opposition party and allies (Queen Seondeok, Agency). For the ending, their journey ends open-ended. There is closure, the fight is won. But it is not over.
What sort of trials I do not like? The hero getting beat up every single time only to land it one fell swoop of victory in the finale.

My VERY favorite hero's journey is that of finding inner strength and using it to find peace and joy in life, especially when the hero/heroine has a positive impact on the people around them. I also prefer heros/heroines who start nice and get stronger, rather than those who start as jerks (there are exceptions, though, like the fascinating transformative arc of the hero in Falling for Innocence). Exemplars for me include the heroines of Thirty But Seventeen, Call it Love, and Hello, Me! and the hero of Unlock My Boss. But truly, I just love the hero's journey aspect of K-dramas in all its forms, and the fact that the medium (usually) delivers emotionally satisfying narratives with a sense of completeness.

My fav kind of hero-heroine story is one who have solid understanding and acceptance of each other, and have a strong physical chemistry (especially when the hero obviously 'feels' the pain haha!). Our Blooming Youth tops my chart in this - a relationship based on trust, friendship and insane attraction to someone out of reach. They overcome obstacles side by side, and are connected to each other at a deeper level. I also love it when they overcome difficulties together and work as a team That's something I liked in True Beauty as well. I don't like it when one holds more power over the other (simpy heroines make me super mad), but I do like some tropes (saving each other, caring for each other etc etc). I also like bad-boy turned good trope, who overcomes psycological problems with fortitude, and of course FL. I do not like stalkers though (much as I adored the young king in Hwarang, I absolutely hated the stalker vibes he gave in the beginning. The series itself was so bad that in the end, just his performance stayed one true redeeming factor lol). I am also a sucker for true lust to love stories - Nevertheless shines in this department.

I love stories of redemption. I like flawed and conflicted heroes and heroines who find the strength and the hope to find the error of their ways and walk the path of righteousness. Sometimes it takes a journey, sometimes it takes a single moment. Sometimes the first step is the start of a lifetime of repentance. Sometimes the step in the right direction is the last conscious act of the hero/ine. Whatever the context or the circumstances, well executed redemption arcs always make a drama memorable.

I personally love "grey" protagonists who are torn between competing moral, social or familial demands and are forced to make hard choices, for better or worse. I'm less fond of clear-cut good or bad folks.

I've got a lot of favourites, many that have been mentioned already like the tsundre hero, morally grey hero's journey, and characters who've been held a bad hand by life who finally recieve the love and care they deserve!

So I'll mention one that I don't think has been talked about already - I'm a sucker for any type of story where the main characters have to work and fight against fate or another kind of predestined future to carve out their own path and be with the people they love. So if a story starts with some kind of prophecy or like a past life where things didn't turn out too rosy, I've got my seat belt buckled and ready to watch! I suppose the star crossed lovers/doomed lovers trope would sit under this type of journey too - and I LOVE a good stat crossed Lovers story.

It's also not always fate in a fantasy sense though, I think stories where you have parents or other authoritative figures who call the shots and determine what can happen, what can't happen and what the future of one or both of the leads look like, also fall under this category.

If I had to pick a favorite category, it's probably the found family story where where a loner/outcast finds their scooby gang, like Ma-pi in Unlock the Boss and Ji-an in My Ajusshi.

For a single character's journey, I really like how Ae-ra in Fight My Way found her true calling while pursing what she thought was her dream career.

This year I enjoy messy protagonists, the messier the better…
It’s probably why I loved BEEF so much, why INTEREST OF LOVE still remains my favourite kdrama this year

I also love a good redemption arc. From Prince Won to Moo-young, when done right it’s a treat for to watch.

I thought I found the perfect villain this year in Moo-young, but it soon become apparent he ain’t a villain. Dude can destroy mountains, create as much havoc as he wants , kill thousands of people and he still won’t be a villain. He is such a softie at heart ♥️

1. rebels who expose / bring down a corrupt and / or dumb rule, group, system while still having strong core principles and not let the fight itself corrupt them (may come close though but they stay on top)
2. vagabonds / wanderers, whose life seems like a row of coincidences but they find purpose in randomness and choose to embrace what life gives them (like Louie)
3. the cheerful goof / best friend type / eccentric, who seems social and outgoing but feels deeply alone ( not lonely, but being cut off from their true self). always fooling around while feeling hollow and isolated.

@missvictrix I applaud your choice of Kim Hyo Joo’s character in Trolley which has a most confronting role for any female lead that I’ve seen in all kdramas. I suspect few audience expect what’s in store as the plots unfold. As always, Kim’s portrayal is superb and her character’s actions are ultimately just and courageous. This is at times a hard-to-watch drama but then satisfying.

My favorite type of hero's (or heroine's) journey is when the hero slowly goes downhill because of ambition, power or money, or chooses a toxic relationship that destroys them. For this reason, dramas such as: Justice (2019), Eve (2022), Golden Spoon (2023) are among my favorites.

I don't think I have a specific type. I just don't like the overdone ones like the Candy who is poor, has an awful family, get stolen by her awful family, one good member but sick, etc like in Love Alarm or My Ajhussi ; the cold ML who is a jerk pretty much the whole time but has some illuminations sometimes ; the crazy FL who overacts a lot ; etc.

I like when a character is growing over time with the help of someones else but alone too not just to please to someone.

I like when a character has a story until the end. The FLs often disapear for the ML to shine. It's kinda frustrating because they were the main point at the beginning like in Lovers of the Red Sky or River Where The Moon Rises.

So many great examples! An old one that comes to mind is So Ji Seob in I'm Sorry, I Love You. I love the ones mentioned. Likeable charactors, challenges and triumphs with growth and redemption or overcoming a tough situation that can't always come out roses but does resolve in a better life for the person.

So many arcs to choose from, but my fave has to be the FOUND FAMILY.

Starts with the lead/s living a regular life (the outcast, the regular joe/jane, the loner)
+ conflict forces them to rely on/work with the people around them or get adopted by an existing ragtag group
+ the acceptance and sense of belonging brings out the best in the lead and in everyone around them
= found family whose sum is so much more than the individual.

Examples: Fiery Priest, Uncanny Counter, Through the Darkness, Dodosolsollalasol, 100 Days My Prince, Crash Landing on You, Hong Gil Dong, Itaewon Class, Misaeng, Startup, Sweet Home, Vincenzo, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Extraordinary Atty. Woo, Tomorrow

You've asking some complicated question here, huh? Can't say I'm really picky about plot thing - after all, there's a limited amount of basic stories existing in fiction, so in the end it all depends on execution. One element that is absolutely necessarily is a progress - if the story is plot driven, said plot MUST go somewhere, do that steadily and eventually arrive at the point I can sincerely declare at least somewhat cathartic. Same with character driven and relationship driven stories - you've gotta show me some significant AND permanent changes and growth instead of just circling back and forth endlessly. All the best if it's all three combined. And no matter how many times eastern literature school tries to convince me that journey is more important than its ending, I'm afraid I will never able to accept that as a valid excuse for lame conclusions to otherwise strong and interesting stories. Finish your plots with a bang or don't do it at all! *fumes*

That's it for general vibe. Now personally and absolutely subjectively I love rewarding stories of struggling heroes. Make protagonist a fighter - not necessarily by job occupation, tho I'm always down for that - let them overcome A LOT in life while polishing into much better and sharper versions of themselves in process, give them satisfying ending that feels DESERVED and JUST, and you can be sure I'm gonna love it madly forever. Or hating equally if story manages to stumble hard during that one last step... *fumes some more* All the better if hero's starting point was really low - I love the challenge and rooting for underdogs. On last note is that I don't do purely irredeemable heroes - there MUST be something about them since the very beginning that makes me sympathetic, even if it's a very tiny and rather twisted something. Total jerks that get miraculously retconned into nice guys with no real effort or convincing reasoning are NOT it for me, yall can keep them if you want. Now if such character is made into a hot charismatic villain instead, that's a completely different thing, but we aren't talking about that today, are we?)))

I like a main character that's trying to figure out their place in this world. Someone relatable, raw. With flaws and charms.
Same thing for the stories. I love them when they feel real. Like your friend's story or your own story. I like to forget they're fiction. And that's why I love it when the real begging is at the end. Not for a couple that just got married or wtv, but for an individual that has decided how they want to live their lives.

So basically, my favorite trope is just people being people.

Ex. Fight For My Way, Love Affairs in the Afternoon, My Liberation Notes, etc.

After more than a year a half watching k-dramas I have noticed that stories and characters I love are those who could be considered "fish out of the water". It could be because the character has time traveled for whatever reason, or starts a new life in a different place, or even a new job, being completely at a loss. This kind of characters often are funny and endearing. They may find lots of difficulties but in the end they learn to manage in the "new place".

I also love stories where main characters are alone in the world (or they only have each other, as in Shopping King Louis). And stories where main characters find a family in random people who they meet in their "journey".

I always know I'm going to like a drama--regardless of the main plot--if the writer has included moments that make the characters feel like real people. Example #1: in AoS the reveal that SML would lose his sense of direction when he got lost. Also in AoS: the FL losing her mind whenever she smells roast chicken. Example #2: in "19th Life," introverted ML calling the FL, but saying to himself "Don't pick up, don't pick up" while it rings. Example #3: in "Do You Like Brahms" when the ML pretends to be ok with spicy food because that's what his girlfriend likes, but she calls him on it in the end, and he *still* struggles to say outright that he doesn't like it. Example #4: in "My Liberation Notes," Mi-jeong understanding immediately that her brother throwing out Gu's liquor bottles was a huge invasion of privacy even though the brother meant well; other examples from that same show include Mi-jeong fixating on the billboard during her commute to work and the family trying to eat the food their recently deceased mom left in the frig and then spitting it out when they realize it has gone bad.

Efficient at work or well mannered FL. This is a rate occurrence. PMY did a few characters but I LOVED Dali in Dali in cocky prince, the classy, intelligent FL who was well mannered and still badass in her own way!

I was tired of watching Indian (and a lot of Asian serials) where most FL are the classic example of "This loser is you" trope. I do not mean Mary Sue here but women who are good at theirs respective jobs or intelligent are almost always are vamps in stories.