[2023 Year in Review] The real husbands of dramaland

by Unit

They are charismatic, they are dramatic. They are possessed with a glib tongue and the ability to lie without blinking. They know how to work a suit and can charm your pants off. They are: The Real Husbands of Dramaland.

When I think about male characters in a K-drama romantic setting, my mind primarily goes to the swoony — and very much single — love interest who’s coming to charm the pants off the female lead. Or the pitiful second lead who’s always one step behind. Husbands are definitely not at the top of my mind. But this year, somehow, I kept noticing them. Maybe because a number of them had similar characteristics — which we’ll get into soon enough — but yeah, 2023 was indeed the year of the husbands. We had the good, the bad, and the ugly. And without further ado, let’s dive into some of the featured husbands in dramaland this year.


1. Nam Joong-do (Trolley)

There are good husbands and genuine politicians. And there’s me, who’s neither of those.

Politicians are a crazy bunch, so I remember being wowed during Trolley’s opening episodes when I saw a K-drama assemblyman with a normal and healthy marital life. Nam Joong-do was the epitome of love and devotion to his wife, and he was headed for husband of the year! Heck, I already wrote down his name in my best dramaland husband of all time list. And then, boom! This guy was revealed to be the scummiest scum that ever scummed.

It was a rude slap to my face because I rooted for him. We were all rooting for that hypocrite who spent the entire drama working for the “greater good” when in reality, he was the worst of the lot. This is why people develop trust issues! Nam Joong-do single-handedly ruined his family, and he will go down as one of the biggest character disappointments ever.
 

2. Ha Do-yeong (The Glory)

I like my women decked in designers, but women with scars appeal to me, too.

I went into The Glory for revenge, and while the drama delivered satisfactorily on that front, it also gave me the revelation that is Ha Do-yeong! Why, hello there, Ah-juicy! I was not expecting to be swept off my feet by someone who wasn’t even the male lead — much less the husband of the antagonist. But aesthetics aside, Do-yeong was such a good husband. He supported his wife’s career, he was willing to stick with her when her bullying past came to light and he loved their daughter despite her birth secret.

I won’t praise a fish for swimming, but I have to hand it to Do-yeong; although he had way more chemistry with the female lead than the male lead did, he did not step out on his wife. He was fascinated with Ms. Female Lead, but he remained a decent man until the end of his marriage. Overall, I think his wife’s biggest loss wasn’t her career or her freedom, it was Do-yeong himself.
 

3. The men of Pandora: Beneath the Paradise

Pyo Jae-hyun

I will have the perfect family, even if I have to recreate my wife by myself!

This man murdered a chimpanzee! That tells you everything you need to know about him. Other adjectives that can be used to describe Pyo Jae-hyun include: manipulative, obsessive, mastermind villain, vindictive, crazy, and extraordinarily crazy. In this psycho’s mind, he loved his wife — even though he manipulated her for the entire duration of their marital life. Jae-hyun built his family on a foundation of lies, and he was on the verge of manipulating the entire country to vote him in as president! Once again, politicians are a crazy bunch. Even in death, Jae-hyun still won’t let his wife be. But I am not going to talk about his death and plastic surgery resurrection because as far as I’m concerned, Episode 16 of this drama did not happen.

Jang Do-jin

The Good Book says to love our neighbors as ourselves, so it’s not an affair if I share my love with the neighbor’s sister-in-law.

Do-jin fell in love with — and married — his wife against his father’s wishes. And what does he do afterwards? He cheats on her with Jae-hyun’s sister-in-law — who is secretly dating his other friend. The makjang-ness of it all! At least have the decency to keep your affair far away from your inner circle! Do-jin was not there when his wife needed him the most. And though he slightly redeemed himself when he eventually granted her a divorce and helped her gather evidence against his father, it wasn’t enough to make me forget about his philandering ways.
 

4. The Queenmaker men

Baek Jae-min

Politics is a dirty game; don’t blame me if I don’t play fair.

I started out feeling sorry for Jae-min because his wife was a loose cannon, and his mother-in-law was an overbearing matriarch. Jae-min appeared to be an ordinary guy stuck in a bad situation and it’s easy to empathize with a sentiment like that. But then he entered the mayoral race, and as I said, politicians are… well, political schemes aside, Jae-min lost all my goodwill when he was unmasked as a sexual harasser and a serial cheater. I cannot believe I went from disliking his wife to sympathizing with her in the end — even though I celebrated Jae-min’s downfall. He totally deserved what he got.

Kang Moon-bok

The spotlight on my wife does not make me less of a man.

While Moon-bok wasn’t as prominent in the drama, he was the perfect foil to Jae-min. He was everything that Jae-min was not: a loving and supportive husband, and a good father. His wife would probably not have become the mayor if she didn’t have him to hold down the fort at home while she pursued her activism — and eventually politics.
 

5. Seo In-ho (Doctor Cha)

What’s the connection between mommy issues and extramarital affairs? It’s me. I’m the connection.

I cancelled In-ho at the point where he refused to donate a piece of his liver to his wife, and he remained canceled for the entire drama. A wife who wouldn’t even think twice about donating her liver to him! A wife who gave up her doctor dreams to bear his children and become a supportive homemaker. The audacity of In-ho to cheat on a wife like that, have a child outside wedlock and keep mum about it for years — while still carrying on the affair! This is why some people don’t deserve good things.

Then In-ho had the nerve to be jealous when a younger and more handsome man began to show interest in his wife. His double standard was appalling. I’m so glad the drama did not go the merry old way of forgiveness and reconciliation, because his ass needed to be kicked to the curb for stringing two women along.
 

6. The men of Happiness Battle

Kang Do-jun

We’re a happy couple on social media, but my wife and I hate each other to death.

As her husband, Do-jun was on the suspect list for his wife’s murder — and for good reason! Manipulation and blackmail were his bread and butter, and this scoundrel topped it all with his infidelity. It’s one thing to cheat, but it’s another thing to take out your sexual insecurities on younger girls. It’s one thing to act out your fetish, but it is literally the worst thing to be careless enough to leave the videos where your elementary school daughter can find — and watch — them!

I get that Do-jun hated his wife — who wasn’t even a good person, by the way. But approaching her “barely legal” daughter (from another relationship) as a sugar daddy was not the payback he thought it was. It’s just criminal. And as to who killed his wife, well, I won’t spoil that. But you can always guess who did.

Lee Tae-ho

A man needs a woman who’s obsessed with him, a woman who’ll fool around with him, and a system to prevent both women from running into each other.

I know this drama revolved around the wives, but there was no reason for Tae-ho to have nothing else going for him in the plot other than being a cheating bastard — who like his predecessors above, didn’t have the decency to fool around outside his social circle.

Jung Soo-bin

I love my wife the most, but I secretly admire other women from a distance.

Soo-bin was the wimp husband married to a richer and older lady. His brothers-in-law always disrespected him behind their sister’s back, and he had my sympathies for that. But then he started to act suspiciously and it turns out that he had a lil something for Do-jun’s wife. He didn’t pursue it, but, jeez! In the whole of this drama, how can we not have one decent husband!?
 

7. Ma Joo-seok (The Uncanny Counter 2)

I might be an evil spirit now, but I was once a loving husband.

Joo-seok’s case is sad because he was a good man and an even better husband. He loved his wife, and he didn’t fault her when she lost their money to a real estate scam. They were happy together until she was killed by an evil spirit. Then he allowed himself to be possessed by another evil spirit to avenge her. It’d have been a pretty good revenge story if he didn’t stress the hell out of me — and the counters. Then again, it wasn’t just him. The drama as a whole stressed me out.
 

8. Seo Do-gook (Perfect Marriage Revenge)

They say time moves forward and never stops, but I will bend the rules of time to help my wife get her revenge.

The first time we see Do-gook, he’s scolding his wife-to-be for being her evil family’s doormat. The second time, he’s pulling out a hotel keycard as his reply to her marriage proposal. One minute he’s leading her by the hands out of the prison that is her parent’s house, and the next, he’s on his knees with a ring made out of flowers and promising to help her with her revenge plans. That’s the type of husband Do-gook was.

Commitment was his middle name. Commitment to being fun and flirty, to being his wife’s personal chef and taste-tester, and to throwing himself a hundred percent into her revenge. For his wife who believed that no one would ever love her, Do-gook showered her with all the love in the world. Through his words and actions, he made sure she knew — and felt — how loved she was. In him, she found a home and vice versa. Do-gook went back in time for the sake of his wife. And I bet if given the chance, he’d do it all over again. Trust me, it doesn’t get more perfect husband-y than that.
 

9. The Castaway Diva men

Jung Bong-hwan

I will lie to punish my family.

When I mentioned the good, bad, and ugly husbands in the intro paragraph, “ugly” was totally referring to Bong-hwan. He was a terrible husband and father, and what made it worse was that he was a cop! A person whose job it was to arrest domestic abusers was the champion wife and children beater. Like the vindictive bastard he was, Bong-hwan had zero remorse, and he was willing to destroy his family just to prove a point. He didn’t see them as humans with agency — he saw them as objects he owned. I legit shuddered whenever he came onscreen, and I’m glad he met an inglorious end. Good riddance!

Kang Sang-doo

I will lie to protect my family.

Did someone say “green flag”? Nah, Sang-doo was the entire forest! From the little things he did like matching his steps to that of his limping soon-to-be wife, to the big things like committing identity theft — as a civil servant — to protect his new family. Sang-doo damned all the consequences to show his wife and sons what it was like to actually have a husband and a father — because Bong-hwan doesn’t count for shit. Sang-doo proved that blood does not make a family, love does. And my uncontested bean for husband of the year goes to him. There’s no more deserving recipient.
 

10. The Matchmakers men

Shim Jung-woo

I’ve been a widower longer than I’ve been a husband.

Look, I was always going to find a way to sneak Rowoon — or in this case, Jung-woo — into this list. Who cares that he was a husband for all of ten seconds? The most important thing is that Jung-woo spent eight solid years investigating his wife’s murder — even when everyone kept telling him she died of natural causes. It’s his dedication for me! And while the people behind the murder haven’t been brought to justice as at the time of writing this YIR essay, I have no doubt that he will make them pay for their crimes before the drama comes to an end.

The king

All I want is to live a stress-free life, but my kingdom won’t rule itself.

This man is the most fun Joseon king I’ve seen in recent times! He’s also a pretty decent husband from the few interactions we’ve seen with the queen. They might have differing opinions on how best to protect the crown prince, but they’re always on the same page when shit hits the fan. The opposing faction wants to dethrone his wife? Yeah, right. Like he’ll allow that to happen on his watch.

Lord Jo

As the head of the family, I never listen to my wife, even though she’s much smarter than I am.

Lord Jo is the worst left state minister ever! I’ve never seen a more incompetent fellow in my life. He never bows to superior arguments from his wife — even though more than half the power he gloats around with comes from his wife’s side of the family. Honestly, they could have made a great power couple if Lord Jo wasn’t a minus to the team. Let’s not forget that he’s been lying to his wife for years about their eldest son’s death. Whether in historical times or modern days, politicians are a really crazy bunch.

In summary, maybe it’s just peculiar to the dramas I watched, but next year, can we please have good and kind and faithful husbands? I know you can do it, dramaland, I believe in you! Also, I can do chaebols, doctors, prosecutors, or any of dramaland’s other favorite professions. But politicians? Let’s not have them at all. Thank you.

 
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