You can probably see so many of female friendships in KOCOWA K-Dramas.
Ready Player 1: The Female Lead; innocent, kind, and caring. Ready Player 2: The Second Female Lead; jealous, conniving, and mean.
Fight!!!
That’s why I’m glad to see that in recent times more dramas have been giving the female lead a backbone, and making the second female lead three-dimensional. More stories are starting to explore female friendships/relationships, and all of their nuances. Quite a few of them don’t even have a man at the center.
These are the different tropes I’ve seen between female characters lately:
Rivals/Enemies To Friends
So far, this has been my favorite one. It’s most frequent in sports or workplace dramas. The female lead is usually passionate about something, and working toward a goal. Meanwhile, the second female lead is working toward the same goal and wants to be better. Sometimes they have a begrudging respect for each other, and sometimes they clash. But it’s satisfying seeing them realize they have a lot in common, and realizing they’re better off as friends, or at least allies.
The dramas with this trope are also often inspiring, and make me want to work hard toward something. But instead of doing that, I usually just get more snacks and binge-watch a new drama.
Friends To Enemies To Friends (Again)
This trope usually starts out with the female lead and second female lead being friends, but something causes them to become enemies. Sometimes it’s a guy (sigh), and sometimes it’s a misunderstanding. Either way, it can be pretty toxic and dramatic, so it’s not my favorite. But it’s usually heartwarming to watch the characters find their way back to each other.
From Family To Friends
Family is not always friendly. In fact, sometimes they can feel like enemies— especially when it comes to sisters or mothers and daughters. That’s why I love all the extra attention those relationships have been getting lately. There are now dramas that focus on sisters who are very different in learning to understand each other, and mothers who are neglectful or pressure their daughters about things other than marriage.
All in all, I’m glad there’s been a massive shift in how female leads and second female leads interact, and how women are written in general. I’m happy their conversations are now passing The Bechdel Test and aren’t centered around a man or love. Not only does it make for a more interesting drama (even when the genre is romance), it gives the characters more depth and makes them seem real.
If you want to watch dramas with interesting female dynamics, check out KOCOWA. One of my favorites is Weightlifting Fairy, Kim Bok-joo.
