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Female-led K-dramas like 'Eve', 'Why Her?' and 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' see rise in ratings

Shows starring actresses like Seo Yea-ji in 'Eve', Seo Hyun-jin in 'Why Her?' and Park Eun-bin in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' are local favorites

Seems like the pandemic has drawn the world closer to the South Korean Entertainment industry as the genre of K-drama keeps seeing a rise in popularity. With the growth of the genre, it is natural for the genre to start seeing some changes and it is only right for a complete paradigm shift for K-dramas. Gone are the day when K-dramas portrayed female damsels in distress who are bullied by the male leads just because 'he likes her'. Of late, K-dramas based on the lives of female lead characters like 'Eve' and 'Why Her?' among others are getting a lot of love from fans and one such example is Bae Suzy's six-episode show, 'Anna'.

The show is an epitome of powerful female energy for showing a female character in the lead role with the story revolving around her life where the male lead is only a crutch. 'Anna' was well received just like other ongoing shows based on a female character in the lead role like 'Yumi's Cells' which has Kim Go-eun in the lead role as she narrates the story of her life where she goes from one male love interest to the other over the course of a few years trying to find her soulmate. Fans are finding it interesting that the new female-led dramas are not intended with a romantic angle as the ENA show, 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo', continues to see a rise in ratings without a break. 

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Ongoing Female-led K-dramas see a boost in their ratings

The show 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' is led by Park Eun-bin who plays the role of an autistic lawyer who works as an attorney and helps innocent people seek justice in an office where some people do not really see her for her disability but on the basis of her strengths. Fans are particularly loving Young-woo's character because this is the first time for a K-drama to have a female lead character with a disability have a show based around her life. According to Nielsen Korea, the most recent episode of 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' which aired on July 14 recorded an audience rating of 9.569% nationwide.

The ratings have risen in comparison to its last highest recorded rating proving that the show that started with a rating of 0.948% for its first episode has now become the most watched show in South Korea in only six episodes proving that the story is what holds the show on the top. Another ongoing law-based show that is led by a strong female protagonist is SBS TV's 'Why Her?' aka 'Why Oh Soo-jae' with Seo Hyun-jin in the lead role. The show is now on its final legs and proves that romance is not all that goes on in the life of a female character in K-dramas.

The show revolves around the life of Oh Soo-jae who was on the verge of ending her life after being manipulated by her boss and how she finds the courage to become the best lawyer in the country as she seeks revenge against her boss. The show aired its 13th episode on July 15 and has defended its position at No 1. Episode 13 of 'Why Her?' scored an average nationwide rating of 7.4 percent as it continued to remain in first place in its time slot.

Similarly, another female-led drama with revenge as its plot is the Seo Yea-ji starred 'Eve' that has been in the news for months, even before it aired. The show revolves around a woman named Lee Ra-el who is seeking justice for the wrongful death of her father as she spends years preparing to destroy the family and bring them to the ground. Even on its last leg, 'Eve' saw a rise in ratings with a nationwide average of 3.7% for Episode 14 as it gears into the final week for the show.

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'Love to see a strong female lead'

Fans have been sharing how they are enjoying female-led K-dramas. One fan said, "K-dramas in this era are being carried by actresses. I love how the narratives in the dramas now are from the female pov. The title of the dramas is also named after the female characters." Another fan added, "Oh right yumi’s cells, anna, eve, why her/why oh soo jae, and extraordinary attorney woo are all named after the female characters." One more fan said, "Many of the successful writers are women, so they do very well with the female POV, but the male POV is written often nonsensical, particularly the "Second lead" mooning over the female lead. And even the noona romances ignores the basic sexual dimorphism of the genders."

Another fan said, "I think it really reflects what's happening politically in the country. They have that anti-feminist president, and a whole generation of young koreans feeling women have more opportunities than them b/c they have to do their military service. There was a great article abt it." One fan said, "So refreshing, unlike any female lead role characters I’ve normally seen in K-drama series, attractive and impressive." Another fan said, "I think Anna is the 1st kdrama which only focus on female lead pov, with no exagerate scene or ++ scenes, trully all about the female lead." One fan said, "The rating has been very stable since the first episode Great job #Eve team." One fan said, "Started 'why her?' And it is so different from the average kdrama.. love to see a strong, smart and tough female lead." Another fan said, "a female neurodivergent main character in a kdrama shut the f**k up /pos