Who doesn’t know K-Drama? Well almost everyone knows and lately, it’s been growing in popularity, from the typical lighthearted romance to the intense horrors and thrillers that are bringing in new fans. But, regardless of the genre, one of the highlights that I love to see is Korean dramas with strong and badass female leads.
That’s much better in my opinion than a woman who has to take cover behind her man all the time and can’t do anything about it.
“Strong” here can mean many things, such as a woman who is physically capable, mentally facing life, and brave. Sometimes characters like this are often portrayed without emotion and move when someone disturbs them.
So for that, here’s a list of the best K-Dramas with strong and badass female leads that you must watch!!
Best Korean Dramas with Strong and Badass Female Leads
1. Happiness
Yoon Sae Bom is a female special agent with quick wits and reflexes and other special qualities. He gets the chance to move into a new apartment set aside for civil servants.
She was able to live in the coveted apartment complex because she pretended to be married to high school friend Jung Yi Hyun. Yi Hyun is a detective investigating the spread of a mysterious disease.
They are then trapped in their apartment building when Han Tae Seok, the head of the task force to control the spread of the disease, orders the complex to be closed off from the rest of the city.
Quarantine and disease then reveal a very real social caste system. They bring out the best and the worst stays in the apartment.
Happiness is one of the best Kdramas with badass female leads. It will be released in 2021 with 12 episodes and you can watch it on Netflix. The show stars Han Hyo Joo, Park Hyung Sik, and Jo Woo Jin as the main characters.
2. Run On
The main strong female character in this Korean drama is Seo Dan Ah, a CEO of a sports agency and the rightful successor of Seomyung Group. Despite this, she was held back from advancing in the company because of her gender.
He desperately wants to get back what is rightfully his and lives his life accordingly. This Korean drama with a strong female lead was released in 2020 with 16 episodes. You can watch this jTBC original drama on Netflix.
3. Squid Game
Squid Game as a whole tells the story of people who participate in a traditional Korean children’s game with a prize of ₩45.6 billion and have to fight against 455 players in it.
They enter the game out of debt, financial crisis, and hopelessness in real life. But they don’t know about the deadly consequences that come from defeat.
The badass female lead in this Korean drama is Kang Sae Byeok / “No. 067”. She’s got all the badass female characters, cynical face, martial artist, deceit, and strength.
Kang Sae Byeok is my favorite character in Squid Game. The series was released in 2021 with 9 episodes. You can watch it on Netflix.
4. Strong Girl Bong-Soon
Tells the story of Do Bong Soon, a petite unemployed woman who is honest and kind. She looks small and cute on the outside, but she’s actually very, very strong.
Her power comes from her family, and for generations, the women in her family have been gifted with gigantic powers to use for the greater good. However, if abused, their power will be taken away.
One day, Do Bong Soon saved Ahn Min Hyuk from a group of gang members who wanted to do bad things to him. There Ahn Min Hyuk witnessed Bong Soon’s entire superpower exchange and now wants to hire her as a bodyguard.
Ahn Min Hyuk is the CEO of Ainsoft, a well-known game company. He had a handsome but slightly childish face.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is one of the best Korean dramas with strong female lead was released in 2017. It has 16 episodes and you can watch it on Netflix. This tv show stars Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Sik, and Kim Ji Soo.
5. Descendants of the Sun
It’s about a love story that develops between a surgeon and a special forces officer. Kang Mo Yeon is a beautiful, strong, and determined woman who works as a cardiothoracic surgeon at Haesung Hospital.
He’s not afraid to admit his mistakes and believes that ability overrides any connections you have while working. However, he is soon faced with the fact that he cannot advance with ability alone.
Her life changes forever when she meets Yoo Shi Jin, a Captain and team leader of Team Alpha who cares more about protecting those who need help and their country, even if it goes against the orders of her superiors.
This strong female lead Kdrama was released in 2016 with 16 episodes. The program was played by Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo. You can watch this K-drama on Hulu.
6. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
Bok Joo is a weightlifter who is pursuing her dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics. But suddenly he finds romance for the first time in his life.
Even though she is a woman who trains with heavy steel weights, she is also very feminine in relationships and doesn’t even know how.
He then finds himself torn between focusing solely on weightlifting but jeopardizing his relationship or giving up his weightlifting career for love but which will prevent him from achieving his dreams.
This K-drama with strong female leads was released in 2016. It has 16 episodes and is available on Netflix, Viki, and Amazon Prime Video. This MBC series stars Lee Sung Kyung, Nam Joo Hyuk, Lee Jae Yoon, and Kyung Soo Jin.
7. My Name
It is about Yoon Ji Woo, a woman who becomes part of an organized crime network after her father’s murder. He wants revenge and then puts his trust in Choi Moo Jin, a powerful crime boss.
He even disguised himself as a police officer under his direction. But when he was in the police force, Yoon Ji Woo began to find facts that revealed the truth about his father’s death, and that shocked him.
My Name stars Han So Hee, Park Hee Soon, and Ahn Bo Hyun. It was released in 2021 with 8 episodes. You can watch any of these Korean dramas with a badass female lead on Netflix.
8. Her Private Life
Her Private Life is one of the best Korean dramas with a strong female lead. It tells about Sung Deok Mi, a professional woman in her job as an art gallery curator.
She is devoted to her work, she is extraordinary in every way, except one, because Deok Mi carries a dark secret. The secret he desperately wanted to hide from the world. A secret that has driven lovers away. A secret that rules every moment of his personal life.
This tv show stars Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook. It was released in 2019 with 16 episodes and you can watch this business Korean drama on Netflix, Viki, and Prime Video.
9. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
Moon Gang Tae is a community health worker at a psychiatric ward who is blessed with everything including a good body, intelligence, ability to sympathize with others.
Meanwhile, Ko Moon Young is a popular writer of children’s literature who, due to suffering from an antisocial personality disorder, appears to be extremely selfish, arrogant, and rude.
Once upon a time, Moon Gang Tae denied the love that Ko Moon Young confessed and he didn’t know it. The two defy fate and fall in love, finding their souls and identities in the process.
In this drama, the character Ko Moon Young played by Seo Yea Ji is really badass, I like it and you will definitely like it too.
This Kdramas with a badass female lead was released in 2020 with 16 episodes. You can watch this tvN drama on Netflix. This tv show stars Kim Soo Hyun, Seo Yea Ji, and Oh Jung Se.
10. The Glory
It tells the story of a high school girl who dreams of becoming an architect. But his dreams are shattered when he has to drop out of school after experiencing brutal violence at school.
Years later, the perpetrator married and had a child. Once the boy was in elementary school, the former victim became his homeroom teacher and began his all-encompassing revenge against the perpetrators. Even to the people who witnessed his bullying days but didn’t help him.
This is one of the newest Korean dramas with a strong female lead was released in 2022. It has 2 seasons with 16 episodes. This Korean tv series stars Song Hye Kyo, Lee Do Hyun, Park Sung Hoon, Yeom Hye Ran, Jung Sung Il, and Im Ji Yeon.
11. Search WWW
This drama is about the conflicts, wins, and losses that one experiences while at work. It will follow the story of a 21st-century woman, who chooses not to be a wife or a mother and manages to work without discrimination or hindrance in her field.
This K-drama with a strong female lead was released in 2019. It has 16 episodes and you can watch it on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple tv, and Viki.
12. The Uncanny Counter
It tells the story of a group of demon hunters called the Counters who come to earth under the guise of being employees at a noodle restaurant to catch evil spirits that have returned to earth.
So Moon is the youngest of the Counters. After suffering from a mysterious car accident as a child, he eventually becomes a central figure among the Counters.
Do Ha Na is a woman who has the ability to sense the location of evil spirits, even hundreds of kilometers away. He can also read other people’s memories through touch and works with So Moon to get rid of evil spirits.
Ga Mo Tak is a Counter with extraordinary strength. He is a former police officer who lost his memory seven years ago after an accident and can’t stand idly by in the face of injustice. Ga Mo Tak is also So Moon’s mentor.
Chu Mae Ok is a Counter with healing abilities. Outwardly, he is the chef of a noodle restaurant, but among the Counters, he is the emotional pillar of the group.
Choi Jang Mool is the oldest Count. He was in charge of all of the Counter’s expenses, and he was a living legend among the Counters in Korea.
The series was released in 2020 with 16 episodes. You can watch one of the best Korean dramas with a strong female lead on Netflix.
13. Money Heist
It tells about thieves overtaking unified Korean candy. With the hostages trapped inside, the police must stop them — as well as the shadowy mastermind behind it all.
The badass female character or badass female lead in this Korean drama is Tokyo, played by Jeon Jong Seo. This Korean series was released in 2022 with 6 episodes and is available on Netflix.
14. My Mister
Park Dong Hoon is a middle-aged engineer who is married to lawyer Kang Yoon Hee. However, his life is not happy because he has two unemployed brothers, Sang Hoon and Gi Hoon, who depend on him.
Moreover, his wife is secretly having an affair behind his back with CEO Do Joon Yeong, his current boss and a junior in college.
Once upon a time, Dong Hoon received an unexpected bribe and Lee Ji An witnessed the incident. Ji An is a young part-timer at Dong Hoon’s company who is deep in debt and left alone to care for his sick grandmother.
Dong Hoon then gets entangled in his brothers’ struggle to get back on their feet and the company’s internal rivalries between the company’s CEO and those who oppose him.
Meanwhile, unaware that CEO Joon Yeong wants to get rid of him and that Ji An works for him. This Kdrama with a strong female lead was released in 2018 with 16 episodes. You can watch it on Netflix.
That was the list of the best Korean dramas with strong and badass female leads that you must watch. The list we compiled is the latest and greatest based on the ratings given by fans. Thanks for reading this article, have a nice day!
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