Looking for an Asian drama where the male is in a subservient position to the female- subverting the standard gender dynamic in Asian dramas.  Rather than looking for dramas where the female has an overpowering personality and the male is meek/timid, I'm looking for dramas where there is an actual societal role/position of power that the female holds as compared to the male.  Examples would be queen/princess and common person/servant,  employer and employee, and master and slave.  

One example of this would be in An Oriental Odyssey.  Male lead is a slave bought by the female lead who is from a rich family.  Male lead spends his time pining away for the female but hesitates to pursue his feelings because of the power dynamic. 

Another example to a lesser extent would be Oh My General.  Female lead is a tough general and the male lead (while also in a position of high power) is afraid of her.

Ms Temper and Nam Jung Gi

General:

  • Across the Ocean to See You - FL is ML's boss
  • Hwayugi / A Korean Odyssey - ML is essentially cursed to obey the FL
  • Bloody Romance - ML is the FL's shadow (essentially a servant / bodyguard)
  • High Society - FL is a chaebol and ML is a non-chaebol who has worked hard and ingratiated himself with a chaebol in order to achieve middle management status
  • I Hear Your Voice* - FL is a lawyer and ML is a high school student. Due to a shared experience in their childhoods, the ML decides that he will become the FL's protector, and in some cases he does physically protect her. However, the ML is an orphan and the FL essentially becomes his guardian and later his lawyer in a situation where he is very vulnerable. Based on that and their age difference you could say that the ML is somewhat subservient to her in terms of societal status, especially at certain points in the drama. 
  • Kimi wa Petto - Also a noona romance. The ML is a young aspiring dancer. The FL is an office worker who graduated from a good university. The ML moves in with the FL under the unusual agreement that he will be her "pet" (it sounds weird and it is a bit weird but definitely worth giving a try - I think it definitely qualifies as a form of subservience). 
  • Mr. Sunshine - the FL is from a noble family and the ML was the son of butchers (who are in the lowest social category in Joseon and treated horribly) and later orphaned. The ML is not exactly subservient to the FL in terms of social status because he runs away to the United States and joins the military there. When he returns to Korea he has a position of authority. However his birth status and quasi-foreigner status are both relevant. While each of them have a relatively high social status, their power is fragile. The FL's power is limited because her grandfather wants her to be a sheltered noblewoman with no autonomy, and the ML's power is limited because he has never been fully accepted by the US as one of their own and he was given his position because he makes for a good potential scapegoat if anything goes wrong in a country and time of high political tension. 
  • Hotel del Luna - the FL is powerful, almost immortal and the ML's boss. The ML is human and relies on the FL to defend him when he encounters dangerous ghosts.
  • Gu Family Book - the FL is the daughter of the head of a warrior school (or something along those lines) and the ML is an orphan who was rejected by his adoptive family and society in general for being part gumiho (fox demon).
  • That Winter, the Wind Blows - the FL is a wealthy heiress (but blind and with many people trying to control her so she has limited autonomy) and the ML is struggling with a dangerous debt problem. The ML pretends to be the FL's long lost brother.

The ML isn't exactly subservient to the FL, but he is viewed by those who do not know him as a troublemaker and as someone the FL (who does not have a high social status but who does not have a reputation as a troublemaker) should avoid:

  • Just Between Lovers
  • The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
  • Come and Hug Me

Thanks all! So glad I found this community-y'all so helpful.   For some reason I can't reply to any of you directly- says my account is under review.  Loved Encounter and Secret Love Affair, haven't seen Ms. Temper but will but it on my list.  As for Bloody Romance, it's exactly the type of scenario I've been looking for! Started watching it but man is the writer sadistic. 

 literaturefinal:

Thanks all! So glad I found this community-y'all so helpful.   For some reason I can't reply to any of you directly- says my account is under review.  Loved Encounter and Secret Love Affair, haven't seen Ms. Temper but will but it on my list.  As for Bloody Romance, it's exactly the type of scenario I've been looking for! Started watching it but man is the writer sadistic. 

Very, very sadistic. To be perfectly honest I dropped it when I first watched it but saw a gifset that gave me some hope that it would improve so picked it up again, but I hated the ending.