Smart hero obsessed/VERY in love with smart heroine

By now, I'm HIGHLY HIGHLY picky with dramas. Years ago I would tolerate inferior girl superior guy tropes but not so much anymore. I'm getting more and more sick of the whole CEO/dumb girl tropes and would like recommendations for AMAZING/GREAT dramas with smart heroes who are head over heels in love with amazing heroines who's also smart (preferably just as smart as him and not inferior in any way). I get that the idea of inferior 'ugly' girls getting the guy appeals to dreamers but I find it highly annoying and too overused (kind of offended by how the majority of Asian dramas portray women in general).

My list below includes dramas that pretty much fulfill my criteria. MORE IMPORTANTLY, ALL THE DRAMAS LISTED BELOW ARE QUALITY DRAMAS THAT WERE WELL MADE WITH INTELLIGENT SCRIPTS. I DO NOT WANT RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCLUDE CRAPPY/MEDIOCRE DRAMAS. Please DO NOT list dramas that fulfill my criteria but are crappy/badly made/mediocre/has bad acting/bad plot. They have to be amazing (impressed you or blew you away to a certain degree). Below are some examples: Most have good endings but if they don't I will let you know.

"Ten Miles Peach Blossoms" (strong female with obsessed/intense/powerful male; although it didn't stress female's intellect but her immortal status is actually higher than the male's; YEHUA sigh/swoon....)

"Someday or One Day" (strong/smart female with very devoted/smart/strong male lead; both were intellectual equals and shared amazing chemistry -loved the time travel plot too)

"Dae Jang Geum" (strong female with strong hero who's devoted to her)

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" (strong/funny/smart female with 3 men who really love her; warning tho as  the main male lead does commit noble idiocy and they don't end up together)

"Memory Lost" (smart female with smart male who's REALLY INTO HER with sexy scenes; both are at the top in their respective fields)

"Romance of Tiger and Rose" (smart female with script advantage and powerful/obsessed/black-bellied male lead)

"Love O2O" (smart female with smart/stalkerish/obsessed/possessive male lead; my only gripe is she treats him like an idol sometimes)

"Yong Bu Ming Mu" (smart/cool female lead with smart younger male lead who's very in love/devoted/does everything for her; amazing script and acting BUT tragic ending and quite depressing with the male lead becoming a drug addict). Unfortunately drama may not have English subtitles as it's extremely old.)

"Go Ahead" (female is not as intellectual but her other talents and quirks make up for it; male lead is smart and completely devoted to her; both leads had great chemistry and affected me with the female possibly impressing me more than the male with her amazing acting)

"Truth" (smart female with smart male who's totally in love with her but drama has cliches with annoying in laws and secondary girl who tries to get between the couple; also noble idiocy with female pushing away male; very good drama tho and one of the earlier Korean hits)

"New Tales of Giseang" (smart/strong/beautiful female with smart/sexy/hot male who after coming to terms with his feelings is obsessed/ALL ABOUT HER. He does break up with her initially and was a dick but then makes up for it 1000-fold after finally realizing the extent of his feelings. Female also does not make it easy for him and rejects him multiple times for other reasons as well as for what he initially did).

"15 years migratory birds" (smart/amazing/very loveable female and smart male who liked some else first but later falls deeply for female; I did like the 2nd guy more who's also deeply in love with female and just as smart/strong; very well made drama that's under-rated with amazing acting HOWEVER suffers from lousy/open ending and there is noble idiocy with female pushing away male)

"Prissana" (Thai drama based off of "Pride and prejudice" with a smart/witty female lead and a smart/genteel/arrogant male lead who falls deeply in love with her and is true/firm only to her. There is a noble idiocy act he does that results in push/pull dynamics that frustrated me a bit later on but overall a very enjoyable lakorn)

Honorable mentions:

"Love and Redemption" (female is all powerful but mediocre in intelligence; male lead is smart but dumb when it comes to love with numerous misunderstandings; he is madly in love and all about her tho and the drama is a MUST watch for story/production/awesome chemistry)

"Five enough" (book smart female with goofy/hot golfer male who's obsessed/putty in her hands; they have just as many scenes as the 'leads' with great chemistry)

"Returning Princess Pearl" (VERY CHARMING/CRAFTY/LIKEABLE female lead who steals the show and smart/strong male who has the CUTEST crush/love/devotion towards her. It's under exceptions only because female is uneducated and not intellectual like the male. Her IQ is probably not as high compared to "Nothing Gold" which also features an uneducated heroine).

"All about Eve" (likeable female with her strengths/smarts but intellectually inferior to both the male and 2nd female; male is smart/strong/sexy/HOT and 100% devoted/in love with the female with amazing swoonworthy chemistry; one of my gateway dramas....ahhh nostalgia)


Above are all off the top of my head and I'm sure there's more that I don't remember. All are quality dramas with a couple being old classics. Requesting additional dramas is probably a challenge as only less than 1% dramas fulfill this criteria but hey, I'm desperate here for amazing dramas with amazing romance.

EDIT: FORGOT TO MENTION THAT I ALSO DISLIKE DRAMAS WHERE HERO LOVED SOMEBODY ELSE OR HAD A FIRST LOVE. WILL ACCEPT IF THE RELATIONSHIP WASN'T TOO IMPORTANT COMPARED TO THE MAIN GIRL BUT IT'S A TURNOFF FOR ME IN DRAMALAND. THANKS!!

 Peephole:

I really like your taste. 

Then you must try The King's Daughter, Soo Baek Hyang

Thanks for the rec! I heard great things about this drama, but unfortunately, the ML actor doesn't appeal to me at all. I just never found him to be attractive and when I watch a romance, I need leads who appeal to me both in acting chops and aesthetics.

 Jess4163:

Thanks for the rec! I heard great things about this drama, but unfortunately, the ML actor doesn't appeal to me at all. I just never found him to be attractive and when I watch a romance, I need leads who appeal to me both in acting chops and aesthetics.

Oooh that's sad. The drama is going to be a waste. I though the same thing about the ML and I didn't know if I will be able to continue watching because I didn't find him attractive at all. HOWEVER, the drama proved me wrong and made me into a prejudicing person. I ended up shipping the leads so much together. Also there is a second couple whom's fate is still a mystery to me (since  I don't complete dramas, I only watch half, and half later). 

It's up to you anyway whether you watch it or not :)

You can also try Dong Yi

or Live Up to Your Name

or King2Hearts

And I'm not sure if this drama would be a great fit, but it is well written with amazing characters. The ML is so in love, the story is warm and develops well. When the Camellia Blooms

 KingARMY:

Caught in a heartbeat:  smart and strong ML in luv with smart & strong FL

Hey sorry for the random question, but where did you watch this? I was never able to find eng subs for it past ep 25. Thanks! 

 sobak:

• Damo
• Empress Ki
• Tale of Nokdu

Thx for the suggestions. Saw Empress Ki already and enjoyed it but also felt the hero was not as smart as the girl (although he progressed quite a bit). I rather there not be any gap (or almost none) between the capability of each party.

Also saw Damo and it was great and fits the criteria but highly depressing with the female being abused too much as she's basically a slave. The ending was also very tragic.

Heard about Tale of Nokdu. Is it a gender bender? How are the guy's feelings towards the girl? Weren't there complaints about the female lead? Did she kill his father or something? Any noble idiocy? Were both leads equally smart/strong? Thx

@Daydreaming: Thanks for the recs!

May check out Hyena later but I heard the romance was minimal. Also I don't mind age gaps but was it apparent in the drama? Would be uncomfortable if visually it looked like he was dating his mom.

Come and hug me leads don't really fulfill my criteria but if their chemistry is explosive enough may check it out.

Train has an interesting premise but it sometimes bothers me about love among parallel counterparts. I see multiple incarnations of the same female lead as different people at times and it's hard for me to be sold on who the hero loves. Is the heroine who was killed the same person as the one who's still alive? If so then how can their souls coexist at the same time? The entire concept is confusing and it's what ruined Fringe for me unfortunately. Also, was the romance successfully incorporated into the story? I heard some complaints that the drama would have been better without it.

I would highly recommend Hyena. Although romance was not the main focus, I would not say that it is minimal. The leads have explosive chemistry. I loved the female lead- she was such a badass. The male lead can't help but fall for her. You really need to watch it.

I loved Doctors too. It is another age gap drama but both leads are neurosurgeons and quite intelligent. The ML is head over heels in love with her.

The General and I would have been perfect had it been implemented better. Angelababy is pretty but not the best actress. The novel is better. It is a romance between a military strategist (FL) and a general (ML) that are on opposite sides. 

I also really loved The Rise of Phoenixes but romance is not the main focus and it is pretty dark. Both leads are very intelligent and very devious. It is tagged as a tragedy for a reason though.

 amourexdile:

You might like Silver Princess as well. There is a love triangle though. I just skipped through that part.

Thx for the recs and explanations. Will probably check out Hyena and Doctors from your comments. Are they also addictive/quality dramas too?

General and I, Princess Silver and and Rise of Phoenixes were all from popular internet novels I came across and started reading in the past (didn't read Phoenix but went thru a great deal of the Fu Yao novel as both are written by the same author). Of the three, only Rise of Phoenixes was a quality drama BUT the female role was changed and dumbed down more. I also heard the male lead's love was downplayed towards the end and the results were disappointing (the novel ended happily and the male lead ended up choosing/loving the FL above all else). Will not start something that doesn't have a worthy payoff (Game of Thrones will forever give me PTSD and I didn't even bother with the last season).

I tried Princess Silver because I like the female lead and love Luo Yunxi but the drama didn't draw me in. I don't know why Leo Luo kept getting passed over for bland male leads. The hero was so unremarkable and disappointing that I had no interest in watching. No charisma, looks awkward and has "so so" chemistry with the girl. The adaptation and story progression was also weird; can't really specify just not done well. I started skipping just to check out Leo and then lost interest.

Don't get me started on General and I. That was the BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT. I knew of the source material and was extremely excited. Didn't even care to check out ten miles before as I was so so eager for General to come out. HORRENDOUS PRODUCTION with green screens and traumatizing acting from Angela (I didn't complain about her in the past and actually liked her in love O2O movie). She destroyed the drama for me with her pasty makeup, goldfish eyes and dead/blank stares. She didn't even really act in the drama and I don't know what happened. She was never so so horrible before and I even wonder if it was on purpose. How could someone be this bad opposite a capable male lead like Wallace?! They had some chemistry and steamy scenes but nothing could save this atrocity of an adaptation. Childhood romance? Kdrama cliches?!! F**k my life.....I can only say the drama was the 'BIGGEST SURPRISE' of that year for me aside from the wonders of Ten Miles.

Sorry about all that ranting lol (was just so depressed as the source material had soooooooo much romantic potential). Thanks again for the suggestions.