Strong Female Leads

Tanya may not seem strong to some, she has no real fighting skills, but her strength comes from a willingness to fight the battles that she can fight and her desire to do what she can to take care of the people she loves.

Our girl doesn't start out strong. She is in an abusive relationship that has stolen her strength. This story tells the tale of her regaining her strength and finding out for herself what it means to be strong

Being strong doesn't have to come at the expense of being soft and girly. Wei Wei knows how to get things done. She's good at what she does and she will stand up for herself and for her friends. She doesn't worry about what others think or say about her, but maintains confidence in being who she knows she is.

Physical strength has nothing to do with what makes this character strong. She is brave, she tries new things and is willing to go out on a limb to get what she wants. Also, she works hard to pursue her dreams and supports her loved ones in their pursuit of their own dreams.

Physically strong and capable, what makes this character truly strong is her willingness to throw everything away in order to find her true happiness and her ability to put her own happiness on the line when it means protecting those around her who are too weak to protect themselves.

The two female leads in this drama are both strong in different ways. One is more loud and brash, the other is quiet and soft, but both of them are willing to change to pursue their own happiness and to make the choices that they need to make in order to make their dreams come true.

Another one with several different types of female leads all portraying strength in their own ways. You may not like all the choices that these women make, but they're choices are always their own and made in the pursuit of their own happiness.

Sometimes strength is seen in being pretty and feminine and getting the job done despite people underestimating you because of those things.

Jo Bang Wol is a traditionally "strong female lead", kicking butt and taking names. But what lands her on our list is her absolute willingness to do whatever it takes to provide for and protect her daughter. The choices she makes aren't always in her own best interest, but they are always made in pursuit of her daughter's well-being.

Classically pretty and feminine, Kim Mi So might not seem "strong" to every viewer, but her willingness to walk away from her job in order to pursue her own happiness and the fact that she is incredibly good at that job make her strong in our books.

3 Very different yet very strong female characters. Each pursuing their own happiness in life and career in different ways. Being strong doesn't mean always being right or always being good, sometimes it means being willing to change when you see that you were wrong or that the way you've been doing things doesn't make you happy any more. 

Sometimes being strong means smashing a car with a baseball bat too.

This one might surprise some people, since Woo Bo Young's character is pretty soft and quiet. But she does her job well, she works hard at life and work and love, and she doesn't let herself be swayed from what she wants by the plans other people have for her.

Another sort of dark horse in this category, we appreciate a character who knows who she is and what she wants to be. She may not be everyone's idea of a "strong female lead" but she has earned her place on our list.

The female lead in this story is very naïve, so naïve that it gets her into trouble sometimes, but her naivety manifests as a belief in the good in other people. Her willingness to continue to trust people despite the ways that they might betray that trust shows an inner strength. She is not a pushover, she does what she needs to do, but she does it in her own way, never betraying the person who she is at her core.

Sandee wakes up naked in bed with her best friend after a drunken night. Instead of sneaking out in shame, she returns to kick him awake and hash out what this means for them. Sandee's story shows a strength that we don't always see in a one-night-stand pregnancy story.

Possibly the quietest of all our "Strong Female Leads", Ha Moon Soo has lived through some extreme trauma in her life but it hasn't destroyed her. She shows strength through the way that she goes on living, through the ways that she fights for what she wants, and the ways that she doesn't make the easy choices when they're not the choices that she believes in.

When her perfect life get thrown into total turmoil, Dan Sae Woo manages to maintain strength of character while searching out a new dream for her life. 

Three daughters and a daughter-in-law each strong in their own way. None of them perfect but each working towards the future they want.