



Through our journey in dramaland, we have met all kinds of characters. Today, I want to tell you about the characters that impress me with their unique personalities. These characters’ mere existence would make both dramaland and the real world a richer, better, and more beautiful place.





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Kwak Ji Hyuk





Of course, he would be on this list, he’s a free-spirited, cool, talented young man who happens to know how to rock and roll. However, that’s not Ji Hyuk’s only charm. Ji Hyuk is an awesome friend, a supporter, a leader, and most importantly a generous heart that knows how to keep the unity of his friends and band in the worst of times. He’s the kind of guy that would never bail on his friends when shit happens, even if it means he has to face serious consequences. He’s the kind of person that would refuse money and fame if it comes at the expense of losing his friends. Honestly, that’s not just Ji Hyuk that’s the “Eye Candy” spirit as a whole. I swear they needed a catchy phrase like the famous “All for one and one for all".





However, Ji Hyuk posses a quality that distinguishes him from the rest, his selflessness in his dedication to his friends. It’s what makes him so dear to my heart, that he gave up his own selfish desire to allow his friends/band members to go on and pursue their own dreams. He was bigger than imposing himself on their lives even when he was the one who needed them the most and they were more than willing to give up everything to stick up by him.





Final Verdict : Ji Hyuk managed to rise above and do what he knows in his heart would be the best for everyone’s sake which makes him the coolest leader in dramaland.









Oh Doo Ri





Oh Doo Ri is always ready to help her friends and support them. What I came to respect about her, however, is that she’s one of the rarest examples of female-bonding in k-drama. Although, we encounter countless heartwarming bromances in drama land, we rarely stumble upon a case of good girl bonding. Unfortunately, female friends in dramas are either completely insignificant to the storytelling or they’re painted as the awful jealous, backstabbing, men-stealing bitches.





That’s why Oh Doo Ri is such a special character. Doo Ri is a good friend to her roommate Tae Hee. She’s the kind of girl that would help her roommate wear her makeup. Instead of plotting to snatch Tae Hee’s boyfriend, she’s the kind of girl that would step up to protect her friend’s romance. When Tae Hee’s bf acted like a jerk and dumped her, Doo Ri confronted him. She actually yelled at him for turning her once shiny and all-smiles roommate into a gloomy girl who can’t stop crying all night long, she scorned him for playing with her naïve friend’s heart, she warned him that she’ll never forgive him if he doesn’t fix it. She got really angry, she called him names, and she made him understand it’s NOT okay to mess up with my friend’s heart. To add to the awesomeness of Doo Ri, she voiced all the fans thoughts when she called him on his noble idiocy and didn’t take his “I left her for her best interest" lame speech.





Think about it, if every k-heroine had a Doo Ri by her side, it would’ve saved us, fans, tons of angst and anger and if every girl had the spunky Doo Ri by her side, I bet guys would have to think twice before hurting their girlfriends.





Final Verdict : I definitely want Doo Ri to be my friend ☺ I personally wish to be as brave as her. Also, her confrontation scene with Tae Hee’s bf was what I wished I had done with the jerk that broke my best friend’s heart.









Go Nam Soon





Anyone who watched it knows what a great friend Nam Soon is. He would help those he knows are in need whether they asked for it, or not. From the first episode, he was the one who stepped up to save his teacher and the weaker students from the school’s bullies. However, this is not what makes him special to me. After all, it’s kind of the hero’s job to save everyone and we all know Nam Soon is the drama’s hero, right?

What really attracted me to this character is his sense of secrecy. He has a way of keeping everything to himself that amazes me. It’s like his code of honor. He never snitches on his classmates even when it puts him in difficult positions. When he witnesses situations that could be really embarrassing to another person, he doesn’t mouth a word about it. Moreover, when he helps someone, he does it as quiet as possible. He doesn’t make a big deal out of it, boast about his good deeds, or ask for anything in return.





This quality has gotten me thinking how great it would be if I have a person like Nam Soon by my side. If I know that no matter what mistake I make, someone would always support me through it and keep it a secret as well. Let’s face it, in reality we could meet people who would help us in our times of need, but chances are those people would rub it down our noses for the rest of our lives or they would go around telling people about our problems; not because they intentionally want to hurt or embarrass us, but because they naturally need to announce how great they are. That’s why people like Go Nam Soon are extremely rare, almost extinct. That’s why people like Go Nam Soon are genuinely beautiful and very, very, precious.





Final Verdict : I wish Nam Soon would be my friend, or I wish to, at least, meet a person like him in my times of need. The world definitely needs more Nam Soon's.









Jung In Jae





School 2013 (Played by Jang Nara









This is your typical idealistic teacher that comes to school wanting to really teach every single student in her class. She’s the one who will do anything so that her students will wake up in class and listen. It’s not her teaching abilities which make In Jae the great teacher that she is, though. It’s rather her humanity, her willingness to understand her students when nobody even tries to and to believe in them when they have already given up on themselves.





I came to respect In Jae because she treats her students the same she likes to be treated. She does respect and trust them, first before demanding they respect and trust her. Another quality I love about In Jae is what Hemingway calls “grace under pressure”. Throughout the drama In Jae handles some nerve breaking situations with grace; she absorbs her student’s anger, frustration, and desperation like what she did with her student Nam Kyung Min, personally, I would’ve wanted to slap that girl (and am a kind person!) but In Jae sincerely smiled and even sympathized with the girl’s plight. She saw and appreciated even the tiniest positive qualities her students showed as in the case of her Magnificent Speech after the Min Ki’s Incident.





Final Verdict : People like In Jae would make the world a warmer place that’s easier to live in.









Kim Sam Soon







I can’t really talk about awesome characters without mentioning Sam Soon; I mean the girl is so awesome the whole drama is named after her. This lovely patisserie chef sometimes speaks like a crazy ahjumma but at other times she knows how to move your heart with her thoughtful emotional speeches. Unlike your typical female leads that get treated like trash out of the goodness of their hearts, Sam Soon is a strong woman. She doesn’t take crap from no one and she demands respect and knows how to get it.





Sam Soon’s beautiful qualities include her boldness, her courage, and her heart of gold. For me, all of these qualities spur from Sam Soon’s self-respect. She’s a lady who knows how to respect herself. That’s why she stops her snobbish egocentric male lead when he acts like a complete jerk, she demands he apologizes (on his knees, in one case) when he’s at fault, and she never fails to call him on his bullshit. In addition, Sam Soon respects her feelings. She doesn’t go through denial. When she likes a man, she confesses her feeling. When she has a boyfriend, she protects her romance. She’s not the girl who will ruin her love because of a control-freak mother-in-law or a clingy ex-girlfriend. At the same time, she knows when to stop, when to safeguard her dignity.





Final Verdict : This combination of bold strength and vulnerable sincerity is what makes Sam Soon an awesome lover that deserves to be a role model for all the girls out there: Don’t accept to be in a relationship where you feel disrespected and don’t let any insecurity prevent you from declaring your feelings.





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What about you? Who are the characters that inspired you to be better human beings? Who’re the ones you wish to meet in real life?