You know, after watching Kdramas for the entirety of my life, I have arrived at one conclusion:
Kdrama writers are total sadists, and Kdramas characters, in all kinds of genres, will end
up suffering.
Still, today we are talking about the worst of the bunch - aka characters who suffer so
much, I had to question the screenwriter.
1.
Kang Maru - The Innocent Man Now, “The Innocent Man” is by no means
a bad melodrama, and Song Joong Ki’s performance in this series is probably one of my favorites.
You probably don’t hear a lot talking about it, but trust me, it’s probably for the
better.
For those wondering about the plot, then here it goes.
Kang Maru is a smart but poor medical student who only had his little sister.
However, he was so strongly in love with the second female lead Jae Hee, that he took the
blame of murder for her.
Fast-forward to years later, Maru was released from prison, but Jae Hee already married a
rich CEO.
He became heart-broken, arrogant, and a total playboy, who scammed women for money, and
then, he met the female lead Seo Eun Gi.
Unfortunately, this isn’t going the romantic route you are expecting, because Eun Gi is
actually the step daughter of Jae Hee, and Maru only approached her for revenge.
Yes, they fell in love, but Eun Gi realized Maru was using her, and Jae Hee turned out
to still have feelings for Maru.
There was also a car accident where the female lead got amnesia and caused 500 more issues
and heartbreaks, throughout which our male lead never got a break.
The series’ epilogue even revealed that Maru let his own car crash because he was
just “exhausted from life” and was hoping that he and Eun Gi would die together and
have another normal life, which speaks volumes of his mental state.
And, finally, if you are wondering how the series ended, I am going to inform you that
Maru got a fatal illness and was dying the entire time!
He also delayed his treatment to help the female lead, got stabbed while protecting
her, hid his wound, and collapsed on the street!
7 years later, we found out that Maru did not die, only lost his memories, and apparently
now lives happier than ever.
Like, what kind of sucky life do one have to lead, they need to forget all about it
to be happy?
Kang Maru can answer the question for you.
2.
Jang Hanseo - Vincenzo Ok, for this next entry, we have a dark comedy.
Let’s first take a look at the plot.
The drama revolves around Vincenzo, an Italian mafia who sets out to his motherland - Korea,
to get a stash of gold hidden there years before.
Loyal to its dark comedy genre, the series is packed with humor, action, and awe-inspiring
moments that keeps the viewers on edge.
While the audience are equally charmed by Vincenzo’s diverse cast, one character stands
out as the series approaches its end.
His name is Jang Han Seo, and he was first introduced as a villain and president of evil
corporation Babel Group.
However, it was later revealed that Han Seo was a mere puppet under his older brother’s
control.
He was physically and emotionally abused, to the point that he was desperate for self-validation
and love.
He had to be cruel for his own survival, and it was not until Han Seo grew close to the
male lead that he managed to break free.
From a pretentious and dim-witted lackey, he evolved into a true hero who wants to do
good.
Over the course of the series, Jang Han Seo had managed to charm both the male lead and
the audience with his selfless loyalty and cheerful personality.
Unfortunately, such a great character just has to die in the end.
When the leads are threatened by the main villain Jang Han Seok, he uses his own body
to shield them, ensuring that there’s no bullet left in the gun.
As the screen shows Han Seo’s final words, the audience are left with buckets of tears,
especially when they realize that Han Seo never gets to experience true happiness.
So yes, I’m obviously not leaving Hanseo out of this list.
3.
Eun Young Ro - Snowdrop Ok, fans of Snowdrop are probably questioning
me why Young Ro instead of Suho, but I’m of the opinion that eternal suffering is worse
than getting a pass to heaven.
For context, Young Ro, aka the female lead of ‘Snowdrop’, is a daughter to this super
important political figure.
Her stepmother, however, hated her, so she got sent to live in the female dormitory of
her university.
So.
Young Ro was living pretty happily with her roommates and enjoying her beautiful college
life, before she bumped into the male lead, Su Ho, at a mixer party.
She got eyes for him, they sorta developed a chemistry, but Su Ho turns out to be a North
Korean spy.
Circumstances forced the guy to take the entire dormitory hostage, including Young Ro, and
kicked up a whole series of political drama.
Anyways, to sum it up, Young Ro’s brother was basically killed while she was still trapped
inside.
All of her hard-earned friends started to detest her, thinking that she was the cause
for the mess, and she was put at gunpoint for like 3 times by her very own fated other,
all the while falling harder for him.
So, what’s the end to this series that literally has no happy moments?
Su Ho and all his comrades ended up getting killed, Young Ro’s father was convicted
and imprisoned, Young Ro was still hated by her friends, and thus was left alone, suffering,
and remembering rare beautiful moments forever.
Like, seriously, she lost her love, her friend, her family, every single one that has loved
her.
I’d say that’s one of K-drama's worst ever fates.
4.
Sung Yo Han - Mouse Moving on to the investigation genre, and
it is impossible to not talk about Yo Han - the genius medical resident that made us
all feel guilty.
Long story short, we started the series, all thinking that since Yo Han is cold, unfeeling,
a genius, and the son of a previous serial killer, he is probably a psychopath and the
newly-emerged murderer everyone was looking for.
By episode 8, the guy had died, deemed as a criminal, with even his own mother deadly
afraid of him.
To make it worse, Yo Han’s new born child was abused since people think it would follow
his deathly legacy, and his girlfriend was berated for having a relationship with a murderer.
And the guy didn’t even die whole, as his brain was surgically removed and put into
the male lead Ba Reum, who we all thought to be righteous, and even pitied him for “inheriting”
Yo Han’s murder memory.
Turns out, that wasn’t quite the case.
Yo Han and Ba Reum were switched at birth since their mothers wanted to perform an experiment.
Yo Han was actually the child of a heroic firefighter, and was just a genius with feelings
like any other person.
He also looked into the murder cases himself, and discovered the true criminal - aka our
beloved Ba Reum.
In addition, his brain became what provided Ba Reum with feelings, which led to the true
killer revealing himself.
So, basically, Yo Han ended up suffering, getting a troubled mother, blamed for a terrible
crime, and having his child beaten - all while doing absolutely nothing wrong.
What a life he had…
Honorable mention: Ali - Squid Game Ok, to be fair, almost every character in
Squid Game has suffered, but Ali’s story got me bawling on the floor and staring at
the ceiling until 4 A.M in the morning.
If you wonder what happened to cause such a reaction, then here’s how things go:
First, Ali came to Korea with his wife and son as immigrants, but had to leave his parents
behind in the process.
However, his employer refused to pay him for 6 entire months, and Ali eventually had to
enter Squid Game as a last resort.
Despite his disadvantage while playing Korean games that he knew nothing about, Ali was
an extremely kind man, even saving the male lead Gi Hoon in the first round while expecting
no favors.
Unfortunately, naivety was Ali’s downfall.
He was betrayed by Sang Woo - the man he adored and looked up to, not knowing of his doom
until it was too late.
Imagine handing your life to someone and putting our whole faith in them, only for them to
coldly turn away as you are shot to death.
Yup, that happened.
Also, you know what made things even worse?
Gi Hoon, after winning, kept all the money to himself.
He ended up supporting Sang Woo and the female lead’s family by the end, but completely
forgot about Ali :D
Like, had Ali’s family escaped back to their nation or are they still suffering in Korea
wondering where Ali had gone?
We get absolutely nothing.
So, that’s the list!
Do you know any other characters that have suffered terribly?
Let us know in the comment section.
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