Top 20 Antagonists/Villains in Korean dramas
Monday, February 23, 2015
Some Antagonists(Villains, Vamps, Negative Characters anti-heroes or anti-heroines..call whatever you like), will strike us more than others. Some happens to have exceptional personalities. some, we will wish to kill with our bare hands.
Today I am making a list of the top 20 antagonists in Korean Dramas
1. Kang Hyun Joon/Joon/Harry Borrison
No matter ho many antagonists come and go, this name will always remain on top of all the antagonists for me. Kang Hyun Joon is the all time ultimate Antagonists.
Why??
well, for one thing, not many antagonists will make us worry about them. Not many can make us want to stop them in a protective way. Not many can make us love them and hate them at the same time.
Joon feels like a younger brother who as taken the wrong path in life. we want to stop him. we worry about him. And hate him and love him in a mixed way.
Joon comes to us as the kid in distress. He is tured cruel because of his circumstances. he is brilliantly intelligent even as a kid. even more brilliant as an adult. At the same time that much dangerous too. He has a bipolar disorder. At once moment he will be hugging and crying Seo Yeon saying he is scared, at the other end he is killing people. his obsessive love for Seo Yeon doesn't hep the situations too.
(I can go on about Kang Hyun Joon character, if given me time for that.. :-D.. So if you want to read more on him, please visit the page of 'Missing You' drama by clicking here )
2. Kang Hee Soo/ Gu Jun Pyo's Mom
This lady has once firm iron personality with an ice cold heart. She is strict as hell and to the core a professional. we can't see a smile on her face through out the drama. Not even once. She is not backstabbing or foxy person. she strikes from front with dignity and coldness. She doesn't think she is wrong. She disapprove of Geum Jan Di because she firmly believes that Jan Di is wrong match for her son. Or more like she think Jan Di is wrong match for her company 'Shinhwa', coz she doesn't much care about the son anyway. She doesn't lose confidence or step back ever. She just strikes from front and try to bring down Jan Di and her family.
As everyone know, Boys Over Flowers is basically just a 'rich parent trying to split up their rich son/daughter from the poor lover' story line. The story line that is so common that it's worn out being used over and over. Still Boys Over Flowers stand out, because of the exceptional characters of Gu Jun Pyo, Geum Jan Di and others. With the mom included. She is a part of a reason why this common story becomes exceptional.
3. Choi SangGoong Mama/Lady Choi
(Dae Jang Guem/ Jewel in the Palace)
The most ethnic antagonist ever. Maybe because the drama itself gives out a reverence and power of the whole traditional concept, Choi Sang Goong becomes another honorable antagonist. Each character in this drama gives out that vib of power as each are done so perfectly and seems as if they stepped out from past. Choi Sang Goong's character too seems just like a court lady from history. Her personality holds a lot of self pride, and belief in her family line. She wants to keep honors of her family by any way. And she was not bad from start, she is forced to be bad so as to honor the name of her family. She is compelled by her aunt, and now, she compels her niece, to be bad to honor the name of the family. That's how the women of the family is trapped in that never ending circle.
4. Kim Yo Han
The Psychopath Serial Killer, with always a smile on his face. He always speak so gently and politely. And puts forward the wildest psychological theories to question everything about humanity. And he is seeking the answer for the question 'are monsters born or made in to'...
5. Gong Gi Joon
(Deep Rooted Tree)
Nothing is more deadly than the hidden enemy. And for that reason Gong Gi Joon of Deep Rooted Tree is so top in this list. I won't post his pic in this post. Because he is hidden in the story. He is plain in front of our eyes all along. We can see him. Yet we can't recognize him to be Gaong Gi Joon, the disappeared scholar plotting revenge. We know that there is someone called Gong Ki Joon who is the enemy and that we should fear that guy. But we never expect him to turn out to be the guy whom he finally turn out to be.
6. Min Joon Gook
(I Hear Your Voice)
There is an eerie evilness in this character. And irritatingly he is way too much self confident and arrogant as well. He is a murderer and wants to take revenge from the girl who gave witness against him. He waits 14 years in jail to kill the girl. He has cultivated that venom inside him for 14 years. He is cruel and even kills the girl's mom who took care of him without knowing who he is..
7. King Sado/Prince Suyang
(Princess's Man)
When we are talking about antagonists, how can we forget the ultimate antagonist in history of Joson Kings. King Sado is supposed to be such a big antagonist in history itself. Then how will his character portrayed on screen be missed out in this list. The man who dethrones his own 12 year old nephew by planning a coup, and becomes the king. The king who later kills his 12 year old nephew(ex-king), by ordering to drink poison.
King Sado is portrayed more cruelly in other works(for example the movie 'The Face Reader').
But the beauty about 'The Princess' Man' is that even when showing this cruel man, they have kept his loving side too. The King Sado of 'Princess's Man' drama is shown as a loving father to his kids. He does bad stuff to others, but he loves his family and is hurt that his daughter, who he loves the most, does not understand him.
8. Seo Ji Hoon
Song Jong Ho, is one of the actors who does Negatives so well. It is only because Song Jong Ho has played this character of Seo Ji Hoon, that this character is so top in this list. Actor Song Jong Ho has the talent to make all the negative characters played by him as absolute hateful beings. Something about his acting makes us want to just slap and spit at those characters.
The character of Seo Ji Hoon is an obsessive stalker who can even kill in his mad obsession to the lad female. He is deadly and dangerous.
9. Tang Ki Se
(Emperress Ki)
A real cruel character. But what sets him apart is that he is a bit attracted to his female enemy Nyang/Empress Ki. He has killed her mother, and a lot more others like flies. With his arrogance and narcissism, he just makes such a trunk load of negativity.
10. Tana Shil Ri
(Emperess Ki)
Tang Ki Se's little sister and the first Empress. She has valid reasons to hate Nyang/Empress Ki. But her methods are totally selfish and wrong. She even kills innocents without one bit out guilt. But what sets Tana Shil Ri apart is that till the end, till the last moment she doesn't admit her wrongs and keeps on being the snob she is. Till her last breath, she never even for a second consider to back down or apologize, or even consider the fact that she is the wrong one.
11. Chun/Sky Lord
(Warrior Beak Dong Soo)
I first contemplated if to include 'Yeo Woon' from 'Warrior Beak Dong Soo' in this list, but Woon was not entirely bad from start to end. He had his good sides and was more charismatic than the lead. Then I decided to put the Sky Lord in the list. He was the one who made Woon go bad in the first place.
When talking about 'The Sky Lord' (yes, this character has no other name...), first thing that comes to our mind his battered clothing and hermit like attire. He is always drunk and have a bottle of alcohol with him. He talks in confident but wild and kind of in a common man way. And he is master of swordsmanship. Above all, he is the leader, 'The Sky Lord' of the assassin group 'Heuksa Chorong'. This guy is not entirely a bad man. He happens to love people and have friendships too. Yet he is an assassin and even trains Yeo Woon to be an assassin... He seemed to take assassination as a profession and not keep useless things like guilt within him.
12. The Money
(The Heirs)
Yeah, you read, right! Money!
There are many more irritating characters who show negatives shades in this blockbuster drama 'The Heirs'. (Eg: Tan's dad, Won, Choi Yeong Do, Yu Rachel etc...) But ultimately the villain in the story is neither of the above. It's money.
I purposefully included 'money' in this list. Because money is indeed a character in 'The Heirs'. It compels other characters to be bad and cruel. It puts people in to difficult situation. It takes happiness away from people. It compels them to decide among complicated choices. It leaves them lonely and alone.
Then only thing I liked about Heirs (except for Choi Young do's character and Park shin Hye's acting) is this fact that the villain in the story are not humans but money.
When Cha Eun Sang describes the story of the spray painted human from in school ground, it shows the cruel money's impressions on each student evidently. And hence 'money' is the antagonist here.
13. Beak Seung Hee/StepMom
(Shining Inheritance/Brilliant Legacy)
She can even compete with Cinderella's step mom in being evil. There has been more than a hundred times when we wish to just wring her neck and kill her. Coz she is that evil.
14. Byun Hak Do Sajangnim
Well, he is portraying the legendary villain from the folk take 'Choon Hyang ga'(The Tale of Choon Hyang), in this modern day adaptation of 'Choon Hyang ga'. But the first thing to say is that actor, Um Tae Woong has done such a brilliant job as the character. He is such a great actor and he has given a soul to this character.The character is not bad one. They guy just honestly loves Choon Hyang. But she loves Mong Ryung, and their love is mutual. Byun Hak do sajang doesn't like to lose and can't bear to lose Choon Hyung. Sop he goes in to dirty tricks to keep Choon Hyang and Mong Ryung aay from each other.
PS : He is just hilarious in the epilogues of each episodes (the part where they show a comical parody of Choon Hyang ga).
15. Kim In Hee
Why is she in here? Well, because she is pretty. She is god damn out of the world pretty. (Wang Ji Hye looks her best in this drama). And well, the general trend is the vamp girls will be pretty. The lead girls will be cute or tomboys or a plain mess, but the vamps will be really pretty. And Kim In Hee is so damn pretty.
But she doesn't stop being pretty. She is backstabber and even man steeler. On top of that she accuse that Gae In was insulting her all these years by being extra kind to her, just reminding her that she is an orphan.
16. Debi mama/Queen dowager
(The Moon That Embraces The Sun)
Well, she plotted and killed young Crown Princess Yeon Woo and put evil Bo Kyung as the new Crown Princess. No, we can forgive her for that. But you know what her greatest sin is... She takes away the innocence, and make use of the out of the world innocent and cute little Princess Min Hwa. Is there any forgiveness for that??
17. Jo Gwan Woong
(Gu Family Book)
The Evil nobleman who has done so many bad deeds and even want to bed daughters of his victims who are half his age. Do we need more explanation?
18. The Owner Of The Sword
(Iljimae)
Another hidden villain. Iljimae/Ryung is in search for his dad's killer. he just remember a symbol engraved on the sword that killed his father. He finds out in the end who that it... I won't tell you who it is. :-D
(That antagonist in only in the final few episodes. That's why he is so down in this list).
19. Ha In Soo
This antagonist has the charisma of a lead. Don't you agree?
20. Ju Wal dhuryonnim/Yong master Ju Wal
(Arang and the Magistrate)
There is a mystery air about him. He can not be considered bad or evil. Yes, he has done bad things unconsciously. But there is a good side to him. And more over, there is an aura that kind of pulls us to him.
(Any other suggestions than these 20? Please leave the characters name and u views on the above 20 in the comments section :-) )