[Aisha's Take] From Being Disliked to Loved: 3 K-Drama Characters Glow up That We Cannot Get Over

Fans love a good character arc. It is commonly known that the black and white background persists in every K-drama. Even if the lead is morally grey itself.

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Yet there are a few characters that begin moving out of the darkness. This character development steals the attention and support of the fans, even if they are not the main leads.

Here are the top 3 supporting characters who went from the most hated to the most loved characters in K-Dramas.

Seo In-ho from "Doctor Cha"

The epitom of the word 'selfish '. Seo In-ho (Kim Byung-chul) was never a sensible man to begin with. At a young age, he cheated on his girlfriend and impregnated another girl. However, he later took the responsibility of the child and began a married life with Cha Jung-sook. His house held a very misogynist system. With a house wife who did all the house chores and other duties with no helping hand from the husband, a mother-in-law who became dependent on her for her own luxury and children who were bound to study medicine because of their father's, wish. Even as a father, he never considered his children's wishes. Seo I-rang (Lee Seo-yeon-I) wanted to pursue her career as an artist but he never even considered her dreams. Instead, he was persistent that she should become a doctor and continue the legacy.

As a husband, he was much worse. He began seeing his first love, Choi Seung-hee (Myung Se-bin), again and even had another child. When his wife's liver failed because of extreme jaundice, he was asked to donate his liver but he hesitated. In fact, he saw it as an opportunity to officially unite with Seung-hee.

Just like other characters, In-ho went through a remarkable character growth. Once his affair was disclosed before his family, he became more and more ashamed. He was unable to meet eyes with his children and finally understood the gravity of the situation. The severest blow was when Jung-sook asked for divorce and how precious and important she was. His growth was slow, with many foolish actions taken in between. But he finally grew. He became brave enough to donate his liver to Jung-sook when she became sick again. After divorce, he decided to mend his other family with Choi Seung-hee because he could not fully protect the others.

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"Doctor Cha" is directed by Kim Dae-jin, Kim Jung-wook-II, written by Jung Yeo-rang, and features Uhm Jung-hwa, Kim Byung-chul, Myung Se-bin, Min Woo-hyuk, Song Ji-ho, Jo Aram. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2023/04/15~2023/06/04, Sat, Sun 22:30 on JTBC.

Kwon Il-ha from "Duty After School"

From a bully to a hero. Kwon Il-ha (Kim Su-gyeom) was an aggressive student who would not hide his dislikes nor hold himself back when angry. In the beginning of the drama, Kwon Il-ha had a bad relationship with the class topper, Jang Yeong-hoo (Ro Jong-hyun). One night, their fight became something much more terrifying. As they fought, the mysterious sphere from the sky fell and engulfed Yeong-hoo.The incident really scarred yet changed Kwon Il-ha. He truly devoted himself to his uniform and to fighting the spheres. Not only so, he also protected his other classmates even if it did cost his life.

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"Duty After School" is directed by Seong Yong-il, written by Yoon Soo-I, and features Shin Hyun-soo, Lee Soon-won, Lim Se-mi, Kwon Eun-bin, Kim Ki-hae, Kim Min-chul. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2023/03/31 - 2023/04/21, Fri, Sat 16:00 on TVING.

Jeong Han-seo from "Vincenzo"

When Kwak Dong-yeon first appeared on "Vincenzo", he was charismatic and was defined as the CEO of the Babel Group who did not feel any guilt for th

e wrong doings of Babel Group.

Though, very soon, we get to know that Han-seo was just a puppet. And rather than being charismatic, he was awfully adorable. Han-seo was suppressed by his elder half-brother, Jang Joon-woo (Ok Taecyeon). But he did not stay that way. We witnessed his character grow in "Vincenzo" when he began to side with Vincenzo (Song Joong-ki). He found a hyung that he was always searching for and this made him brave. He was able to stand up before Joon-woo and even took the bullet for Vincenzo.

Han-seo became a hero for the viewers with his heart-touching character development. His adorable quirkiness and gestures created a fandom for him. And his death left many mourning.

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"Vincenzo" is directed by Ham Seung-hoon, Kim Hee-won-II, written by Park Jae-beom-I, and features Song Joong-ki, Jeon Yeo-been, Ok Taecyeon, Jo Han-chul, Kim Yeo-jin, Yoon Byung-hee. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/02/20~2021/05/02, Sat, Sun 21:00 on tvN.

 

By Aisha Adnan