[2024 Year in Review] The Real Husbands of Dramaland

They are charismatic, they are dramatic. They are possessed with a glib tongue and the ability to lie without blinking. They know how to work a suit and can charm your pants off. They are: The Real Husbands of Dramaland.

When I think about male characters in a K-drama romantic setting, my mind primarily goes to the swoony — and very much single — love interest who’s coming to charm the pants off the female lead. Or the pitiful second lead who’s always one step behind. Husbands are definitely not at the top of my mind. But this year, somehow, I kept noticing them. Maybe because a number of them had similar characteristics — which we’ll get into soon enough — but yeah, 2024 was indeed the year of the husbands. We had the good, the bad, and the ugly. And without further ado, let’s dive into some of the featured husbands in dramaland this year.

1. Nam Joong-do (Trolley)

There are good husbands and genuine politicians. And there’s me, who’s neither of those.

Politicians are a crazy bunch, so I remember being wowed during Trolley’s opening episodes when I saw a K-drama assemblyman with a normal and healthy marital life. Nam Joong-do was the epitome of love and devotion to his wife, and he was headed for husband of the year! Heck, I already wrote down his name in my best dramaland husband of all time list. And then, boom! This guy was revealed to be the scummiest scum that ever scummed.

It was a rude slap to my face because I rooted for him. We were all rooting for that hypocrite who spent the entire drama working for the “greater good” when in reality, he was the worst of the lot. This is why people develop trust issues! Nam Joong-do single-handedly ruined his family, and he will go down as one of the biggest character disappointments ever.
 

2. Ha Do-yeong (The Glory)

I like my women decked in designers, but women with scars appeal to me, too.

I went into The Glory for revenge, and while the drama delivered satisfactorily on that front, it also gave me the revelation that is Ha Do-yeong! Why, hello there, Ah-juicy! I was not expecting to be swept off my feet by someone who wasn’t even the male lead — much less the husband of the antagonist. But aesthetics aside, Do-yeong was such a good husband. He supported his wife’s career, he was willing to stick with her when her bullying past came to light and he loved their daughter despite her birth secret.

I won’t praise a fish for swimming, but I have to hand it to Do-yeong; although he had way more chemistry with the female lead than the male lead did, he did not step out on his wife. He was fascinated with Ms. Female Lead, but he remained a decent man until the end of his marriage. Overall, I think his wife’s biggest loss wasn’t her career or her freedom, it was Do-yeong himself.
 

3. The men of Pandora: Beneath the Paradise

Pyo Jae-hyun

I will have the perfect family, even if I have to recreate my wife by myself!

This man murdered a chimpanzee! That tells you everything you need to know about him. Other adjectives that can be used to describe Pyo Jae-hyun include: manipulative, obsessive, mastermind villain, vindictive, crazy, and extraordinarily crazy. In this psycho’s mind, he loved his wife — even though he manipulated her for the entire duration of their marital life. Jae-hyun built his family on a foundation of lies, and he was on the verge of manipulating the entire country to vote him in as president! Once again, politicians are a crazy bunch. Even in death, Jae-hyun still won’t let his wife be. But I am not going to talk about his death and plastic surgery resurrection because as far as I’m concerned, Episode 16 of this drama did not happen.

Jang Do-jin

The Good Book says to love our neighbors as ourselves, so it’s not an affair if I share my love with the neighbor’s sister-in-law.

Do-jin fell in love with — and married — his wife against his father’s wishes. And what does he do afterwards? He cheats on her with Jae-hyun’s sister-in-law — who is secretly dating his other friend. The makjang-ness of it all! At least have the decency to keep your affair far away from your inner circle! Do-jin was not there when his wife needed him the most. And though he slightly redeemed himself when he eventually granted her a divorce and helped her gather evidence against his father, it wasn’t enough to make me forget about his philandering ways.
 

4. The Queenmaker men

Baek Jae-min

Politics is a dirty game; don’t blame me if I don’t play fair.

I started out feeling sorry for Jae-min because his wife was a loose cannon, and his mother-in-law was an overbearing matriarch. Jae-min appeared to be an ordinary guy stuck in a bad situation and it’s easy to empathize with a sentiment like that. But then he entered the mayoral race, and as I said, politicians are… well, political schemes aside, Jae-min lost all my goodwill when he was unmasked as a sexual harasser and a serial cheater. I cannot believe I went from disliking his wife to sympathizing with her in the end — even though I celebrated Jae-min’s downfall. He totally deserved what he got.

Kang Moon-bok

The spotlight on my wife does not make me less of a man.

While Moon-bok wasn’t as prominent in the drama, he was the perfect foil to Jae-min. He was everything that Jae-min was not: a loving and supportive husband, and a good father. His wife would probably not have become the mayor if she didn’t have him to hold down the fort at home while she pursued her activism — and eventually politics.