Cover From Jun Ji-hyun of ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’ to Kim Ji-won of ‘Fight for My Way’, here are the K-drama actresses fans can’t wait to see in another rom-com (Photo: SBS)
From Jun Ji-hyun of ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’ to Kim Ji-won of ‘Fight for My Way’, here are the K-drama actresses fans can’t wait to see in another rom-com (Photo: SBS)
1 / 1
From Jun Ji-hyun and Park Bo-young to Son Ye-jin and Kim Ji-won, here are the Hallyu leading ladies fans can’t wait to see in another rom-com K-drama
Some K-drama actresses seem practically made for romantic comedy. They can make audiences swoon with a single glance, land a perfectly timed joke, sell an absurd “aegyo” scene and, most importantly, make their characters feel like people worth rooting for.
From early Hallyu icons such as Jun Ji-hyun in My Love from the Star and Legend of the Blue Sea and Son Ye-jin in Personal Taste and later, Crash Landing on You to modern rom-com favourites like Park Min-young in What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Kim Ji-won in Fight for My Way and Park Bo-young in Strong Girl Bong-soon, these actresses have delivered some of the most iconic K-drama romantic comedies of all time.
While many have since branched out into melodrama, thrillers, action and other genres, their romantic-comedy roles remain some of the most defining moments of their careers. Below are the K-drama rom-coms that made these women fan favourites—and why another romantic-comedy role from them would be very welcome.
In case you missed it: K-drama actors we want to see in a rom-com again, from Park Seo-joon to Gong Yoo
Jun Ji-hyun: ‘My Love from the Star’ (2013), ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’ (2016)
Above Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Min-ho star in ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’, the hit rom-com K-drama that remains a fan favourite
Jun Ji-hyun was already a rom-com icon, thanks to the hugely successful film My Sassy Girl, before she starred in My Love from the Star, the K-drama that became a major hit of the second Hallyu wave and turned its leads into even bigger global stars. Playing Cheon Song-yi, a mercurial, narcissistic actress whom Kim Soo-hyun’s Do Min-joon, a cynical immortal alien, falls head over heels for, Jun Ji-hyun once again proved her impeccable comedic timing and magnetic screen presence.
Three years later, she starred in Legend of the Blue Sea, another massive fantasy rom-com hit, opposite fellow Hallyu A-lister Lee Min-ho. The two matched each other in charisma and star power beat-for-beat, creating an undeniable onscreen chemistry that helped propel the drama to commercial success and a peak viewership rating of 21 per cent.
Since then, Jun Ji-hyun, also known internationally as Gianna Jun, has gone on to explore genres ranging from Netflix’s zombie thriller Kingdom franchise and the mystery K-drama Jirisan to Disney+’s political thriller Tempest. Fans eager to see the actress return to romantic comedy will not have to wait too long, though. Next year, she’ll lead the rom-com fantasy Human X Gumiho opposite fellow Hallyu legend Ji Chang-wook.
See more: From K-drama villains to heroes: actors and actresses who transformed on screen
Park Bo-young: ‘Oh My Ghost’ (2015), ‘Strong Girl Bong-soon’ (2017)
Above Park Bo-young’s playful chemistry with Park Hyung-sik and pitch-perfect comic instincts in ‘Strong Girl Bong-soon’ made her a beloved rom-com leading lady
Park Bo-young first showed off her flair for romantic comedy in Oh My Ghost, where she played Na Bong-sun, a shy and unassuming assistant chef who becomes possessed by the ghost of Shin Sun-ae (Kim Seul-ki)—a virgin who believes she must sleep with a man with a healthy “yang” energy to cross over to the afterlife. Enter Chef Kang Seon-woo (Jo Jung-suk), who unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a love triangle between sweet, shy Bong-sun and bold, flirtatious Sun-ae.
While Oh My Ghost was a hit, it was Park Bo-young’s next K-drama that launched her and co-star Park Hyung-sik’s careers to the next level. In the fantasy rom-com Strong Girl Bong-soon, the actress stars as Do Bong-soon, an ordinary young woman who secretly possesses superhuman strength. Her abilities draw the attention of gaming CEO Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), who hires her as his bodyguard, setting the stage for a romance filled with action, comedy and plenty of swoon-worthy moments.
Save for a much-anticipated cameo with Park Hyung-sik in Strong Girl Nam-soon, Park Bo-young has since branched into other genres—Netflix’s Daily Dose of Sunshine, a psychiatric-ward drama that won her Best Actress at the 2024 Blue Dragon Series Awards; Disney+’s supernatural hit Light Shop; and tvN’s slice-of-life romance Our Unwritten Seoul, which earned her Best Actress at the 2026 Baeksang Arts Awards. After all that genre-hopping, a return to rom-com feels overdue.
See more: 9 K-dramas that celebrate the joys and pains of growing up
Son Ye-jin: ‘Personal Taste’ (2010), ‘Crash Landing on You’ (2019)
Above Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin made the whole world swoon in the global hit K-drama ‘Crash Landing on You’
While Son Ye-jin is more known for melodramas such as Summer Scent, The Classic, Be with You and Netflix’s Something in the Rain, it would be difficult to ignore her influence on the rom-com genre thanks to the massive global hit Crash Landing on You, which helped propel Hallyu into new markets. Prior to that, she starred opposite Lee Min-ho in 2010’s Personal Taste, a cohabitation rom-com K-drama that highlighted her more playful charm and natural instinct for comedy.
She also led a handful of rom-com films including Spellbound, My Wife Got Married and The Art of Seduction. But it is, undoubtedly, Crash Landing on You that stands out as the defining romantic comedy of her career, thanks to the kind of screen presence and disarming warmth that makes you fall for her along with her leading man. It didn’t hurt that her chemistry with co-star—and now-husband—Hyun Bin was so real, it followed them off-screen.
In 2022, she was part of the lead trio of Thirty Nine, a weepy melodrama about female friendships. Up next, she stars in two Netflix original series—The Scandal, which is the latest K-drama adaptation of the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, and Variety, a thriller set in the world of K-pop entertainment. Despite the excitement for her upcoming projects, audiences are crossing their fingers that a rom-com return isn’t far behind (Hyun Bin optional).
Lee Sung-kyung: ‘Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo’ (2016), ‘Shooting Stars’ (2022)
Above Lee Sung-kyung’s portrayal of collegiate athlete Kim Bok-joo remains a gold standard for coming-of-age K-drama rom-coms
In Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, Lee Sung-kyung’s endearingly awkward college weightlifter won the hearts of audiences and established her as a standout rom-com leading lady. The drama’s tender friends-to-lovers romance, buoyed by her sweet chemistry with co-star Nam Joo-hyuk, remains one of its generation’s most cherished K-drama romances.
In Shooting Stars, Lee Sung-kyung traded the sports campus for the chaotic world of entertainment, playing PR manager Oh Han-byul opposite Kim Young-dae’s top star Gong Tae-sung. The workplace rom-com reunited her with the genre, this time pairing her quick-witted comic timing with a more mature romance.
Following Shooting Stars, however, Lee Sung-kyung has largely moved away from rom-coms. She explored melodrama in Call It Love before returning to the medical drama Dr Romantic 3. More recently, she’s shifted direction again, starring in the action-romance The Nice Guy and the romance-mystery In Your Radiant Season. Still, with romance never far from her work, it’s easy to imagine her back in a rom-com before long.
Park Min-young: ‘What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’ (2018), ‘Her Private Life’ (2019), ‘Love in Contract’ (2022)
Above Park Min-young and Park Seo-joon’s chemistry in ‘What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’ made this K-drama rom-com an instant favourite
For many fans, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim was not only a gateway K-drama but also one of the definitive workplace rom-coms of its era. Starring Park Min-young opposite rom-com favourite Park Seo-joon, the drama became a huge hit thanks to the irresistible chemistry between its leads, charming romance and polished webtoon-to-K-drama adaptation.
Park Min-young has gone on to star in a handful of rom-com K-dramas since—Her Private Life and more recently, Love in Contract—but her recent work saw the actress take on revenge, fantasy and romance in the genre-blending mega-hit Marry My Husband, action-comedy in Confidence Queen and thriller and melodrama in Siren’s Kiss.
Later this year, however, she returns to the genre viewers know her best for. In the upcoming office rom-com K-drama Nine to Six, she plays Kang Yi-ji, a no-nonsense working woman whose pragmatic views on love are about to be challenged, opposite Yook Sung-jae.
Park Shin-hye: ‘You’re Beautiful’ (2009), ‘Pinocchio’ (2014), ‘Doctor Slump’ (2024)
Above Park Shin-hye stars with Park Hyung-sik in ‘Doctor Slump’, a rom-com K-drama that follows two burnt-out doctors who find healing in each other
Park Shin-hye has been one of the defining leading ladies of the Hallyu era, with a career spanning romance, fantasy, action and medical dramas. In the beloved K-drama You’re Beautiful, she played Go Mi-nyeo, a novice nun who disguises herself as her twin brother and joins a fictional boy band, where she finds herself caught in a love triangle with the band’s brooding leader, Hwang Tae-kyung (Jang Keun-suk). The role showcased the youthful spirit and light comic touch that would become hallmarks of her romantic performances.
She followed it with Pinocchio, starring as aspiring reporter Choi In-ha, whose romance with fellow journalist Choi Dal-po, played by Lee Jong-suk, became one of the drama’s emotional anchors. A decade later, she reunited with The Heirs co-star Park Hyung-sik in Doctor Slump, a medical rom-com about two former academic rivals who reconnect after both hit rock bottom. As exhausted anaesthesiologist Nam Ha-neul, Park brought a more mature vulnerability to the genre.
These days, she’s traded romance for darker fare with the vigilante fantasy The Judge from Hell and the undercover period comedy Undercover Miss Hong. With a second season of The Judge from Hell already confirmed for 2027, a rom-com return isn’t yet on the cards—but few actresses have proven as adept at the genre, and fans are keeping their hopes up regardless.
Kim Ji-won: ‘Fight for My Way’ (2017), ‘Queen of Tears’ (2024)
Above ‘Fight for My Way' stars Kim Ji-won and Park Seo-joon in one of K-drama’s most iconic friends-to-lovers rom-coms
Rom-com queens require a delicate touch—the ability to make audiences fall in love, laugh, cry and even embrace a little “aegyo” without making it feel cringe. In rom-coms such as the friends-to-lovers Fight for My Way and the hit K-drama Queen of Tears, Kim Ji-won has shown that she has that balance down to an art.
Fight for My Way made her K-drama’s unofficial aegyo queen, while her chemistry with co-star Park Seo-joon, with whom she won the Best Couple Award at the 2017 KBS Drama Awards, turned their romance into one of the drama’s biggest draws. In Queen of Tears, meanwhile, she expertly blended bubbly charm with an emotionally complex performance as chaebol heiress Hong Hae-in, whose rocky marriage to Baek Hyun-woo (Kim Soo-hyun) becomes an unexpectedly moving love story.
In between, she took on more dramatic material, from the romance drama Lovestruck in the City to the quietly devastating My Liberation Notes. Next, the actress stars in Doctor X, the K-drama adaptation of the Japanese medical series, where she plays Gye Su-jeong, a genius surgeon-for-hire who proves her worth through skill alone while exposing the corruption riddling the hospital system around her. There are no reports of an upcoming rom-com project, however, which is unfortunate news for those wanting to see her aegyo onscreen again.
From classic Hallyu rom-coms to more recent K-drama romance hits, these actresses have proven time and again that they know how to make audiences laugh, swoon and fall in love with their characters. After seeing them explore everything from melodrama and thrillers to fantasy and action, there is only one thing left to say: bring back the rom-coms.
Topics
Maggie Adan is a content writer, editor, and strategist with extensive experience across print, digital, and social media publishing. Formerly editor-in-chief at K-Zone Philippines, Summit Books and Content Lab, she has written lifestyle stories covering everything from entertainment and travel to beauty and wellness. A storyteller at heart with a keen editorial eye and a passion for narrative, she contributes to various publications and helps brands create and curate content for their social media platforms.
