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[Dramaland Catnip] Swooning for dramatic height differences


Strong Woman Do Bong-soon

By @since2006

When I read the Dramaland Catnip prompt several things popped into my mind. First, how, just how, can a site understand me so well? In the past I always thought of drama catnip as that thing. You know, that thing, that extra sparkle that made a drama a crack drama, or in worse scenarios, that thing that made me stick around to watch a drama that just wasn’t good otherwise. But now I have a word for it.

Second, many ideas floated to the top of my drama-loving head: living-together hijinks; heroes who mask their pain behind glib personalities or a happy demeanor; when leads stare at each other and you blush or have the strange urge to cough to remind them that you’re there, but they won’t hear you because they aren’t real stupid so just watch; or compelling angst (so hard to do right); or, or, or… So many things to love in dramaland. But a lot of those things depend, still, on storytelling ability or acting abilities or a number of other things that take real talent. But I’m not here to do a postmodern deconstruction of the effectiveness of Korean mini-dramas to convey emotion. I’m here for catnip.

After taking a second, it came to me, readily, swinging in from the glittery, shallow part of my brain that just likes the pretty.

My catnip is height differences.


Strong Woman Do Bong-soon

Example A.

When I first started watching dramas (years and years ago), I tried to deny this about myself. As a raging feminist, I love equality in relationships. But yet. I like it when the guy, he’s just so big, and the girl, so tiny.

Example B:


Healer

This is serious catnip for me. I look up the heights first. It influences what I watch. I may have kind of switched from Japanese to Korean dramas for that reason at first (What? Don’t look at me like that. There are some very, very good, great, Japanese dramas I love to death, but the guys, so short, so small, the woman, so beautiful, so tall).

Sometimes I think about if someone popped into my head briefly, they would be slightly alarmed by just how many Korean actor and actress heights I know (probably also by other things, but that would definitely be one of them). It’s gotten to the point that I understand, visually, heights better in centimeters than I do in feet and inches anymore. I mean, if someone tells me they’re 5’7”, I’m like, kind of tall for a woman, kind of short for a man, then think on it no longer. But if something says the actor is 180 cm, my brain goes: That’s average height for a Korean actor, though they frequently lie and are shorter (I. Can. TELL), though in the last few years they just keep getting taller and taller, 185 is my favorite, after that they get a little gangly, if they are paired with an actress under 165, I’ll squee out loud.

So, yeah, my strangely obsessive catnip that I won’t generally admit influences my drama choices more than it should.

But what can I say? The shallow glittery part of my brain likes what pretty it likes.


Fight My Way

 
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Lol, thumbs up!

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Thank you and wow, holy crap, they posted this. How fun!

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Love it!

I too secretly enjoyed the height differences of the Strong Woman Do Bong-soon leads ?

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You know who else had a swoony height difference? Park Hae-jin and Kim Go-eun and the W leads (sorry, mind went blank) ?

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And Ha Seok-jin and his costar in 1% of Anything!

?

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Gong Yoo & Yoon Eun Hye in Coffee Prince!

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Oh, oh, and Park Shin-hye and Lee Jong-suk in Pinocchio. And Moonlight drawn by clouds?

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And Ji Hyun-Woo and Yoo Inna in Queen In-hyun's Man! The scene where he swings the payphone door close ?

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Loved it!

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Also the scene where she steps on his feet to kiss him.

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W leads had a swoony height difference and that was because lee jong suk is super tall...han hyo joo is a 5'8 so she ain't tiny. haha

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Yeah, So Ji Sub and Gong Hyo Jin also swoony but even though he's tall, she's tall too (she comes up to at least his nose in flat shoes)

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also Lee Won Geun/Ji Soo with Jung Eunji in Sassy Go Go

Just see the screen cap of the end of episode 8 for how tiny she looks when being hugged. And even the kiss scene was filmed with the guy sitting down!

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Yup, han hyo joo isn't tiny at all. What a lovely couple

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Me too! Even though, different to all of you, guys... in real life, I don´t like very tall men... It makes it really hard to hug them, unless you search for you a ladder, or you stay in the sidewalk and he on the road... it is simply uncomfortable.
But in SWDBS it looked so cute!!! and when it matters, Min min would always be able to sit her on the piano!!! Oh my!!!!

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Height differences! Yes!!
I really loved the height difference between Park Eun Bin (Oh Dong Hee) and Lee Tae Hwan (Han Sung Joon) in Father I'll Take Care of You <3 <3

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This is definitely a cat nip for me especially when the guy looks down at her with those eyes...swoon

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Swoon indeed!?

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Oooh ESPECIALLY when the guy stoops so that's eye level with the girl. This is usually when he's teasing her or smth

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This, omg, this.
Park Bo Gum doing it in MDBC? I melted.

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OT but I love your user icon so much lmao

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I'm glad you recognise it! :D

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right. that was a huge height difference.

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I see my Puppy Couple, I click =))
Thanks for sharing, @since2006 !!!

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Thank you!

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This is coming a bit late, and I can't seem to find another way of reaching you, but a suggestion for a drama with nice height difference is 'When a Snail falls in Love'. It's a Chinese drama. There isn't that much romance, as the mystery takes more of a front seat, but our heroine is adorably small.

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Can i just say i truly enjoyed your writing and your honesty? Loved it!

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I totally agree with @rawrling!

@since2006, great contribution piece to the already awesome DB blog!

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I just happened to check Dramabeans a few minutes ago and am all flabbergasted by being posted! Yaaayy!

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Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People, anyone? I adore the height difference between Yoon Kyunsang and Chae Soobin ♥

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Yes for Gil Ryung couple ! :D

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But that's easy for ZUPER TALL Yoon KyunSang ....

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Yup. YKS is like, 6'3

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Yesssss. Yoon Kyunsang's height is everything to my short heart.

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I love this. I never even thought of it as catnip, but this is brilliant. Thanks for sharing @since2006!

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Goblin? I'm not a fan of the main couple but Gong Yoo and Ldw are so tall and swoony

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I haven't yet mastered how to visualize/convert to centimeters, but I appreciate the swoony moments when the guy gazes lovingly down at the girl, and when he has to stoop to kiss her, and just, agh -- definitely a catnip of mine as well!

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I seriously have a centimeter to feet converter open at all times on my phone just so I can check actors heights. Cuz, like you, 175cm means nothing to me.

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In case anyone is interested I reference this chart: http://www.teaching-english-in-japan.net/conversion/feet_inches

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Americans and your ridiculous continued use of the imperial system. Honestly. When WILL you just convert to metric? And Celsius. For the love of all things dramaland, please covert to Celsius.
(Heights are a little different I find, some people still refer to height in feet and inches even if their country doesn't use imperial)

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LOL You and your kdrama heights expertise are awesome!

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Oh, my goodness yes this catnip speaks to the short girl that I am so strongly it’s like a fist to the heart. I am vertically challenged myself with an unhealthy obsession with tall men. Kdjad;fj.

“I’m here to catnip” Officially, putting that phrase in my dictionary. Thank you @since2006. I too am a raging feminist who lives for the inequality of height differences in a relationship. It just tickles all the right spots in my mushy heart. I don’t go as far as researching their heights first, but I might do it during the watch and it definitely makes my drama antennae perk up when I see the unequal height dynamic.
This actually reminds me of the American TV show Sleepy Hollow (May the perfection that was S1 RIP. All other seasons did not exist. I’m still so angry about it). The height difference between the two leads Ichabod Crane and Abbie Mills was just perfection *__*.

I’m not ashamed to say that one of the reasons Park Bo Young is one of my favorite actresses (aside from being super talented) is because she’s so short like me! I just love seeing her be romanced by men much taller than her and living vicariously through her due to our mutual height disadvantage.

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Fellow short person here! (And girl who twisted her ankle today because she refuses to go to court in flats.)

I totally forgot how much I loved the height difference on Sleepy Hollow! (Which only ran for one spectacular season before it was woefully cancelled as far as I'm concerned...no one can convince me otherwise. Not even the hours I allegedly spent watching seasons 2 and 3. Those were clearly a fever dream.)

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Yayyyy, other Sleepy Hollow fans XD Yeah, I have to admit your right on the height difference. And I actually sort of enjoyed watching the second season, at least the first few episodes because after that I stopped watching. Now I'm feeling sorta grateful that I never picked it up again because the first season was EPIC.

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Trust me you did yourself a solid with that. Only the first half of S2 is worth it, and a few episodes at the beginning of S3.

I wish I could go back in time and not know how disastrously they would ruin what was primed to be one of the most amazing shows on tv with the most OTP leads. Ichabbie 4 lyfe. Such a swoon-worthy height difference.

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Oh m gosh. I hope your ankle gets better soon! I know that feel of the no-flats life though. The only time I ever wear flats is at home. Even my work boots have a heal. I'm so used to always wearing heels that it feels weird and abnormal if I were to attempt to wear flats outside. I feel like I'm not walking correctly.

Yea we don't speak on the 2nd half of S2 or S3. Never happened. (raises angry fist)

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Thanks! Yeah, I'm super annoyed about my ankle, but luckily it didn't swell up, so hopefully with a little rest, ice, and a compression bandage it'll be fine. Thankfully I was working from home after I twisted it so I didn't have to keep running around in heels.

The worst part is that they were block heels which are basically foolproof, even for someone as un-graceful as me. I may have to suck it up in flats for the rest of the week. I do have some thick soled docs, but it's so hot here the idea of wearing them is not appealing.

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I LOVED the first season of Sleepy Hollow. Crane is so tall and has that swoony accent. I lost interest after the second season though I tried to stick around for Crane.

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The height difference in Queen Inhyun's Man was everything ?

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Yes. I came to comments to look for this! That improvised tippy-toes kiss!

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Sameee~ QIHM's couple was the first couple that I thought of when I read the title. And OMG that kiss was improvised?

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Oh I think I used the wrong word...It wasn't in the script but Ji Hyun-woo suggested it to the director and they went with it. So it wasn't exactly improvised. Ehe ?

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YES YES YES

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Yeees! Reminds me of one of my favorite drama moments to date: the kiss in Queen In-hyun's Man when she tiptoes on his feet, ahhh.

Link for those who haven't seen it (or want to watch it again. And again): https://youtu.be/CXpnPN-dr7w

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For some reason the fact that she stepped on his feet is a total buzzkill for me. My first thought is always how painful it must be for the man. So whenever I see a kiss like this I'm instantly out of the (otherwise very swoony) scene.

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@potato and @antigone you've both beat me to it! That's one factor @since2006 didn't expand upon - height differences lead to all sorts of swoony kisses!

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I'm not as obsessive about it as to look up or know their heights...LOL...BUT, I will definitely sit on this bench with you! I love to see a tiny woman with a tall protective man. I can't even explain it. My hubs is a full foot taller than I am, and it makes me feel petite and feminine. :)

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My hubby is also a full foot taller than I am, and he sometimes teases me by pretending my head is an arm rest. It does not make me feel feminine, lol.

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sounds very sweet

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Omg, dead. Didn't think it would go as far as checking heights first thing. This is definitely catnip.

And I agree. There is something suuuuuper cute about height differences. I didn't even understand how two people could date when they were a similar height, until well, I did it myself.

I would add though - height difference PLUS SHOULDERS.

SHOULDERS ARE SO GOOD, especially when the girl is slight. Sung Hoon is the obvious winner, but Ji Chang Wook does it great too.

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Don't forget So Ji Sub!

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Omo. A good set of broad shoulders makes me weak in the knees! ?
@beansoverflowers can you write a 'broad shoulders' catnip piece? Haha!

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Age of Youth's Yoo Eun-jae and her Sunbae (Yoon Jong-yeol).. The dramatic height differences is wow but cute lol

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HAHAHA omg this!! Love this

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Jang Na-ra and all her leading men :).

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park bo young and all her leads in everything too :D

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I'm currently rewatching The Kings 2 Heart (Secret Garden before this and Empress Ki is next - Ha Ji Won marathon. What can I say...) so I'd put Ha Ji Won and all her leading men.

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AHHH I FEEL THIS SO HARD. i'm glad to know i'm not the only person who looks up actors and actresses' heights when i start a drama + lowkey favors kdramas over jdramas because of this reason.

there's just something about smol and tol couples that gets me hooked, especially when smol wants to fight everyone and tol is always there to protect or defend them.

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I love and wish I could upvote/thumbs up this post!!!

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Same!

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GURLLLL....THIS ARTICLE MAKES ME SOOO HAPPY....THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE!! YASS YASSS YASSS AGREE!! I got on height difference was Rain and Song Hye Kyo, full house! Ever since then....the height difference that i truly enjoy was strong woman, park hyung sik and park bo young. There wasn't so much in between i could enjoy. There aren't a lot of petite actresses in Korea now adays i feel like! But they are my favorite ..esp park bo young! I basically imagine her with all the tall actors! I really want to see him again with Lee min ho since they were acting together way before the fame !! okei i got so into commenting lol..sorry about that!

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I... Am the exact opposite. Am I the only one here who doesn't like large height differences? I can totally see the appeal because it's adorable but on a personal level it does nothing for me. ?

I'm 5 foot 9, at least 10-15cm taller than most of my peers and I've always felt like the gangly, large, ugly friend. It doesn't help that the average height of men in my country's demographics seems to be 5 foot 9, and I personally love meeting taller people because it makes me feel... Tiny. I hate feeling like a giant! The only problem is few people here are tinier than me. ?

That's why when I watch a drama, I love when the male lead is very tall (180+ is good for me) but when I see a tiny female lead I can't help but feel so miffed that I don't ever get to meet someone tall like that and the petite girls are stealing all the giant men for themselves. Am I making any sense? ?

Still, I don't choose to watch dramas just because of the height, so I'll watch regardless, haha!

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Haha!!! I can feel you so much!!!!

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ahahhh...am 5' 11...i also feel the same way you do..its hard to find guys that can make me feel tiny...and while this catnip isn't some thing that determines if i watch a drama or not...i agree that small girls with bigger guys are cuter.

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I'm tiny (5'2") but just like you I like feeling tiny when among men. Is it biology or just us? On average, men in my country aren't very tall, maybe 5'6" to 5'8" (you'll easily tower over most of them), so I don't feel dwarfed enough, really. LOL.

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For me it's like an inferiority complex, because I've always been the tall/large kid. Doesn't help that a lot of clothes are made for the average height so everything is too short! But maybe biologically we prefer to be "tiny" so it feels like we're being protected? ? Aww at least you're shorter than them! I'm taller/just a couple of CM shorter than most male friends

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I guess maybe yeah there's something inherent in us about wanting protection in case of wanting to be tiny.

You should come to Norway. I hear guys there are really tall. LOL.

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I thought about it and after some soulsearching, this isn't really my catnip. I like my petite actresses cute (since I am neither) and it gives that little nip to the romance. BUT mostly it's my preference in actors. I like them quite tall and handsome. I am an easy girl. Somebody also mentioned wide shoulders - yes, please. And if they can be served with irony and a little crooked but dashing smile, I am in heaven.

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That sounds like the perfect hero. Tall, broad shoulders, a cute smile (this is number 1 for me, but all Korean actors seem to have cute smiles anyway). Best if he's adorably sweet like Minhyuk/Ji Wook. ?

But as a personal preference I like my heroines to be tall too so that I can live vicariously through them. A girl can only dream. ?

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YESSS!!! I'm a little taller than you and while that isn't unusually tall for us vikings lol, it's not as easy to find guys taller than me as if I was petite. So whenever I see dramas with same-height couples or (which has yet to happen) the woman taller than the guy, I get so excited haha. To me it's also a plus that it's a break from ideas of how relationships are supposed to "look" like. On the other hand I'm always excited when I found out an actor is taller than me hahaha :P

(And if it makes you feel any better about your height, 5 foot 9 isn't considered that tall in my country, only semi-tall :b)

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Maybe I need to move to your country! (Vikings? Are you from Norway?) I am considered very tall where I live.

I'll admit that the conventional "taller guy shorter girl" mindset is ingrained into my mind. As a personal preference, I still really like taller guys. That's why I always get excited if an actor is taller than me too :p

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You should haha! No one would bat an eye at your height here. Nope, Denmark :) All of Scandinavia had vikings and northern Germany too.

I feel awful and like I shouldn't feel this way, but I'd be lying if I said a tall guy wasn't my preference heh. As a kid I was much taller than the others, so guess I'm the same as you in that I don't want to feel selfconcious about my height.

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I feel you with the height difference. I'm somewhere between 5.11 and 6 ft but when asked I'd say that I'm 5.9ish lol. To make it worse I have to wear some kind of heels because my angles' hurt with flat shoes.
My k drama crushes are around 5.10. Song Joong-ki, Yeo Jin-goo, Noh Young-hak looks tall but he is only 5.7 /cry.

I love it when the guy is taller so I find these pairing so adorable.

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I love watching very tall male Korean actors walk like they're on a catwalk but I don't like seeing them towering over the female lead, it looks so uncomfortable. It was one of the things I liked about Beautiful Gong Shim. It's so hard to think of another kdrama (maybe Lee Hong Ki dramas?) that what springs to mind first is Willow and Oz from Buffy!

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I have always loved dramatic height difference in dramas, (Nine Times Travel comes to mind) and I still do, a lot.

But recently I have watched Jealousy Incarnate and I have been shaken completely. I don't know why but the slight height difference in that drama seemed to majorly contribute to the crackling chemistry. I swooned at how taller Go Kyung Pyo was than Gong Hyo Jin who is herself tall. And then Jo Jung Suk came into the scene, and it was a feast of fireworks!

Somebody tell me why!

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I find big height difference between leads to be cute, but the rare same height couple always makes their chemistry extra crackling for me. Just like when I watch ShiNari couple in Jealousy Incarnate. I love how they can talk eye to eye without the man has to stoop down to do that.

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Eye to eye! Exactly!

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Eye to eye! Yes! Much taller actor and much shorter actress can't stare at each other like that!
Exhibit A: JI Ep 14 locker kiss. There were fireworks left and right! XD

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Ahh....still miss this drama. It's the JJS effect. He's just simply awesome.

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Totally agree.

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I got to the same point. There is this loong row of high actors I love to see (PHJ,JCW,LJS,KRW,SJS,JIS) and then there is Jo Jung Seok. Not that he is that small, but still. I must be severely biased in his case.

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I KONW I am severely biased in his case ? but I was still surprised to see the eye to eye level SO effective and electric!

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JJS will always be the exception to the rule. ?

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thou he still looks so tall when standing beside PBY

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Haha... It is a rather weird catnip. I do prefer my drama men to be tall, but not necessarily the women to be tiny. Just that the men are taller.

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I've seen enough height differences that it doesn't really phase me anymore. But I'm a sucker for when the woman is taller than the man (especially if it's extremely noticeable), though I rarely ever see it.

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I do love the height difference!!! I like men who are tall!! For a girl who is 170cm, short men are a nightmare.... I just hate it so much to stand next to guys who are shorter than me, which happens most of the time.... At the same time, I am also not a fan of shorter girls too!!! I hate when I can't reach things, which doesn't happen btw!!! Anyway a man of >185cm is my ideal one!!!

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I sooooo get that as I'm doing exactly the same thing!
I'm quite short (159cm - sorry, no inches I'm European), but any man below 180cm is too short for me - both in real life and in dramaland.
In Korean actors it influences a lot the intensity of their swooning effect on me. #diggingtall&tiny?

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Oh my God. This is like, the single most relatable catnip so far.

I'm 158 cm or around 5'2" (I think you'd know better), so I'm pretty tiny (probably Park Bo Young-tiny), but ever since I grew to be that tall (or that tiny, depending on how you see it) I've always felt, well... not exactly gigantic but really not at all small. Just like you, I'd like to consider myself a feminist. And similarly, for some reason I just like the image of a tall, broad-shouldered guy paired with a tiny girl. And I'm not afraid to admit this somewhat shallow, maybe un-feminist idea of mine.

However, where I live, 158 cm isn't so short, and I've always felt I tower over girls around me that average between 150-155. 155-158 is a small margin, but still, I feel big... wherever I go.

Before I go on a tangent here, I just want to say that I find the idea of a male lead towering over the female lead adorable because it's something very relatable to me. I also like to be towered over by guys, since it's like a breathe of fresh air from the normalcy of myself towering over girls (not by much, but who says feelings are rational).

So thank you for writing this and showing me that being a feminist doesn't mean you can't get behind this catnip, something that might seem shallow. Sometimes... the heart wants what it wants.

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it's funny I am 159cm which is not tall at all and when I was in California I was one of the short ones always... All my guy friends would tease me and use my head as a perch... or they'd fluff my hair as if I were a puppy (I hated it and I used to become violent... which also used to make them laugh more. hmph). My boyfriend back then was also significantly taller than me though when we started dating he was my height, he kept growing and growing and I just stayed the same height since 9th grade jajaja.

Now living in Yucatan, I'm not tall but I'm definitely not short. more than half the girls my age are half to a whole head shorter than me. so sometimes I end up feeling like clumsy and gigantic, I also felt that buying clothes was also a hassle especially at first because I was used to buying in the petite section in the US , but here everybody is petite so I have to buy the bigger sizes but sometimes they are just wider not longer so that's a problem.
anyways, the other main difference is that even the guys here aren't so tall and I can either see eye to eye with them or they're even shorter than I am, and that does make me actually tease them how I used to be teased so yay for revenge or not, but it doesn't make me see them as potential dating partners ever. ... only once in a while do I see someone who's significantly taller and that makes me sad sometimes jajaja, because I love taller, defined but not so skinny guys and that's rather hard to find here. they are an endangered breed.

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I remember watching The Ten Commandments as a teenager and swooning over the way Charleton Heston towered over his petite and feminine costars. He was so big and strong and masculine. And I mourned the fact that it would never be me -- even then I was monster amazon woman. The only chance I have at a man a foot taller than me is if I can somehow manage to meet a professional basketball player. Le sigh. Hooray for dramas and fantasy!

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There's hope. My cousin in law is 6'2". My cousin? 6'8". They crack me up.

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That's awesome! :-)

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Oh whoa yeah I remember watching that when I was younger too. Heston would scoop up those petite ladies in his arms and giving big ol' engulfing embraces.

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This is so real, it has even invaded my personal life. Whenever the issue of height comes up, I'll tell my husband that he's short, very much to his annoyance. I've never thought of it that way before I started watching kdramas. I guess it would serve me right if he ever starts on kdramas and quip "Why aren't you petite/cute/beautiful?" I am 5 ft 6" and let's just say my only hope in showbiz is gags.

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ah, I hope I could be as tall as you

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? But then you can easily find a guy who's taller ? that's if you haven't already found your other half.

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Aw I love being 5'6"! Tall enough to be fierce in heels, but short enough to feel small next to my (unreasonably) tall guy friends and family. Plus - legs for dayzz ;)

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I love how you made something as simple as height differences into a catnip, and worded it so well here! Laughed so much while reading this! As a person who is quite short I do enjoy watching dramas with such a height difference (because apart from it looking cute onscreen, I can imagine myself next to those tall guys. Like, ah, I'm up to his chest, so a hug would put my face right there in the middle. Or maybe I'm up to his shoulders, so I can lean on those sturdy things. HAHAHA)

I remember the height of my crush on Park Bo Gum and was sad to that Hyeri and Kim Yoo Jung were quite taller than me, because their height always looked so compatible onscreen HAHAHA

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And when he has to bend to look her in the eyeeee! *squeeee* ???

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Now I'm discovering a variety of catnips that I didn't even know they existed in the first place.
Height difference has never been a big deal for me, I even feel better if the female lead challenges the height of the male leads, because honestly I feel bad for the tall guys having to bend down to kiss the girl (cue baby-faced beauty) , but the height stuff has always been a part of the package, never standing out on its own.
But now I realize many beanies are so drawn towards it :-)

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I found myself with a huge grin on my face, reading this... You're so cute, you realize??

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Never thought about it but yeah it is intriguing... :)

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Never thought about it either but always notice it. Sometimes I actually check their heights online...

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omo @since2006, this is such a great post! HAHAHAHA I love it and yes to the part where even though you're a raging feminist, you're so unapologetic about loving this one. ME TOO!

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If you have a secret group of people-who-swoon-cause-of-the-height-difference, send me a secret letter, I am with you!

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Well, not so secret anymore!

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Well I am the opposite I guess. I like it more when height difference of male and female leads are balanced, rather than extreme. Say a height difference of 10-15 cm would be ideal for me. Anything around 20 cm or more is too much. Too much height difference gives me the impression of a man and a child, rather than a man and a woman, esp if heroine is on cuter side. I prefer it when hero and heroine are balanced physically and complement each other, rather than heroine looking all fragile and small next to hero. That leads to too much power imbalance IMO. Lol maybe I just have a thing for balance and equality in all aspects of relationships.
Also when height difference is too much, while doing close up scenes, camera has to focus on male lead in one shot and female lead in another shot which kind of breaks the flow. While in case of similar heights camera can capture expressions and reactions of both leads simultaneously which increases the beauty and flow.

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I think it's sexy when both leads are close in height so they can meet each others gaze without the woman tilting her neck so far back....

Kissing is easier that way too ?, it looks more natural when the guy doesn't have to bend in such an uncomfortable way that you think of the discomfort and not the fact they are kissing. I noticed they shoot some kiss scenes sitting down when the height difference is 20 cm+, probably more comfortable for the actors that way.

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Exactly! Kissing and gazing into each other's eyes looks so much more comfortable when height difference is balanced.

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It's hilarious when you watch BTS clips from dramas where the male actor is actually adopting a 'giraffe stooping down to drink' stance when kissing the female lead!

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When this happens I always hope that scene was filmed with no retakes. Otherwise I start to worry about his back...

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I admit that one of the things that I loved about NJH and LSK in weightlifting fairy Kim bok joo was their height difference. Both of them are so tall - They complement each other so well and I found that somewhat adds to their chemistry

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Weightlifting fairy is such a good example. Though NJH is quite tall, his height is beautifully balanced by LSK who is on taller side herself. It made them look like equal partners (which they were in fact), and added to the chemistry.

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The first time I paid any attention to heights was with the American series, Commander in Chief. The lead actress, Geena Davis, is 6ft tall so all her co-stars that she shared a lot of screen time with had to be over 6ft. Seeing that this was about power games, it actually played out quite well. The body language was amazing and height was definitely an important factor.

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Models nam joohyuk,lee jongsuk and kim youngkwang towers over their cast members lol

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Boyoung is so smol and cute?

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I never really thought about it but I totally agree! I love a good height difference in a romance- the first that comes to mind is Nam Joo Hyuk and Kim Seul Gi in Surpluss Princess. The height difference was so big it was almost funny, and yet it was just so, so adorable!

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To be fair, Kin Seul Gi looks great with everybody.

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Haha! The greatest height difference is Park Bo Young and Hyung Sik. She's so tiny while he's so tall and gangly. I'm the same height as her so I know where I will reach if I stand next to him. lol I'm still having withdrawal symptoms with this puppy couple. No other OTP has come close to overtaking their position.

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puppy couple is love

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Although I don't watch SWDBS and Fight for My Way but I am too, a fans of this kind of catnip.
To mention some of my favourites:
Ji Hyun woo - Yoo Inna (QIHM)
Lee Taehwan - Park Eunbin (Father I'll Take Care of You)
Kim Youngkwang - Soojin (9+ Boys)
Nam Joohyuk - Kim Seulgi (Surpluss Princess)
Lee Jongsuk - Park Shinhye (Pinocchio) (although I ship PSH - Taecyeon in real life. Lol)
Kim Minjoon - Min Hyorin (Romance Town. Such an old drama)
Hong Jonghyun - Han Sungyeon (Her Lovely Heels. Strangely I watch this several times although I don't like her acting. Lol. Same goes with Kim Young Kwang - Gu Hara in 13 Bucket List)
Jung Kyu won - Hong Soohyun (History of a Salaryman. I watch the drama for their parts only)
I think I have more than this but I can't remember all of them right now.
Btw thank you for writing this. Now I know that I am not alone.

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Hey, there's another Taecyeon-Shin Hye shipper here! Weren't he so darn cute with his crush on her (and his denial of it?)?

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Haha... yes. He may deny it but his actions speak loudly that he has severe crush on her.

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I like some couples with big height differences but other times I'm just reminded of a dad out walking with his daughter, lol. So I guess if the chemistry is there I don't care about height. That said I'd love to see a main couple in kdrama land where the girl is notacibly taller than the guy and I'd especially love it if said height difference was never even brought up in the drama.

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I recently started watching 'forest of secrets' and you can tell that Bae Doo-na is taller than Cho Seung-woo, and though there might not be a loveline between the two (there also might be, who knows), there's a really interesting chemistry there that I think is aided by the fact that they look to be of the same height (or where she's taller).

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Jung Eun-ji's dramas would be good example. So far, she'd been working with tall guys, Seo In-guk, Ji soo, Lee Won-geun, Sung Shin-rok, Ji Hyun-woo. Not to forget, Jo In-sung, although she's not paired with him.

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yes, Jung Eun-ji and Lee Won-geun

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OH YES to this!! Maybe this is why I shipped her so much.

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Well I never thought of it as a catnip but as a short girl I prefer tall guys so I like it when in dramas the guy is tall and I enjoy the height difference with the girl too. But it's not something I look for first in a drama. It's more like a bonus

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SIG height difference with Cha Ji An in IRY was also really cute. And in 1997.

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Sassy Go Go:
Ji Soo - Jung Eun ji - Lee Won geun

OMO!

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Brilliant article-i didn't realize this was my irresistible catnip, too!
The scientist in me wants to go back to all my fave dramas and see if second leads tend to be shorter than our main guys......

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In the name of science,.....of course!

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