I wonder how many people will read each of the different 'catnips' and think - yes! Totally catnip!

I know for the two that have been written about so far, I didn't think of them originally, but now that you mention it... Of course those are catnip!

Omggg this is like my ULTIMATE catnip as well!! Are there any more recommendations other than the ones mentioned in this post?

I love this trope too, for all the reasons you listed above. It's like you read my mind, girlfriday. The petty jealousy I always found hilarious and I look forward to it every time. Every single file damn time. Whether it's the lead or second, it's catnip to me and always gets me laughing.

But...but...but... Eun-bi should have been with Tae-kwang, dramaland law be damned, he loved her first for who she was and protected her! I will never live that down. *cries

You may have just helped me realize that this is another plot that I love. I, too, love that petty jealousy that rears its head.

Eeks, I love this trope too. It's probably an innate preference for the heroine to be pursued as well! If anything, I would tell my younger self to pay less attention to the hot guy (not that I ever had any cute doofus with a crush on me, LOL) too.

I love it when the hero falls first because then we get lots of scenes of him observing her, noticing all the little things about her that he really, really likes. But this might stem from my own insecurities, because I've always been the one sitting around observing someone.

Still, this is a trope that I really love! I figure it's the reason why I enjoyed WFKBJ and SWDBS so much. Besides the fact that our leading men were absolute sweethearts, I adored how they fell so hard, and really showed us how much they liked the heroine in her true, unfiltered self.

Hmm... not really a catnip for me.

But it IS cute and I'd be like 70% guaranteed watching those shows. Jn fact I did watch all those metioned, except for Biscuit and School 2015.

Ahhh I love it when the guy falls first!! But you're totally right about the second lead pitfall- I spent most of School 2015 thinking Sungjae was our hero only to wind up very sad =P

I loved reading your thoughts. One of my favorite things about the hero falling first is, like you said, that he becomes the observer. He sees everything, and he loves the female lead BECAUSE of who she really is. Love triangles are often used really well in Kdramas, because they give the female lead room to grow. She realizes that trying to be someone she's not is a terrible idea, and after falling out of love with the person who she thought she had to change for, she goes for the guy who loved her true self. I think Weightlifting Fairy illustrated this perfectly.

Thanks for sharing your catnip! I hadn't thought of this one, but it's very true for me.

Definitely one of my catnips (I have many, an unfortunate affliction) oh my gawd! Like you said, there's just something about the hero, the one who traditionally has more power in the relationship being brought down a peg (or several) by his uncontrollable affection for a woman who doesn't see him in a romantic light at all (at least not first).

And it's always all the better when that affection is portrayed as pure and sincere; where all he wants is for her to be happy because that makes him happy. Regardless if he feels he has an actual shot with her or not. I think in those instances you also get to see the basis of the hero's feelings for the heroine. Does he have gross hints of Nice Guy syndrome or is he supportive even when what she wants isn't related to him?

Love it.

This article is my drama catnip. Period. AHHH!!

That is my favorite catnip too! A hero who falls first, and I will add, does not waver, no matter what! A hero who stays true to his heart. And will wait for his love. Ah...devotion, and loyalty!

Well, I don't think I have seen that many dramas were the guy falls in love, is usually the heroine who falls in love first. And from this list I have seen neither of those dramas mention.?

This trope is one of the many reasons I became a Kim Eun-sook fan. I love it when the guy falls first, there's something hilarious about watching a guy be all lovey-dovey although I hate when the girl is clueless because she gets super friendly with the second lead and he starts thinking she likes him and it all just makes me annoyed.

I was going to submit a similar post about this (something along the line of "I love it when a hero pursues the heroine with all his might") and was going to include Seo In Guk in many things (like how he ran without his shoe in 1997, or how Louis was crazy in love for Boksssshill, or how in King of High School, he overcame the age gap), but you've saved me the effort with this wonderful post. Thank you girlfriday!

This is my catnip! Almost all the dramas mentioned are those I loved dearly. Well except for Jealousy Incarnate and Romantic Doctor . Which i guess I have to get into soon.

This has been a massive catnip of mine I love this drama troupe and I love it even more when it actually is the hero not the second lead.

I know! I love when that happens too and I'm excited that I've watched most of the dramas you talked about except reply1997, plus nine boys ave the biscuit guy one (grin)

This is probably my ultimate catnip to end all catnip.

Awwww I love this post. The way it was written brought me back to all those dramas and I agree wholeheartedly with all your views!
This is my favorite catnip as well, I don't know why but a drama is 100x sweeter for me if the Hero falls first.

This is definitely my catnip too!! I particularly like that the kind that starts with a friends to lovers type of relationship. However, when the girl takes forever to realize his feelings - thus taking him for granted sometimes aka Answer to 1997 - I want to shake her so the story can move along fast.

Oh gosh, some of my favourites are already listed by @girlfriday in this post, like "Strong Woman, Do Bong Soon", "Reply 1997", "I Can Hear Your Voice", "Weightlifting Fairy, Kim Bok Joo", "Twenty Again"... Some of my other faves not mentioned:
- "Golden Rainbow", Lee Jae Yoon's love for Uee
- "She Was Pretty", Choi Shi Won's love for Hwang Jung Eum
- "Save the Last Dance for Me", Ji Sung's love for Eugene (in both, pre- and post- amnesia
- "Hwarang", Jin Heung's love for Aro
- "Reply 1988", Choi Taek's (Bo Gummy!!!!!) love for Deok Sun
- "Moonlight Drawn By Clouds" Moon Sung's love for Ra On

Ugh!!! MY HEARTEU!!!!!! </3

Does Healer count? What if you're jealous of yourself? Bong-soo Bong-soo...

I never realized that this is one of my catnip until I read it. But yes, watching the hero spent the first half of drama pining after the heroine is so satisfying. Not to mention that my first gate to kdrama addiction was I Hear Your Voice, with Lee Jong-suk being the most adorable and earnest puppy who has a massive one-sided noona crush on Lee Bo-young's heroine.

I didn't realize I had any drama land catnip until I read this and realized I've watched and loved half these shows...and the other half are going on my to-watch list :)

Reading about Kim Young-kwang in Plus Nine Boys makes me think sorta reprised his role in Go Ho, The Starry Night. It got laggy after around two-third, so fast-forwarded it, but it portrayed the holding-the-torch-for-the-heroine-since-forever excellently.

Sigh...Propose...one of my first crack dramas! I'm wondering if I should now add I Hear Your Voice to my drama queue, since I've really liked most of the dramas GF mentioned here. Glad that Plus Nine Boys was mentioned; I thought that storyline was really cute and that the drama kind of flew under the radar.

Can't wait to read the other catnips!

Still to this day, the best love confession in dramaland is the one made by Seo In Guk in Answer me 1997!

Yes, definitely my catnip. My favorite being Reply 1997 Seo-In Guk and Biscuits Teacher Gong Yo..

Oh my! It only took you mentioning almost all of my favourite dramas for me to realise that this is HANDS DOWN my catnip!!

I was thinking something along these lines for my catnip too! Now I don't have to write it out. Although come to think of it I wouldnt mind if the heroine falls first if she behaves exactly like these male heroes, but I feel like they rarely do.

For me it's all about that pure devotion, when the hero doesnt hesitate to show his affection (even if he wont confess) and just cares for the heroines happiness.

I mean this also works for SongJoongKis epic bromance with YooAhIn in Sungkyunkwang :D the devotion is everything.

Reading this makes me want to go back and rewatch all these dramas.

Love this kind of premises...

This is one of my all-time favorite tropes to have in a drama. I always love when the main male lead falls in love first. As long as he is not horrible about it, aka Secret Garden, then this is definitely catnip for me. There is something so adorable when the guy falls first. Most times when the girl is in crushland first, the shows seems to try and make it completely embarrassing for her, but not in a cute way, instead it comes across as she is somewhat pathetic.

I really fell for Ahn Min-hyuk of Strong Woman Do Bong-soon when he blurted out loud that Bong-soon is so sexy after she reproached him for helping her. While there are heroes who pine for sassy heroines, I haven't see one who has openly said that her toughness makes her attractive.

Your catnip reminds me of so many shows that I love! :D
Definitely my catnip too! It's just so delicious seeing the process of falling in love :)
I hear your voice rain scene picture still gives me so much feels.

Ah Weightlifting Fairy and Strong Woman really struck a cord with me. I am so happy to see this catnip gaining traction. To be honest, when I think of korean dramas I mostly recall the heroine falling first. Since Weightlifting Fairy and Strong Woman basically aired back to back, I feel like this catnip is finally gaining steam among more viewers. I really hope to see more heroes falling first drama to come!

Oh...I love this write up, it's honest and insightful. I think I know why I don't feel this catnip most of the time but it actually helps to know why it's liked. Thank you ^^

I think i'm a sucker for like the male lead was in denial of his feelings for the female lead, but then when the latter went into some trouble/accident etc (may even need him to save her etc)....then he finally realised that he is in love with her....and that he can't live without her !! LOL !!

*Sign*
Seeing javabeans' posts on catnip writing, I've been thinking really hard on why I love Reply 1997, I hear your voice, Kim Bok Joo sooo muchhhhh.... and if there is a pattern on those dramas...
Now seeing girlfriday's catnips... realizing this is why... She spoke thru my heart on why I love these dramas. Like I have discovered myself. :)))
Yes, becos the hero falls first. Or the hero keeps his crush silently for a good a mount of time... And the end of the drama is not the female lead wins the male lead hearts and we see them happy for 1 or 2 eps before the drama ends.
I think it's also why I love Ahn Min Hyuk without loving the drama SWDBS as a whole.
Thank you for this post @girlfriday, you make my drama watching experience turns a new page!!! I will definitely check out the dramas you mention here! ♥♥♥♥♥

I’ve been trying to define what it is about SWDBS that I liked - aside from the swoon-worthy Park Hyung-sik of course - and you just described it perfectly @girlfriday! That whole paragraph about SWDBS pretty much made me realize that this is my catnip, teehee.

“It puts the hero in the position of the observer, and he sees and loves the heroine for who she is, and not the version of herself she thinks she needs to project in order to be loved... His approach to winning her over was to make her realize that she was lovable, and loved by him.”

Oh, what a heart-fluttering way to describe it. One of my favorite parts of the drama was when they were lying on that couch and Min-hyuk was asking Bong-soon to love him back. I mean, how can you NOT?

I realized some time ago that these are my favorite kind of Dramas. I tjink that's why Kim Eun Sook's dramas are so popular and crackstastick. Love it in Secret Garden and even in the Moon Embracing the Sun and Dong Yi!! (The last two are from another author) All my favorites!!

This is a smart analysis ... like I only just realized what I like about so many dramas. Duh. And I agree with the comments already made. Lots of recommendations for shows to watch. <3

Personally, I wish men were like this (that's why it's catnip), but realistically, I think it is rare (that's why it's catnip).

Secret Garden <3 <3 <3

I didn't realize that I was catnipped by this trope until reading this article!! I love love love every drama mentioned. I guess I really am a sucker for male leads who fall first, who knew?

What do you mean "this is not like real life"??!?! Great, now I have to change my life plan...........

This isn't as big of a catnip as the reunited lovers one but I definitely love watching the thrill of the chase - so to speak. I think I actually like the obnoxious jerky male lead who falls for the female lead first - like Secret Garden, Best Love (TGL), or All About My Romance. I find that I am a little less into the nice male lead who does the protecting in the background until the female lead finally notices. But I definitely like the ones where the male lead falls in love first. They usually see the good in the female lead which leads them to falling for them and I like that part. Oh - one more KES's A Gentleman's Dignity. Another one of my favorites - JDG's character really put out quite an effort in chasing KHN's character.

My catnip is reading all these catnips to remind me that I'm a sucker for pretty much all of it! Thank you girlfriday for taunting me to rewatch EVERY SINGLE ONE of the dramas you mentioned! Well I haven't watched Twenty Again so maybe I'll squeeze that in the midst of the bajillion dramas I'm watching that are currently broadcasting.

I'm realizing right now that this catnip is probably what attracts me in noona romances: it would probably feel weird if the noona was pursuing the youngster, or even not resisting him. It's by all means a puppy love which shouldn't be successful but miraculously happens because the guy has persevered (I'm thinking Kim Bum in The woman who still wants to marry for instance) and won over the nice, age-appropriate, good-looking, wealthier rival.