K-drama Golden Retriever Boyfriends
Every single day there are new terms and words that come up to describe pre-existing concepts and the golden retriever boy is one such term that is gaining a lot of popularity lately.
The term “golden retriever boyfriend” is used to denote a boyfriend who is pleasant, supportive and equal to his partner. The Urban Dictionary defines “golden retriever boyfriend” as “a significant other that is easygoing and makes it fairly simple to maintain a happy and fulfilling relationship”.
With K-dramas raising dating standards left, right and centre, there are bound to be golden retriever boyfriends for us to wish for. Here is a list of 10 K-drama boys that would definitely get the golden retriever title.
Jun-ho from Extraordinary Attorney Woo
This list would not exist without Lee Jun-ho from Extraordinary Attorney Woo. From holding the elevator door, listening to whale talk, stopping you from a fake suicide by grabbing onto your butt or being your personal hugging chair for anxiety days, Lee Jun-ho is the ideal golden retriever boy and this is why it was so easy for Attorney Woo to fall for him.
Min-hyuk from Strong Woman Do Bong-soon
If there is sass in one K-drama boy, it is the rich CEO, Ahn Min-hyuk. Despite coming from a wealthy family Min-hyuk has all the charms of being a dedicated boyfriend to the busy body – Do Bong-soon and makes it fairly easy for her to date him despite all the chaos in her life.
This type of golden retriever boy holds a special place in our hearts because he does not shy away from being seen as weak when it comes to dating a strong woman like Bong-soon.
Hee-tae from Youth of May
One K-drama scene that screams green flag is the 2021 emotional drama Youth Of May’s fake date scene featuring Hee-tae and Myung-hee (pretending to be Soo-ryeon). The first date is chaotic with Myung-hee trying to shock Hee-tae with her modern demands and the lovable Hee-tae cheerfully agreeing to all these demands that most men of the time would call insane.
From agreeing to let her work after marriage to let her make the choice of not having kids if she wishes to, Hee-tae not only impressed Myung-hee but left viewers swooning at his golden retriever energy.
Du-shik from Hometown Cha Cha Cha
Why get many different people to work for you when there is Chief Hong who is the heart and the soul of his town? From being a handyman to a singer, Hong Du-shik is a jack of all trades and a master of winning the cold-hearted city girl, Hye-jin.
Du-shik and Hye-jin’s relationship had its fair share of troubles but Du-shik made the relationship easy-going with his thoughtful gifts like a wooden jewellery box made by hand. Oh, and talk about sheer dedication and hard work when he fixed her expensive heels!
Sung-hoon from A Business Proposal
We know that Kang Tae-moo is the most ideal boyfriend there would be all thanks to his black card but the side lead from A Business Proposal, Cha Sung-hoon is one of the most easy-going boyfriends to come from Korean dramas. I have never seen a character carry a girl on his back without huffing or puffing.
From breaking open a toilet when you are rushing to pee to killing a cockroach for you despite his fear of the insect, Sung-hoon does it all. And as a plus, he also is keen on not letting you forget what it’s like spending the night with him!
Hyung-seung from She Would Never Know
There is something special about office romances but younger guys are often seen as naive and childish by women. Such is the case for Song-a who does not see her office junior – Hyun-seung as her potential partner. However, Hyun-seung ends up winning the favour of his crush by protecting her from every possible harm, including her petty and cheating ex-boyfriend.
Their relationship is as easy-going as it can get with Hyun-seung proving to be a golden retriever boyfriend by being there for Song-a, so matter the situation she is faced with.
Tae-joon from Love All Play
If you want to get yourself a boy who has been rooting for you from the time you were a child, find yourself a Park Tae-joon. The boy spent years trying to meet his childhood crush only for him to be met with Park Tae-yang’s cold-hearted self.
The show follows Tae-joon’s peak golden retriever boy behaviour as he goes from having a one-sided crush on Tae-yang to finally becoming the man she kisses in her dreams. From his iconic back hugs to his million-dollar smile, everything Tae-joon does screams golden retriever boy.
Seon-gyeom from Run On
One of the lesser-known golden retriever boys of the K-drama world is Seon-gyeom from Run On who makes dating him fairly easy. Who does not want a guy who is okay with holding hands when you find making out overwhelming?
The show follows the story of Seon-gyeom and Mi-joo’s romance as they learn more about each other’s lives no matter how contrasting they are.
Gong Chan from Why Her?
There is something about a guy meeting his first love after years of thinking about her and Gong Chan from 2021’s Why Her? is one such K-drama boyfriend. One iconic line from Gong Chan that proves he is a golden retriever boy is when he said, ‘So what if his net worth is 70 billion won? My heart is worth 700 billion won.’
Gong Chan and his actions from the show prove that you do not need a lot of money to win over a girl but sheer dedication to be with them no matter what trouble comes in the way.
Lee Ahn from He Is Psychometric
Childhood friends to adult lovers is one trope that K-dramas never miss and He Is Psychometric takes it to a whole different level. Lee Ahn is the ideal golden retriever boy who helps his childhood friend cope with anxiety, his teenage classmate deal with bullies and his adult love interest fight the bad guys.
The cherry on the cake is that all three of these people is the same girl and Lee Ahn is clearly head over heels for her.
And there we have it, our list of the 10 best Golden Retriever Boyfriends from Korean dramas!
What do you think of our list? Have we included your favourites? Or have we missed any must-watch Golden Retriever K-drama boys? We love to hear from you so do feel free to let us know in the comments below.