5 K-Drama Leading Ladies Who Use Displacement As A Defense Mechanism When They Are Jealous Of Their Male Lead’s Ex-Girlfriend

Sunny weather, positive energy, and glittering effect are always following her as she finally admits to herself that she is in love with her male lead. Yet all those beautiful things suddenly drop when her male lead’s ex-girlfriend enters the scene. For some reason, she can’t express her resentments toward her rival, so she instead pours them into her leading man.

That typical behavior from K-Drama leading ladies is called Displacement. According to Freud, Displacement is a type of defense mechanism wherein an individual thinks that she can’t get angry with the person who intimidates her, which leads the person to channel her anger to someone close to her.

Here are five K-Drama leading ladies who use displacement as a defense mechanism when they are jealous of their male lead’s ex-girlfriend.

Warning: Contain spoilers

1. Woo DoHee of “Dinner Mate”

Hop on! to a unique blind date experience of “Dinner Mate,” starring Seo JiHye as Woo DoHee, a producer who keeps bumping with a psychiatrist Kim HaeKyung (Song SeungHeon). On another night of their bumping coincidence, DoHee asks HaeKyung if they can become each other’s dinner mates – without knowing each other’s basic life details, especially their names. HaeKyung accepts it, and they become dinner mates. Usually, when they’re having dinner, they only talk about food and the challenges they are facing with their first love.

A lot of times, during their bumping coincidence and dinner, HaeKyung helps DoHee with her troubles. This lead, DoHee to slowly fall in love with her dinner mate (she also seems to think that HaeKyung is her destiny). But, one night, when DoHee is having dinner with Jin NoEul (Son NaEun) – the star of the show that she is producing; she finds out that NoEul’s ex-boyfriend HaeKyung is her dinner mate. NoEul then tells DoHee that she wants to get back with HaeKyung, so DoHee escapes the dinner to meet with HaeKyung.

When HaeKyung arrives at their meeting place, DoHee coldly tells him she doesn’t want to be his dinner mate anymore. Although this is an unhappy scene, it pushes HaeKyung – in the later episodes to bravely confess his love for DoHee.

2. Kim BokJoo of “Weightlifting Fairy Kim BokJoo”

A story of friends that turn into a lover is the charm of the TV drama “Weightlifting Fairy Kim BokJoo.” BokJoo (Lee SungKyoung) is an ace player on the weightlifting team at a Sports University. Likewise, her elementary classmate Jung JoonHyung (Nam JooHyuk) is attending the same university as a swimmer. At first, their relationship is like a cat and dog, but eventually, they fall in love and start dating each other.

On their first date, JoonHyung’s ex-girlfriend Song ShiHo (Kyung SooJin) gets hospitalized. JoonHyung and BokJoo visit ShiHo, but when she sees JoonHyung taking care of his ex-girlfriend while also verbalizing his knowledge of her, she becomes irritable on their way home. So JoonHyung treats BokJoo to street food, but while she’s eating, JoonHyung is talking to ShiHo on the phone, which causes BokJoo to get angry at JoonHyung.

To end BokJoo’s silent treatment of him, JoonHyung initiates a partner dialogue with her girlfriend. While BokJoo is complaining about his boyfriend’s behavior, JoonHyung calmly listens to her. His words of wisdom deserve a clap that girls will wish, that they are BokJoo.

3. Seo YooKyung of “Pasta”

The secret romance between the Head chef and a cook is the main dish of the TV drama “Pasta.” Seo YooKyung (Kong HyoJin) is a diligent and bubbly cook at LaSfera. Although her boss, Chef Choi HyunWook (Lee SunKyun), typically scolds her, he always saves YooKyung whenever she is experiencing difficulties at work. For this reason, YooKyung falls in love with her boss and immediately expresses her love to him. At first, HyunWook tries to avoid YooKyung’s feelings, but because YooKyung keeps hanging out with him, the head chef eventually reciprocates YooKyung’s love.

Hyun’s ex-girlfriend, Chef Oh SaeYoung (Lee Hanee), discovers their relationship, so she talks to YooKyung to tell her that she wants to get back with, HyunWook. YooKyung behaves uncomfortably upon hearing Chef Oh’s confession, so she respectfully excuses herself from the conversation to go to work. While YooKyung is working, she appears grumpy towards HyunWook.

Their partner dialogue is just like that of BokJoo and JoonHyung. HyunWook shuts down YooKyung's insecurities toward Chef Oh by telling her that she is the one he loves.

4. Shin ChaeKyung of “Princess Hours”

The TV drama “Goong” is the opposites attract love story of Korea’s Crown Prince and Princess. Because of poverty, Shin ChaeKyung (Yoon EunHye) married Prince Lee Shin (Ju JiHoon). Initially, they don’t get along as their marriage is only an obligation they did for their own family. But because they’re always together, ChaeKyung eventually falls in love with her husband. However, the crown prince’s ex-girlfriend Min HyoRin (Song JiHyo) keeps hanging on to Lee Shin, so whenever ChaeKyung sees HyoRin and Shin together, she gets angry at her husband but shows kindness and respect toward Min HyoRin.

Although this drama has a lot of intense scenes between the main leads, their makeup scenes are breathtaking and funny.

5. Joo YooRin of “My Girl”

“My Girl” is an employer-employee love story. Seol GongChan (Lee DongWook) is determined to save his sick grandfather, so he hires Joo YooRin (Lee DaHae) to become his fake cousin. Although GongChan appears indifferent on the outside, he is very thoughtful. That is the reason why YooRin falls in love with her fake cousin. But GongChan, at that time, gets back with his ex-girlfriend Kim SeHyun (Park SiYeon), so YooRin starts to behave coldly toward GongChan while retaining her respect toward SeHyun.

That routine keeps the drama funny, especially when YooRin sometimes expresses her jealousy by bullying or pranking GongChan, and although GongChan gets angry, he also finds the pranks funny.

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