Kim Soo-hyun has starred in many iconic K-dramas, but two of his best romances are surprisingly similar. From Dream High to Queen of Tears, Kim Soo-hyun has showcased his incredible acting range in a variety of shows. Moon Embracing The Sun saw Kim Soo-hyun take the lead in the historical K-drama as a Joseon king, while My Love From The Star saw the actor turn to science fiction as he portrayed the alien, Do Min-joon. Both shows earned him an array of awards for his acting abilities.

Though Kim Soo-hyun’s best K-dramas vastly differ, he has continually received praise for his on-screen chemistry with his co-stars and has received the Best Couple award three times for Dream High, My Love From The Star and The Producers, respectively. Two of Kim Soo-hyun’s best K-drama romances have yet to receive this award, but this is not their only similarity. The two female leads within these shows bear many similarities through both life experience and personality, making their overall love stories with Kim Soo-hyun’s characters incredibly compelling.

Ko Moon-young & Hong Hae-in Are Very Fashion Forward People

They Use Fashion As Protection From Their Feelings

Queen of Tears‘ Hong Hae-in (Kim Ji-won) and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay‘s Ko Moon-young (Seo Yea-ji) are well-known for their fashion sense. Hae-in donned more than 100 outfits in Queen of Tears‘ 16 episodes, while Ko Moon-young exclusively dresses in extravagantly branded clothing. Both of these characters love to express their personalities through the way they dress, but they also unwittingly show their emotions and feelings of security through their relationships with Baek Hyun-woo and Moon Gang-tae, respectively.

In episode 7 of Queen of Tears, it’s revealed by Secretary Na (Yoon Bo-mi) that the more effort that Hae-in puts into her looks, the more upset she is. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how fashion plays a key part in representing Hae-in’s feelings, as well as the state of Hae-in and Hyun-woo’s relationship. In the early episodes of Queen of Tears, Hae-in is always immaculately put together, as her relationship with Hyun-woo is at its worst. However, the more Hae-in connects with Hyun-woo, the more relaxed her outfits become, particularly after Hae-in’s family moves back to Yongdu-ri.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay‘s Ko Moon-young has a similar approach. In episode 9, Oh Ji-wang (Kim Chang-wan) reveals that the reason Moon-young overdresses so much is that she uses her clothes as a form of protection rather than as a way to show off, as Gang-tae assumes. This makes perfect sense for Moon-young’s character, who would rather people believe that she is rude and selfish than someone who desires warmth from others. Much like Hae-in, Moon-young’s fashion relaxes the more her relationship with Gang-tae blossoms, showing just how comfortable she is with him.

Ko Moon-young & Hong Hae-in’s Antisocial Personalities Relate To Childhood Trauma

Both Moon Gang-tae & Baek Hyun-woo Break Through Their Icy Exteriors

When Ko Moon-young and Hong Hae-in are first introduced on screen, they are not given a favorable welcome. Instead, they are depicted as cold, anti-social people who care little about the feelings of others and have incredibly intimidating auras. However, both It’s Okay to Not Be Okay and Queen of Tears quickly break down these walls to add depth to these seemingly shallow characters and give clear reasoning for why they act the way they do.

Flashbacks in Queen of Tears reveal that Hae-in was in a boating accident with her older brother Soo-wan (Ko Dong-ha) and was the only one to have survived. As a result, Hae-in’s mother (Na Young-hee) resented her, leading to Hae-in developing a cold personality as a defense mechanism, as she believed that no one truly cared for her. Similarly, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay‘s Ko Moon-young was abused by both of her parents throughout her childhood, which led her to develop an antisocial personality disorder and an acceptance of harsh realities rather than fairytales.

It’s immediately apparent that Hae-in and Moon-young’s harsh personalities have, much like their fashion, become armor against worlds that don’t favor them. It’s not until they meet Kim Soo-hyun’s Hyun-woo and Gang-tae that they begin to break down their walls and accept that they too can find the love that they never thought they could have. Hae-in and Moon-young’s love stories develop their characters in many ways, but finding their happy endings is anything but easy for them.

They Both Have Complicated Relationships With Kim Soo-hyun’s Moon Gang-tae & Baek Hyun-woo

Queen of Tears & It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’s Couples Both Have To Learn To Heal

Hong Hae-in’s and Ko Moon-young’s relationships with Baek Hyun-woo and Moon Gang-tae are complex but in entirely different ways. Queen of Tears‘ Baek Hyun-woo and Hong Hae-in are already married at the start, but the loss of their baby and the isolation they both feel in their relationship cause it to break down. Alternatively, Ko Moon-young’s brash and dangerous approach to life makes her come across as obsessive and abrasive, but even when the ice starts to thin, Gang-tae’s older brother Sang-tae’s dependency complicates their relationship even further.

However, despite the complexities of their relationships with each other, both Queen of Tears and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay‘s couples go through a healing process to evoke change in their relationships. In Queen of Tears, this comes through communication as Hae-in and Hyun-woo accept their different grieving processes and realize their feelings towards one another never actually changed. Though their growth as a couple is far from linear, learning from the worst brings Hae-in and Hyun-woo together at their best.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay‘s Moon-young and Gang-tae are traumatized by their childhoods, which significantly impacts how they deal with things. Gang-tae has his own demons, but caring for his brother means that he struggles to find an identity outside of being his caregiver. Meanwhile, Moon-young struggles with socialization and nightmares, leading her to latch on to Gang-tae in such a way that it borders on creepy. Despite this, Moon-young and Gang-tae slowly learn to lean on each other to heal from their pasts and create a new future together as one of Kim Soo-hyun’s best K-drama couples.