Why do they pair male leads that are more than 25 cm taller than the female leads in so many Korean dramas?

[smywu_66]

Examples:
Jang Ki-yong and Song Hye-kyo
Rowoon and Park Eun-bin
Kim Young-kwang and Jung So-min
Ok Taec-yeon and Kim Hye-yoon

[vivi_1485]

The short answer: Lots of people think height gaps are very cute. I liked the height gap in SWDBS - except for that beachside kiss scene which really looked painful. I didn’t really like the one in Instead of Tipsy, Why Not Get Drunk, because it was just too much.

[midknightmoodz]

It looks “cute” when they’re walking together but it looks painful during kiss scenes lol

I’ve seen some where the guys neck is arched at a 90° angle. It looked super awkward.

In the bts sometimes you see the ml spreading his legs to lower himself for a more suitable height during some romantic scenes.

[smywu_66]

If they flip the script, I think there would be outcry.

Imagine Stephanie Lee (Lee Jeong-ah) with Nam Da-reum!

[vivi_1485]

and sometimes they just cheat and make the FL stand on a box Some dramas do it well, but others are WAYYYY too obvious - she comes up to his shoulder in the long shot and then is just a few centimetres shorter in the close up

[dudie]

I think it’s cute but more on the practical side I think it’s hard to select on height in Korea. Because there is so much difference in height. Is it fair to not give someone who fits the role perfectly to not give it to them just because of their height?
For example Scarlet Heart Ryo… IU is only 162cm, Lee Jun Ki is 178cm, Kang Ha Neul and Hong Jong-Hyun are 182cm and Nam Joo Hyuk is 188cm. 26cm difference with IU. They all did an amazing job but should they have replaced IU with a taller actress or Nam Joo Hyuk with a less tall actor so it ‘looks better’?

There are many tricks like boxes, high heels and manner legs as already mentioned?

[ajumma2]

I was going to say, that I think it’s as simple as that some of these amazing actresses are just short. So what can you do about that? They can wear high heels, or stand on a higher ground, and the guys can also spread their legs to make themselves shorter while standing when they are in close-up scenes with a much shorter actress.

Fun fact:
Humphrey Bogart was a couple inches shorter than Ingrid Bergman, so he wore special shoe lifts, and stood on blocks and sat on cushions while filming Casablanca.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Humphrey+Bogart+platform+shoes+and+boxes&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiPu8qQzvD1AhVqqXIEHUqbCxMQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=Humphrey+Bogart+platform+shoes+and+boxes&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CZlAFYotYBYMfXAWgAcAB4AYAB0gGIAb0VkgEGMzguMS4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=hKUCYo_pBOrSytMPyraumAE&bih=597&biw=1242&client=opera#imgrc=qeajOrrknyUuHM

[porkypine]

Why? Because the shows are marketed to short women who want tall men.

[vivi_1485]

and you described me PERFECTLY.

[sweetybirdtoo]

I just thought of another reason, so when they have the obligatory drunk piggyback ride a short girl would be easier to carry, there are probably people who think it looks cuter if her legs aren’t that long.

Although I’m a short girl and never had a boyfriend give me a piggyback ride. lol

[porkypine]

I am a TALL girl adn I never had someone give me a piggy back ride either but I DID give my hubby who is 6’1" a short piggyback ride just to see if I could do it. I laughed and told him “See! I can carry you out if there is a fire.” lol

His mom’s eyes popped out and me the Amazon carrying her son

…of course 25 years later I could not pull off a stunt like that again. My knees would crumple