[Top 20] Favorite 'Gender Benders' Girls in Disguise Korean Drama

Girls disguised as boys or mistaken for boys. Dressing as a boy in real life simply to win over a boy you like probably isn't the path most people would choose. That being said, gender bending is an incredibly popular K-drama trope. Some of these dramas are more convincing than others in terms of how believable the act is. Here are our rankings of KDrama where boyish features best:

Coffee Prince

A tomboy, mistaken for a lad, maintains the deception for the sake of employment. The situation becomes complicated when her male boss begins to develop feelings for this "boy."

To The Beautiful You

A beautiful girl dresses up as a male and transfers to an all-boys school.

You're Beautiful

Go Mi-Nyu, a girl about to become a nun, is asked to cover for her indisposed twin brother, Mi-Nam, who's on the verge of becoming a k-idol. To do so, she disguises herself as a boy and joins A.N.Jell, a really popular boy band.

Empress Ki

The series revolves around Gi Seungnyang, a Goryeo-born woman who ascends to power despite the restrictions of the era's class system, and later marries Toghon Temür to become an empress of the Yuan dynasty, instead of her first love, Wang Yu. It managed to highlight the deep love the Emperor embedded in Lady Ki and depicts her loves and political ambitions.

Love in the Moonlight

Hong Ra-On disguises herself as a man and counsels men on dating. Due to a love letter she wrote for a client, she meets Crown Prince Hyomyeong. Hong Ra-On is unaware that he is the Crown Prince and Hyomyeong is unaware that Hong Ra-On is a woman. The Crown Prince becomes interested in Hong Ra-On. His eunuchs become aware of this and attempt to get Hong Ra-On to become one of them.

Sungkyunkwan Scandal

In the Joseon era, Kim Yoon-hee masquerades as a boy to earn a living as a book transcriber. Her family's dire circumstances and the encouragement of a noble's son finally drive her to attend Sungkyukwan University, forbidden for females.

Gu Family Book

Choi Kang-Chi ( Lee Seung-Gi) is legendary gumiho that is half human and half animal. He struggles to live his life as a human and also falls in love.

The Scholar Who Walks the Night

A daughter from a collapsed noble family, due to being branded a traitor, dresses up like a man and goes out to sell books. She meets an attractive scholar walking at night, but the scholar is actually vampire.

Chicago Typewriter

About writers who lived in the 1930's Japanese occupation of Korea, and are reincarnated into the present as a best-selling writer in a slump, a fan, and a ghostwriter.

Ma Boy

Geu Rim is a student at an arts high school who dreams of becoming a pop singer. At school She gets a new roommate, Irene who’s actually a boy. Irena’s persona is a pretty Female CF star and his actual name is Hyun Woo.

Goddess of Fire

Joseon-era pottery was notable for its best quality and advanced baking method in the late 16th century. Baek Pa Seon, the woman of fire, was Joseon's first female potter and regarded as the dojo of Shintaro porcelain. Crown Prince Gwang Hae loved her deeply but had to let her go.

Shine or Go Crazy

Wang So was born a prince of Goryeo, but because a prophecy foretells that he will turn the country into a river of blood, he is exiled from the palace and shunned by the royal family. Having lost his place as the rightful heir to the throne, he lives an isolated life, and in Wang So's absence, his illegitimate half-brother Wang Uk makes an ambitious play for power.

Splash Splash Love

Dan Bi is a high school senior who has given up on math. On the day she is about to take the KSAT for college, she is transported back into the past during a freak rain shower. She finds herself hundreds of years in the past at the height of the Joseon Kingdom, which is suffering from a severe drought. She encounters King Leedo who yearns to learn advanced mathematics and falls in love with him.

One Well-Raised Daughter

A family has owned a soy sauce company for hundreds of years. Parents in the current generation family only have daughters. To inherit their company "Bull Soy Sauce" the fourth daughter is raised as a boy and eventually disguises herself as a man.

Gunman In Joseon

In the time of enlightenment of 19th-century Joseon. It stars a hero who is the son of Joseon’s greatest swordsman. He loses his father and his younger sister gets sold as a slave, after which he trades sword for gun as he embarks on his revenge mission, and in so doing the drama will “depict the pain and courage of the young people of the era.”

Love Detective Sherlock K

Sherlock K is a beautiful woman disguised as a man. Commissioned by chaebol Do Min-woo, she runs a ‘healing cafe’ where she profiles love psychology.

Sword and Flower 

Moo-Young is the daughter of King Yeongnyu of Goguryeo. Her father King Yeongnyu gets killed by nobleman Yeon Gaesomun. Moo-Young later falls in love with Yeon Choong who is Yeon Gaesomun's son. She becomes torn between revenge and love.

The Painter of the Wind

Shin Yoon Bok is a talented painter who disguises herself as a boy to search for her father's murderer and meets a master painter who guides her into being a great painter. Kim Hong Do is the man who teaches Yoon Bok how to paint, and they develop a strong friendship of mentor and disciple

Queen Seon Duk 

The story of a beautiful queen, who has to give up her love to save the people. A biopic of Queen Seondeok, who was born a princess and later became the ruler of Silla, leaving behind many brilliant achievements.

Nailshop Paris

A romantic comedy revolving around flower boy nail artists and the happenings around them. It will center the story of Hong Yeo Joo, the writer of an internet novel who dresses up like a boy and gets hired to work at a famous nail shop Paris filled with flower boy nail artists.

(Source: MyDramaList, Wikipedia)