[Top 30] Rich Guy Poor Girl Korean Drama

Today, I decided to bring up the popular kdrama cliche known as Rich Boy/ Poor Girl dramas. This cliche has brought in some great dramas and the classic Boys Over Flowers started the chain reaction of making K-Dramas more popular because it is the first kdrama many kdrama fans have watched. It was my 2nd kdrama and the drama that really brought me into dramaland!

Goong

Feisty, bubbly, and no-nonsense, Chae Gyeong is an ordinary high school student. Until one day when she receives some unexpected news. Because of her grandfathers will, she must marry the unendurable Crown Prince Lee Shin who also happens to attend her high school. Chae Gyeong initially resists the proposal before reluctantly agreeing to marry him to help her debt-ridden family. As she struggles to adapt herself to royal life, learning proper manners and taking on the duties of palace life while dealing with a disagreeable husband, the Crown Prince's sentimental cousin and second-in-line to the throne, Yul, steps into her life. She feels like she can rely on Yul for help and guidance but still finds it difficult not to worry about her haughty, cold-hearted husband. To help bridge this gap, the senior members of the royal family take some special measures to get them to spend the night together.

Boys Over Flower

Geum Jan Di comes from a poor family who owns a dry-cleaning shop. One day, she visits Shinhwa High School, a prestigious school for the wealthy, and saves a student who was going to commit suicide because of F4 bullying. Jan Di then receives a swimming scholarship to attend the school for her heroic act.  In school, she meets the notorious F4, who are the most popular and powerful group of boys at the school, consisting of Gu Jun Pyo; the leader of F4 and heir to the Shinhwa Group, Yoon Ji Hu; the grandson of a former president of Korea, So Yi Jung; a skilled potter who comes from a family that owns the country's biggest art museum, and Song Woo Bin; whose family runs the country's largest construction company. Her life at school starts out miserable, as she doesn't fit in with other students because of her statues, and later becomes worse when she is labeled as the new bullying target of the F4.

Secret Garden

The drama tells the story of Kim Joo Won, an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection, and Gil Ra Im, a poor and humble stuntwoman whose beauty and body are the object of envy amongst top actresses. Their accidental meeting, when Joo Won mistakes Ra Im for actress Park Chae Rin, marks the beginning of a tense, bickering relationship, through which Joo Won tries to hide a growing attraction to Ra Im that both confuses and disturbs him. To complicate matters further, a strange sequence of events results in them swapping bodies.

Coffee Prince

Choi Han Gyul is the grandson of chairwoman Bang of Dong-in Foods, a company that has a thriving coffee business. He has never had a job and does not care for responsibility. Han Gyul is hung up on his first love, Han Yoo Joo, who only sees him as a friend. Go Eun Chan is a 24-year-old tomboy who is often mistaken for a guy. Her father died when she was 16 years old and since then she has taken over as the breadwinner in her family. When Han Kyul and Eun Chan meet, he, not knowing that she is a girl, decides to hire her to pretend to be his gay lover so that he can escape the blind dates arranged by his grandmother. After getting an ultimatum from his grandmother, Han Gyul takes over a rundown old coffee shop, later renamed "Coffee Prince," to prove that he's capable, both to his grandmother and to Yoo Joo. In order to attract female customers, he only hires good-looking male employees. Eun Chan, desperate for money, continues to hide her gender to get a job at Coffee Prince.

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 Hyo Myeong. Ra On is unaware that he is the Crown Prince and Hyo Myeong is unaware that Ra On is a woman. The Crown Prince becomes interested in Ra On. His eunuchs become aware of this and attempt to get Ra On to become one of them. 

Goblin

Kim Shin was once an unbeatable general in Goryeo's military who died a tragic death. He now possesses immortality, but is tired of living whilst everyone else around him dies. For 900 years, Kim Shin has searched for his bride, a mortal who can pull out the sword and end his life. One day, he encounters Ji Eun Tak, a positive, upbeat high school student who can see the dead and has gone through tragic events, yet still stays strong. She claims to be the Goblin's bride, who can end his immortal life, but what appears to be an easy task, only gets complicated, as the two fall in love.

What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim

The series revolves around the narcissistic Lee Young Joon, the vice president of a company run by his family. He is very self-absorbed and thinks highly of himself, so much that he barely acknowledges the people around him. Lee Young Joon has a capable and patient secretary in Kim Mi So who has remained by his side and worked diligently for 9 years without any romantic involvement. However, Mi So now want to set her life & focus on herself so when she decides to resign from her job, hilarious misunderstandings ensue. After 9 years of their strictly-workplace relationship, can it now develop in something more?

Full House

Han Ji Eun, an aspiring scriptwriter, lives in a house called "Full House" built by her late father. One day, her two best friends trick her into believing she has won a free vacation. While she is away, they sell her house. On the plane, she meets a famous actor named Lee Young Jae. Through comedic events, they get acquainted during her vacation and when she returns, she discovers her house has been sold to him.Though they don't get along with each other, as she is messy and he has a bad temper and likes cleanliness, they agreed to live with each other. At first, Ji Eun works as his maid in order to buy her house back, but because of Young Jae's wish to make the love of his life, Kang Hye Won jealous, they get married. They set up a contract for the marriage to last six months. During that time, complications arise and Ji Eun and Young Jae become attracted to each other.

Fated To Love You

This drama is a story of an ordinary girl, Mi Yeong, who has neither outstanding looks, prestigious college degree, nor any other charming qualities, facing her whole life abruptly changing when love comes knocking at her door. While on vacation, she accidentally happens to spend one night with an unknown rich man and even gets pregnant from that night. Through this incident, her life is never the same, and this fateful encounter brings love that transforms this not-so-special girl to an attractive, charming lady.

The Master's Sun

Joo Joong Won is the stingy and greedy CEO of Kingdom, a conglomerate that includes a major department store and hotel. He meets the gloomy Tae Gong Shil, who started seeing ghosts after an accident. Their lives take a new turn as they work together to deal with the terror and sadness brought about by the spirits, while delving into a kidnapping incident in Joong Won's past. And unknowingly, they fell in love with each other.

The Heirs

Kim Tan is the heir to Empire Group who has been sent to study abroad in the U.S. In reality it's a form of exile, as his elder half-brother back home schemes to take over the family business. While in the States, Kim Tan meets Cha Eun Sang, who arrived from Korea in search of her older sister. He feels himself falling for her, never realizing that she's the daughter of his family's housekeeper. When his fiancée Rachel Yoo arrives to bring him back to Korea, his heart is torn between love and duty.

She Was Pretty

As a young girl, Hye Jin was impossibly cute and had a comfortable life with her wealthy parents but since her teens, her looks and fortune changed abruptly and now she is living with her friend rent-free and working as a part-time clerk at a convenience store. One day, her childhood first love, Sung Joon, contacts her wishing to meet her, but recognizing Sung Joon has grown into a handsome and fit man, she quickly hatches a plan to have her pretty friend meet him in her place instead. After luckily landing a full-time job, Hye Jin is surprised to find Sung Joon as her boss, who is adding insult to injury, treating her with disdain and contempt.

Bride Of The Century

Taeyang Group is the largest conglomerate in South Korea. The Choi family, who runs Taeyang, has supposedly been under a curse for a hundred year that the first bride of the eldest son will always die. When the wealthy heiress Jang Yi Kyung disappears right before her wedding to chaebol heir Choi Kang Joo, Na Doo Rim, a lookalike impostor, is brought in to take her place. But unlike the cold and calculating Yi Kyung, Doo Rim is sweet and sunny, and Kang Joo falls genuinely in love with her. As the wedding plans progress, Kang Joo and Yi Kyung's mothers both scheme and plot behind the scenes.

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Do Bong Soon is a petite, unemployed woman who is honest and kind. She appears little and sweet on the outside, but she is in fact very, very strong. In her family, for generations the women have been gifted Herculean strength to use for the greater good. If abused, however, their power will be taken away. Whilst standing up for herself after gang members bully her, she finds herself approached by Ahn Min Hyuk, the handsome and somewhat childish CEO of Ainsoft, a gaming company. Ahn Min Hyuk, who holds a great distrust towards the police, witnessed the whole exchange of Bong Soon's superhuman strength, and now wants to employ her as a bodyguard after being threatened by an unknown enemy. Min Hyuk falls in love with super-strong Bong Soon at first sight, but there's a catch. Bong Soon has eyes for someone else; police officer and childhood friend, In Guk Doo, whom she has known since high school. When chaos ensues after a series of kidnappings in Do Bong Soon's hometown of Dobong-dong, Dobong-gu, Bong Soon must decide whether to use her strength and stand up to evil, or play it safe and keep her powers hidden from the world. Combined with the love triangle she faces between In Guk Doo and Ahn Min Hyuk, as well as having to keep Min Hyuk safe, Bong Soon's life is thrown into turmoil. Can she use her strength for the greater good, or will it prove in the end to be too much?

Uncontrollably Fond

People change but can the heart adapt? Sin Joon Young and No Eul were inseparable and very much in love in their younger days. But uncontrollable circumstances separated them and they went their separate ways. Joon Young is now a superstar actor and singer, while No Eul became a producer-director of documentaries. When their paths cross again years later, Joon Young discovers that No Eul is now a very different person than he remembered — materialistic and willing to do anything to get ahead. Is there any hope for Joon Young and No Eul to rekindle their past relationship?

Cinderella And Four Knights

Eun Ha Won is in her third year of high school with dreams of becoming a teacher. Unattached from her father, step-mother, and step-sister, and poorly treated by them, Ha Won still manages to maintain her bright personality and strong set of morals, working various part-time jobs to pay for her upcoming university tuition fees and keeping her eyes firmly glued to her goals. Meanwhile, in another part of the city are three spoiled cousins, Ji Woon, Hyun Min, and Seo Woo, living together in a mansion called Sky House. With their wildly different personalities - Ji Woon a tough guy, Hyun Min a playboy, and Seo Woo a musician - they all deeply dislike each other and prefer to be as far away from each other as possible. One day, their grandfather orders his 3 grandsons to attend his 5th wedding ceremony. Hyun Min doesn't want to go, but ultimately ends up hiring Ha Won to be his date for 3 hours so he can upstage his grandfather. His plans don't completely pan out, however, when the grandfather witnesses Ha Won's no-nonsense attitude towards Hyun Min and decides to hire her as a live-in butler and drill sergeant of sorts at Sky House. What follows is a lot of shenanigans, love triangles, drama, and plenty of sass.

Noble, My Love

Kang Hoon is a CEO of world's largest company D.O.L's Korean branch. One day, he is kidnapped and dramatically escapes from the bad guys, but he bleeds so much that he blackouts in front of an animal hospital. Yoon Seo, a veterinarian, finds him and cures him.

Oh My Lady

A spunky 35-year-old housewife, Yoon Gae Hwa, takes on the job of manager to prickly top star Sung Min Woo in order to earn enough money to regain custody of her child from her ex-husband. Romantic hijinks and hilarity ensues when they find themselves in an awkward living situation as Min Woo pays Gae Hwa to take care of his daughter, Ye Eun.

Marriage Contract

Kang Hye Soo, a widow single mom, has a 7-year-old daughter to raise but is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Then, she is offered to be her boss Han Ji Hoon’s legal wife just for 3 months and accepts his offer hoping to leave her daughter in the care of a legal guardian. The underlying message of this drama is that money and fame are meaningless when it comes to attaining happiness, and love is the only salvation for people.

I'm Not a Robot

Kim Min Kyu is the largest shareholder of a financial company. He suffers from a "human allergy", preventing him from normal interactions with other people. He becomes interested in a robotic project named Aji-3 created by the Santa Maria robotic team. The team is headed by Hong Baek Gyun,  inventor of Aji-3 and world-renowned robotics professor. He modeled Aji-3 after his ex-girlfriend, Jo Ji Ah, a struggling inventor that also works as a personal shopper to make ends meet.  Just when Kim Min Kyu wants to test the robot, an accident causes the malfunction of the robot's battery. Hong Baek Gyun begs Jo Ji Ah to take the place of Aji-3 and pretend to be the robot so they can get funding from Kim Min Kyu. But, Aji-3 becomes the closest thing that the lonely Min Kyu has to real contact with another person.

Lucky Romance

Bo Nee, who wholeheartedly believes in superstitions, meets a man who believes in science and mathematics. She has to find a man born in the Year of the Tiger according to her fortuneteller, and soon after she gets entangled with a man who has never shown any interest in women or even dated one. This is a love story that follows an improbable couple that tries to reconcile their differing outlooks on life by overcoming superstitious beliefs and proving that destiny is not preordained.

Stars Falling From The Sky

The drama draws a love story between two co-workers at an insurance company, with Kim Ji Hoon playing the company's whip-smart lawyer. Because he carries the hurt of having been abandoned by his birth mother, he doesn't easily open his heart to others. Jin Pal Kang (Choi Jung Won) is a 25-year-old employee of the company who becomes responsible for her five younger adopted siblings after her parents meet with sudden deaths. 

Shopping King Louis

The romantic comedy series “Shopaholic Louis” revolves around a handsome shopaholic named Louis, who is the successor of a vast business empire but becomes homeless after suffering from amnesia. Meanwhile, Koh Bok Shil, a country girl who lives a life that is worlds apart from the rich and famous, encounters Louis in Seoul. The improbable romance that unfolds between the two characters named Louis, who is able to buy everything he wants, and the angelic girl named Koh Bok Shil, shows the viewers that the value of true love is priceless and is not something that can be bought.

Cheese In The Trap

Having returned to college after a year long break, due to her family's poor background, Hong Sul, a hard-working over-achiever, inadvertently got on the wrong side of Yoo Jung, her senior who is athletic, good looking, gets good grades and has a kind personality, but also a hidden dark side. From then on her life took a turn for the worse and Sul was almost certain it was all Yoo Jung's doing. So why is he suddenly acting so friendly a year later? 

Shining Inheritance

Go Eun Sung's life is similar to Cinderella's. After her father died, her step-mother, Baek Sung Hee, took away all of her assets and her younger brother, Eun Woo, suddenly disappears without a trace. Despite this, Eun Sung perseveres and works really hard to fulfil her dreams. When the CEO of a food company, Jang Sook Ja, suffers amnesia and can't remember who she is, Eun Sung takes her in. However, Eun Sung does not know that she is the grandmother of Sun Woo Hwan, the man who she switched bags with at the airport. How will their constant bickering lead them to realize that they care more about each other than they let on?

My Princess

An ordinary college student, Lee Seol, finds out she's a princess. The grandson of Daehan Group, Park Hae Young, is put in charge of educating Seol on proper etiquette. However, Hae Young is put in a precarious situation when he finds himself drawn to Seol, the girl who will take away his inheritance if the monarchy is restored.

My Name is Kim Sam Soon

Kim Sam Soon is a baker who has a talent in making pastries and cakes. On Christmas Eve, she caught her boyfriend, Min Hyun Woo, cheating on her and breaks up. On that same night, she accidentally went into the men's restroom and met Hyun Jin Hun. By sheer coincidence, Jin Hun needs a baker for his restaurant Bon Appetit and Sam Soon is unemployed. Sam Soon is hired as the restaurant's chief baker and the two fight like cat and dog.

My Secret Romance

Cha Jin Wook is a son from a wealthy family who runs a large company. He usually only pursues short-term love, but when he meets Lee Yoo Mi, who has never had a boyfriend before, he changes. In a dating world full of busy people who tend to flirt and chase “some” relationships rather than having meaningful connections that allow them to show their true feelings, this couple has an one-night stand. They meet again three years later, whereupon they kick off a shaky push-pull romance that’ll keep them on their toes as they fall in love

Because This Is My First Life

A house-poor man and homeless woman become housemates in a drama that examines the institution of marriage and the problems that young people face today. Nam Se Hee is a single man in his early 30’s. He has chosen to not marry. He owns his home, but he owes a lot on his mortgage. Meanwhile, Yoon Ji Ho is a single woman in her early 30’s. She does not own a home and envies those that do. She has given up on dating due to her financial struggles. Yoon Ji Ho begins to live at Nam Se Hee’s house. They become housemates.

High Society

Jang Yoon-Ha is the youngest daughter of a chaebol (family owned conglomeration). Even though her family is extremely wealthy, she holds a part-time job at a food market. She hides her background as an heiress and attempts to find a man that loves her for herself.

(Source: MyDramaList, Wikipedia)