#Currently Watching: Gender Benders

Graziella Sigaya
Nov 27, 2021
5 min read

Updated: Mar 4, 2022

Buhay dun sanda ka dya naka bookmark sa akon watchlist. Obvious man nga mahuyugon takon sa mga gender-benders. Dar-on ta dlang sa drama magic/logic ang kumod nga “araw pa, indi da gid matukiban nga bayi/laki ang permi da imaw!? Maka hulid-hulid pa gani sanda!" (*dayon ma-hyperventilate ang laon) But in fairness, ang mga urihi nga gender-benders ko nga nalantawan naghimakas gid ang production team sa anda concealing efforts.

ree — Jeon Nok Du (Jang Dong Yoon) in The Tale of Nokdu

Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)

Here is a case of a female student in an all-male school, ala HanaKimi but in Korea, during the Joseon era. Set during the time when society does not allow females to be educated nor employed, Kim Yoon-hee (Park Min-young) disguises herself as her brother in order to make ends meet for her family.

Daw indi ko gid makita si Park Min-Young as a man, sa panglawason na pa lang and that uber-feminine face... pay mayad dlng gani gin imaw nanda sa cast si Song Jong-Ki to prove that feminine-looking men also exist during the Joseon Dynasty. Isa dya sa mga classic gender-bender dramas nga ginapasulabi ang plot kag character development rather than, well... pinanilagan. Kang una gali mas makilal-an pa ang gender sa handwriting sangsa absence/presence ka adam's apple sa li-ug. Bisan may gamay nga kumod pay makalilingaw man ang dalagan ka estorya. You get invested sa mga characters kag anda back stories, especially ang "Jalgeum Quartet" (or the Joseon F4, para sa mga fangirls.) It's also a bonus treat to see A-listers Park Min-young, Park Yoo-chun, Yoo Ah-in & Song Jong-ki sa anda earlier work, kang waay pa nagdukot ang mga nawong nanda.

Ang drama is based on a popular 2007 novel The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars written by Jung Eun-gwoi. If you're into light and breezy sageuk with "modern" feels kag enough eye candies nga sarang maligonligon, then basi masadyahan ka man ka drama nga dya kun waay mo pa nalantawan ten years ago. You can watch this series on Viki and the Tagalog dubbed Secret Love on You Tube.

Arsenal Military Academy (2019)

Ang dya tana is the story of another female student in an all-male academy, but this time sa military duman. Set during the Republican era, the drama focuses on Xie Xiang (Bai Lu), who joins the military academy in place of her older brother. Ang ana rason in joining the military is to continue her brother's dream when he died, that eventually became her dream too. Despite her small stature and weak constitution, Xie Xiang gradually trains into an able soldier, winning the respect of her peers, including the quiet Shen Junsan (Li Chengbin), and her hot-headed and playful roommate, Gu Yanzheng (Xu Kai).

Fangirl ako ni Bai Lu sa iban na nga mga drama (Jiu Liu Overlord & Love is Sweet) pay ang Arsenal Military Academy gid ang una nga nakaganyat ka nakon, garing tulad ko pa lang lantawon. Commitment nga daan ang maglantaw sa mga Cdrama. Mahuya man ta sa 48 episodes. Nanami-an ako nga bukon exaggerated ang gender performance ni Bai Lu giya. It doesn’t feel like she is pretending to be a man, she is simply cool, confident and gentlemanly. Kag angayan tana sa ana haircut. So if you're into friendship bonds, dapper young men with armas luthang, slow burn romance with a sexy albeit hilarious ML, try this cdrama. You can watch this series on iQIYI.

Tale of Nokdu (2019)

“The Tale of Nokdu” is based on a webtoon written by Hye Jin Yang and tells the story of Jeon Nok Du, a young man who disguises himself as a woman to live among a community of women in order to solve a mystery about his past. He falls for a hot-tempered woman (Kim So Hyun) who is reluctantly training to be a gisaeng while seeking revenge on the king.

Hmmnn.. may ibato man si Jang Dong Yoon kay Kuragehime Seto Koji sa pagwapa-gwapa, although ang jellyfish ang akon bias. Indi man tana familiar gid ka nakon pay memorable ang ana cross-dressing as a timid widow. Hanggud gid nga bulig ang "tabas ng pagmumukha" ni Dong Yoon. Laka lang gawa dyang gender-bender nga laki duman ang naga cross-dress kapin pa sa mga kdrama, so it's a fun and refreshing watch. Pasencya sa mga fujoshi hay queer-bait lang dya nga series kag indi full-blown yaoi. Lighthearted lang sa umpisa with hilarious and cutesy moments but mabatyagan nga gina set-up nanda ang intense drama with birth secrets and political intrigues. Kun feel mo ang mga sageuk nga more melodrama than romcom with just the right amount of bleakness then you can watch this series on Netflix, Viu, Viki and iQIYI.

The Heiress (2020)

Kag isa pa gid ka female in an all-boys Imperial Academy. Dyang mga Chinese drama waay gid nagakalipat nga mag remind ka naton nga ginapangalimog lang nanda ang mga gender-benders. Basta gani period drama daw indi nanda mapaiway ang cross-dressing sa characters.

"The Heiress" tells the story of Han Yuan Niang (Una You) the eldest daughter of the Han Family, which holds military power at the northern border. She assumed her twin brother Shi Yi's identity when he died, to ensure that the Han Family's military power won't be affected by the court, as they have no male heir. Complications arise when both Prince Qi (Jiang Chao) and Zhong Yu (Wang An Yu) find themselves being attracted to Shi Yi as she tries hard to keep her true gender under wraps. Nalingaw man ako sa unwrapping nanda pay mas nalingaw ako sa nawong ni Wang An Yu. Ginlantaw ko dya not really for the plot but naintriga lang gid ako sa "guy make-up" ni Una You, nga waay nagkini sa "contour".. and I stayed for the characters. Ang dya nga drama nami lantawon kun nagahulat ikaw ka release kang new episodes sa ginatutukan mo nga ongoing series. You can watch this series on WeTV.

The King's Affection (2021)

ree — Park Eun-bin as Crown Prince Lee Hwi

Currently airing pa ang dya nga sageuk. Based on the manhwa "Yeonmo” by Lee So-Young, "The King's Affection" is about a princess who disguised as her twin brother, and became king. The story is set during a time when twins were considered an ominous sign. As a result, when the Crown Princess Consort gives birth to twins, an order is sent to kill the daughter. To save her, she is secretly sent out of the palace.

A few years later, to hide the death of the twin brother, the mother brings back her daughter and raises her as the crown prince Lee Hwi. Because of her secret, Lee Hwi (Park Eun-bin) is unable to have anyone close to her but she starts developing feelings for her Royal Tutor (Ro Woon) who comes from a noble family.

Somehow daw bag-o dya para kanakon nga ang king mismo ang cross-dresser. Masami nga naga cross-dress sa mga period drama either Mulan-like characters, scholars, eunuchs, other nobility (prince/princess). Kag kun mag king or queen man, usually body swap ang trope like Mr. Queen or Go Princess Go. High stake ang cross-dressing gani exciting ang plot. Kag indi madura ang mga eye candies nga ginpamudmod nanda sa mga cast. Hay indi pa gid ako maributay, ginlingling ko dayon ang ending sa manhwa... te lantawon ta kun faithful sanda sa kdrama adaptation. You can watch this series on Netflix.