I dropped the series as well. Hyuntae did not get better in my book, and I was also not too enthused by the Hwal/Haru developments.
Hmm, Be Strong Geumsoon is on MySoju and stars Kang Jihwan (though he doesn't show up for the first ten episodes). It's a long series though and falls more in the "daily family" genre although it is mostly comic. Not so much free of gender politics as more realistic about how it plays out in modern Korean society. I have to admit I haven't finished it myself, but I remember it was really popular when it aired, especially because it explored a lot of stigmas against single mothers.
The other recommendation I have is Hwang Jin-yi, which is a sageuk but only 26 episodes. I'm not sure if you've watched it already but Ha Jiwon from Damo stars in it as the title character, and her performance is quite seriously my most favorite female character role in any K-drama I've watched. It's a beautiful series too.
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Hmm, Be Strong Geumsoon is on MySoju and stars Kang Jihwan (though he doesn't show up for the first ten episodes). It's a long series though and falls more in the "daily family" genre although it is mostly comic. Not so much free of gender politics as more realistic about how it plays out in modern Korean society. I have to admit I haven't finished it myself, but I remember it was really popular when it aired, especially because it explored a lot of stigmas against single mothers.
The other recommendation I have is Hwang Jin-yi, which is a sageuk but only 26 episodes. I'm not sure if you've watched it already but Ha Jiwon from Damo stars in it as the title character, and her performance is quite seriously my most favorite female character role in any K-drama I've watched. It's a beautiful series too.