My rare examples of Kdrama right hand men that not mention on this article:
(1) Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-ki) was Don Fabio's righthand man in this eponymous Kdrama
(2) in Lie After Lie, Lee Won-jong played Yoon Sang-gyu, Kim Ho-ran's right hand man who was a former secretary
(3) in Bloodhounds, Lee Hae-yeong played Hwang Yang-jung, who ran Japanese restaurant
(4) in 2007 Kdrama I Am Sam, Park Jae-jung played Kim Woo-jin, Mr. Yoo's right-hand man
(5) in Agency, Han Joon-woo played Park Young-woo, Han-na's loyal right-hand man
(6) in Tomorrow, with You, Kang Ki-doong (as himself!), So-Joon’s right hand man who was also his best friend

Now, now, Kang Hoon deserved an outright mention and not just an implied reference to Dokro. Kang Hoon is an outstanding actor and can out-act a few of those mentioned in this post.

Hear, hear. Blessed are the smart, watchful, and diplomatic right hand men of drama land and the screenwriters who put care into developing their characters and give them a love story of their own. I want to marry a right hand man myself, the kind that works behind the scene to take care of everything, the kind that knows how to plan a wedding and a funeral and everything in between. You know you are in safe hands with a capable right hand man. As the coffee mug goes, "Shit show supervisor". That's the kind of man I want to be with.

Kang Ki Young in Secretary Kim for the win! 🥇 Bestest, funniest, least sh*t-taking, most eye-rolling (at his BFF boss) and with a great story of his own 😍

I completely blanked on ANYONE who would fit the bill and then as I was reading the post above, I was like "yeah, yeah, totally agree, yep" haha
I didn't see much of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim (whichever episode featured him correcting her english pronounciation is the last thing I remember seeing) but I do remember liking the guy who was kinda sardonic or deadpan haha

The right hand men of A Business Proposal & The King 2 Hearts would have to be my choices. For a Business Proposal, one of the moments that's stand out to me is when the grandfather was like why doesn't he want to date or get married? Are you two a couple? And the secretary barely (if he even did) looked up from what he was doing and said the lead wasn't his type even if he were gay before just giving whatever answer to appease the grandfather. It just stood out to me how everything was just second nature and comfortable in that dynamic haha. I really liked their friendship.

With The King 2 Hearts, I liked that their relationship built due to the right hand man's faith in the king. The king didn't even want the position and he certainly didn't know if he could handle the weight of it but because of that unwavering faith & loyalty & earnestness, the king was able to fight his enemy (despite how powerless he was and felt at times). Oh, I just made myself said thinking of his video message to his crush/love. Sigh.

Thanks @unit this is the type of relationship I have taken for granted but absolutely love and now realise tends to be present in the dramas I enjoy the most.

I always take notice of handsome right-hand men and eagerly await their scenes. Some of them even graduate into leading men.

The OG right-hand man for me is Choi Kwang-soo (Choi Woong) who played Ji Sung's secretary in Secret. I loved Kwang-soo so much, and despite being a revenge melo, their bromance was fun and cute.

The quiet but deadly bodyguards whom I loved include Park Yeon (Ahn Hyo-seop) who played the king's (Yoon Doo-joon) swordsman in Splish Splash Love and Park Dan-ho (Hwang In-youp) who played the evil prince's (Kang Tae-oh) swordsman in The Tale of Nokdu in their acting debuts.

Can I mention a right-hand man for a (second) female lead because Secretary Moon Do-wan (Cha Ji-hyuk) in Eve was hot? I pitied him every time crazy and abusive Yoo Sun forced him to sleep with her.

One best friend whom I loved is No Hak-young (Moo Jin-sung) who played the crown prince's (Shim Chang-min) best friend in The Scholar Who Walks the Night. Hak-young looked smoking hot when he turned into a vampire with guyliner.

*Sigh* This is a post dedicated to ME, that one girl who is always more in love with the right hand man/bodyguard/secretary/sidekick than the prickly male lead with never-ending entitlement and debilitating parental issues. I was literally just thinking of See You in My 19th Life's Ha Do-yoon and how much more invested I am in him and his extreme repression and pining than the male lead's storylines. And let's not forget the hot, sexy swordsman guy from Secret Inspector and Joy who will forever have a special place in my heart. I am a bonafide connoisseur of sexy supporting/right-hand men.

Also, namedropping King 2 Hearts out of nowhere like that still hurts my soul. Please be more considerate of my delicate feelings about a drama from... *checks notes* (god help me) eleven years ago.

Thank you @unit for giving the spotlight to our unsung heroes, the best of the right hand men. Question: who is the pair in the thrid picture between KtL and WWWSK?

I want to just add one of my favorites is the right hand (wo)man from Dali and Gamjatang (cocky prince), Yeo Mi Ri. Hwang Bo Ra and Kim Min Jae have the straight man and eccentric comedy duo down. And she should get a grand prize for keeping her composure--minus the occasional eye roll --with Jin Moo Hak and his family. Yet she is still respectful support for our hero even if she gets an (un)knowing jab in here and there about being fooled by the watch con artist. hahah

Young-Mok from my love from the star - impactful
Officer Bang in Suspicious Partner - a national treasure.
Byeong-yeon from Love in the moonlight
Shin-joo in Tale of the nine tailed. He deserves a spin-off.
Yung-Ran grannies assistant in Shopping Louie.
Shi-Gyung King 2 Hearts

@unit, thank you! Right hand men so often completely make (or save) a drama for me. My best case in point: TKEM. Still no idea about how the logic of the drama was meant to work, but Jo Yeong (Woo Do Hwan) still burns brightly in my heart, never more so than when he was cradling mini-king in his arms after the shoot out. There is no trumping the Unbreakable Sword...

I remember I liked Kim Sung-oh as Hyun Bin's right hand in Secret Garden. He had his own love story too.

And another Hyun Bin's right hand which I liked was Min Jin-woong in Memories of the Alhambra. He was his only trustful friend.

Jae-seok in Greatest Love
also most idol managers in dramas

What a great writeup, @unit! So many good examples shared here. This is definitely one of my favorite character archetypes in dramaland.

The right-hand man is often the one that allows the lead to function. And I am in awe of their efficiency and capabilities. What a dream to have such a capable person with you.
I have 3 types of right-hand men to propose:
- the papa bear, already mentionned by @Unit with good representation in The Master's sun and Suspicious partner.
- the best friend that becomes part of the love triangle and gave me second lead symdrome : Jealousy incarnate and The forbidden mariage.
- the one that is indispensable, the person ML relies on to function and live : Kill me heal me, Prison playbook, Are you humain, Ghost doctor. These right-hand men are so crucial that they can even become CEO. Or maybe I'm blending right-hand man with bromance as this is not a straight frontier.

There is also the second female lead's guard from Ruler Owner of the Mask. And Female lead's guard in Gu Family Book.

I don't have any examples, but I love the right hand men in Saeguk and fantasy saeguks, both the ones in all black and the ones in rough hewn clothes. They are always so loyal and the ones in all black tend to have fabulous hair.

The images you selected for this post are on point, @unit! Thank you (of course) for this analysis, but also for the choice of visual illustration. So many memories and feels.

I'm with @ladynightshade. These guys are like catnip. It's the small/large acts of service angle for me (served here with a jealous side-eye to @minka who has this IRL 😒).

I think the one I have in my mind as the "ur" right-hand man...at least the one who set the standard for me is Secretary Kim from Goblin.

I suppose, in thinking about this, he's even the right-hand man to a right-hand man. But what that means is he's double-layered: he's got mortals to support as well as immortals to support. When Deok-hwa is clearly not ready to take on his responsibilities for Kim Shin, right there is Secretary Kim--and part of me wishes he could just have that job for life (for me, for ME). He does his work with such calm, knowledgeable grace (and a side of K-pop dance, when necessary). He's my guy.

Excellent write-up, but regarding the Red Sleeve Cuff: there was another, much better right-hand man, the king's (quiet) bodyguard - now, he was the real thing! Btw, the quiet and deadly bodyguards are totally my thing here, headlining with Hwang in Yeop in NokDu (though he was technically right-handing for the Big Bad there, not the ML)

Of all that I have watched, these four impressed me the most:

Kim Min Kyu in Business Proposal: He was not only effortless, his story was as interesting as the main couple's which is rare, steamier if I may add. By far my #1 choice
Woo Do-Hwan I dropped Eternal Monarch episode 3, but not before Do-Hwan's stoic presence as the handsome King's (Lee Min Ho) handsomer bodyguard made me take notice.
Kang Ki Young: Hilarious in Secretary Kim; His scenes with his 'aura' inspiring boss (Park Seo Joon) are some of the high points in the drama.
Yoo Jae Myung: - The young King's (Park Hyung Sik) devoted bodyguard and a father like figure - some of the best funny scenes belong to him in Hwarang.

Honorable mention: Jeon Seok Ho as Ahn Min Hyuk's (Park Hyung Sik) secreatry in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. I typically don't like fringe characters, but as the hapless and naive secretary who becomes the butt (pun intended) of all Mih Hyuk's experiments (bad boy), Seok Ho is hilarious.

Dishonorable mention: I had to put this in: Ahn Se Ha as Sang Sik in King the land in insufferable. I groan every time he comes on screen.

I totally agree that the right-hand man relationship in Business Proposal was awesome, and I wish that Sung-hoon's romantic relationship could have been just as good. I know that I'm in the minority here, but it just does not work for me on most levels.

I also wanted to give a shoutout to Choi Sun-u from Call it Love! Our ML wasn't a chaebol here, but Sun-u still functioned as the right-hand man who knew more about Dong-jin's situation than most other people and always tried to protect him and nudge him into healthier and happier places.

@Unit I love this article! Here here to the right hand man! they really do add so much to the stories!

What a great article! Thank you for highlighting this essential Kdrama character. There are SO MANY examples; thanks for fellow beanies for the lists of their favs in recent Kdramas. Here are just a few of my random picks where that right-hand man has his own story:

*Beauty Inside: Lee Tae-Ree shines as the essential Secretary Joo-Hwan
*Business Proposal: Kim Min-Kyu was fantastic--a most successful use of the right-hand man
*Shopaholic Louis: Eom Hyo-Seop as Secretary Kim Ho-Jun
*The Crowned Clown: Jang Gwang as Eunuch Jo

Hyde, Jekyll, Me - Secretary Kwan protects nervous chaebol heir Seo-Jin from becoming anxious, overexcited, or angry; if Seo-Jin’s heart rate rises above a certain level, his free-spirited alter ego Robin emerges and could potentially cause him no end of embarrassment. Kwan stands up for Seo-Jin when Daddy Chaebol decides to put him on the next flight out of the country, as the company’s reputation could be harmed if his son’s condition became public knowledge. (Way to go, Dad—business before family!)

Shopaholic Louis - Pampered, overprotected young chaebol heir Louis has his devoted right-hand man Ho-Joon.

Six Flying Dragons - Genial, clueless giant Moo-Hyul becomes the staunch warrior and devoted bodyguard of Prince Lee Bang-Won, who was eventually to become King Taejong. Moo-Hyul’s story continues in Tree With Deep Roots, when he becomes the bodyguard of Bang-Won’s son and successor, King Sejong the Great.

Oh My Venus - Celebrity trainer (and eventual Noble Idiot) Young-Ho has his two lovable acolytes—Joon-sung and Ji-woong—who enthusiastically enter into his project to transform Joo-Eun from plump frump to breathtaking (and much healthier) beauty.

A related category puts doctors in the role of friend/protector. Examples can be found in shows like I’m Not a Robot and It’s Okay, That’s Love.

Its quite rare for me to talk about this drama as I didn't enjoy it at all but Woo Do Hwan in The King: Eternal Monarch as Jo Young/Eun-sup was brilliant and I kept watching the drama because of him.

He was so loyal till the end and that ep16 scene of both of them entering the shootout together was *chefs kiss*

I love the camaraderie between So Joon (Lee Je Hoon) and Ki Doong (Kang Ki Doong) in Tomorrow With You.