[Drama catnip] K-drama kisses » Dramabeans MGG

[Drama catnip] K-drama kisses

by Dramaddictally

No judgement, right? That’s what we agreed! So, I’m here to talk about my personal catnip: K-drama kisses. One thing I love about them is that there’s so much variety. They can quicken your pulse and take your breath away or make you squeal and squee or even laugh or cry. In dramaland, you never know exactly how or when a kiss will occur — or how kooky it will be when it finally does.

Dramas work hard to keep the kiss scenes interesting and entertaining, which has led to a lot of tropes that I personally love. In fact, as I started to think about my favorite K-drama kisses, I realized that it’s these tropes, or types, that give them their distinct drama flair – and make me distinctly crazy about them. Making a short list was no easy feat, but luckily I’m organized when it comes to my catnip.

Let’s start with the trip-and-fall kiss. Is there anything more iconic — more utterly K-drama — than this type of lip lock? It’s been done a million times, in a million ways, and it still sends a zip of energy through me every time I see it. And, there’s nothing better than when it actually has a bearing on the plot! (Which, let’s be honest, is usually not the case.)

That’s why Kiss Sixth Sense is among my favorites in the trip-and-fall category. When our heroine lands atop our hero for that accidental mash of the mouths, it sets off the spark that starts our story. This leads down the path to superpowers, secret office dating, and, best of all, more catnip kisses!

(Note: This shouldn’t be confused with its teasing cousin the trip-and-fall “almost kiss.” Landing in an awkward stare doesn’t count!)

Moving on, let’s talk about the camera-stop kiss. Does this still happen? It’s when the leads put their lips together and then the camera freezes into a still, catching them from multiple angles, but without any movement from the actors. It’s the least offensive way to capture a kiss I could imagine, and yet, sometimes it’s still spicy.

I remember the first time I saw Minho on screen, in the drama Because It’s the First Time, where he shares a kiss with Jung Yoo-jin (as the experienced noona). Granted I’m a sucker for all things noona romance, but something about the awkwardness of this scene actually heightened its hotness. (Not sure it’s the effect the camera stop was meant to have.)

In categories that require less explanation, there’s the upside-down kiss — which I think Answer Me 1988 wins the iconic award for — and the 9th-to-11th-episode first kiss that comes once (and usually not again). In this latter category, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop will always have my heart with that kiss by the motorcycle in Episode 11. The tension was so well built by that point, I remember not squealing, but screaming, the first time I saw it.

In more recent dramas, we’ve run into the asking-for-permission kiss (which I’m a big fan of) and I love that scene in Record of Youth where Park Bo-gum asks Park So-dam if he can kiss her — and she says he’s always allowed. (Yeah, he’d only need to ask me once too.)

Another favorite is the cozy kiss, and Run On is my absolute top in that department. The scene where Im Si-wan is nestled up with Shin Sae-kyung in her bed, which itself is tucked into a cozy book-filled corner, and they’re both wearing comfy clothes — I love every single thing about that scene. It has the feeling of a rainy day when you decide to just stay inside where it’s warm (except, in this case, it has the bonus of kissing under the covers). Also, the 2F song that’s playing as they cuddle up adds to the overall loveliness (the lyrics go: “I’m sorry but I need to love you right now.” – Wow, wow, wow.)

One kiss I’m usually not a fan of is the drunken kiss — though it’s certainly a recurring theme. But I can think of an occasion where it won my heart, and that’s in True Beauty. Cha Eun-woo does such an amazingly funny job as the drunk boyfriend — and it seems like he mostly sleeps it off before the kissing begins. So, in this case, I actually like it.

Although I’ve only seen it in one drama, I have to mention the knee-pull kiss. Yes, I’m talking about Fight My Way. When Park Seo-joon pulled Kim Ji-won prostrate (by grabbing below her bent knees), I felt like I got an education. The kiss that follows is, for sure, overshadowed by that slick move. (And if any more of these exist in the world, send the drama names my way!)

Another one-of-a-kind kiss is the animated one that happens in Yumi’s Cells 2. Sure, I could count this as a car kiss between Yumi and Bobby, but that wouldn’t do justice to the (literal) tongue tango that’s happening in their heads. This one hits all the marks, from funny to dig your fingers into your couch cushions.

A new type for me last year was the teaching kiss, which happened in Extraordinary Attorney Woo. All this time I thought instructing someone in this area would be awkward. Turns out I just needed to see Park Eun-bin and Kang Tae-oh in the student/teacher roles and, voila, instant catnip.

On the other end of the innocence spectrum, of all the illicit kisses I can think of (and there are many!), The Interest of Love recently upped the ante with that kiss on the ice rink. It may have been bad of them, but it was good for the rest of us.

I suppose kisses in the rain are more cliché than trope at this point, and they’re not my most loved, but Our Beloved Summer did a nice rendition. And so did Splish Splash Love (although that was in the rain, on the beach, with a king, while time traveling, which is pretty specific, so I’ll leave it in the rain category).

Crying kisses are also not among my favorites but it depends on why they’re crying. I do love that scene in Just Between Lovers when Junho and Won Jin-ah are talking about finally moving forward with their lives — she’s crying, it’s snowing, they’re kissing — and it’s totally beautiful. It’s almost like they’re kissing away all the pain of the past.

Another type is the interrupted kiss, which could be defined in a lot of ways, but I like it when the characters are bothered by something that’s not other people. In Sunbae Don’t Put on That Lipstick, Rowoon and Won Jin-ah (again! She gets all the good ones!) have their morning kisses interrupted by their growling stomachs. This leads to making breakfast together — and there’s nothing better than kisses and cooking.

Speaking of which, kitchen kisses are among the best! And to take it up a notch, the restaurant kitchen in Greasy Melo had some amazing ones. My favorite is when Jung Ryeo-won jumps on Junho and… I feel like this needs no further explanation.

A variation of this is in the office kitchen (where canteen meets clandestine) and a great example is in Search WWW. Jang Ki-yong’s co-workers think he’s just making coffee by himself. Thankfully we get to see that he’s not alone and there’s some sneaky business going on in there.

I could go on forever, but I’ll round out my spiel with fun kisses — those that are fun for the characters and those that are fun for us.

In the former category, nothing beats Something in the Rain. Whenever I think back on this drama, the images that come to mind are of the main couple being playful. They’re always laughing, making faces at each other, and having a good time (as they careen from one room to the next). While this drama earns points for having a lot of kissing, it’s the joyfulness of all those kisses that I love.

In the latter category, we have the kisses that make us laugh. One drama I love for how funny the kiss scenes are is Witch’s Romance. Here’s another show that doesn’t hold back and is packed full of hilariously hot moments. It’s got all kinds of kisses: against the wall, on the bed, on the floor, and overtop beer cans. There’s at least one kiss here for everybody, and I guarantee each one will make you smile. Or, if you’re like me, keep you coming back for more catnip.

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