Whether they provoke tears or sighs, one of the things k-dramas do best is create the "aw" moment. It's that sweet demonstration of a character's feelings designed to make your heart flutter.
Two recent examples come to mind. One took place in the comedy "Fated To Love You." Choi Jin Hyuk put a bandage on Jang Nara's scrape. Taking care of someone's injury is a pretty common way for a k-drama character to express protective feelings for another character but in this case it was delivered with a twist.
When Jang Hyuk later noticed that Choi Jin Hyuk had placed a bandage on his wife's arm, he slowly peeled it off while she was sleeping and replaced it with one of his own, fully reclaiming his territory. And although Jang Nara did not seem to wake up during this tender act, she later pasted Jang Hyuk's bandage in her baby book as a token of his affection for her.
Another happened in "High School King of Manners.' Seo In Guk's character referred to Lee Ha Na's character as "popcorn sister" because she liked to eat popcorn. So, when it was time to propose, instead of a ring or flowers or candy, he presented her with an oversized bag of popcorn. It was well within the range of a high school student's allowance and she found it the perfect gift.
Such "aw" moments can be provoked by large deeds such as secretly paying off someone's debt but they are more often prompted by the sweetest, smallest gestures, such as tucking someone in with a blanket, as Lee Bo Young did when she first began to care for Lee Jong Suk in "I Hear Your Voice. Or the character might bring that special person homemade soup or tea.
In "Trot Lovers," Jung Eun Ji's character brings Ji Hyun Woo's character balloon flower tea to help strengthen his voice. It's what he told her to drink and just seeing the tea she left him helps him to remember his feelings for her.
Female k-drama characters also often make male leads lunch, sometimes with cute vegetable cutouts that are supposed to represent the person's face.
And then there is the gesture of feeding the other person, by either putting the food on their plate or in their mouth. This custom is usually reserved for those you are really close to but it seems to imply that you want to make sure they eat enough.
And of course dramas offer many examples of forehead kisses, back hugs and piggyback rides.
What's the sweetest gesture you can remember in a k-drama? We would love to know.
