Current List of K Drama Chat's K Drama Elements

We talk about K Drama elements all the time, but haven't posted an updated list! So here is our latest. Will we get to 100 someday? Which element is YOUR favorite? Got any nominations for new elements? Any elements that need to be retired?

Remember that we *think* these elements show up in *every* or *nearly every* K Drama. Oky CCTVs don't show up in historicals, but they show up in all non-historical shows!

Beautiful actors, especially 5 characters
Second leads or second couples
Crying
Back hug
Clothing
Food
Amazing cooking skills, especially chopping
Alcohol
Wrist grab
Holding hands
First kiss, with a 360 view or multi-angle view
Trip and catch
Triangles
Flowers
Umbrella scene, with a sub-element of the man protecting the woman with an umbrella while rain falls on his shoulder
OST!
Deep lean
Some connection from their past
Grandfather or older person keeping the couple apart
Head rest
Beach scene
Fireworks scene
Talking to someone while they’re sleeping
Saving your loved one from an oncoming biker or motorcycle or car or delivery guy
First snow
Putting on a shoe or fixing a shoe
Touching or fixing a loved one’s hair
Piggyback ride
Quirky best friend
Showing off some amazing abs
Protecting someone you love at personal cost to yourself
Confession
Finding your love across a crowded street, bridge or plaza
Product placement
Seeing your loved one or future love in a beautiful outfit and you are dumbstruck
Character who does not believe they are worthy of happiness
Death or a funeral
Tending to a loved one’s wound
Playing at an arcade and/or trying to win a stuffed animal for your loved one
Taking care of a sick loved one
Shoulder tap
Cameo
Orphan/adopted character
Device or notebook that connects people across time and space
Having your love lean on you and you decide not to move in order to not disturb them
When snuggling with a loved one, one of the leads says “Just five more minutes”
CCTV footage
Hand clamped to mouth
Sink to the ground with great emotion
Telling someone to stay with you
Water scene
Asking someone to talk casually
Truck of doom
Bromance
Long wait for love
Person with mixed loyalties
Abrupt lane change while driving
Spitting or coughing up your coffee or drink
Clenched fist
Someone reading poetry
SNU
Redemption arc
VIP Hospital Room
Overhearing a conversation
Kidnapping
It’s You
Going on a rooftop
Grandma wisdom
Running to give your love a hug

What do you think of our list?

Comments

11.10 - Podcast Review of Episode 10 of When Life Gives You Tangerines

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12.4 - Podcast Review of Episode 4 of Extraordinary Attorney Woo

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11.14 - Podcast Review of Episode 14 of When Life Gives You Tangerines

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 14 of When Life Gives You Tangerines , the hit K Drama on Netflix starring IU as Oh Ae-sun and Park Bo-gum as Yang Gwan-sik as young adults, then Moon So-ri as Oh Ae-sun and Park Hae-joon as Yang Gwan-sik as older adults. We discuss: The songs featured during the recap: “A Rock that never erodes in the sea of my heart” and “Just be a good son, that’s all,” both by Park Seong-il, whose work captures the sad, wistful tone of the episode. Our guest Kim Soomin from Virginialicious shares her passion for Korean food and the stories behind her food tours. How Eun Myeong’s storyline takes center stage, highlighting the painful dynamics of favoritism, ambition, and parental regret. The cultural and historical context of buncheong stoneware, how Eun Myeong’s life was turned upside by a single buncheon statue. Pawnshops, especially during the IMF crisis in Korea. The heartbreaking reasons Eun Myeong started his business, and his desperate need to be...

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