Is a kiss, just a kiss?  If you’re a fan of Kdramas you know it can be so much more.  The ‘Candy Kiss,’ the ‘Foam Kiss,’ the ‘Cola Kiss’… I could go on and on.  How important are these ‘special’ kisses to the storyline of a drama?  Very.  One of the biggest indicators of  popularity in Korean entertainment has got to be parodies and the parodies of these Kdrama kissing scenes are rampant in variety shows, at concerts, etc. which shows their importance in Korean Pop Culture.  Considering the popularity of these ‘themed kisses’ popping up in almost every single drama nowadays, to not have a special kiss would probably be a major faux pas of a Kdrama writer.

The latest news have brought a new ‘kiss’ to the table, the ‘Light Bulb’ kiss by Lee Min-ho and Park Min-young in City Hunter.  Reportedly, the kiss took place on the rooftop of their apartment in the story with a single light bulb illuminated in the background and was a three step process.  The pair’s first kiss in the drama was so good when filmed that it took only one take… oooooh.

Here’s some of the best kiss scenes from Kdramas that I could muster together (I’ve taken the liberty of naming some if I couldn’t remember what their ‘event kiss’ name was):

The ‘Cousin Kiss’ from Secret Garden, not exactly your typical kdrama kiss, yet it was memorable.

The ‘Playfully Wet Kiss’ from Playful Kiss

The sweetly innocent “Spoon Kiss” from All My Love

The epic “Candy Kiss” from Iris

The ‘Alien Kiss’ from Coffee Prince

The “Scarf Kiss” from High Kick Through the Roof

The “Ferris Wheel Kiss” from Dream High.

The “Bus Kiss”  from Dream High. (Suzy was a lucky girl)

The “Snowstorm Kiss” from Boys Over Flowers.

The “Through the Car Window Kiss” from The Best Love.

The “Cola Kiss” from Lie to Me.

I found a couple of great montages of the best kissing scenes from some of your favorite older Kdramas.

So is a kiss just a kiss?  I would have to say, “No.”  I think Kdrama kiss scenes are significant in culturally conservative (at least on the surface) South Korea because it is the pinnacle of romance in mainstream Korean entertainment. Kdrama writers may have set themselves up for the impossible task of always trying to create a greater kissing scene in their dramas than any seen before.  They might also have done a disservice to the significant others of Kdrama fans who have heightened expectations of romantic kissing bliss.

With so much great kiss scenes sprinkled throughout kdrama history, it’s hard to kind of narrow down which would be my favorite of all time.  My favorite kiss scene from a current drama though, would have to be the “Ice Cream Song Kiss” at the end of episode 6 of Lie to Me between Kang Ji-hwan and Yoon Eun-hye, are those two dating in real life?  Didn’t quite like the kiss in front of an audience, but that was hot.

What is your favorite Kdrama kiss scene of all time?

(ChosunIlbo, TVReportimgreatgal)