LOL I was waiting for it...................THANKS

I look for it in every single drama, and without fail...it happens.

now what i want to see is a collage of every piggyback in kdrama history!! muahhahah *manical laughter* i kid. and i've only watched like six dramas or something so i wouldn't recognize most of them =[

ooooooh NICE! i like this cultural-isms. KEEP THEM COMING!!!!

:D

i think i'm going to rewatch coffee prince tonight.. euchan piggyback hangyul is so cute.. xiixiixixiixi...

Great post, girlfriday! But why must Hyun Bin be unattractive in that picture? Sob.

Thank u , GF!...i love to learn more about korean culture! since i come from a culture that hugging and kissing people around u its so common and natural. Im not saying doing this to every strangers!!! But being so addicted to K-dramas i miss all the skinship between the hot couples, hehehehe!...

I cant get into the piggyback for one reason....I AM NOT A CHILD!!!

Although it's cute to watch and I ry to calculate when it will appear in each drama I watch, it's just for fairytales haha.

so sweet....

is it sad that I felt so proud to recognize all of the images you used except for one? xD

Yes, we have been noticing as well but of course you put it together better. Like @3 we would also like to see a collage of all the recurring motifs.

Many thanks and also looking forward to your recapping of korean version of ISWAK.

Now I know why there is always a piggyback ride on majority of the kdramas I saw..:)) Thanks girlfriday for the explanation. And I really love this new series because there are so many things that I see in every kdrama and I was like...why do they always do that for? :))

Love piggy-back rides! Although I don't remember any in WUAS, or am I wrong?
Anyway, I've seen piggy backs where both persons are neither drunk nor stoned, but they're rare. Random examples are be strong geum soon (M carries W to cheer her up), or when heroine's shoe heel come off, or heroine is sick and needs to go to the hospital (why not call a taxi and get there faster? i don't know).

Looking forward to more articles on kdrama tropes, thanks!

I spent one of my teen summers in one of those korean "cultural immersion" programs and I got so stinking drunk with Gin and Tonic at a group drink outting and I passed out drunk due to drinking on an empty stomach (I was then 16 and dumb) and the boy who I had a big crush on piggy backed me all the way back to our dorm up this huge sloping hill that seemingly only exists in korea and SF. And how did I thank him for his herculean/chivalrous effort? Yes by throwing up all over his nice warm back.

I love this series already! Good job GF...... (although I hate the term skinship....so awkward...)

@ nycgrl

I simply must hear the unredacted version of that awesomesauce story. So in addition to drama mirroring real life (Jin Ho rubbing Kae In's tummy like your hubs did for you), now you are mirroring drama life in your youth. Niiiice. So. Jealous.

Yes, I am indeed jealous that you got to barf all over the guy you had a crush on. Frankly, that relationship, if it ever got started, had a low probability of being anything more than a summer fling and/or young love, But by barfing all over him, and being piggybacked to precipitate said barfing, you've singlehandledly made this a memorable story beyond "I dated my 16 year old crush." :-D

@ girlfriday - thanks for a wonderful cultural lesson. No one, I repeat, no one gets piggybacked in Chinese culture. I think guys sling us over their shoulders or something. At least that's what the hero did to the lady he rescued in the movie Painted Skin. Which was exceeding sexy, but probably very uncomfortable.

Wonderful idea for a running series of pop culture "lessons". Love the piggyback device. I never thought about the little girl-father angle, but it makes sense. Your post is so much fun to read, and I actually learned a bit more of my cultural background. Thank you, girlfriday!

I have been a Dramabeans lurker for, oh, probably 2-3 years now (probably soon after I accidentally got addicted to "Jumong" in early 2007). I LOVE this website and I'm so grateful to javabeans and girlfriday and folks like Samsooki for all their time and dedication to this site. There are 4 sites I check routinely everyday: my email, facebook, twitter, and Dramabeans. But I've never posted 'til now. :-)

Anyway, I loved this post. I'm always joking with my family about the k-drama piggyback thing (yes, my whole family watches k-dramas). However, I tell my family that when I go to Korea and meet my chaebol prince* I will have to carry him on my back instead of the other way around (yay for being a non-drinker and a large-boned European girl)!

So, thanks for the great post (and all the great posts). I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the removing-the-batteries thing. That's another thing my family jokes about a lot. I've asked several Koreans if that is something commonly done in real life, and they've all said 'no,' as I recall.

Oh, and here's a suggestion for a future pop culture discussion: Christmas in k-dramas. My mom and I joke that it's "always Christmas in Korea," because it seems that so many scenes in k-dramas feature Christmas trees in the background. Is it just the dramas I'm watching or has anyone else noticed this?
____________
*which I will, of course, because I know from watching dramas that Korea is overflowing with handsome chaebol heirs...I'm sure I'll see one on every street corner, carrying some poor, passed-out girl on his back...

I love this post! and the screenshots! reading this takes me back to those scenes from the drama . sigh. ;-)

I'm not Korean, but I am Asian and I love it when my boyfriend gives me piggyback rides. although, it's usually only for fun, not because I got drunk .

I have to say watching k-dramas has really made me want to experience the piggy-back ride from a significant other, but at the same time I find it really awkward and embarrasing to be carried around like that. I guess we can always do it in private:)...yeah. I think piggy-back rides are cute.

Can you please do a post on the levels of skinship...I think that would be hilarious:)!!!! Whenever people say that around me in Seoul I can't help put giggle...I've been surprised by the amount of PDA I see in Seoul especially on the subways. It's usually middle-high school students though, and I just roll my eyes at there vomit-inducing overly affectionate behavior.

Loving all these series you two are coming up with.
GF---I love how zippy your writing is, its like a nice breeze and easy to navigate through:)

Haha I'm so happy you included the Woman Who Still Wants to Marry and Eun-chan to Han Kyul Coffee Prince piggybacks! Two of my favorites!
Two more cheap tricks for piggyback ride, beside drinking, would be ankle spraining for kdrama fragile damsels or tripping only to have a 9996749$$$ heel broken for the kdrama princesses.

for me, there really is something special whenever i see piggyback in any kdrama.. it always make any couple look sweet.. even w/o intention of it.. I guess, its just the first thing that comes to mind..

drinking session is a norm, like they never run out of suju in any drama.. I've had dinner in a Korean resto w/ my friends and enjoyed bottles of Suju.. it is best when shared!! ♥

ksa, the most cutie one... miss her

awww....i love the piggyback rides in kdramas. oh how i want a piggyback ride too. (;

i would love it if you guys go into the whole cinderella like romantic tying of the shoe moment. yes i get it, it's from one of the most romantic fairy tales of the world but a guy helping me tie my shoelaces does not make my heart go pitter pat.

Omg... I love this... Thanks GF for this article... its like the basis of dating in K-drama... And I like... Skinship... kya...

If piggyback earn an actor a stripe, Hyun Bin earns it twice, coz apart from carrying Samsoon, he also carried Bora in Snow Queen too, drunk and singing that she is Candy...

Just like HK movies where most actors by the time they "made it" they would have played a police and a gangster with a heart of gold in their career...

On this pop-culture education would you guys suggest doing one on feeding? Yes, feeding... I see a lot of feeding in K-dramas and inspire to do that with my future man, but if my mom were to feed me now, I think being an adult, I will probably like "no, stop, what are you trying to do!?"

I remember how touched Go Jun Pyo was when Jandi's mom feed him with fish she peeled/deboned... coz his mom never did that for him... he find it disgusting initially, but love every bite and bits to it till the end...

Idea for another piece?

"Skinship" is a Korean made-up term? That is why... I've used it in a couple of occasions during casual conversations with friends; no wonder they don't know what I was talking about.

I like this new series! I've been watching dramas for about....hrm....5? years now and I always wondered about the 'drunk blundering piggyback rides' haha.

In the future, could you explain the "kiss" scenes we see so often? (i.e. leads standing about a foot a part from each other and having their lips touch and lock in place while the camera spins around them lol)....why don't most dramas kiss..like...passionately? (i.e. Coffee Prince!)...that always kills the mood for me!

Also, can someone explain that one card game I see in a lot of dramas? Coffee House had a scene with it I think in like...episode 10?

Thankss!

@Ockoala

I'll give you the full version sometime. He actually went to your alma mater. I find a lot of things in kdramas stem from real life since where would the writers source some of their material except real life?

For example the stomach rubbing thing is accompanied by a song (kind of like a nursery rhyme) and my hubby sings that exact same song because he learned it from his mom who used to sing the song while rubbing his tummy when he was a little kid.

^ all above refering to Coffee Prince...

It just trigger my memory and I recall the conversation went something like this;

Butcher Ahjusshi: Eun Chan ah... what are you carrying?!
Eun Chan : *breathless*
Butcher Ahjusshi: I am carrying a pig!!!

Regardless how many times I rewatch, I still laugh at how nonchalant that cute ahjushi is... its like he wanted to ask Eun Chan if she needs space and he can like chuck Han Gyul inside his freezer!

i can tell i'll be addicted to reading these pop culture articles. more please!

Thank you for this segment......This not only fills our korean addiction but it also widens our understanding of korean culture. Some repetetive scenes may be normal to a korean but to us its different, through this we are informed and the more we can appreciate kdramas.......I love it!!!!

I wonder what could be your next topic......hehe......looking forward to it.....

Funny article Javabeans. But I'm curious..... does it happen a lot in real life? Has anyone seen girls passed out drunk with guys piggybacking them in Korea?

piggyback rides aren't as romantic as they seem :3 i always end up feeling sorry and ashamed about my weight when i end up in that kind of situation... lol. i guess if your boyfriend comes right out of a trashy romantic novel with a ripped body they can handle the weight, but my boyfriend is skinny and he buckles under my weight. ._. ashamed.

THank you..thank you. I really enjoyed reading your micro analysis on skinship and piggyback ride. Who would have thought that piggyback ride = skinship? I didn't.
so, in Korea, you don't see real couples kissing in public then? I wonder if public display of affection can be misinterpreted as "they have slept together".

One time I watched a Korean variety show where the guy was supposed to kiss this lady on her cheek. He was so shy that it took multiple attempts before he landed his lips on her cheek. At the time I didn't understand him..why is it so difficult to kiss on cheek? I thought he was just being a wimp.

Thanks for the pop culture lesson!! This is very useful in understanding Korean culture and etiquette.

I have a question... why do korean people in dramas use their fingers to touch their tongue and then touch their nose? It seems like they do this whenever they're nervous about something? But I'm curious to know where this came from.

And I've been told by some of my friends that Koreans, for the most part are very fashion/brand name conscious. Is that true?

I'd love to know the answers to those!

actually GF it is my fantasy to have someone give me a piggyback ride if I get drunk.. the trouble is I DON"T get drunk!!!! maybe I can pretend to be drunk???? Thanks GF!

sorry it's me again.

While reading about cultural differences in regards to piggyback ride, I am reminded of the time when I was offered a piggyback ride on a first date. I refused..thanks for the offer, but no need a piggyback ride. Because he insisted, I finally gave in. Because of this, I was actually mad at him the entire night haha..
I wasn't comfortable with skinship so early into our date night, whereas to him, it was no big deal, can't even be considered a skinship. I am Asian, and the guy is Caucasian who later became my hubby. :-)

I love this post =D
Piggyback ride is almost a staple on K-dramas.. I've not seen a lot yet, but all series I've seen seem to have it.. I don't like it too personally but it quite cute when executed properly on screen.

entertaining read! thanks GF!

Thanks so much for this! I've been watching kdramas only very recently and there's a lot I don't know about Korea, so this helps immensely. Makes everything that much richer and more enjoyable. So, thanks!!!!! And keep them coming!

You will think that if someone is drunk - the other person responsible for sending him/her home would just hail a cab instead of walking for 2 hours! ....just saying

I miss getting piggybacked back home in Samoa. Except, now I am in the states, and surprisingly, not a lot of people here know how to piggyback, at least girls don't. I had to teach some of the girls at my University how to give a piggyback. Weird. Than again, Samoans are built to carry, push, and various other physical things. Skinship anyone?