I've got so many (including the one from Do You Like Brahms) but the one that made my heart beat the fastest was in Extraordinary Attorney Woo, when Junho runs all the way to the office to try catch Youngwoo and let her know how he feels. The build up to that scene already had me on the edge of my seat, and when he finally decided to act on his feelings, my heart was running right along with him.

The first one that comes to mind is also vaguely remembered since it's been so long, but Smile You, when Jung Kyung-ho takes Lee Min-jung to the places where he took her sister, but to show her he's moved on. I also like Bong Soo's rooftop moment "how about me" to Young-shin, competing with his alter ego. And Gong Yoo in Coffee Prince accepting his feelings and thinking he's gay, saying "let's go to New York".

Off the top of my head, the one from Into the Ring where Se-re and Gong-myung are in her office and he says he wasn't sure at first then he says it's always been her and it's just the best thing ever. It's not dramatic, there's no swelling music, it's just just the two of them and then they kiss... It's just perfect.

The fact that it's the only confession I can think of shows how memorable a scene it is. I think I'm due for a rewatch of the whole drama soon.

Too many favourites to choose one but one of the most memorable was the confession-that-wasn't in Reply 1988. I wasn't team SLS for that show (thank god!) but boy did I cry buckets for Jung-hwan after that scene. The regret and the might-have-beens in that confession feel so universal. Beautifully done.

Having consulted my “Beanie-regulation” spreadsheet of the dramas I’ve watched, I have come up with the surprising (to me) realization that my contribution here will be from a drama I only skimmed: Soundtrack #1.

I hereby admit to watching the penultimate scene in this drama where Eun-soo confesses her love to Sun-woo at least 10 times. It’s so heartfelt, meaningful, and elaborate…and PYS’s face throughout the whole thing is a glorious mixture of emotions.

The first show that came to my mind is Wok of Love, when Poong confessed his feeling to Sae-woo on that hilltop that overlooked the city.

Another confession scene I love is that in All About Eve, at the very end of the finale, when Jang Dong Gun's character ran after Chae Rim's to ask her to not go to England and to marry him, then they kissed in the middle of the street. It was so beautifully done.

Some confessions I liked:

_ Meet Yourself (ML's confession by the lake).
_ 25-21: the "Rainbow" scene on the bridge.
_ Not exactly a confession, but there is a scene in The girl who sees scents when ML writes in the air with perfume to ask FL to marry him. I thought it was beautiful.
_ I'm not sure if this is a confession, but in The Best Hit there is a scene when FL (Lee Se Young) enters a recording booth and she sings the song Hyun Jae has written. The name of the song is "Propose" and if I remember well, she is fully aware of his feelings because of the lyrics, which he wrote thinking of her.

From recent drama is WDH’s confession to Bo Na in Joseon Attorney. Him telling her about having a family together in goofy manner yet being sincere and pure was so endearing. The confession wasn’t heavy or too much but still whole and solid.

From older drama is Yoo Yeon Sook confession to Seo Hyun Jin in Romantic Dr. Kim. He was playing third times charm with his confession. The first two were delivered in light and sudden way. The confession seems impulsive but the feeling and thought isn’t shallow. And when the third confession came, it was in all serious and demanding manner because he knew he gave her space and time to think about it and couldn’t wait for any longer without an answer.

I feel like the main character in High Fidelity (Nick Hornby), all those lists ready and when the question finally comes my mind goes blank. 😆

Coffee Prince Alien is a classic... and I replayed Brahms more times than I want to admit ☺️ ...but... I also like the indirect confessions, like in recent The Real Has Come when Yeondoo is defending Taekyung so fiercely...

Though I have watched a handful of k-drama romcom, strangely nothing comes to mind when talking about memorable confession. The only one confession that forever engraved in my mind was from Mr. Darcy's in 'Pride and Prejudice'. I love both; one delivered at the dome and in the field. Matthew Mc. Fayden's delivery is just perfect. Nothing can beat this.

Talking of second leads confessions, the one from Fated to 🥰 It’s the last 5 minutes of episode 14 the scene… an empty theatre, just the second lead on stage and the female lead in the audience. He uses sand to make drawings projected onto a screen and it tells their story. The male lead comes in and witnesses the proposal but they don’t see him. It is the best proposal scene I have seen and I am gutted it is the second lead. I think he is the better match for her, knowing he is the second lead so won’t get the girl it’s worse than the second lead confession in 1988 as he gets to laugh it off as a joke. There is no taking it back in this scene. I love how they manage it so there is no awkwardness and it feels like he is able to respect her response and she respects his feelings for her.

Aaahh Do You Like Brahms was indeed a good one as well~!

Run On comes to mind when I read the title, because that one was lovely as well! The way Im Shi-wan acted that scene, the words leading up to Shin Se-kyung's kiss, SO GOOD! and even the awkwardness right after xD

In thinking about this thread, I'm realizing that something that stands out to me as much as (more than?) confession scenes are realization of feelings scenes. This was done really well at the end of ep. 7 in Call it Love, where both FL and ML are shown coming to this realization independently but simultaneously. In Sh**ting Stars, I love the ML's audible realization with "I'm in big trouble" at the end of ep. 6. I also think of the prison scene in Bossam where the ML and FL are separated by the bars of the cell, and while crying, gently touch each other's faces. While mostly a silent scene, it is both mutual realization AND confession.

Reply 1997 and Reply 1988

What a good theme!

I loved the confession by vocal message in Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food. He was on his bike listenning music and suddenly he heard her voice. Jung Hae-In was really great in this scene. I liked when he made her listenning her own message and he could tell it by heart.

In She Would Never Know, the FL went to see him to eat ice cream but she was running away from her own home because she was angry against her mother. And in middle of crying and hugging, she said she liked him. The ML was so happy and in the same time he still wanted to comfort her.

Well, my favourite love confession scene is in the drama 'W'.
When Oh Yeon Joo made her third love confession to Kang Chaul in the detention and they began to do what I call 'the handcuff kissing scene.

Wow I've seen so many but the only one that comes to mind is Joon's cable car confession to Lala in Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (I've practically erased the last couple of episodes of that drama from my mind). The scene was so heartfelt, straightforward and mature. It nicely put into words what the ML had already been showing through his actions.

Miss Korea. The whole show is one long love confession from Lee Sung Min to Song Sun Mi.

30 but 17: the FL confesses to the ML that she liked him first. The confession is followed by a passionate kiss on the overpass.

You Are My Spring has a good favorite with the confession.
"...Do not leave the rooftop..." and then followed it up with a rooftop kiss.

Was it somewhere in ep 18, the FL in 20th Century Boy and Girl spurts out the words "I hate seeing your back" right at the ML after the he continuously completely acts unconcerned about her recent health crisis when she was well aware that they cared for each other on deep levels and that he was likely worried. There is still more confession in further episodes but this was the very first and the one that stuck in my head. It's my favorite part of the drama.

Because This Life Is My First Ep 11. Se-hee and Ji-ho have been playing around themselves for a while and the feelings are growing, noticed but unaddressed by both. So by the end of the episode, they lean in for a kiss, all the mood has been set. Ji-ho initiates the kiss and damn it was good. Creme of the top came in the ML's confession, " and this is a proper kiss". With the kind of ML Se-hee, keeping to his feelings and all, it was just the confession that convinced me that now, he's properly into Ji-ho.

And this cannot be complete without the main deal - Love In Contract, delivered by the capable Go Kyung-pyo(LiC made me a GKP fan btw). How many confessions was it. I can't even count. And yes...how many time did my heart sway with each confession. This was a Park Min-young drama, and yes she owned it. But, Go Kyung-pyo takes the award for confessions here.

My Liberation Notes carefully peeling off "worship me" into a confession that was never properly said but was heard. Mr. Gu screaming "I love you, Yeom Mi-jung" on repeat, and on record.

Marriage Contract ep 12. The ML asks the female series of questions. The third? "Teach me to know you...I know I have no clue about you.. I just want you by my side...Can't you just stay by my side?" And it was followed by this hummed OST. Damn. It was raw.

Mr. Queen tops the favorite Saguek confession btw.

Another FL confession, this one is from Chuno.

2nd FL to ML (paraphrased): "I trust you, Orabeoni. Do you know what it means when a woman says that to a man?"

Let’s Eat , Lawyer Kim confesses to Soo Kyung (Ep 12),

This is too long, I know, but it's one of my favorite sequences from Queen Seon Deok, when she confessed hee feelings to Bidam:

"Everything changed in one day. Those who tried to kill me when I was a princess, and those who tried to protect me died in front of me. Those who survived knelt before me. They all encouraged me in my great purpose with impeccably respectful manners. Then one day... you arrived. You spoke to me frankly, without a care in the world. And I asked you not to stop doing it. You were the only one who talked to me like I was still the old me. I've only ever felt really comfortable with you. Even after I came back to the palace, you brought me flowers, you held my hand, you looked at me with those sad, sweet eyes. I didn't care what your real reasons were. I could feel the old me in you. It was nice.
Stay with me. Not like one of those people who are always pushing me, pulling me, forcing me to be alone. But as the only one who sees my interior, who gives me flowers, who makes me laugh. And who holds my trembling hand. Bidam, you have to stay with me. I resisted, I tried to stop it. I tried it over and over again. I thought that as Queen I couldn't allow myself to feel this. You're the only one who sees me as a person. Like a woman. And I like that. You love me as a woman. And I love you. But do I dare?"

I thought Hometown Cha Cha Cha had a great confession scene. The FL comes back early from a trip to Seoul and finds the ML to tell him all the reasons that she probably shouldn’t like him but she does anyway.

I also liked the one in The King’s Affection when the ML admits to the FL (who he thinks is a man) that he thought what he was feeling for her was loyalty, and then admiration, but finally he realized it was affection. He knows all the reasons they can’t be together, but he needed to say it anyway and it was such a heartbreaking scene.

Her Private Life is another good one. The FL is upset because the ML’s annoying ex-girlfriend has told her that the ML hates being in a fake relationship with her and wants it to end. But when the ML shows up, he tells her that he hated it because it was fake, and he wanted it to be real. And then they have one of the best kiss scenes ever.

I want to talk about a scene from Alchemy of Souls but tbh I’m having trouble narrowing it down. That whole show is one long series of confessions from Jang Uk and Cho Yeong. One of the most memorable happens at the end of the bottle episode (18 I think) when Cho Yeong admits that Jang Uk was supposed to be dead but she didn’t want him to be. If that’s not love I don’t know what is.

BB Kim Seon-ho’s confession scene in a nangmyeon restaurant. He carefully arranged the chopsticks and a napkin to FL first, and he did his. When the noodle dishes came, he mixed one noodle dish and handed it to the FL first, then did his own. When he was about to profess his love, he placed the chopsticks down neatly on the table, and looked at the FL and told her he liked her. I loved the sincerity of the scene.

I’m not into a grand confession of love of any sort, but I always like how considerate a man is towards the woman whom he likes/loves. I count on those little moments more than a grand love gesture (which I often find amusing instead of romantic).

I’m LIVING for this thread!

Top spot of course is Jung-hwan’s confession in Answer Me 1988. It’s one of those ICONIC moments in kdramaland even tho it breaks your heart into a million pieces.

The scene is the culmination of every glance, every touch and every feeling Jung-hwan had for Deok-sun. Nothing can replicate its beauty, and that’s a feat considering it was also a semi public confession…

But the fact Jung-hwan confidently pours his heart out in front of his friends is what makes it all the more tragic. For a guy who rarely speaks and keeps most things to himself, THIS scene was precisely so unlike him that when he lies and says it’s a joke, everyone laughs and the status quo remains intact…

But it doesn’t…
Whatever residual feelings Deok-sun had for Jung-hwan vanished right there in that moment.

It’s raw emotional intensity always gets me when I rewatch it. Maybe this time Jung-hwan won’t lie, won’t be cruel to himself and in turn Deok-sun…
but it always plays out the same…

All of their eyes widen, Sun-woo and Dong-ryong look at each other wondering if it’s a joke. But Jung Hwan keeps going, Deok-sun smiles and the dawning realisation that this is real is palpable on everyone’s faces. THIS THIS is the moment I’d like to freeze…

Maybe maybe it’s different this time…
Maybe…
But it never is…
And that’s the heartbreaking beauty of this confession…
The truthfulness masked by the cruelty of a lie…

I actually love the confession scene from Hyun-jae to Mi-rae in It's Beautiful Now, when he races up to her breathless and realizes the reason he ran so quickly (he didn't want her to think that he'd gotten back with his ex).

One of my favorite confessions is an angry one from the original IN NEED OF ROMANCE. Choi Song-hyun’s character, Kang Hyun-joo, is loved (secretly) by Kim Hyung-min’s character, the near penniless orphan operator of a ping pong hall who knows that he is simply not good enough for her. He has actually encouraged her to date someone ‘better’. Fortunately, he was there to stop things when her date sexually assaulted her. After the scoundrel leaves Hyun-min turns her frustrated anger on him reminding him that he was the one to go on a date and is he happy that she is humiliated. His response is to ask how he could expect to hold on to her with the little that he has. Her response is a beautiful Why Not? And then she proceeds to lay out all the wonderful qualities that he does have that make him a better person. She concludes by saying that the only reason he could not possibly hold on to her is that he must not like her. He cannot allow such a lie to stand- so he grabs her and kisses her (and she can hear bells ringing, waves crashing, etc- according to the narrator).

@missvictrix these posts are brilliant for reliving those standout scenes from dramas we loved or hated. This has got a group of us thinking about Sh**ting stars and the female lead’s immediate and ongoing reaction to the male lead’s confession. It was a classic but it has got me thinking are there other standout reactions to confessions that we need to spotlight for entertainment value😆

I love the Do you like Brahms?-confessions. Kim Min-Jae and Park Eun-Bin just melt my heart, everytime I see them! But my favourite confession/s 😉 is in Search:WWW. As usual I bring up the secondary couple here (they were my personal actual first couple). The first confession is the masked one, when Scarlett asks her "mentee" to act as her boyfriend. They agree on a story, but what does he do? He tells them how they actually met and how he fell for her instantly. It's a honest confession, and a wonderful one at that, but she can't fathom it at this point which makes it even more poignant.
But then the moment in that lost-and-found-room where they clear up how they feel about each other, and they're kissing and the telephones are all ringing...wow. So well done. In fact excuse me for a moment, I'll have to watch it again (...and again...).
To be honest, I'd like to watch a spin off just about those two, still!

I would be hypocritical if I say I am not moved by sincere/moving confessions but the KD conceptualisation of a confession is largely incredibly unrealistic so when it hits the spot without too many tropes and absurdities, it is a treat.

Sounds like I need to watch Do You Like Brahms right now! LOL

Adding to the classic list of Healer and Coffee Prince, SWDBS - that scene of taking one step closer with the OST and PHS's eyes.. swoon.

Kim Min-Kyu and Jo Ji-A's conversation in I Am Not A Robot. Ji-A answered all of Min-Kyu's questions and when Min-Kyu wanted to be a noble idiot for Ji-A's sake, Ji-A was adamant that she needed Min-Kyu and he was what she was waiting for all her life. That kiss under the meteor shower that didn't trigger Min-Kyu's allergy is the cherry on top.

I guess I am having a cranky week because this this theme reminded me of a quote I came across in an article last year about why some foreign women travel to SK expecting to find love. A SK’n commentator said words to the effect that they are welcome to the Korean men as far as she was concerned given how far removed from reality the KD archetypes of swoony male leads who are good looking, kind, sensitive, compassionate and self-sacrificing. I understand that the industry is a dream factory but it is depressing to think how many women buy into these fictions.

I swear i have a k-drama favourite but I can’t for the life of me remember what.it.is!

This is a recent one from a j-drama:
https://www.dramabeans.com/members/parkchuna/activity/1409388/

It’s not even the main confession because at this point neither leads are admitting their feelings to each other.

I loved the confession in "twenty five twenty one". It was so subtle, and I found it extremely cute. Kim Tae Ri was wondering the type of relation she had with Nam Joo Hyuk, she was asking him and he said so simply: "it's love". It was a very beautiful scene that was perfectly acted. Everything was beautiful in that scene. The rainbow, the way Nam Joo Hyuk tilted his head, the background music... the simplicity of the scene was so swoon-worthy. That's one confession scene that stood out for me, in all the years of being a k-drama fan (going on 10 now!lol).

late to the thread but present. Topic is a trigger for a re-watch. Just contributing a favourite confession/proposal which i mentioned before - 1% of Something (2016). Two things stand out: quite the most 'honest' one; and was rejected (initially; because it did raise a question and did not assume an answer). Other confession scenes in dramas mentioned above are also spot on. Memorable confessions are as much the build up to the confession and what is said. Another re-watch trigger - after a break-up, what did they say to get back? In rom-coms, words, voice and tone of voice that seal the deal. I like that in korean, there are many ways to say 'like' and 'love'.

My favorite confession scenes are when we get to see double confessions! Double confessions where a ML or FL decides to lay their feelings out in the open and confess to the other person what they are feeling and then, instead of just making out, the other person lays out their feelings as well in a similar moving confession, and then they make out, lol. Thirty, But Seventeen and I Am Not A Robot are good examples of this!

Episode 17 of Suspicious Partner...the "I-apologize-for-being-late-about-my-feelings" scene. Noh Ji-Wook (Ji Chang-Wook) confesses his feelings to Eun Bong-Hee (Nam Ji-Hyun) in true attorney/prosecutor fashion...listing his reasons for his "tardiness". Bong-Hee has already confessed...opening up her fragile heart to Ji-Wook in a previous episode. But his taciturn reply cuts her to the quick, and she ain't ready to go down that road again. But Ji-Wook decides to step up to the plate. The writer does a fabulous job with his confession-monologue, I think, because it's mature, direct and unadorned with starry-eyed love idioms, while still giving us all the feels. Bong-Hee is speechless, floored and falling even more for this stud-muffin! I've re-watched this scene easily twenty times, and all I want to do is yell out, "You HAD me at 'I apologize'!
And don't get me started with Ji-Wook politely taking her cup and drinking out of it....say WHAT!!!! INTIMACY sexiness at its best!

Unit...you got that right with Kim Min-Jae's confession thrice-ly done! Very nicely executed in all fields: writing, scenery, characterization and acting. I primarily watched DYLB because I'm a HUGE Park Eun-Bin fan and was not disappointed. Kim Min-Jae's melodious voice....ooof knock me down with a feather! He could read a box of cereal to me and I'd swoon shamelessly.

I couldn’t choose just one, but of the 300+ KDrsmas I’ve seen, these are my favorite confessions:

Healer
SWDBS
Business Proposal
I’m Not a Robot
Shooting Stars
Touch Your Heart
Do You Like Brahms
Crazy Love
Forbidden Marriage
My Roommate is a Gumiho

"The moon is beautiful tonight" in Romance is a Bonus Book. Even when you don't know what it means, you know that Eun-ho is saying something special.

-Every single one in When the Camellia Blooms, lol.

-The moment in High School King of Savvy when Soo Young and Min Seok are on opposite sides of a street, and he suddenly comes up behind her and then he kisses her is definitely in my top. The confession technically came before this (with a bag of popcorn, lol), but this is where they actually become a couple, so I think it counts.

-When Gal Hee and Veronica get into a car accident, and Do Min Ik chooses Gal Hee at the hospital. Then he washes her hand, because the other hand is in a cast. Swooooooooon.

-The confession kiss in We Married as a Job. The female lead is on the verge of giving up her feelings for the male lead while the male lead is simultaneously finally working up the courage to express his feelings for her. Right as she's about to let her feelings go, he kisses her. The couple still have work to do to get on the same page after this, but the moment is literally perfect. (This drama as a whole is honestly perfect, and I don't think I've ever seen another with such impeccable pacing. They always get the timing right.)

All confessions in 30 but 17. The ones by FL and ML and by the SML.

Hmm... Why are these two scenes coming to mind?

First off, Jo Yi Seo in Itaewon Class. Her confession on the street. I mean, the RoYiSeo couple didn't work on me (even though honestly they deserve each other) but her confession on the street really works on me. Honourable mention is Kim Dami waiting outside Choi Woo Shik's house when she thought she let him down in Our Beloved Summer (it was a type of confession).

My favorite confession scene EVER though is Cha Eun Ho's 'the moon is beautiful' in Romance is a Bonus Book. The layers of meaning in that confession and the fact that influence on his education as a child led to that moment is just wonderful 😊