None other than Swoon Hoon as Do Guk!!!!
I squeeeeed. Screee. And everything in between. Do Guk is 🥰🥰🥰😍😍

I'm going to second @unit and give my Bean of Squee to characters, too!
● Rowoon as Jang Shin-yu 😍
● Sung Hoon as Do-guk 😍
● Bae In-hyuk as Tae-ha 😍
We still have two weeks to go, but the DRAMA this year that has caused me to not only squee, but also to kick my feet in bed like a K-drama heroine, is actually The Story of Park's Marriage Contract! (*please end well, 제발*)

Its hard to choose which drama to give this to sonce I have few choices:

* Mi Hyun and Doo Sik in Moving although short, they provided enough squee for the show
* Bong Seok and Hui Soo in Moving - they provided the feels in the earlier episodes
* Chung Ah and Yi Chan in Twinkling Watermelon
* Seo Do Guk and Han Yi Joo in Perfect Marriage Revenge

Now I had time to think about it some more, I will have to choose both Kim Doo Sik and Seo Do Guk!

I’ll give mine to call it love/aos 2. I can’t decide on one, so I’ll cheat. The male leads are what made this possible for both, and naksu as well for aos.

If our fearless leaders can give their Bean(s) of Squee to Jang Shin-yu of Destined with You, a drama I adored until episode 14...squeeing just as much as they may have done (although probably squeeing more over Jae-kyung as Shin-yu TEAMOTTERshhhhhteamotter)...then I'm going to feel free to proclaim my overall Bean of Squee for HeartBeat.

Yeah, it ended poorly. But the squees--felt amongst a strong community of absolutely devoted Beanies--for the first 12 episodes doubled those of DWY in the moment. There was the pairing of our vampire, Woo-hyeol, and the love of his life, In-hae...but of course the addition of the longing of one of the most complex villain-not-villain 2MLs, Shin Do-shik. I'm going to even add our makjang-queen-with-a-backstory Na Hae-won. It wasn't as if we didn't understand her crazy...we just knew it was a losing game.

While we're at it, the whole Fang Gang! What affection we had for these characters.

...so there's some sadness here, yes, but my Bean of Squee goes to the first 12 episodes of HeartBeat. When I look back to see where my heart lies this year, it's here, on Dramabeans, talking about HB during the height of its squeefest.

The lighted tree, people!! The prom. SQUEE!!

I squeed pretty much non-stop through Twinkling Watermelon, though not so much in a "isn't this romantic?" way. It was more of a "I love this whole gloriously awkward, earnest, hilarious gang of young people and I just want them to hang out and make art and music together forever" kind of way.

My Beans of Squee is awarded as follows:

1. The romance between Mi-Hyun and Doo-Shik in MOVING.

2. The Sageuk episode of DESTINED WITH YOU - That episode gave me ALL the feels. Rowoon really knows how to show undying devotion to his soulmate love.

3. MY HAPPY MARRIAGE - Not K-Drama but this romance anime has produced the Romance Hero of the Year - all hail Kiyoka Kudo.

When in squeed in 2023:-

1. Perfect Marriage Revenge - When DoGuk gently tied a drunk YiJoo's hair in a ponytail 😍

2. The Matchmakers - When SoonGu jumps into the river to save SamSoon even though she doesn't need saving 😋

3. I Feel You Linger In The Air (Thailand) - When a drunk Yai recited poetry while lying on the floor with his head in Jom's lap 🥰

4. My Personal Weatherman (Japan) - When a frantic Segasaki told Yoh, "Without you, I can't breathe." 🫠

5. Jun & Jun - When Choi Jun pulled Lee Jun into his lap and then teased him in his 'American' way 😛

6. His Man Season 2 (Dating Show) - When JunSung called SungHo for the first time with his now iconic greeting 🤗

7. The Eighth Sense - When JaeWon zips up JiHyun's surfing suit 🥵

8. Moonlight Chicken (Thailand) - Jim and Wen walked around the town the first night they met, with the air heavy with their mutual attraction ❤️‍🔥

This list makes me sad that most if my squee moments came from BLs. It's like het dramas have forgotten the art of creating swoony moments. My enjoyment of romcoms like Destined With You, The Matchmakers, My Demon etc. comes more from the comedy and the beautiful faces/aesthetics rather than the romance. That's a shame.

Lord Cobol does not do squee.

Destined With You was defs Bean of Squee worthy BUT it was specifically and only really for Rowoon. So as a drama overall, I think My Demon has come in as a last minute contender to take the bean; even though it's only half way through its run, I've been squeeing non stop and at higher frequencies with each week that passes. It's not even just because the leads are drop dead gorgeous and their characterisations are 👌👌👌👌; the production aesthetics, the supporting characters, the OST - everything about this show has me squeeing, screaming, and flailing like a the most love sick fangirl.

I would DEFINITELY have to give the bean to Twinkling Watermelon; the scene when Yi Chan officially confessed to Cheong Ah via signing a song. When Eun Gyeol was peeking and smiling at them from behind a wall, that was so me haha.
It was so awww!🫠😊

Castaway Diva's couple had me making noises that I usually only make for my dog sooo gonna say that one. Ep 7 or 8 I think was the peak but also eps 11 and 12 had some moments

That is a difficult one because for me, this year was abundant of dramas where I rooted for the OTP to not end up together. But them came the Yi-chan/Chung-ah couple and stole my heart and like @mistyisles I would give this one to Yi-chan as a character too. That selfless kid-hearted boy had my heart with every moment he was on the screen.
Another worthy mention is the couples from The Matchmakers. Way to go the female lead for calling out the noble idiocy and the most ridiculous live ever "I

Park's Marriage is winning that title right now. These couples are killing me, 10/10.

Honorable mentions: Love Tractor, Unpredictable Family.

King the Land!!!

So glad we have this category this year and it seems like it was made to acknowledge KtL. I don’t really have anything to add that @daebakgrits and @dramaddictally haven’t already expounded on, except to say that my squeeing during this drama was so constant and obvious that my husband would often look over from what he was doing in pleasant bemusement at the sounds I was making. I had so much fun watching and he had so much fun watching me watch. Junho was the cause of much of the sqeeing, yes, but it was also Prince Flight Attendant and the adorable interactions between so many of our characters. And that’s why, as much as other characters might have been squee-inducing, KtL takes the cake as the Bean of Squee overall.

The Kidnapping Day.

Nothing made me squee more than PERFECT MARRIAGE REVENGE this year. So many squee moments:
-Flower ring proposal and real kiss in Episode 2!
-The honeymoon.
-Straightforward statements like, "I came because I wanted to see you." "I like you, a lot." "If I told you how much and how long I have like you, would you be able to handle it?" "The best way to get revenge is for you to love me." "Use me as much as you want. I will accept it all."

Also, there were so many squee moments that weren't romantic moments between the OTP, but nonetheless just so fun.
-The key scene in front of the awful sister.
-Do Guk's mother's one liners: "I am open minded. I studied abroad." "Don't call me that. (Mother) It's very unpleasant."

I also squeed some in THE INTEREST OF LOVE, like the ice rink scene, but the couple was so twisty that the squees sometimes became squeals and sometimes became squeeches, so it is a more complicated bean, maybe a black eyed bean of squee.

I squeed (can you believe it? I did find this word in Oxford Learner’s Dictionary online and couldn’t find its meaning, so I always thought you meant “squeal” :) every time Mok Sol-ha and Kim Do-ha from my Lovely Liar is on screen. I love their chemistry and the support they provide for one another throughout the whole show. Their chemistry feels natural to me. So this couple has BoS from me this year!!!

🩷🩷🩷

Perfect Marriage Revenge, Crash Course in Romance, and Tell Me That You Love Me.

Tell Me That You Love Me's understated storytelling has me squeeing in delight every single time.

Perfect Marriage Revenge was the drama I didn't know will bring out the laughter and cheerleader in me.

Crash Course in Romance? Well...the reason wasn't far-fetched. It delivered it's romance quite well. Its first moment of epiphany that I noted was coupled with a shout of delight from me cause it was freedom.

Character wise? Go Ah-in in Agency. Each moment when she kicked the bad guys to the curb was a delight.

I squeed when I saw not one, but two DB writers squeeing over King the Land! It was such a lovely surprise and I read both @daebakgrits and @dramaddictall 's squee-worthy posts many times!

King the Land has earned my 2023 Bean of Squee because I honestly squeed non-stop throughout the whole dang thing.

Me too, DaebakGrits, me too 🥰🤩😍 I agree with every single word you've written.

I don't know if I'm understanding "squee" correctly, so I'll pick the shows which gave me more butterflies in my tummy.

The Matchmakers, because I simply adore all the side couples here (they are so good that overshadowed the main couple).

Also Twinkling Watermelon, Bora Deborah, The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (but only one of the couples) and a few moments in Heartbeat.

And I can't forget C-dramaland, because "Fake it till you make it" and "Meet Yourself" happened and gave me all the feels (I have not watched"Hidden Love" or "When I fly towards you" yet).

Rowoon as Jang Shin-Yu in Destined with You : He was the cold lawyer who said the most cringey words and it was so funny! Between his ego and the love potion we got the most styled man in love. I totally agree with @unit and @missvictrix

Rowoon as Jung-Woo in The Matchmakers : how to not squee with this puppy in love who flaps his bat sleeves when he's happy or hides behind them when he's crying, who learns to swim on a table, fights with a sword by reading a book, who rides a cute donkey (I miss Princess!).

Matchmakers Three adorable couples. Each more squee-worthy than others. I haven’t been able to squee this much for a k-drama for a long time.

For a C-drama, it’s Journey to love. It’s hilarious, heart-warming in parts and squee-worthy in rest. I have never rooted for anyone to get future they want. They deserved it but the screen-writer is one cruel thing.

I wrote a whole essay under another comment, so I'll try to keep this short.

My Squee award goes to - actually I can't choose. There are a few of them that made me super happy in the second half of this year (I watched only 1 drama in the first half).

1) King the Land - I mean, this drama and Jun Ho are the very definition of squee. I consider Gu Won (KTL) as the pioneer of new gen green flags. I know we have had some amazing ones earlier too (Min Min, Ri Jeong Hyuk) but I came back to K dramas after a break and the way his character was written and portrayed made me look forward to the future K dramas with glee. I also think it's one of the first dramas to have leads who weren't necessarily Alpha in their personalities. Yes, we all like to see macho characters, doing super hero stuff, but here were 2 people, who avoided conflicts and spoke their minds and were 'ordinary' despite being in drama that was all Cinderella like.

2) Rowoon - Destined with you - Oh Jang Shin Yu, I won't forget you or your closet actions for a very long time.

3) Rowoon - A time called you - he came for 5 minutes and stole my heart forever.

4) Rowoon - The Matchmakers - I mean can anything ever beat practicing swimming on a table? I love, love, love his portrayal of Shim Jung Woo and I don't think anyone would have done this role better.

5) Rowoon - in general. I discovered both Jun Ho and Rowoon this year and I think I am a little more obsessed with Jun Ho than Rowoon, but I am slowly getting there with Rowoon too. He has been a revelation. There is something about him as an actor and as a person that is so ernest, I think that transcends to his characters too, which in turn convinces us that he is very much in love with every leading lady he's acting with. I really hope he gets good roles in future too and joins the top club of actors. I am convinced of his acting now, he's only going to get better.

Also, I realize this isn't short at all 😂

My Beans of Squee goes to
1. Castaway Diva couple!!! Their scenes was legendary and able to give me the squee which spans across surface level giddiness - there's something warm and touching in their relationship knowing their history together
2. The Story of Park's Marriage Contract!!! Kicking my feet for their dating era rn... pls end well!!!
3. Dr Romantic - I'm with alathe on how Doldam in all its element is squee worthy, but Woo Jin-Eun Jae couple deserve a shout out!!

Oh, King the Land, hands down!

From reading the comments it seems we DID have some wonderful dramas this year and you beanies proved it! Again, I think I agree with most of you about the shows that were squee worthy and it is just too hard to pin down one of them for a bean so I would get out my pill/bean cutter but you won't be able to see the pieces meaning, (takes big breath) there are a lot that I totally loved and squeed for!

soooo happy to see love for my 2 favorite dramas of 2023- King The Land and Twinkling Watermelon. Both were filled with all of the heart flutters and warmth needed, without the usual drama. I know- they are called Dramas for a reason, but I will go back to these anytime I just need some beautiful people, beautiful scenery and beautiful romance in my life.

Because I just watched it three days ago, I give my Bean of Squee to KBS Drama Special Love Attack. After Kim Do-hoon's fake confession and Chae Won-bin replied that she liked him too, I was hoping that she really meant it, so I squeed over their Band-Aid flashback. My favorite scene was her teaching him how to ride a bike and his falling off again and again. "Do you want me to get hurt like this?" "I don't hate it." "I quit." This drama was so squeeworthy and rewatch-worthy.

there were many squees this year, but the only one i can remember right now is the last minute of ep8 of *Sweet Home S2*.

;)

roSWOONing for Jang Shin-Yu!

My bean of squee for 2023 goes to
Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow because I loved the couples dynamic even more than Season 1. Jang Uk was our perfect dark, mysterious yet caring ML and Cho Yeong was the perfect bright spark who knew the moment she met him that Jang Uk was her husband. Lol.

Great choices! Have to go with King the Land! Juuunnnho!