I don't know if I understood the topic well. But it is mostly the heart felt moments that stand up to me. Best example for this, Yi-chan telling Eun-gyeol not to blame himself for the accident and Eun-gyeol jumping off the cliff after Yi-chan refusing to listen to him. Another one is the reunion between the father in the son in the present day.

THAT COVER PICTURE!! DEAD!! 🤩🤩

Some stand out moments,

1) Tango from My Demon - I have specific moments in drama when I clearly know that I've fallen in love with it. It is weird, but yes, I just know. Tango scene in My Demon is one such scene. I also think it is just perfect, it's brilliantly thought out and executed.

2) King the Land - their first kiss. Him asking permission, that's all. Hard to top that

3) Destined with you - Closet scene. Another perfectly done scene.

4) The Matchmakers - the scene from ep 14, where Soon Doek tells him not to go down the noble idiocy route and then hugs him. I don't know why this moment was a stand out for me, but it brought tears to my eyes. The costumes and the scene were so in sync, the music was just perfect, overall a very beautiful and subtle scene.

I think kdramas are really good at creating great moments. Even if the drama as a whole disappoints, there often is at least one memorable scene well done. Like that morning belt scene in Crash Course in Romance. 🙂

My recent memorable scene, as many Beanies already know by now 😄, is the tango from My Demon. It is just perfection, the music, the leads, the gangsters... and the rose petals. 💃

Too many to count! Chae Jong-hyeop's ML in Unlock the Boss crying while watching the livestream of employees defending him after he was ousted as CEO and the montage of Mapi reflecting on himself and his purpose; the sword fight in the grass field in episode 13 of Our Blooming Youth that eventually culminates in an emotional reunion on the road; Woo Do-hwan sobbing on the city wall after all of that happened in Joseon Attorney; Kim Young-kwang and Lee Sung-kyung making eye contact and breaking into bright, joyful smiles as they run to each other at the end of Call it Love; the flower ring proposal in Perfect Marriage Revenge; Ha Lee-chan's signed song and confession to Chang-ah (and when he told her she could always come back to him and his grandma, and when his grandma saw him in the hospital, and, and...) in Twinkling Watermelon; and every time Rowoon said something cheesy and romantic and then tried to walk it back in Destined With You (plus every time he cried). I'm sure there are lots of others I'm forgetting!

The moment I realized I was hooked on kdramas for life!

The one moment from my year in dramas:

In At a Distance, Spring is Green the moment Bae In Hyuk finally breaks down and accepts Park Ji Hoon's help.
I have rewatched that scene many many times, and it hits me in the gut every single time.

The one moment from only 2023 dramas:

In King the Land the moment Won comes back into the room and hugs his mother. I wanted him so much to go back and hug her but I didn't expect the show to do it. I cried.

I have 2:

The one liners from Perfect Marriage revenge.

The "floating kiss" from Moving

Trolley : Nam Joong-do drove his car into the gates of Jin Seung-hee's house in order to force her to stop harassing his wife in the moment.

Recipe for Farewell - Kang Chang-wook finally cooked the final recipe his wife requested for him to cook for them both but passing made an herculean task.

Crash Counter In Romance - Chi-yeol and Haeng-soon's kiss.

Tale of the Nined Tailed 1938 - Ryu Hong-joo's dramatic entry.

See You In My 19th Life - Su's (Shin Hye-sun) visceral breakdown+rage+helplessness when her sister Seol was killed. It was powerful.

Still on Shin Hye-sun, another favorite moment is her losing it on her friends in Welcome to Samdalri.

Perfect Marriage Revenge - Almost every victory. Plus, Cha Yeon-hwa's war of words and wits.

My Dearest 1 - Gil-chae telling Eun-ae they never ran into any intruder.

Tell Me That You Love Me - So many favorites here. Her placing his hand on her neck and let him feel her vocal vibrations as she sings, for him and him alone, just as the writer-pd ensured. The interactions of the quad at the table.

It has to be LIM JI YEON's mukbang scene from LIES HIDDEN IN THE GARDEN where her character, Chu Sang Eun, goes to a restaurant and scarfs down a bowl of Jjajang Myeon, Tangsuyuk, and dumplings after going through questioning with the police about the death of her husband, who used to abuse her. It was such an off-the-wall moment but perfectly captured the relief she felt.

In no particular order:
1. Ryu Hong Joo fighting with that claymore in Tale 1938
2. Yeon and Rang taking care of the baby in Tale 1938
3. Kim Doo Sik's first appearance in Moving and when he showed his powers ro Mi Hyun
4. Bong Seok accidentally flying because of Hui Soo in Moving
5. Yang Ying showing her true identity in A Journey To Love
6. Tae Ha being petty and ruining the Jade Rabbit to Yeon Woo and when he made up for it an episode later in The Story of Park's Marriage Contract
7. The tango scene in My Demon
8. Yeon Hwa and Jung Hye's non- handshake in Perfect Marriage Revenge

* The market scene in KING THE LAND, where Won & Sarang play the king carp game. The skinship! It looked all very natural and had me melting to a puddle. 🫠 Also when he drove her home, and she asked to go out for dinner to make it up, and he said: „Yes. It’s a DATE then.“ Cannot tell you how often I have rewatched both.

* When Rowoon‘s character was introduced in THE MATCHMAKERS as The Resentful Man, they showed a scene where he was walking outside and as soon as anyone noticed, he was quickly left alone in a formerly bustling alley, dust settling slowly. Hahaha, that was *chef’s kiss*

* THE MATCHMAKERS, pt 2: when Jungwoo & Soondeok both met trying to climb over her wall, and he picks her up. Be still my heart. 🫠❤️

* THE MATCHMAKERS, pt. 3: the whole imagined fighting scene in the bamboo forest between Samsoon & Soongu. 👏👏👏

* DESTINED WITH YOU: when lovesick Shinyu told Hongjo since he didn’t know what perfume she preferred on men - woodsy or citrusy - he just wore both, and lets her sniff both sides of his neck in quick succession to prove it. 😂🤣

* Super MIL in PMR explaining to Yijoo how she happened to marry her husband: “Look at me. Look at how beautiful I am. It was practically charity.” 😂💯

The moments that stuck with me this year:
PERFECT MARRIAGE REVENGE: In Episode 2, the hotel key scene and subsequent hotel room scene and the flower ring scene showed how this drama and couple were going to be different, and the drama kept its promise throughout.

THE REAL HAS COME: The wedding interruption scene was so ridiculously over the top good. Sigh, what could have been.

CALL IT LOVE: The scene in the noodle restaurant when Woo Joo realizes she is love when talking to her friend. The realization that unfolds on her face when she asks "what is this?" was a great piece of work by Lee Sung Kyung.

MY DEAREST: When Gil Chae saves Eun Ae by killing the assailant and then she tells Eun Ae that nothing happened to save her honor, it showed the grit and moral fortitude of Gil Chae that she used to face all that came her way after that. If I think of My Dearest as her story even more than the love story, this drama can rest more favorably in my memories and overcome the Part 2 problems.

INTEREST OF LOVE: The ice rink scene was so well acted and took you through a huge range of emotions--both of the characters and as a viewer.

CRASH COURSE IN ROMANCE: Loved the chicken night scene and the dynamic between Chi Yeon, Haeng Seon, Hae Yi and Jae Woo while watching the tiger documentary.

FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT: The scene on the bridge when the FL talks to the ML and tells him all the times she had been swayed by him: even. though they are not in the same room, you could feel all the emotions between them and how their ambiguous relationship was much more important than they were saying out loud. Such great acting and chemistry.

Are we watching Kdramas because they're the best to add this kind of moment in each of them? So choosing one...

-The Interest of Love : The ML and the FL was meeting for a meal, but she had cold feet. She was at the bus stop and told him on the phone she forgot she already something with her boyfriend. She hung up and turned her head and he was here. 🥰

-Destined with You : The hopital scene when he thought he lost her and their different beach scenes.

-The Matchmakers : The whole drama? The lantern scene when he was not feeling good and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he just saw her face, then the lights came back around them.

-Secret Romantic Guesthouse : When the Prince finally knew about the identity of his secret bodyguard.

-See You in My 19th Life : When all her lifes are walking in line.

There were so many, but I can recall only so few!
- Tell me that you love me: that's actually full of these moments. One is when she confesses to him, and he has tears in his eyes. Another when they're eating watermelons at the table and she's grilling him about how to sign this and that and then some, and at a certain point he very cutely ignores her questions. 🤣 When she's on the stage full of stage fright and he manages to encourage her by signing (which I found so much more powerful than if he'd just *told* her). And then the closing scene of episode 8 - she coming to see him, wishing a good night and going, he going after her, holding both their hands and melting into kisses...I was melting, too! 🫠
I have to say I like Jung Woo Sung's acting here a lot. Apart from the signing, he's using his facial expressions and looks so well without over- or underacting, it's very well done.
- Moving: again a kiss, this time Du-Shik and Mi-hyeon in her office, when he starts to float. These whole two episodes were like a movie in the drama, and I loved to watch those two inching towards each other.
There were tons of other moments, but I can't recall them when someone asks. 😉

I have absolutely no idea how I would narrow this down. I'm with the rest of you all--I have gifs of so many of these scenes, that I know I agree with you!!!

Are there any that I would pick that I've not yet read here??

How about:

1. Taec panting through the convenience store window at the rameyon in HeartBeat: https://i.imgur.com/Ea46fgx.png

2. Lee Sang-yi and Woo Do-hwan in the garage working out near the end of Bloodhounds: https://i.imgur.com/4QOtAvz.png

3. Any scene of villainous smirking by Choi Min-soo in Numbers: https://i.imgur.com/lSq2bB1.gif

4. "Get a grip, Jang Shin-yu!!": https://i.imgur.com/ngsp72u.gif

5. "왜? Why?" from Perfect Marriage Revenge: https://i.imgur.com/hQwGDTu.mp4 (with sound)

6. Any of the scenes of heartstopping cinematic beauty from Matchmakers (please end well 제발!): https://i.imgur.com/uViSxeg.gif or https://i.imgur.com/rOdm3pN.mp4 [with almost silent, but not quite silent, sound]

Here are my four favorite Kdrama moments of 2023:
(1) Big Bet (all seasons): scenes featuring Filipino stars and the Filipino people (i.e. Nico Antonio, Bembol Roco, Epy Quizon, Ronnie Lazaro, Art Acuña, Guji Lorenzana)
(2) Moving (end of episode 17): Mi-hyun threw her eyeglasses
(3) Perfect Marriage Revenge sixth episode wedding
(4) King the Land episodes 10-11: most beautiful and breath-taking scenes of Thailand

Just one favorite?
Impossible!

Call it Love when they finally get together. The way the ML gently cradles her head while lying down as the camera slowly rotates from vertical to horizontal.

See you in my 19th life all the past lives walking down the bridge….and also the scene where she imagines dancing with her past life mother.

Moving When Mi-Hyun’s deliberate slow march while taking off her glasses. Move over Superman - this is how it’s done.

Twinkling Watermelon the Yi-Chan Chung-Ah confession scene

My Demon Tango dance battle. 💃🏻🤜🤛

I’m sure I’m missing a few, but these all made by jaw drop.

1. KING THE LAND: The end of ep 1 where they both walk down the hotel alley, stand beside each other and just look at the hotel surroundings! Honestly the entirety of the first 2 episodes, they were so magical and cozy, I felt as if i was watching one of those barbie movies in my childhood bed.

2. HEARTBEAT: So Many Moments. The human biting the vampire. The fangs not coming out. The defending him in front of the whole school. THE SHRIMP EATING!! The Dance. The beautifully lighted first kiss. And last but not the least, that one moment when the annoying neighbours come to bother In-Hae and scare her with a flashlight and then Woo-Hyeol pops up behind them and scares them just like they scared her, THE SMILE THEY GAVE EACH OTHER AFTER THAT LIVES IN MY HEAD RENT FREE I LOVE THAT MOMENT!!!!

3. BEHIND YOUR TOUCH: In the last episode when Ye-Bun goes to see Jang-Yeol and they're sitting in a cafe and she mentions how she has no problem helping him since they have that kind of relationship, the way Lee Min-ki's eyes sparkled at that moment omg.

4. AOS2: Her in captivity, asking him if the roses have bloomed yet, him making sure to blow some rose petals into her room while walking away. And when he finally realizes she is who she is. And the moment they cuddled. And the kiss.

5. TWINKLING WATERMELON: Every scene with Yi-Chan or Chung-Ah or every scene with Yi-Chan and Eun-Gyeol.

Twinkling Watermelon

When CA gave YC a new name in sign language which is “Shining Voice”. The swooned and melted look in YC’s eyes while she gave that name and explain the meaning behind it was just … I don’t know the word to describe it. Their whole interaction at that time gave me this feeling of warm, touched and butterflies I could smiling and almost crying at the same time. And the kiss with sunlight and trees as the backdrop just made everything perfect.

My second best is when EG fighting with his father in that club. Both actors are so crafted and perfect in their acts with sign language I could feel the sense of betrayal, anger and frustation that came out of their characters. I gain more respect for Ryeo Un and Choi Won Young as actors after that scene.

Call it Love

When WJ confessed everything to DJ in front of her family’s house. I liked this scene for several reasons. (1) That the writer let him know everything from her directly and that she told him everything without a thing being omitted or sugar coated. The moment she opened it all is the beginning of a proper closure of their ill fated past. (2) DJ’s response. After all the suffering he already knows his mom gave him, the revelation of the most painful one from the lips of the victim who is also woman he loves didn’t make him fall apart. Though from the way he said “I’m just sad” I could feel how broken and dead he was inside, but I also feel that he was being truthful that it was the only thing he was feeling at the moment. Nothing more nothing less. For me the absence of anger in his response wasn’t something that because he is tired and hopeless about the bottomless pit of hell he has to experience, but because he already made peace with himself about his mom. He knows she don’t care for him, knows the the misery she gave him, knows if kindness and understanding he gave her couldn’t change her then anger is not the alternative answer but could make things worse for himself. He knows it is not his fault and he chose to be a different and better person despite what kind of mom he has and nightmares she caused that he had to lived in. Those things are difficult at the least to deal with and it requires him outstanding clearness, maturity and calmness to made peace about it. And for someone with that level of understanding nothing would ever make him fallen apart. He didn’t let his mom “kill” him before, he won’t let it ever. That was a beautiful character written there.

Also WJ told DJ’s mom that she forgave her. I don’t think his mom deserved it, but I’m glad WJ did forgive her, not for that witch’s sake but for hers. This is one of the reason I love this drama. For me, in a revenge story nothing is more powerful or more important or liberating than the message of forgiveness.

Of course there are so many it's hard to pick! One that I thought of that really stood out to me was from Unlock the Boss when In-seong has been ousted from the company under false accusations but then his employees and supporters rally behind him and tell all the stories of the kindnesses he's shown them and the times when he dealt with a difficult problem in a competent and compassionate way. It was such a beautiful sequence that felt like the show had been building to the whole time, and all the moments that had seemed small and isolated came back to him when he needed them most. But at the same time that we're getting this beautiful outpouring of love, we're also getting shots of Ma-pi (aka one of the best redemption arcs of the year) fighting for his life against overwhelming odds and eventually being overcome. It was such a powerful moment to see Ma-pi fighting for a person he didn't really know or care about because he wanted to spare little Min-ah from the experience of growing up without a dad. The way that these two situations were woven together was incredibly impactful, and not a moment I'll forget anytime soon.

Here are mine:

1. The Tango Fight scene from MY DEMON. Whoever thought of it is genius!

2. The heartbreaking "failed escape" sequence in the Saguek episode of DESTINED WITH YOU that ended with Shin-Yu taking on the curse his beloved invoked so that she would not be sentenced to being publicly torn apart by horses.

3. The floating kiss scene between Mi-Hyun and Doo-Shik in MOVING. That was so gorgeous.

One scene that I won’t forget is Ha Joon kicking the stool out from under Rowoon in Destined w You. So smooth, so petty, so hilarious. And you can tell the actors could hardly keep from cracking up.

One favorite drama moment of mine that I replayed over and over is in Crash Course in Romance Episode 1 when Hae-yi (Roh Yoon-seo) and Sun-jae (Lee Chae-min) take an impromptu bus ride to get some fresh air and de-stress. There's no dialogue while the cute "It's Sunny Today" OST plays over the scene, but we see our BFFs laugh and share one pair of earbuds. They both fall asleep, then as the camera pans back, we see Sun-jae staring at Hae-yi, and when she stirs awake, he quickly turns away and exhales. This is the moment when we find out that he has a crush on her, and it gave me butterflies in my stomach.

Episode 6 of My Dearest.

1. Some moments stay with me because of the pain, like when the ML from My Perfect Stranger (SPOILERS) find out his dad was the killer. Kim Dong Wook's facial expression... His eyes looked so lost. That poor man broke my heart.

2. Other scenes stay with me because of the sweetness. Like the Yi Chan confession in Twinkling Watermelon, or the Mo Eun confession in Tell Me That You Love Me.

3. There's also the fun and charmimg random moments, like the motorcycle scene we had this week with Sa Wol and Sang Pyu (Park's Marriage). That's a scene I didn't know I needed but that now I can't forget.

4. And obviously I can't forget the badass/cool moments. "Don't worry, I don't get hurt" *jumps* from Moving. Or "I'm my bodyguard's bodyguard" from My Demon.

5. The funny and adorable moments that shouldn't be funny and cute but kdramas somehow make them work, like practically everything that happened in The Kidnapping Day.

The truck of doom moment in Death’s Game.
Pitch perfect, in a tremendous black comedy.

Almost all the moments of Twinkling Watermelon. If I have to specify, The scene when Eun Geol gets ready to go back to future & pays a visit to Yi Chan at the hospital. He says a lot of things but Yi Chan says : "I can't hear a thing. What are you saying?" That scene got me to the core. The helplessness & frustration of a person suddenly losing his hearing was portrayed so well here.
Almost all other scenes with the bandmates, Yi Chan× Chung Ah moments & the chaotic father son moments were my other favourites from TW.

The final scene before the credits in King The Land, where JunHo tries out different suits while Yoona sat there like ☕😏. Also the 4th wall breaking scene got me, too.

I have so so many this year:
Our Blooming Youth
1) Shovel scene: When Crown Prince realises Min Jay Yi is throwing him under the bus. Comedy gold. I still laugh at that scene.
2) When he tells her at the hill top: Lean on me. Such a breatakingly beautiful scene of kinship and blooming love.
3) His expressions when she tells him she has bet on the army and they are going to win.
4) @HopefulRomantic already mentioned - the reunion after the sword fight.
5) The following episode when he watches her sleeping and wonders how she knew he would be waiting in the east.
6) Min Jay Yi's prison confession - brought tears, a truly poignant scene (and also this where the show faltered as they took so long for Crown Prince to come to her).

King the land While I dropped that series, as @dramaforever mentioned, his asking permission.

My Dearest
1) Gil Chae teling her husband she she is divorcing him.
2) Jung Hyun telling Gil Chae he would hug her because she must have suffered so. The best moment in any drama for me this year.
3) Gil Chae saving Eun Ae and then telling her nothing happened.

Heartbeat Their dance - so ethereally beautiful.

INTEREST OF LOVE
Chopin’s Farewell Waltz
The bus line being a metaphor for life
Destroying the sandcastle, again an apt metaphor for self-sabotage
INTEREST OF LOVE has been a drama that stuck with me for this past year, a drama I’d say closely aligned with my own struggles

TALE OF THE NINE TAILED 1938
I’d say the whole drama was memorable, but the opening sequence with Rang and Yeon battling it out was when I knew I was in for a rollicking fun ride!

BORA! DEBORAH
The is gonna sound crass but when Bora got to finally ummm release…..
Her euphoric expression was soooooo relatable as someone who suffers from IBS & IBD

The exasperated expression of the kidnapped genius child in 'Kidnapping Day' every time she has to help out her not-very-bright kidnapper. Just magic!

My Dearest, part 1 Gil Chae thinking that Jang hyun was dead, standing on top of a rock on a bleak winter mountain, calling his name while waving his jacket in the air repeatedly.Visually it was stunning and heartbreaking to watch. A very poignant moment for Gil Chae

Behind my Touch- Seon Woo giving Bong ye Bun a ride on his bicycle, her sitting behind him, giggling gleefully to herself and wondering where to place her hands on his body to hang on while Jang Yeol drives past and sees her grinning like an idiot and rolling his eyes in disgust.

Da Eun's brother and Ok hui singing at the fair, Prawn in my ear, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDiU2lRXEYQ&t=2s

Tell Me That You Love Me- the latest episode where Mo-eun visits Jin woo at his house (after her parents have turned up unexpectedly and she introduces him as her boyfriend) just to see him and say she missed him which leads to a scene with them kissing. The kiss was so tender, heartfelt, moving and such a beautiful expression of emotions between two characters. At the same time it moved the plot forward without saying a single word.

2023 has been a funny sort of year in dramaland. For long stretches it seemed as if there was nothing to watch then there was a totally jam-packed schedule at the year-end. There were some dramas which came out from the left field (Perfect Marriage Revenge) to take centerstage and there were some dramas which I won't say I was overall happy to see but had some really impactful scenes (The Forbidden Marriage (déshabillé Kim Young-dae), Island (well fitted clothed Cha Eun-woo), Joseon Attorney (Woo Do-hwan), King the Land (Junho, Junho, Junho), See You In My 19th Life and Numbers (I'll never see swimming pools and accounting quite the same way again!), The Uncanny Counter 2 (How to rock a ponytail by Su-mun and how to work/play in cow manure by Jeok Bong).

Then there were dramas which were memorable through and through and had the best-est OTPs ever (Call It Love, Twinkling Watermelon, The Matchmakers, Moving).

The specific drama moments while very difficult to select were:

Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow:
- Jang Uk lighting the path of Cho Yeong,
- smashing the artifact which kept her awake at night,
- entering the palace with the lit lantern to declare his marriage.

If I have to choose one moment I would choose Dong-jin overhearing Woo-joo's conversation and that hug which was shot from the top angle in Call It Love.

I learned how to console somebody courtsey lessons by our vet Ye-bun to Seon-woo (friendly) and Jang Yeol (squeeeee!!!).

Destined With You taught me how to get a grip while also being shining, twinkling and fragrant.

Each and every reveal and resolution in Perfect Marriage Revenge had me giving myself and other PMR-crazed Beans high fives ✋ on our makjang on speed journey.

The introduction of Park Eun-bin towards the end of Episode 1 of Castaway Diva had me gasp out loud!

Special Mention

Different from the usual K-drama OTPs, the leads in The Interest of Love had a difficult yet organic almost real life messy relationship. One day (or someday) I will binge the whole drama.

Guys, slow down a bit with yearly review posts, I'm barely keeping up!)))
Let's go by chronological order.

KKOKDU: ML freezing baddies to death. Too bad THAT was not the main focus... Past!FL offing her husband with a hairpin to avenge the death of her lover. Brace yourself btw, it ain't gonna be the last stabbing in this list...
OUR BLOOMING YOUTH: Leads' first meeting, dressing the prince (pity we never got UNdressing), gat drop, entirety of Ep13, library night.
TILL THE END OF THE MOON: Ep1. Search for an evil bone lmao and "how we ended up married" reveal. Crow orchestra (more stabbing). Boat dance (!!!). 12 gods vs ADG battle. Return of Ming Ye's eyesight (ugh, the feels!) The pearl and dragon's skeleton dissipating((( TTJ's post-dream naughty flashbacks. Festival date, esp dance ritual scene. Creepy TTJ playing living marionettes (more stabbing as a result). Bloodiest xianxia wedding ever (guess what? more stabbing!). Nether river trip. Blind old woman's mission. Fight with demon sisters and aura cleaning. Sect trial. Devil Gods battle of wills. Ending of Ep39 (I'd prefer more stabbing, that'd hurt less!). Carving the tombstone flashback. Originally planned epilogue that got CUT from the show, why, dramagods, why?!
REVENANT: All creepy folklore bits. Every time FL was possessed. Backstory of "hairy ghost". Final battle - external and internal (more stabbing). Epilogue.
DESTINED WITH YOU: "Jang Shinyu, get a grip!"))) All love potion comedy, that was hysterical. Joseon backstory (yep, more stabbing). Wardrobe action and call the morning after^^
MY DEAREST: Invasion part and Ep4 as a whole, esp final scenes.
LOVE IS PANACEA: Pacifist surgeon ML weaponizing his scalpel (but no stabbing). Condom first-aid that censorship cut (but web remembers, he-he). Study room with a filled bookshelf as a gift. ML telling his crap of dad to get lost and NOT taking it back later (more of this in dramas pls!).
A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG: Wardrobe action 2.0 - if this a new trend, I'm all in!
A JOURNEY TO LOVE: All FL's dances. Every action scene. Incense spoon murder jumpscare - that's when I fell in love, the contrast between cinnamon roll act and the following stabbing!))) Liudao boys runway in uniforms. Every single one baby joke and endless absence of privacy))) RRY leaving NYZ flustered x∞. Desert battle (lots of stabbing). YSS being YSS: "I'm fine! Snake's fine too!"))) Practical effects crew during the kiss lol. YY's first kill (yep, more stabbing). 1234567))) Assassin-style dates (gonna stop counting - too much stabbing here for my poor math skills) and rooftop talks. NYZ kindly explaining to people - esp LTG - why they suck (feat glorious ass-kicking). Prison break. YY's gender reveal. DIY sword as a gift. Wedding and butterflies. Snowfall daydream((( Bloodied pinky promise and big damn kiss in finale. All deaths (my eyes are still sore a week later, help!).

So many scenes from top dramas have been mentioned already but the two that stuck in my mind as stand out scenes at the first watch were both from one episode of The Matchmakers.
The scene at the temple with the individuals walking in circles with the lanterns and later the old bachelors dark alley being lit up one light at a time as a description was given about the place.

From Island, all of Kim Nam-gil's action scenes, but particularly the first time he's destroying a demon, I was astounded by his ferocity and speed.

In Moving, pretty much every time Bong-Seok is desperately trying not to float because of Hui-soo's proximity, plus the time she dumps a boulder in his lap before telling him her feelings. When his mom delightedly realizes that he's brought a pretty young *girl* friend home and welcomes her in overenthusiastically. When Gye-do siphons the electricity from his bus battery to save Bong-seok, then makes his iconic Lightning Man arm gesture before collapsing. When, when, when...I really liked Moving.

In Twinkling Watermelon, every time Yi-chan is either running away from or chasing Eun-Gyeol (those boys are fast!)

From My Dearest, all of Namgoon Min's fight scenes.

And from Arthdal Chronicles 2, all Lee Jun-gi's fight scenes!

Memorable scenes from kdramas I watched in 2023:

Hyena, Ju Ji-Hoon telling a traumatized Kim Hye-soo "...use me. You are good at that anyway. I'll let it slide tonight." A pair of top-notch pros at work.

If You Wish Upon Me, dying wish of zookeeper to visit his best friend from work, the giraffe. Great camera work, lovely performances.

Hot Stove League, Namkoong Min "I can't hold babies" scene. Awe. The Ferrari of actors.

Celebrity, Pandora's Box episode. The shoe scene. Absolutely savage social commentary. I continue to view this kdrama as the best of 2023. It was illuminating, fast-paced, and wicked. Kudos to the performers, writers, director.

My Dearest: episode 10 love confession--"I will be your servant. My body is yours. My soul is yours. My heart is yours, too."

Runners Up:
-My Dearest: kiss in the grass field, flowered shoes
-Oasis: drum majorette scenes
-Twinkling Watermelon: gut-wrenching crying when Dad is hit by car
-King the Land: in the pool! the wedding!
-Dr Romantic 3: re-rod bar through Dr Seo's hand in collapsed building--ugh!

So many unforgettable DWY scenes, but the one that stood out the most was ShinHong's closet scene. Palpable chemistry, butterflies everywhere...

well im different
Tot9T1938
when Rang hits Yeon with the axe and Yeon just looks at him lovingly and Rang is all startled and shook
LOL when the dog gang brings the small mirror and tells them to take a large step back to see the whole appearance
when Yeon shoots Rangs´ cigarette off
Heartbeat
when real vampire cannot compete with fake vampire cafe which goes to show that modern society like to be lied to and it is hard to be your real self. and that marketing and packaging is more important than the contents...
My Demon
the lobster in the nose because honest I would have done that 4 times a row. that guy was so icky
the clapping contest
the stabbing - not that I liked him getting stabbed just that it was a defining scene where I actually thought they might kill and resurrect him.

Kidnapping day
I cannot pick a moment but every time they are reunited

I'm a bit late to this one, but...
- The "prom" scene in Heartbeat, when the two leads dance.
- So many from Castaway Diva: the rooftop kiss, the scene where Ki-ho reveals himself, Mok-ha playing "Night and Day" on the rooftop while BG and WH watch her...
- The napkin folding scene in King the Land.
- The closet scene in Destined With You.
- The scene in Crash Course in Romance where the male lead confesses his feelings for the female lead in front of the whole room. SWOON.

Hmm so I will divide my moments into two groups: ones that came to mind just naturally, and ones that I had looked at the name of the drama and recalled. All may have spoilers, so read at your own peril.

Drama Moments Without Recollection - these were so strong I just thought about them and was like "yeah, that was an epic moment".

Song of the Bandits - when our ML first shows up with his ragtag band of bandits and tell the officer they're "bandits". It was just such a fun moment and I loved seeing the crew.

Gyeongseong Creature - just the whole drama. It's all one massive moment for me. Specifically though I couldn't look away when she found the experimental lab with the kids. It's just heart wrenching to think that while this story is entirely fictional, crimes and human experimentation etc. are things that have happened around the world. Also just all the moments with the creature. I'm really loving that they got so monstrous so quickly, because that's what I was really missing from Dark Hole, which only teased the monster until the last few episodes.

Moments I Think of When I See the Drama Title:
Daily Dose of Sunshine - the representations of social anxiety and panic attacks as water closing around someone. That stuck with me, as did the scenes in which her patient relapsed outside the hospital and the world became a game again.

Call It Love Her showing up dressed for the clubs at her father's funeral. Just a statement scene.

And for fun a few quotes I wrote down from dramas recently:

"China's land, Japan's money, Joseon's people... which of these do you think will eat this place up?" - Song of the Bandits ep. 1

"Sometimes it seemed like everyone else was walking forward.. I wondered why I felt like I'm the only one walking backwards.. it must have been because my heart was so heavy with hatred. Since I've laid that down it's come to an end." - Call It Love ep. 16