Why We Never Get Tired Of The K-Drama Piggyback Ride
Piggyback rides are a k-drama cliché that find their way into so many drama plots. But that's not to say that viewers don't continue to love them.
The piggyback ride serves several purposes in the plot. It shows that the character, who is usually a man, is concerned about and willing to suffer to protect the person he is giving the piggyback to. That person, usually the woman, may be sick or drunk or too tired to walk.
It also shows that there is a growing affection between the two characters. It's a preliminary form of skinship that does not involve any actual skin.
The notion of the piggyback ride dates back to the traditional Korean wedding in which the groom might carry the bride to symbolize starting their life journey together. It shows that he will bear all her burdens for her.
There have been so many piggyback rides in k-dramas that it would take too long to describe them all. However there have been a few in recent dramas worth noting.
In the tvN sitcom 'Potato Star 2013QR3', f(x)'s Krystal got a piggyback ride from Ko Gyung Po.
In "Emergency Couple," there were recently two. One happened in a flashback, showing the affection that exes Choi Jin Hyuk and Song Ji Hyo used to have for each other. The second happened in the present to show that they were once more developing feelings for each other.
There was also a piggyback ride early on in "Empress Ki." Joo Jin Mo offered Ha Ji Won a piggyback ride, which she refused because she did not want her gender discovered.
Last year, "I Hear Your Voice" had Lee Jong Suk giving Lee Bo Young's drunken character a piggyback ride up a narrow exterior staircase. She thinks of him as a kid but the piggyback ride shows that he is prepared to be her man. And he is stronger than he might appear. Behind the scenes footage shows that the reed-thin actor had to carry her up the stairs several times to get the scene right.
There are so many piggyback scenes but some stand out. A grumbling Lee Min Ho grudgingly carries a drunken Son Ye Jin in "Personal Taste" and it reminds her of when her father used to carry her.
The scene in which Jo In Sung carries the blind heiress played by Song Hye Kyo in "That Winter The Wind Blows," shows that she has come to trust him and he must come to terms with the responsibility of having her trust.
In "Coffee Prince," Yoon Eun Hye, pretending to be a guy, gives Gong Yoo a piggyback ride and after he discovers she's a girl, he gives her one.
Some other favorites include Jang Geun Suk giving Yoona a piggyback ride in "Love Rain" and him giving Moon Geun Young a ride in "Mary Stayed out All Night."
Moon Geun Young's real-life boyfriend Kim Bum also gave a favorite piggyback ride to Park Jin Hee in "The Woman Who Still Wants To Marry."
Do you have any favorite piggyback ride scenes? Let us know.
