Ones to Watch: Unforgettable K-Drama Umbrella Moments

Surprise! It’s Umbrella Day here in the United States, and to celebrate this day, I thought it might be nice to take a little journey down memory lane and revisit that classic K-drama staple: the rainy day umbrella scene (because really, how else would you commemorate such a day?).

Read on to see if your favorite heart-fluttering umbrella moment made our list!

Coffee House

To kick things off, we have an umbrella moment combined with that other K-drama staple: the phone booth. Park Si Yeon and Kang Ji Hwan star in the romantic comedy “Coffee House,” playing a smart publisher and an eccentric author, respectively.

Re-watching this scene, it doesn’t quite hold up to the test of time in terms of being a new-and-never-seen-before moment of sheer heart-fluttering giddiness, but it is still so satisfying. Our romantic leads had been flirting with each other for episodes by this point, in probably the best game of tantalizing will-they or won’t-they I’ve ever come across, until it all finally culminates in this moment: his birthday present.

Surplus Princess (The Mermaid)

Ha Ni (Jo Bo Ah) is a mermaid who becomes human for a hundred days in order to chase after love. The caveat is that her human legs can’t get wet, otherwise her true, fishy nature will be revealed.

Regardless of how you might have felt about how Surplus Princess ended, you can’t deny that Hyun Myung (Oh Joo Won) rushing to the aid of Ha Ni, who had taken shelter under a shrub, dress covering her legs, hit all the right notes in terms of big romantic gesture. Let’s not forget that right after he swoops in with umbrella in hand, they participate in yet another K-drama staple: the piggyback.

And if you hadn’t had enough, that’s not even Ha Ni and Hyun Myung’s only umbrella moment.

To the Beautiful You

A dog on the loose is a great way to bring people together. Being caught in the rain is a great way to keep people together, and that is exactly what happens in this scene from “To the Beautiful You” between SHINee‘s Minho who plays star athlete Tae Joon, and f(x)‘s Sulli who plays his cross-dressing admirer Jae Hee.

After some drunken kisses, the two of them are in a serious need of talking, and so more than providing a big romantic gesture like our previous umbrella moments, this one is all about having two people reach common ground. Up until this point Tae Joon had been lording over newcomer Jae Hee, and them reaching an understanding stems from this umbrella scene.

Love Rain (Rainy Days)

There are rainy day walks, and then there are rainy day walks.

With a title like “Love Rain” you better believe there has to be a least one romantic stroll under an umbrella, and the drama does not disappoint. Aspiring artist In Ha (Jang Geun Seok) fell in love with dream girl Yoon Hee (YoonA) at first sight. The two of them have been shyly getting to know each other, exchanging words whenever they happen to meet on campus. But as an unexpected mid-day shower finds them both stranded, it is In Ha’s chance to come through with a big romantic gesture, which he does, but his comes up a little bit short.

The umbrella is broken, so he has to physically hold it up over Yoon Hee’s head. But that’s quite alright, as it just means he has to stand closer to her as they walk through their picture perfect campus.

I Miss You (Missing You)

There is nothing sweeter than the flush of first love. Innocent, pure, untainted, and you know what, Jung Woo (Yeo Jin Goo) and Soo Yeon (Kim So Hyun) deserve to experience as much joy and youthful romance as possible. Give these two all the umbrella scenes they want!

In “I Miss You” they first meet in a neighborhood playground, both outcasts, and Jung Woo adorably tries to figure out who she is when the rain starts. Soo Yeon rushes home, excited about the prospect of a friend, and returns to the playground to hand Jung Woo an umbrella. She’s soaked to the bone, but doesn’t mind it, as long as he doesn’t get wet on his way home.

She doesn’t know that the umbrella she’s given him is broken, but the thought is there. The connection is there. Ugh, these two.

I Can Hear Your Voice

You know a scene is good when it still has the same impact on you 2 years later as it did the first time you watched it. Just seeing screencaps of this critical moment between Lee Jong Suk and Lee Bo Young‘s characters from “I Can Hear Your Voice” was enough to send me into a death spiral called all the feels.

At this point their characters’ ties to one another seem all but dissolved, except that Lee Jong Suk’s Soo Ha is madly in love with her, but being six years her junior, a child in her eyes, Hye Sung (Lee Bo Young) does her darndest to break things off. Except that he has gotten under her skin, and this time it’s the heroine who comes in with the big gesture, Hye Sung finding Soo Ha sitting in the rain, and what follows is everything poignant, dreamy, and what K-drama umbrella scenes are made of.

Big

I love when K-dramas have fun with their own conventions.

This scene from “Big” pokes fun at the umbrella scene, complete with Shin Won Ho boldly approaching Lee Min Jung, who dreamily responds that she’s someone who is about to be married. And the whole illusion comes crashing down when he tells her that she took his umbrella, leaving her in the dust. Er, rain.

And there you have it, some of K-drama’s most memorable umbrella moments. Share your favorite umbrella scenes with us in the comments below.