Friday Feature: Booze over Flowers

Recently, a market research study was published about how South Koreans are the highest per capita consumers of liquor in the world. Let’s use it as an excuse to recall the best drunk scenes in K-dramas.

First Shop of Coffee Prince

It’s hard being the one who can hold her liquor when you’re out with a lightweight (as if I would know), especially when the lightweight actually weighs a lot. Han Gyul (Gong Yoo) can’t handle any alcohol at all and passes out after one glass, forcing Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) to throw him over her back and carry him home, where she discovers his keys don’t work. He wakes up the next morning in her taekwondo studio, tied up and being tortured by her young students. Apparently, I’ll forgive Gong Yoo for anything, because I found this cute though I’m not the one who had to carry him all over the city. – Only 만

What’s Up Fox?

A night of drunken misbehaviour is the catalyst for an entire series. Byung Hee (Ko Hyun Jung) passes out after an epic evening of self-pity and soju, but is found by her best friend’s kid brother, Chul Soo (Chun Jung Myung). Drunken skinship follows with Chul Soo piggybacking Byung Hee back to his car, which Byung Hee repays by throwing his car keys into the sea. Unable to return home that night, they are forced to shack up at a love motel.

Sitting on the heart-shaped water bed, the drunken Byung Hee sobs about having uterine cancer while clutching her plastic model of a uterus. Though initially exasperated, Chul Soo starts to take Byung Hee seriously, and tries to comfort her. Byung Hee then sets the entire drama in motion by mistaking Chul Soo for a more age appropriate crush, and attacking him. Initially, one could make a case for sexual assault, but the completely sober Chul Soo unexpectedly gives in. The morning after shame is pure entertainment. – Junggugeo Kaenada 중국어 캐나다

My Love from the Star

Jun Ji Hyun has a history of playing spectacular drunk scenes, as I found out this weekend while watching her throw up all over a subway train in My Sassy Girl.

As Cheon Song Yi in episode 11 of “My Love from the Star”, she wakes up the morning after being rejected by Do Min Joon (Kim Soo Hyun), only to face her brother’s disapproval. One by one, her memories of last night come back to her. First, she remembers singing sad songs into a soju bottle while wailing Do Min Joon’s name. Then she’s hit with memories of multiple drunk dials, ranging from pleading to accusations. And just when she recovers enough to brush her teeth, she’s hit with the final nail in her coffin: she remembers showing up at his door to give him the shoes he stole from her, while having an epic tear-filled meltdown.

Do Min Joon has his own flashback to a drunken episode where he levitated a full Joseon era meal, participants included, but it pales in comparison. – 만

Baby Faced Beauty

Seo Young (Jang Nara) suffers the abuse and disrespect of her work colleagues, because she dreams of becoming a designer, and because, they believe that she is 25 years old. Seo Young is actually 34 years old, and finally loses her cool during a work drinking social.

As her colleagues ignore her, Seo Young tosses back multiple drinks until she has the courage to list each of her co-workers’ many faults to their faces. Jin Wook (Daniel Choi), who is 27 years old, and thus, considers himself an oppa to Seo Young, tries to silence her for her own sake. But, Seo Young is on a roll and won’t be stopped. After all, she announces, she’s an adult, too, being 34 years old.

After Seo Young passes out, poor Jin Wook carries her on his back, and gets vomited on for his efforts.

Seo Young won’t regret her big reveal until she sobers up. Fortunately, her arrogant co-workers dismiss her drunken declaration, and continue treating her like crap. – 중국어 캐나다

Master’s Sun

Another morning-after scenario. Tae Gong Shil (Gong Hyo Jin) sees ghosts, and they possess her when she drinks. Lucky for her, Joo Joong Won (So Ji Sub), can drive them away, but only by touching her. In episode 4, she wakes up in bed with Joong Won and assumes it must be a dream. When she starts wishing for the dream to turn R-rated, he wakes up and blows his stack. Understandable, since he spent the night before chasing off a series of ghosts, starting with his ex-girlfriend, then a child screaming for mommy, followed by a French ballerina who pirouettes around his living room, and then a mad dog that tears apart his pillows. He elects to sleep holding hands when he finally can’t take any more. – 만

Emergency Couple

After suffering the humiliation of running into her ex-husband, Chang Min (Choi Jin Hyuk) while wearing her wedding dress, Jin Hee (Song Ji Hyo) drinks the shame away until an ambulance is required.

Jin Hee wakes up the next morning in the very hospital ER that she is supposed to start her internship. Wearing her soiled wedding dress, she jumps out from behind privacy curtains when her ER supervisor, and the ER doctor she drunkenly slapped the night before, calls her name during roll call.

As it turns out, Chang Min is present to witness the entire scene, because he is one of her fellow interns. It’s all enough to drive one to drink. – 중국어 캐나다

The Heirs

By the time Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho) had his breakdown in the wake of Eun Sang’s (Park Shin Hye) disappearance, I was pretty much done with “The Heirs”. So when he drunkenly stumbled around in the clichéd leather jacket, getting into fights with Young Do (Kim Woo Bin), and generally landing himself in the gutter, all I did was laugh. Sure, I’m a jerk, but no more so than the person who thought this plot diversion was a good idea. – 만

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Readers: what was your favourite drunk scene?

Alcohol may lubricate your words for the Comments below.