Farting in the elevator, bra pad falling out: 6 times we got second-hand embarrassment from K-drama characters

Have you ever watched a K-drama and felt second-hand embarrassment so bad you were glad it was fiction?

At the expense of each character's humiliation, here are six mortifyingly comedic moments in K-dramas.

Go Kyung-pyo in Frankly Speaking (2024)

He left a lasting impression for sure.

Frankly Speaking follows Song Ki-baek (Go Kyung-pyo) who develops a disorder that causes him to speak his mind without thinking. He meets On Woo-ju (Kang Han-na), a variety show writer who is intrigued by his disorder and invites him to her series.

Their first meeting, though, was not your usual heart-fluttering and romantic boy-meets-girl moment. In fact, it was the opposite.

Ki-baek and Woo-ju get stuck in an elevator together, and as she tries to call for help, he lets out the nastiest wet fart.

Seems like it stinks real bad too, because Woo-ju hurriedly covers her nose and exclaims: "Did you poop?"

"No I didn't. Also the official medical term is 'flatulence' not 'fart'," replies Ki-baek in a bleak attempt to stay cool.

"Okay. So it was a wet fart," Woo-ju glares before trying to force the lift doors open.

Frankly Speaking is streaming on Netflix, with new episodes every Wednesday and Thursday.

Kim Hye-yoon in Lovely Runner (2024)

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It's been a few weeks since the episode aired and the tune still hasn't left our heads.

In the ongoing series Lovely Runner, Im Sol (played by Kim Hye-yoon) time-travels to the past multiple times to save her favourite K-pop idol Ryu Sun-jae (Byeon Woo-seok).

However, unlike the future Sol who only has eyes for Sun-jae, past Sol is infatuated with Kim Tae-sung (Song Geon-hee), a boy from another band.

While Sol (from the future) is having a meal with Tae-sung at a restaurant on his birthday, the lights turn off and she is mortified to find out that her past self had filmed a cringy video for him and made arrangements for it to be projected on a screen.

Hye-yoon surely set her pride aside for this one as she donned unfashionable clothes and choppy bangs to stay committed to the part.

"I'd say no to Hyun Bin. I'd say no to Gong Yoo. I would even turn down Dong-won, oh no! I'd say no to So Ji-sub, I'd say no to Zo In-sung. I'd say yes to my prince Tae-sung, oh yeah!" Sol sings — or attempts to — in the video in an inharmonious tone.

What takes the cake is her hilarious dancing before she unexpectedly starts rapping about Tae-sung being her favourite person.

Sol, who tries to cover Tae-sung's eyes from the screen, eventually gives up and accepts her fate.

Lovely Runner is streaming on Viu, with new episodes every Monday and Tuesday.

Kim Ji-won in Queen of Tears (2024)

She facepalmed and so did we.

In Queen of Tears, which just wrapped up with its final episode last week, Kim Ji-won plays Hong Hae-in, a third-generation heiress going through a marriage crisis with Baek Hyun-woo (Kim Soo-hyun), her husband of three years.

They eventually go through a messy divorce.

Hae-in argues with Hyun-woo in this scene, and after turning to leave, the strap of her handbag gets hooked to a chair. Thinking that it's Hyun-woo stopping her from leaving, she dramatically laments: "What are you doing? Don't do this."

A confused Hyun-woo tries to explain but is cut off as she continues to tell him off without looking back.

"I don't want to hear it. Don't grab onto me. Let me go," she says before turning around to see Hyun-woo situated far away.

As if the second-hand embarrassment couldn't get worse, he removes the strap from the chair without saying a word.

Refusing to let down her pride, Hae-in confidently storms out, but puts her hand on her forehead and sighs once out of sight.

Queen of Tears is available on Netflix.

Seol In-ah in Business Proposal (2022)

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She tried to hold it in but her bowels had other plans.

Jin Young-seo (Seol In-ah) breaks into a sweat from trying not to relieve herself in Cha Sung-hoon's (Kim Min-gue) car during this scene in the 2022 drama Business Proposal.

Stuck in an unmoving traffic jam, Young-seo dashes out of the car to a restroom, only to find it locked.

"Dear god, Buddha, what have I done that was so horrible?" she sinks to the floor.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), a worried Sung-hoon shows up and breaks open the door to the toilet, adding to her embarrassment.

Business Proposal is available on Netflix.

Hwang In-youp in True Beauty (2020)

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We couldn't leave out this viral clip of Han Seo-jun in True Beauty (2020).

Played by Hwang In-youp, Seo-jun dances to Mino and Zico's Okey Dokey in the kitchen - all while wearing only leopard-print boxers and an untied bathrobe.

Unbeknown to him, his sister and his school-mate Im Ju-kyung (Mun Ka-young) are there.

When he realises that they both witnessed everything, he plays it cool before rushing into his bedroom to scream into his mattress.

Ju-kyung tries to save the situation: "I didn't see anything! I mean it!"

True Beauty is available on Viu and Netflix.

Seo Hyun-jin in Another Miss Oh (2016)

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She was so excited to see him she didn't realise something came loose.

The 2016 drama Another Miss Oh features a scene where Oh Hae-young (Seo Hyun-jin) sprints and jumps into Park Do-kyeong's (Eric Mun) arms — unaware that one of her bra pads has flown out of her shirt in the process.

When informed of the fashion disaster, she does the walk of shame to pick up the accessory before running off.

We can't blame her because we'd do the same.

Another Miss Oh is available on iQiyi.

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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