Not a definite catnip for me, but childhood backstories tug at my heart so much and I love them when they're done well. Fight My Way's childhood stories are especially precious and I love how Aera still hits his head the exact same way. The childhood backstories are the ones that made me continue with Saimdang and Seven Day Queen, so I'd say that those are definitely done right. They really set the backdrop for the grown up's motivations and actions.

It's not mentioned here, but the flashbacks in Come Back Ahjussi with the boxing gloves and the photo taken in front of the car really hit me quite hard and unexpectedly too.

Yes THIS! Moon-Sun and 7DQ define my love for childhood lovestory. If I could I'd love to petition for a whole show focusing on them and only them. The Moon-Sun child portion actually set such a high bar that I find the adult counterparts pale in comparison. Usually I tend to avoid childhood stories but Moon-Sun changed my mind and that's how I came to love 7DQ child part immensely.

I also love the first part of Will It Snow For Christmas? in which Nam Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun played the younger counterparts of Han Se Yeul and Go Soo respectively. I think those are three shows where I was really reluctant to let go of the child actors.

Kang Ha Neul-Nam Ji Hyun in Angel Eyes are my favourite <3

Congratulations to obsessedmuch for finding a trope to fit almost all of Seo In Guk' s dramas

I just love childhood story of Geum Sa Wol XD
and Can You Hear My Heart also remarkable for me more than adult version, ah so heartbreaking.

Done right, its a catnip for me. If we're selling childhood love or fated love, then chemistry of the young OTP is also important. And there's no greater childhood chemistry than that of Yeo Jin Goo and Kim Yoo Jung in METS. It was through this drama that the importance of child actors were recognized. Another childhood backstory that worked the emotion well was that of Nam Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun. However, the common theme with the 2 dramas mentioned, unfortunately the adult actors were unable to sustained chemistry of the young actors.

"The best thing about this trope? I have yet to find it done wrong. Almost every writer succeeds in getting this particular aspect of their story right, no matter how much they screw up the rest of the show." <-- THIS.

You've put into words why this trope is a very particular catnip of mine. It's almost too easy to be addicted when you have the simple assurance that it won't fail you ???

If for nothing else I like the employment of this trope because it provides such a wonderful breeding ground for fostering some of the extraordinary acting talents in Korea which include Park Shin-hye, Yoo Seung-ho, Lee Hyun-woo, Yeo Jin-goo, Kim So-hyun, Kim Yo-jung, and many many more!

I am excited to see how Baek Sung-hwan and Park Shi-eun of Seven Day Queen will transition into adulthood to become actors of their own rights.

I watched historical dramas long before I discovered romcoms. And I almost always liked the childhood backstories more than the grown up versions. (Dong-Yi, The Great Queen, Kim So Roo, Jumong, Duo, and Moon Embracing the Sun, even, all held my interest more when the young actors/actresses were playing their grown up counterparts. (Even though I love the grown up actors.)
One day there will be a drama that begins with kids and ends before they grow up. Will that become my favorite?

Moon-sun is my favourite....who can forget those exceptional crying scenes from hwon(yeo jin goo) and yeon woo( Kim Yoo Jung)??

Maybe this isn't quite related to the childhood romance/backstory catnip. I've just realized Park Shin-hye and Bake Sung-hyun who played the childhood protagonists of Stairway to Heaven, reunited 13 years later in Doctors. PSH became the main character while BSH just played a small role.

hah i love this! which reminds me of spring waltz..
it's one of my top fave dramas and part of the reason why i treasure it so much is because of its beautiful flashes of the past, back in their childhood days when love was still starting to bloom;

every childhood love story is so special and just thinking about it makes me feel nostalgic of the good old days

Good backstory for the main OTP usually gets me. I remember seeing Kim Yoo Jung and Yeo Jin Gu in Moon Embraces the Sun. Those childhood scenes really got me hooked. They really sold the love story and were amazing in their roles. Although I stuck around mostly because of them and didnt finish the adult scenes.
Other dramas where I loved the younger/childhood/teens scenes (and finished the series) were Answer Me 1988, 7DQ, Fight My Way, Twenty Again, I Remember You and Stairway to Heaven. Well these are what I can remember atm.
Its not a prerequisite for me to love the drama but its an added bonus when the backstory of the main OTP is heartwarming.

Some old sageuk especially the long ones often have a long portion of childhood -sometimes it has almost 10 epi if it is sageuk with around 100 epi. There was when I have deeper connection with these child actors because get to see them more than a mere 2-4 epi. These days, long sageuk doesn't have so many epi with child actors so while I love their parts, I don't feel disconnect with story if the adult started to appear. I especially love young Hong Gil Dong (Roo Won) in Rebel, child actors in Six Flying Dragons and of course all our child actors in METS. In modern drama, child /teen portions that i love is in She Was Pretty, Angel Eyes, Giant, and Will It Snow for Chrismas. There are some others but I don't remember all.

I love so many of these, but I think my favorite awww one is Weightlifting Fairy. It's a great example of a childhood meet-cute starting out seeming hilarious but then getting reframed as really touching as the story progresses.

Seven Day Queen's younger versions are one of the main things that hooked me into the series. (Are they still "child" actors when he's 19?) I'm surprised by how well it was done, and I find myself believing those kids actually grew up to become the leads.

Although there are many childhood love story that captures my heart, one of my favourite is the one from Beloved Eun-Dong. Especially the parts played by Got7's Park Jinyoung and Lee Ja-In, their chemistry was amazing. Though most childhood stories are usually pure and innocent, their love seem a little purer, a little more innocent. I loved that an act of kindness started and fueled a lifetime of devotion and longing. This is also one of those dramas where I loved both the childhood and adult parts equally. In the adult part, I was held spellbound by the acting and the emotions during the nearly 6 minutes of conversation between the two protagonists in episode 8. It was amazing acting and gave me tingles because we as the viewer, knew what that conversation was about as we were given an excellent back story.

In the words of Cha TaeHyun who actually lived through this catnip,

"I've been with my wife since the start of high school, so she's known me since I was a loser, a nobody, She saw me through the ups and downs... she knows me too well. So whatever she tells me really helps me."

And I think that's the essence of this catnip and why it draws people in. It's like having a huge pillar in your life, once that you know will be there for you to lean on no matter what happens.

This is definitely catnip for me too! My Love, Eun Dong was my first kdrama and the kids in the first episode were more than adorable! And Siamdang! I didn't care for any other part of this and didn't watch past the 4th episode, when that story ending heartbreakingly!

Love all the dramas mentioned here except for Autumn in My Heart because it's kinda weird that they grew up as siblings. Dong Man-Ae Ra & Bok Joon-Hyung are my favorite! They're too cute!

I love Korea's talented child actors. I feel like I've grown up with the most talented in the industry.
Sageuks introduced me to a bunch of them who were borned in the 1990s.
Shin Eun-kyung who is currently the busiest young actress in Chungmuro and headlining two successful films "Sunny" and "Ms Granny." The only other child actor that I know of to command box-office success at a very young age was Moon Gae-young.
Park Bo-young, Yeo Jin-goo, Kim Yoo-jung, Jin Ji-hee, Park Eun-bin, Kim So-hyun, Kim Sae-ron, Yoo Seung-ho, Noh Young-hak, Lee Hyun-woo,Lee Min-ho (93), Lee David, Nam Ji-hyun, Seo Shin-ae, Lee Young-yoo and the 16yr old Kim Hyang-gi.

Love this generation of young actors. Looking forward to the future as adult actors.

When done well, I absolutely love this. When done in a way that is lazy, ridiculous or tacked on at the end of the story ... it's a big catNOPE for me.

Maybe because I'm western and there's a lot less focus on fate in relationships. I've seen too many dramas where the adult lead chemistry just isn't working and suddenly there's a flashback to two adorable little preteens frolicking together. Why can't people just meet and fall in love, damn it? Why did they have to know each other when they were 8 to prove the legitimacy of the relationship. (Rant over)

To get back to a happy place, I thought it was really cute in Healer when they fell asleep holding hands. Also, my rant does not apply to any of the Reply series because they grow up together- rather than meeting cute and then being separated for 20 years.

Not necessarily a catnip but it feels good to watch if executed properly.
I loved the childhood backstory in she was pretty.

Yay! My catnip was chosen! I love that there were other beanies who had a similar catnip.. From the sound of it, it seems like I should watch 7DQ for sure!

Reading the part about Seven Day Queen made me tear up. That's a beautiful love story right there.

I would add Healer as well. They were best friends as children then all the drama happened and they both forgot about each other but after years and struggles they managed to find each other again. And the sweets part for me is that when he is with her she can sleep without issues while when other people are there she cannot sleep at all.

Omo!!! I thought it'll not be featured. Thank you so much! I just really want to share my catnip that's why I submitted one even in a hurry. Thank youuuuuuu beanies!

I absolutely love this when it's done right! Maybe because I only almost got to have loves like these. The connections were always too fleeting to really hold on to, but just enough to mean something to both of us so I've always wondered and wished about the what could have been. These stories occasionally give me a taste of what I missed.

I've noticed that it's harder for adult counterparts to carry on a romance that actually begins with the endearing teens (rather than, say, having a childhood friendship and falling in love later). It's part of why Answer Me 1997 works so well, because Jung Eun-ji and Seo In-guk were perfect for handling both of those portions. This is why I'm particularly impressed with 7 Day Queen for the seamless casting and acting. It's the first time I feel the adults are going to fully capitalize on the groundwork layed by the teens so I'm really looking forward to this.

I just want to point this out though...for dramas that don't have the leads know about their childhood connection when they meet: I am strangely really adamant about them falling in love before knowing, if the connection is positive.

For example, I hated the childhood connection in Gaksital because I would have rather seen the hate-to-love + secret identity goodness without that connection coming in to influence their feelings before they changed. Luckily (?), Jin Se-yeon already made the loveline my last priority in that otherwise perfect drama so I didn't have to care too much. Healer (lol, ironically another secret identity drama), on the other hand, did it just how I like it. The leads fell for each other without knowing and it only served to deepen their connection when they did find out. I think I just don't like when a revelation about a child connection suddenly affects some change in the feelings they've already formed after having met again. If they hate each other or get off on the wrong foot, I want to see some change in feelings first, instead of having the revelation change everything.

Wow you had one of favs dramas in your list. IHYV, WFKBJ, 7DQ, STH I love them... I agree with you about the chemestry between the younger version of the lead couple. They hooked me along with the opening scene to this drama, and did an amazing job with characterization, because I definitely can see and identify both of the leads with their younger parts.

I would add, even when it's not a girl-man kind of love, the four boys from BBF and their older version. Come on! they were so absolutly cute, bromance can count :D

"Childhood first loves" are so cliche and overused, but I love them anyway ha! It's refreshing to see the male/female lead fall for someone other than their first love. One of the best dramas that used "childhood first loves" really well is My Love Eundong, I don't know how much tears I've shed for that drama.

Best friends to lovers is def my favorite drama trope, especially cemented by Fight My Way. To me, that's the most ideal love story <3

I'm currently not watching 7DQ (*cue onslaught of comments saying I should* lol), so my top 2 of this catnip would be:
#1. "She Was Pretty"
#2. "Weightlifting Fairy, Kim Boy Joo"

Can we have Moon Geun Young and Choi Woo Hyuk in a drama again?

I just remember one more drama that fits this catnip: Healer! I can't believe that I forgot about them being childhood playmate with their beloved samchoon.

Backstories add depth to a friendship/romance and that depth does so much for my emotions. This trope makes the friends to lovers one often mean so much more.

Moon that Embraces the Sun probably had my favourite childhood love story, so much that it eclipsed the rest of the drama. Unfortunately Kill Me Kill Me and then Cinderella and the Four Knights have turned me into a cynical person who rolls her eyes at seeing this and goes 'really, did they have to be fated since childhood?' When done well (like in the Reply series) it works really well, but often it just seems like a cheap trick (Cinderella and 4K...)

Seven Day Queen though. Those kids nailed it. Maybe I prefer this trope in sageuks?

If I remember correctly, Jang Ok Jang In Love had a compelling childhood romance, too..

Yeo Jin-Goo and Kim So-Hyun were also brilliant in I miss you. Their characters' portrayal of that recurring theme "sometimes all you need is one person" was so good that the 'evil character' focussed on that to break them up.

Yes, love it. :)