Apparently it is common to give piggy back rides to older people, inebriated people, or injured people. Mind you, I haven't had a piggy back ride in perhaps 65 years so this is not something I'm used to seeing on TV. But, like many things that are different, Kdramas frequently have piggy back rides shown. And the people are not necessarily well-acquainted with each other. For example, in 'My Mister' the lead gives piggy back rides to a co-worker's grandmother even though they had never met. In 'Hospital Playlist' one of the doctors gives his mom a piggy back ride down a set of stairs... all very normal in Kdramas!
I'm guessing the average weight of Koreans is much less than the average weight of Americans so this may explain it. I'm betting I'll get push-back when I ask my 40 year old son for a ride.
Pat here.
Judy and I have been talking about the importance of piggy back rides in Korean culture, and we think it all started with the way they carry their babies: on the care giver's back! Americans are more apt to show their babies off to the world...so American. As adults the majority of piggy back rides seem to happen when someone is drunk, and there is a lot of that going on in Kdramas. (At least it's the sober person carrying the inebriated one.) And it's important to point out here that no one drives with an alcohol level above the legal limit. We could learn a lot from them about not driving and drinking.
About the weight of average Koreans versus Americans: not going there. EVER.
Oh, we should have thought of that DVanKirk! Not sure if it's piggy or piggee. Maybe we should google it?
Regarding the average weight of Koreans: they all look slim to me. So, the piggy-back-rider and the piggy (is that politically correct in this context?) both appear to be low. Therefore, wouldn't such a lightweight carrier's muscle mass be less than optimal for carrying another person around? Just a thought.