THIRTY NINE
Sohn Ye-jin’s character visits her previous orphanage from time to time.

School 2015 Both of the twins return back to the orphanage where they were raised

1% of anything— he went back to the orphanage he came from, where her mom worked, right?

Fated to love you— the 2nd male lead went back to the orphanage to work.

Frak there's so many I won't be able to remember them all
Kill It
You Are My Spring
Stealer
I can see at least three more scenes in my head right now but I can't remember what dramas they're from...

Avengers social club the husband makes his wife go back against her will as part of his election campaign.

Business Proposal
Kiss Sixth Sense
The Beauty Inside
Good Job
Be Melodramatic (maybe he didn't grow up there?)
Love in Contract (at least one character visits, not sure if it's the FL who grew up there)

The existence of enough orphanages for a whole trope is appalling.

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes : I think they went to see the ML's orphanage.

Heartless City : the ML went and visit his friend at the orphanage.

Roy Kim was adopted, and he visited the orphanage he grew up in to find his birth parents in Episode 4 of Doctor Cha.

L.U.C.A: The Beginning Kim Rae-won's character visit to get revenge from orphanage where he was made.

There was such scene in ISLAND Part1, I believe. Many other dramas too, but it's been too long and I can't remember anything else(((

Two Cops

In Youth of May both FL and ML go to an orphanage but to provide medical care to the children.

In When The Camellia Blooms FL visits her orphanage.

In Fated to love you Second Male Lead goes to his orphanage too.

You’re All Surrounded, Daegu goes back to his orphanage to try and hide his true identity. I can’t name the episode off the top of my head.

Uncanny Counter - one of the demons grew up in an orphanage and a major fight happened there

Be Melodramatic - Eun Jung and Seon Seok Gu (director) meet again at an orphanage and end up spending their weekends there. Their conversations in the orphanage were memorable to me.

I am sure there is a mine field of dramas with orphanages. 1% of something may be. Heartless city.

Mad Dog: Woo Do Hwan's character visited the orphanage he and his brother grew up in to find out more about the other two women that were linked to the aeroplane crash.

Her Private Life? But I can't remember if they visited the orphanage Ryan was at, or just a random one.

Miss Ripley, she visits the church or orphanage (in any case, there's a nun there) as does her mom. Melodrama ensues.

It seems like there are soooooo many yet all I can remember are Dr Cha and Be Melodramatic 🤦🏼‍♀️

My nominee: CURTAIN CALL (2022) (Viki US). Wonderful scene in episode 4 (at 34.52) where Sang-cheol (Sung Dong-il) is visiting his old orphanage from 30 years before and chatting outside with Sister who tells him the amount of a (for her) large donation from a former resident now actor (Kang Ha-nuel). When SC hears the amount his eyes go wide and he says a bit too loud to himself, as only Sung Dong-il can say, “Oh, this bastard kept a lot for himself.” Which got an “Excuse me?” from Sister. It was great.

Hyena - As children, Geum-Ja and her friend Detective Park were in an orphanage where they were abused, and where he kept her from committing suicide. It turns out that one of the reasons that she’s so obsessed with the law office’s fancy building is that it was built on the site where the orphanage used to be.

Cinderella and the Four Knights - Yoon Sung’s mother (Grandpa’s latest wife) takes clothes and toys to an orphanage, where the kids all call her “Mom.” Apparently, she does this out of guilt for being such a lousy mother to her own son.

Do they go back to the FL’s orphanage in Good Job or is it just talked about a lot?

I don't remember if there was an orphanage visit in Start Up. I do remember wondering if it's true for Korean orphans like Kim Seon Ho's character, when those raised in orphanages age out at 18, are they simply released with a small amount of money?? Not enough money to rent a safe place or have enough to eat or references or education to obtain a decent job. If true then it's no wonder so few become successful. Without the grandma's help in that drama this character would have been in an awful situation. That struck me and left me feeling so sad for these individuals. On top of never having had a family or anyone who cared for or supported them outside of those paid to do so. Does anyone here know what provisions 18 year old former orphans are given?

It's been a couple of years but didn't the ML in MY HOLO LOVE (the human, not the hologram) grow up in an orphanage that they visited in one ep?

Since I literally just finished this drama, kiss six sense! Where the main lead visits the orphanage he grew up in every second Saturday of the month. It also holds some significance for him and the FL

Not so much a single scene but rather multiple recent scenes from the currently airing daily drama APPLE OF MY EYE where our FL has apparently been volunteering at the orphanage from which she was adopted into a wealthy family- and her birth father who left her there has also been delivering bread to that same orphanage (he is now a baker). The Abbess or Mother Superior in charge knows the relationship and always appears to be guilty in concealing it. Of course, eventually the truth will out but until then.....

BTW- have you noticed that orphanages in Kdramas are almost always run by the Catholic Church? I know that Catholics are over twenty percent of the population of the ROK but this seems to be a bit of stereotyping?

Thanks @dramaddictally to allow me to fill up my trope list by having this treasure hunt.
When I submitted this scene, I had 5 dramas : You're all surrounded, If you wish upon me, Business proposal, Liar games and My holo love. I'm eager to read what others beanies have observed.