All too often overlooked in Western circles, gay Asian cinema offers some mighty fine examples of films exploring the LGBTQ experience out East. But with the Joe Seo picking up a special acting prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for his role in the steamy gay movie Spa World, it’s an encouraging sign of increasing diversity and recognition in film. Of course, with mighty fine gay movies come mighty hot gay love scenes, so we thought we’d take a look at some of the sexiest scenes out there from East Asian cinema.

1. Jonathan and Shane finally go at it: Eternal Summer 

This slow and smouldering Taiwanese coming-of-age story is a beautiful exploration of friendship and conflicted identity, with one super-hot sex scene to boot. The sensitive and deliciously pretty Jonathan has spent the film quietly pining after his rugged best friend Shane, who consistently brushes off his affections whilst riding girls around on motorbikes, the cad. The will-they-won’t-they storyline is so expertly drawn out that when it does finally happen, it’s an explosion of hotness. Jonathan’s initial attempts to resist in his disbelief are quickly thwarted by a dominant Shane who won’t take no for an answer. Yum.

2. Hyun and The Businessman: Stateless Things

Played by the affable and very sexy newcomer Yeom Hyun-Joon, Hyun is a bored young man who finds himself fraternising with a wealthy businessman in a high-rise apartment in South Korea (we’ve all been there, right?). This sometimes tumultuous but always smoking hot relationship unfolds throughout the apartment, with a particularly sensuous scene taking place on the kitchen countertop. A good one for those who appreciate some quality interior design featured in their sex scenes.

3. The opening scene: Happy Together 

This cool and classic gay movie from Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai does no messing about in getting stuck into the hot and steamy romance between the film’s protagonists, Ho Po-wing and Lai Yiu-fai. The audience dives straight into the action with a raw, passionate and gritty introduction to what transpires to be a turbulent relationship, played out over the couple’s erratic and haphazard journey in Argentina. Wong won best director for Happy Together at Cannes, and we see his expertise in presenting an honest, human yet still hot-as-hell opening scene. Bravo Wong.

4. Caught in the act: Just Friends? 

It’s not just dark and intense scenes of violent passion that you’ll find in gay Asian cinema. Just Friends? comes at it from a much more playful angle, depicting the flirty and cheeky relationship between Seok-i and Min-su, trying to get physical whilst avoiding Min-su’s seemingly omnipresent mother. Their inability to keep their hands off each other even whilst the mother snores nearby is pretty adorable, whilst the scene which sees them ripping each other’s clothes off (Min-su in military gear… HELLO) is undeniably sexy.