MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #23): Need help sorting your low stakes Cdrama nerd poppets from your kdrama oppas and flower boys? C’mon in!

[boatyardblues]

A quiet corner of MN for serious addicts of Kdrama, or the K-curious. Most of our viewing is drawn from Netflix and Viki, with a sprinkling of AmazonPrime. There are also platforms streaming content illegally if you go looking, but we don’t promote them as they are peppered with pop-ups of “Olga” and friends offering a good time, which gets in the way of the drama. We also dip into Japanese, Taiwanese & Chinese drama as & when.

The previous thread is here but our ‘Addicts Recommend’ list below is cumulative so includes recommendations and favourites from all previous threads.


Shows marked with an asterisk are more uniformly loved or admired. In categorising series, its important to note most Korean dramas have multiple strands - e.g. supernatural, romance and a thriller; crime series with fantasy elements. Genre-busting mash-ups are normal. Series that are tagged as dark may also have moments of comedy or the absurd, likewise fluff can have heavier moments. View the categories below as best approximate & ask if you need guidance, eg about suitability for younger teens.

Comedy (with a side order of absurd)
I picked up a celebrity on the street (Viki)
My Fellow Citizens (Viki/Netflix)
The Fiery Priest (Netflix)

Crime/Thriller

Come and Hug Me (Dramafast)
Graceful Family (Viki)
Healer (Netflix)*
Heartless City (Viki)
He is Psychometric (Viki)
I Hear Your Voice (Netflix /Viki)

Life on Mars (classy remake of BBC series, no major site yet)
My Secret Terrius (Netflix)*
Signal (Netflix)*
Stranger - 2 seasons (Netflix)
Suspicious Partner (Netflix)*
The Lies Within (Netflix)*
Tunnel (Netflix)*

Historical/Period drama (“sageuk”)
100 Days My Prince (Viki/Netflix)
Crowned Clown (Viki)*
Mr Queen (Viki)*
Mr Sunshine (Netflix)
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung (Netflix)
Tale of Nokdu (Viki/Netflix)*

Romance - lighter & fluffier
Beating Again (Netflix)
Coffee Prince (Netflix)
Don’t Dare to Dream (Netflix, or as Jealousy Incarnate on Viki)*
Gogh, The Starry Night (Viki)

Happy Once Again (Netflix)
Her Private Life (Viki)*

His Master’s Sun (Netflix)

Love from a Star (Netflix)*
Lovestruck in the City (Netflix)
Pinocchio (Netflix)
Radio Romance (Netflix)

Romance is the Bonus Book (Netflix)*
Run On (Netflix)

She Was Pretty (Netflix)*
The Beauty Inside (Viki/Netflix)
The Secret Life of My Secretary (Viki/Netflix)
Thirty Not Seventeen (Viki) or as Still 17 (Netflix)
To My Star [BL] (Viki)
True Beauty (Viki)
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (Netflix/Viki)

What’s Up With Secretary Kim (Viki)*
Where Stars Land (Viki)*
You are my Destiny (Netflix)
You Make Me Dance [BL] (Viki)


Romance - heavier weight/more grown up themes
Another Miss Oh (Netflix)*
Because This Is My First Life (Viki/Netflix)*

Chicago Typewriter (Viki/Netflix)*
Crash Landing on You (Netflix)**
Descendants of the Sun (Viki/Netflix)
Doctors (Netflix)
Fight For My Way (Viki/Netflix)*
Go Back Couple (Viki)
I’ll Go To You When The Weather is Nice (Viki)
It’s OK Not To Be OK (Netflix)

Just Between Lovers (Viki)*
Melo is my Nature (Viki)/Be Melodramatic (other sites)
My Strange Hero (Viki)
One Spring Night (Netflix)
Red Carpet - film (Netflix, very adult content)
Romantic Dr Kim - seasons 1&2 (Viki)
Search: WWW (Viki)*

Something in the Rain (Netflix)
The Handmaid (film, Netflix - content warning: explicit sexual content)
The Package (Viki)

Straighter ‘Slice of Life’ dramas on universal themes
Hospital Playlist (Netflix)
Into The Ring (Viki)
Itaewon Class (Netflix)
Live (Netflix)
Misaeng (Netflix)*
My Mister (Viki/Netflix)*
My Unfamiliar Family (Viki)*
Navillera (Netflix)*
Prison Playbook (Netflix)*

Once Again (Viki)
Stove League (Viki)/Hot Stove League (Netflix)

Supernatural/zombies/vampires/fantasy/sci-fi - lighter & fluffier
Extraordinary You (Netflix)
Goblin (Viki)*

I am not a Robot (Netflix)
Legend of the Blue Sea (Viki/Netflix)
Kiss Goblin (Viki, webdrama)
My Holo Love (Netflix)*
Orange Marmalade (Netflix)
While You Were Sleeping (Viki)*



Supernatural/zombies/vampires/fantasy/sci-fi - darker/more grown up themes
#Alive (Netflix)
Black (Netflix)*
Hotel del Luna (Viki/Netflix)*
King: The Eternal Monarch (Netflix)
Kingdom (Netflix)*

Mystic Pop-up Bar (Netflix)
Peninsula - film, Train to Busan sequel (Amazon Prime, iMovies)
Sisyphus (Netflix)
The Guest (Netflix)
Train to Busan - film (Amazon Prime)

W: Two Worlds (Viki & Netflix)*
Zombie Detective (Viki)


Guilty Pleasures (for the joy, not the quality)
Bride of Habaek (Netflix)
Hwarang (Viki/Netflix)
My Secret Romance (Viki)
The Last Empress (Viki/Netflix)
Sassy Go Go (Netflix)



Mad as a box of frogs/uncategorisable

Strong Girl Bong Soon (Netflix)
School Nurse Files (Netflix)

Not Korean ‘You May Also Like’
Regulars also branch out into Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese drama. The Chinese & Taiwanese stuff is much more variable quality-wise, so we’ve noted anything decent here:

Before We Get Married (Viki - Taiwanese)
Find Yourself (Netflix - Chinese)
Go Go Squid (Viki - Chinese)
Instead of Tipsy Why Not Get Drunk (Viki, Chinese)
Lost Romance (Viki, Taiwanese)
Love O2O (Viki, Chinese)
Morning Call (Netflix, Japanese)
My Little Happiness (Viki, Chinese)
Put Your Head on My Shoulder (Netflix, Chinese)
Some Day or One Day (Viki, Taiwanese)
The Romance of Tiger & Rose (Viki, Chinese)
Tientsin Mystic (Netflix, Chinese)
You Are My Hero (Viki, Chinese)*

Thread Regulars’ Top Scoring Dramas of 2020 (updated for thread #21)
Courtesy of Hello’s kdrama spreadsheet, updated by/for thread regulars. Marks out of 10.

1 - Mr Queen - 9.4 (5 votes)
2 - Parasite - 9.05 (10 Votes)
3 - It's Okay To Not Be Okay - 8.88 (9 Votes)
4 - The Uncanny Counter - 8.50 (4 Votes)
5 - Once Again - 8.42 (6 Votes)

2019’s top scoring dramas:

1. Her Private Life - 9.40 (5 votes)
2. Melo is My Nature - 9.00 (5 votes)

3.= Crash Landing On You, The Crowned Clown, The Lies Within, and The Tale of Nokdu - 8.75 (4 votes)

1. Hotel del Luna - 8.50 (4 votes)

5.= Romance is a Bonus Book, and Search: WWW - 8.17 (6 votes)

We are generally fans of all things Korean, so equally happy to talk about Korean cookery, language, film and music when the mood takes us. Quite a few of us are learning Korean, Japanese and/or Mandarin (some more diligently than others admittedly), so we swap tips and links to language resources. Basically, anything topical goes.


We have a few frequently used acronyms:

FL/2FL = female lead/2nd female lead

ML/2ML = male lead/2nd male lead
🥾🍑 (boot, peach) = kick up the bum to go to bed



We also abbreviate titles if they’re long, but explained or with an obvious abbreviation. Some favourite actors & actresses have been abbreviated for speed/efficiency, eg Park Min Young (PMY), Kim Jae Wook (KJW). Don’t be afraid to ask for help/clues if we’re not making sense or have descended into acronym soup.



If you want to join us down the kdrama rabbit hole, welcome! Pull up a chair, say goodbye to early nights and get stuck in…

@LarryUnderwood

I'm thoroughly enjoying Fight for my Way, I think anything with PSJ is fab. And just started Kakafukaka for some more Jdrama and in episode 1 we've already got Ml asking FL to help him with his erectile dysfunction 🤣 it's so random!

J-dramas, man. They be weird.

Kakafukaka is definitely an odd one…

Yes, I'm still in two minds about Jdrama. But am very much enjoying understanding some of what they say and its quite reassuring to see that I haven't totally forgotten all my Japanese. But the randomness is off the scale.

@LarryUnderwood

Yes, I'm still in two minds about Jdrama. But am very much enjoying understanding some of what they say and its quite reassuring to see that I haven't totally forgotten all my Japanese. But the randomness is off the scale.

I like Good Morning Call. It's clean. But, don't follow it up with Coffee and Vanilla unless you want to see the innocent FL and 2ML in very compromising positions.

I've seen coffee and vanilla, it was rather...different.

The sexpotting is fine, it was just a surprise after so much korean drama. But I am finding the mix of straight to the point plots with vague actual communication a bit jarring. And the production values just aren't as high.

I enjoyedYou Are My Pet - which was way less dodgy than I initially thought it was going to be. And also In Time With You which followed more familiar path as remake of Taiwanese drama.

I’m getting some odd coincidences with IG. Yesterday I unlocked my screen when DH was sitting next to me and this HB and DH sighed heavily. “No, no!” Said I “It’s the real thing not Pol’s cut out!” DH: “You say it like that makes it better!” 🤪 Today official HB is right under Pol’s Binn again looming sooo cheesy. Anyway, BBC Good Food popped up on my feed in amongst all the oppas with the attached pic. I thought it was tteokbokki, which would have been amazing, but it’s just boring old pasta in a tomato sauce. 🥱😴

And pic

Worlds collide boaty 🤯

Sponsored durex ads crop up on my Mr Binn feed but not on my mufti one. Obviously Cardboard Oppas are all about safety first...🤭
Mr Binn sends his apologies for nonsense to your DH Boaty 😜 I have to say that new HB insurance ad looks even more like a cardboard cut out than my real thing. I am Not Sure about his shorter hair.

I 💜 the photo of the boys on IG, @Bea!

Ahhh! Thank you! Obvs! It's all my own hard work! 😂😂💜

Pausing to say The Girl Who Sees Scents has some of the dumbest plotting I’ve ever seen. I snoozed through some significant chunks of the early episodes, but I don’t think it has mattered. Anyone who has seen the rescue in ep 15 will know what I’m talking about. Their stage blood looks like raspberry sauce from an ice cream van too.

Ooh, what was deleted? 👀

A lot of spam posts going about at the moment @Rowdythree. Nothing exciting unfortunately

Me, every episode of She's the One: "This is so bad. That makes no sense. That's so morally dodgy. What?? I can't believe I'm watching this."
Also me: Entirely up to date on episodes of She's the One. 🙄

Me, every episode of She's the One: "This is so bad. That makes no sense. That's so morally dodgy. What?? I can't believe I'm watching this."Also me: Entirely up to date on episodes of She's the One. 🙄

Me. I could have written this. Brain goes to mush every time I watch an episode. But I still watch the next one. Bit like eating all four fingers of a Kit Kat. You should stop but you don’t

@boatyardblues

Pausing to say The Girl Who Sees Scents has some of the dumbest plotting I’ve ever seen. I snoozed through some significant chunks of the early episodes, but I don’t think it has mattered. Anyone who has seen the rescue in ep 15 will know what I’m talking about. Their stage blood looks like raspberry sauce from an ice cream van too.

I started this one aaages ago and got bored very quickly!

Ooh delving into SYHH and I likey. If I was a primary school TA I would so start channelling Jang Nara style goals with staple gun and black leather trousers when putting up displays.

I finally worked out Jang Nara’s staple gun in ep 8. I think it fires salt.

Could be a good seasoning addition to the giant pepper grinder in Italian restaurants.

Ideal for gritting icy pavements as you head out for a stroll too.

I want to know if Rowdy and DH have started Mr Sunshine yet. I’m rewatching it in bursts and enjoying it all over again. 🥰

Syhh is great! I'm upto date now... So have to wait! Argghhh!!