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…

Hi Lotta!

🙌 Nice to meet you Lotta!

@boatyardblues

Doom at 50% subbed already! I actually squealed with excitement because it looks like it’ll be done by 9pm or at least later this evening. 🎉🎉🎉

Hello Lotta!

Lads lads lads I'm going back in on Vincenzo on the strength of your love for it, will do me nicely between DAYS, SYHH and SIMAA-F.

So many acronyms...

Hi Lotta 👋

76% @boatyardblues!!

@boatyardblues

I’ll PM the spreadsheet link to you now Rowdy. Give me 5.

Would I be able to have a link to the spreadsheet?

Currently watching bring it on ghost which is so far best described as lightweight (apart from the murders) nonsense with some massive internal logic holes but we say watching

@FedUpWithBriiiiick

76% *@boatyardblues*!!

Toot toot!!!

I have a Zoom catch-up with an old friend shortly. All being well it should be done by the time I’m off the call. 🤞

Hydrogen - I’ll send you the link now.

@Bea

😂😂 just been catching up on the spreadsheet and adding scores and comments.... I love reading comments from others! (*@polkettle* *@JinBhoot...🥰 ) can't believe how much it's grown!!! 🤣 I thought I would be the only one to mention Westlife for YAMH! *@polkettle** !!! You beat me to it! Though I didn't mention the SPAM! 😲

Bea 🥰

80% of dramas I watch so I can chat with my online besties on mumsnet 🥰

I started Vincenzo at the weekend and I have got no chill ... kiddies tucked in, hot cuppa ready & about to start ep18.
Show better have a satisfactory wrap up

There's a lot of things I'm prepared to suspend my disbelief for in KDrama but Professor Yang's jigsaw solving technique in Law School takes the biscuit. He appears to be able to fill it in perfectly from the edges inwards leaving a central hole while keeping all his loose bits in a pile and just picking up one at random and then finding the spot for it. Shocker.

@LarryUnderwood a weverse account!! There's no chance of escape now! What books did you get? I'm still v v slowly trudging through Duolingo.

Hi @Lottahugz 👋

This thread is great ❤️

Hi Lotta!

I am back into low stakes cdrama nerd poppetry as I have picked up My Little Happiness again whilst I wait for DAYS but I have remembered why I stopped watching live, it is soooo low stakes it is practically in negative numbers and so sweet my teeth itch 🍭

@polkettle

There's a lot of things I'm prepared to suspend my disbelief for in KDrama but Professor Yang's jigsaw solving technique in Law School takes the biscuit. He appears to be able to fill it in perfectly from the edges inwards leaving a central hole while keeping all his loose bits in a pile and just picking up one at random and then finding the spot for it. Shocker.

He is the jigsaw master! I need him to come and finish the puzzle we've had under the table cloth since Christmas as it's too bloody hard. Sadly it's not of an elephant, so I don't think he'll be interested 🐘😂

It's Doom time, lads! 💃💃💃

I'm getting FOMO about Doom so I'm going to start that now, even though I'm not up to date with SYHH (which I'm enjoying a lot)

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap

I'm getting FOMO about Doom so I'm going to start that now, even though I'm not up to date with SYHH (which I'm enjoying a lot)

Oh it's good. There's only 3 eps up so plenty of time to catch up with SYHH 👍

Love the essay polkettle, it all rings so true. You're very talented.

Watched Train to Busan at the weekend with DH and teens. We all loved it. I do love a good zombie film and this was excellent.

Started Hospital Playlist but think I'm going to have to watch the first episode again to bed them all in, so to speak

Oh my! Doom was great this evening. PBY can really bring the inner steel when she needs to. SIG’s character is looking a touch outmanoeuvered by pocket-sized dynamo PBY’s. It’s a while since I saw her in anything and I’d forgotten just how good she is. I looked them both up last night & didn’t realise she is 2 years younger than SIG IRL. For some reason I had him pegged as younger. They make a cute pairing in this. I am absolutely gripped already.

It’s probably a bit late to be sending up the Boat-signal, but I’m going to do it anyway. Doom is quality! ⛵️⛵️⛵️

Also, what the hell is God playing at? (Another Doom musing, for the uninitiated.)

@boatyardblues

Also, what the hell is God playing at? (Another Doom musing, for the uninitiated.)

Is she god, Boaty? I had her pegged for a lower deity.

If anyone cracks the return to reading, I'd love to hear about your tactics! I'm finding binging a drama so much like reading a novel, that I'm not even missing it. 😳

Ended up a bit conflicted about Vincenzo. I couldn't really handle the evil. On balance, I think I liked it.

Currently watching 'Good Morning Call' (J drama) as DH has seen it before and grew up in Japan. It's very sweet. Not quite the same production values as the Korean dramas I've seen though!

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap I got Korean for Beginners, fundamental writing practice book and Let's Study Korean grammar vocab workbook. Arriving today so I'll see what they're like. If I enjoy it I may book some Skype lessons too. I started duolingo a few days ago but I find learning new alphabets only works for me if I drill it through practicing writing and stroke order. When I studied Japanese that was what helped me anyway. Once it's embedded that way then an audiovisual thing like duolingo works for me, but I find it really hard to actually make the connection between sound and character without physically writing it.