MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #24): where we ‘lean in’ to our obsession. Non-judgmental support served up with a side-order of kpop.

[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)
Doom At Your Service (Viki) - still airing
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)*
Move to Heaven (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…

Happy Birthday @polkettle!!

Happy birthday @polkettle!
I've not watched much kdrama recently as I've had a massive project, so just settled down to ep 10 of Vincenzo last night. What an absolute banger!!! There was a point at which I found myself hitting the sofa and actually whooping in excitement. Not sure I can wait until the end of the working day for ep 11!

Happy Birthday pol !!🎂🍾💜

Hope you have a lovely day and Mr Binn is singing saeng il chuk ha ham ni da to you!

Thanks lovely drama pals. Seaweed and beef at 7.30am an intriguing way to welcome a new decade along with watching a bit of Doom. Appropriate 😁

Happy birthday @polkettle.

Sending you love & best wishes

Happy Birthday Pol! I hope Mr Binn is spoiling you! 🎉🥳

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57329920

Happy Birthday Polkettle. Hope you have a lovely day.

@polkettle

Thanks lovely drama pals. Seaweed and beef at 7.30am an intriguing way to welcome a new decade along with watching a bit of Doom. Appropriate 😁

Happy birthday Pol! Did the soup appear by magic or did you have to make your own?

Finished watching Move to Heaven is there season 2?
I didn’t get the scene last scene with butterfly girl & gambler lady’s story seems unfinished.

Set up for a season 2 which may or may not happen for sure @JinBhoot Although didn't affect my enjoyment of series.
Seaweed soup obviously TOTALLY made by Mr Binn. Not.
Presents included a persimmon drier so all round mine to massage your persimmons come the Autumn.

This time TWO years ago!... I was having the best day ever!!!..! 💜🥰💜🥰💜🥰

Happy Happy Birthday @polkettle... May you and Mr Binn never endure a torrential downpour! 🥰😂👍

Ooh Doom is spoiling us👌 I can't see how it's going to end yet, so it's keeping me gripped!

Aww Bea happy memories, I so wanted to take DD but we were on holiday at the time! Hopefully one day I'll get to take her to see them. (although she's more into Maneskin atm 😂)

Happy Birthday polkettle! Hope Mr Binn got you a nice gift!

@leeloo1 Japanese speaking husband assured me translations weren't great for 'Good Morning Call' and that Uehara isn't as harsh as the subtitles make him out to be (not sure if this was because I insisted he was a terrible boyfriend but DH liked their relationship!)! I needed the K drama production values after only one series so still have one to go.

I do enjoy that in the JDramas I've seen, the absolute pinnacle of intimacy is not sleeping together, getting married or confessing love but - after all those events - calling someone by their first name.

@polkettle

I do enjoy that in the JDramas I've seen, the absolute pinnacle of intimacy is not sleeping together, getting married or confessing love but - after all those events - calling someone by their first name.

Yes I like that too Pol. They could be swinging off the ceiling with their faces in each other's bits but god forbid you drop the naming conventions.

Ha! Started Jdrama Love is Phantom (Viki) - so true!

@bettys I started phantom too, not quite sure what to make of it but at the same time oddly enjoying it. Which actually is how I have felt about all jdrama so far!

@polkettle I am enjoying tourist Binn. How big is ‘he’ to carry, can you fold & put in your bag?
Did anybody recognised him as a real actor or from your insta.

I'm not sure I should reveal Mr Binn's undignified transport option Jin but let's just say UnderArmour may not be the only Sports brand that Mr Binn "wears" in giant carrier bag form.
And no - nobody recognises either HB or MB. My tongue is mostly in my cheek wondering if he would face less police hostility were he a white cardboard star but only mostly...

@LarryUnderwood sometimes I am 😱 at Jdrama but Love Is Phantom seems to be only mildly pervy (it seems to be a recurring theme with older men & naive girls) so I am quite enjoying it, although always ALWAYS annoyed by the overly cutesy girliness.

To (almost) quote FedUp Love Is Phantom seems to be Get in, mysterious man on rooftop, snog, new mysterious man arrives, have sex, make drip coffee, have sex, get bought new dress & approached by random men, have sex, another mysterious man turns up in compromising position, have sex, get patted on the head & told they are so cute they can’t hold back 🤨, have sex, arigato

Thanks sakura06, that's really interesting to hear, as I also think Uehara comes across as a deeply unsympathetic character. Also, I don't find him so wildly attractive to believe that hordes of girls would follow him round. The second series is pretty much the same just they're older, still living next door to each other etc. I only have one episode to go (it's a shorter series) but I feel like Daichi would be a better match!

@polkettle - haha re the jdrama naming conventions, a whole new world is opening up to me!

[quote bettys]@LarryUnderwood sometimes I am 😱 at Jdrama but Love Is Phantom seems to be only mildly pervy (it seems to be a recurring theme with older men & naive girls) so I am quite enjoying it, although always ALWAYS annoyed by the overly cutesy girliness.

To (almost) quote FedUp Love Is Phantom seems to be Get in, mysterious man on rooftop, snog, new mysterious man arrives, have sex, make drip coffee, have sex, get bought new dress & approached by random men, have sex, another mysterious man turns up in compromising position, have sex, get patted on the head & told they are so cute they can’t hold back 🤨, have sex, arigato[/quote]
Nailed it.

I actually HATE how women are treated in j-dramas (old school feminist here), but I can't seem to tear myself away...