MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #25): We may not always agree (on shows, oppa preference, wonky fashion) but we are never disagreeable…

[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)
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)*
Mad For Each Other (Netflix)
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. 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!

And no overly coy so-girly-you-want-slap-them stuff either

@FedUpWithBriiiiick the perfect end to the last thread!
I do like my fellow citizens- I'd agree it's got a lot of good female characters and I've just got to the bit where they start ahem, making up and the friend wheels the little bed out - I like the way they play the relationship between the 2 leads as a married couple

Watched tonight gumiho episode- I'm not keen on him being her lecturer- it just makes me a bit hmmm

Talking of public service announcements has anyone warned the newbies about Black Knight #stillbitter

@Cassini

Talking of public service announcements has anyone warned the newbies about Black Knight #stillbitter

Maybe we should add a shit list to the OP or 2nd post on every thread to warn the noobs. There are a few that go off piste and waste everyone’s time.

Black Knight #stillbitter #NeverForgiveNeverForget

Such a waste 😖🤬

Maybe we should add a shit list to the OP or 2nd post on every thread to warn the noobs. There are a few that go off piste and waste everyone’s time

Thing is, there’s a truly shit list and a list of good dramas with shit endings where you go wtf were the writers doing????🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Like Black, Black Knight Ermmmmmm there are others but I’ve had wine

@bettys @boatyardblues agreed and seconded

And some shit dramas are so bad they are actually funny looking at you AdvanceBravely> (that is a truly obscure one though)

And then there is Well Intentioned Love which went so far off piste the St Bernard couldn't rescue it and the Chinese authorities made them make it again 🤣🤣🤣

@bettys

Black Knight #stillbitter #NeverForgiveNeverForget

Such a waste 😖🤬

What’s that? First time I heard about it. I joined you all from thread #19

It was brilliant; age appropriate oppa, chemistry, amazing scenery, evil baddies, tearjerker storyline and then the gave it the worst possible ending and @bettys and I are still mad 😡

Well Intentioned Love.

So bad, they made it twice.

Don't get us started on Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol for bad endings...

Yes….. still mad 🤬 It’s on Netflix if you want to watch & join the #stillbitter team

And then there is Well Intentioned Love which went so far off piste the St Bernard couldn't rescue it and the Chinese authorities made them make it again 🤣🤣🤣

This is so true!! 😂😂 I did rather like Well Intentioned Love 2 which was set in a cough parallel universe cough or some such

Good idea- I was saved from wasting my time on backstreet rookie and melting me softly after mentioning them on this thread which leaves more time for fun/good dramas.

I think there's a difference between just bad, 'starts of great then WTF bad" "great idea but utterly wasted bad" and "so bad its good" - SIMAA-F is an example of good idea but wasted bad. Personally birth of a beauty is an example of just bad bad. Still bitter I wasted my time on- could have been funny but went full on makjang. Bad makjang.

Also things that you think will be bad but turn out to be good fun- like shopping king Louis which sounds like it'll suck but was actually very sweet

@FedUpWithBriiiiick 🤣🤣🤣

I'm so far behind! It's taken me 2 days to watch 1 episode of Its okay to not be okay!! 1 down, 1 to go!

Agree about the shit list, I also managed to only waste an hour on Melting Me Softly thanks to these threads. 👍

@Cassini

And then there is Well Intentioned Love which went so far off piste the St Bernard couldn't rescue it and the Chinese authorities made them make it again 🤣🤣🤣

It was episode 12 of Well Intentioned Love Mk1 that made me so angry I didn’t try cdrama again for a year & even then I was watching everything with side eye for another year.

Two additions to my kdrama OST playlist at dramatically different ends of the spectrum

From Nevertheless, (the sofa scene) open.spotify.com/track/0YpUdFVhzsmBNqUa5Xl9vH?si=ce2a0af871ec4c80

From Racket Boys in the car after losing ep1) open.spotify.com/track/1ok4gxOv8cg5WLjWK6TQhD?si=49a78a37d1914e27

I started Reply 1997 last night, I wanted more Seo In Guk! And he's shirtless twice already 👀. It looks good, but I'm not sure it's as good as 1988.

Aw Be Loved in House: I do is SO low budget incoherent but somehow it's just made me cry. Heart very much in right place.

Interesting titbit that definitely easy-on-eye ML Aaron Lai was off work for months after genuine Van (or minibus) of Doom encounter and this is his first project since. I was thinking that his plot-incorporated scars looked surprisingly real.

I love mykoreandic - he’s hilarious.

Thanks for the new thread Boaty.

Have just started Be Loved in House: I do and am very pleased to see that within the first 4 minutes (including title sequence that basically tells you the plot), it adheres to 3 Very Important Tropes ie bad audio, low budget sets and shower scene with glorious abs

Those scars look serious

Look out for the Talking Point Coffee Tabletop fire Bettys. New decor option on me.