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!

pol!!!! 🤣🤣

Now you HAVE to read The Remarried Empress it’s by the same author

interesting article about the backlash against women with short hair in SK

Omg Bettys, that article has given me the rage 😡🤬

Same here @Rowdythree… stealing their seats by performing better in tests seriously 🤦🏻‍♀️

This is such a lame excuse & being used in quite a few Asian countries.
In my home country too. People are mad because girls are taking university places after passing tough entry exams & scoring excellent grades in high school. If boys pull their act together they can do the same.

Yet in job market there is huge salary gap & very very few females at the executive & upper management level.

😁 Just read the first few chapters of Men of the Harem 😁😁😁

Such entitlement Jin! Their seats aren't being stolen, they never belonged to them in the first place. I hope lots of Korean women get a nice short hair cut, and continue to look like 'feminists'.

That article is enraging bettys!

Where do you go to find the web toons? They found great. Although far too much of my life is taken up by Korean culture already...

Currently watching When the Camellia Blooms which is quite sweet but very uneven in tone, with fluffy romance and a serial killer! Pretty upset at the attitude to single mothers too!

webtoons.com although I use the phone app

Watching terrius- thankyou to whoever suggested it - on episode 2 and the bit where all the Mums (and Dad) mobile to find the twins is

Maybe when thing calm down I can get into webtoons- easier to squeeze into a lunch break!

Need an early night tonight as my head is swimming in new job stuff. Still Aja! Fighting! (wish I could use that with my team but not sure how it'd go down!)

Thanks bettys.

YAMS- nooo, I thought we could swerve noble idiocy ☹️ they need to start pulling together some of the thread soon- only 4 more episodes left and they're going to have to do a lot to finish it off. There were some good bits in this week's episode but apart from being beautifully shot it didn't seem to do much

If it's episode 12 then it's always Noble Idiocy time 🤷
Have just really enjoyed first two episodes of Police University. Think it will fill my Racket Boys hole nicely. So to speak...

@polkettle true but it's not like they haven't got enough plot points to fill the rest of the episodes
I'll give police university a try, racket boys has left a gap that needs filling!

Oooh, is Racket Boys a feel good drama? If so I may venture into that next. I'm losing interest in Witches Diner.

I found gimmari (김말이) in the frozen section of my local Korean supermarket. I knew what they were from one of those Youtube ‘English school boys try Korean food’ videos. These ones are very spicy but a big hit with the Boaty household. 😄

@AesopsMables Racket Boys is brilliant. I have watched it with my pre-teens and they have loved it.

The car scene of boys singing Yolo Yolo is a big hit in our house. DC are now listening to BTS songs.
Very unpopular opinion, DC don’t like English songs & prefer Korean ones. Despite not understanding a single word they find Korean songs full of soul, energy & fun.

On another note it’s HOSPITAL PLAYLIST day eeeeeek 😁

I will also start My Secret Terrius.

DH was asking what I was reading last night and it was Men of the Harem 😂. I just described it as a Web comic by a Korean artist and then scrolled quickly past the pictures of unrealistic mens chests.
He did ask if it was about BTS, and for once I could say no (but I havnt told him about the fanfiction 😂😂😂)

TheGirl!!😂😂

I have disappeared down a webtoon rabbit hole and my kdrama viewing has suffered (well, I’ve also been busy with work & family stuff 😮) It’s just infuriating when you get a series with a good run of free episodes then you hit Fast Pass 🙄

I think one of the reasons fanfiction (and also webtoons by the way things are going) is so addictive is that I can read them on a break at work or when I have a few minutes spare.
I have the font really small on the fanfiction just incase a nosy colleague tries to read over my shoulder and I would then have to try and explain without sounding like a massive geek 😂

I found gimmari (김말이) in the frozen section of my local Korean supermarket. I knew what they were from one of those Youtube ‘English school boys try Korean food’ videos. These ones are very spicy but a big hit with the Boaty household. 😄

I'm always watching K Vloggers and they seem eat Gimmari with Teokbokki. Cannot wait to try both when I visit Korea next year! Well that is the plan, 1 week in Japan then 1 week in S Korea 🙏.

Anyone else watch K Vloggers on YouTube? I subscribe to many as find them incredibly relaxing to watch as well as showing 'real life'. Listed below are some of my favourites;

Roha - recently had a baby and watched her for 2 yrs after her amazing honeymoon in Maldives.

It's Michelle - Canadian K Vlogger who is an ex chef, fantastic food vlog with cute cat that acts like a dog ❤️

Plan D - single girl living in Seoul who is a costume maker (fascinating sewing techniques) And of course, food😋

HYONYEO - quit her boring office job in Busan to open a cafe.

I've had a big break from K Drama but thanks to Reply 1988 and MMH am back! I've never stopped watching the vloggers above so can recommend them if you want to relax and watch everyday life.

Loved Hospital Playlist today 🥰 It just makes me happy.

@polkettle

Loved Hospital Playlist today 🥰 It just makes me happy.

I am loving the story lines of older generation. Their fears, hopes & dreams. 50 IS THE new 70

@JinBhoot did you mean 70 is the new 50?

I dunno. Feels the other way for me some mornings.

AHAHAHAHA yes @bettys … in my head it made perfect sense.

@boatyardblues I agree. I can’t even imagine how my life will be in my 70s.

Out of the blue, I was diagnosed with a life alerting condition in my late 20s. I am glad it’s not ALS (can totally relate with Rosa in HP2 ep8, the relief 😅). I have made my peace, life is too short to cry over these things.