MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #26): With the dog days of summer behind us, it’s time to dust off your persimmon racks and dig out your down jackets for a cosy k-autumn

[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)
Monthly Magazine Home (Viki)
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)
Racket Boys (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/Netflix)


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)*

AVOID, AVOID, AVOID aka “the shit list” 💩

Well-Intentioned Love season 1 (S2 is fine)
The Birth of a Beauty

Thread Regulars’ Top Scoring Dramas of 2020
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). 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!

Thanks for the new thread Boaty! That opening post is getting so long now! 👏🙌

Thanks Boaty!!! Took about ten mins to scroll past the opening post 😂

Hello my lovelies … enjoyed table tennis in today’s episode of HP.
The winning team, are they famous athletes?

Rosa is ❤️

@JinBhoot

Hello my lovelies … enjoyed table tennis in today’s episode of HP. The winning team, are they famous athletes?

Rosa is ❤️

I’m assuming they were Olympic-standard table tennis players Jin.

Helllloooooooo am filling up my hmart basket and looking forward to another thread of top oppas! ignoring fact that not one would be my actual oppa

Kakafukaka/Sharehouse: 10 episodes, 25 mins each. Started watching as it will be perfect for weekend binging… but WHAT THE 🤦🏻‍♀️
One for the 💩 list.

@JinBhoot

Kakafukaka/Sharehouse: 10 episodes, 25 mins each. Started watching as it will be perfect for weekend binging… but WHAT THE 🤦🏻‍♀️ One for the 💩 list.

Oh my god Jin 😂😂😂😂

NEVER attempt a J-drama for gentle weekend binging. Unless it's Good Morning Call... 😁

Kakafukaka is definitely one of those jdramas that leave you thinking wtf??? but not quite shitlist. If you want a jdrama that’s nice and bingeworthy try Pretty Proofreader or Sensei Don’t You Know? which both have sensible FLs

Disappointed my suggestion of Melting Me SOftly didn’t make the shit list 💩😥

Betty - sorry, t was an oversight. I was panicked by the imminent thread ending. Think Grommit on the toy train frantically laying more track to prevent the train derailing. Did I overlook it in recent posts? I should have been more explicit in my request, i.e. I can’t remember what we said at the beginning of the thread and don’t have time to go back and look. 😄

I’ll add it to the next one for sure.

Thanks for the new thread boaty ♥️
I'm super behind in drama watching. Work has been a relentless slog the last few weeks. Lots of people off sick and everyone else desperately trying to take their annual leave 😨

But still managing to be cheered up by reading this thread, thanks to you all 😘

BTS also managing to cheer me up, who knew that a picture of Namjoon's new hair cut could be such a boost to my day 😂

And I'm off work next week!!!! Whoop!!!

Work has been a relentless slog the last few weeks. Lots of people off sick and everyone else desperately trying to take their annual leave.

Same here, plus covering longer term vacancies. My kdrama viewing is also suffering but, like you, I find the thread cheering.

Thanks boaty ! People should be warned 😂

Lovely thread! I got given a persimmon drier for my birthday. I'd better find some persimmons to rot dry on it soon.
Has everyone finished MMH now? Can I grumble about the ending yet?

I’ve finished Pol. It wasn’t dreadful but I was underwhelmed.

I was cross Boaty. Totally unnecessary and then not even a reunion snog. And nothing had changed with regard to the unnecessary reason so what was even the point? Harrumph and waste of a final episode of an otherwise charming show.
But I should move on.

Yeah MMH had a poor final episode. Crammed it all in and missed a trick with the ML/FL finally resolving their relationship cleanly.

Im beginning the despise the "3 years later" trope.

Well I hadn’t got round to finishing MMH and am not sure I’ll bother now , I really really hate the 3 years later thing

Thank you Boaty for the new thread.

@polkettle I thought the last episode was not great- I would have quite happily just watched an hour of them being cute- it really didn't need any "drama" @fedupwithbriiiick yes I think that's my least favourite trope- I'm waiting for the drama where someone tries it, comes back to find the other lead has happily moved on and tells them to sling their hook.

[quote Hydrogensonata]**@polkettle* I thought the last episode was not great- I would have quite happily just watched an hour of them being cute- it really didn't need any "drama" @fedupwithbriiiick* yes I think that's my least favourite trope- I'm waiting for the drama where someone tries it, comes back to find the other lead has happily moved on and tells them to sling their hook.[/quote]
Oh yes! That should so happen. I could see it working in a show like Melo which made some quite bold plotting decisions. Maybe not the leads, but definitely another couple.

Into the Ring : I have just finished 1st episode & loving it.
Main leads are cute specially ML is easy in the eyes 😁
I work in local government, not in the similar teams but I work closely with customer services/complaints/democratic services. I am imaging my colleagues while watching this drama. I hope it stays interesting & fun.

MMH ending structure was slightly annoying to me too. I did enjoy it so much though, the two main character actors are good in everything I've seen so far.

I've started Racket Boys, it's perfect for a weekend binge before I finish Ep 9 & 10 of Nevertheless on Sunday.

Into the Ring made the list, Jin. You are on safe ground - it continues to deliver and provide compelling visuals. 👍