MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #27): The one where global smash Squid Game launches kdrama into the stratosphere. 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/Netflix)*
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)
Hometown Cha Cha Cha (Viki)
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)/Couple on the Backtrack (Netflix)
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” 💩

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

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!

[quote Hydrogensonata]@FedUpWithBriiiiick have you got to the morning after outfit?
I know that's exactly what I wear to catch up on my sleep after pulling an all nighter....

Caught up on Yumis cells- Sae-Yi 😠 it was the smirk as she walked away that did it[/quote]
Just got that BWAHAHA!!!! Peachy... 🍑

Caught up on Yumis cells- Sae-Yi 😠 it was the smirk as she walked away that did it

Yep. What a snake! A poisonous one too.

Poor Cho-hui!!! We had a feeling this was a love triangle...

So something really bad happened because of poor Du-sik ☹️

He was an engineer. Do we think he was a civil engineer and one of his structures (eg road bridge) failed?

The guy who punched him asked if he worked is some Asset Management place. Investments gone wrong?

The preview didn't give much away except for what looked like a car crash with him and his hyung.

From Asset management firm … I am thinking Enron type scandal.
Or if it was engineering related then Fukushima/Chernobyl scale industrial incident?
But if it was in such a massive scale incident he would have been in the news. So it could be some small scale within company incident, which he could have prevented?

We have all those questions regarding delivery & post delivery.
I looked at a dress shirt again, it looks like shift/wrap dress, bed to brunch look. Untie & it’s baggy for a comfortable sleep. Tie the belt & you are ready to go on a date.

Whoever made a call if teacher likes the restaurant lady, I think it might be the case. (Conversation with her mother)

I can't wait to catch up on HCCC tonight! It sounds like the latest episodes are quite intriguing!

Still got ep8 of Yumi to watch too! So much good stuff to watch, but not enough time,

With Yumi I can’t work out if her bad cheating ex has made her too paranoid for a happy, trusting relationship. What’s clear is that Wung is a clueless tool and needs to wise up fast. I’m not convinced about idol/marketing chap. Given Yumi’s experience, she should be giving his cheating heart a swerve - all these overtures in spite of his girlfriend. (Does she exist?)

I’m behind on Yumi, partly because I know what happens and partly because I still haven’t warmed to ABH as Woong.
Babi’s gf does exist, and he’s not as dodgy as he’s painted - in the webtoon anyway.

I did lol when Woong turned up in Todays JoJo 😂

@bettys, have you got to Control Z in the Webtoon yet?

And so it begins…..
www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/2021/10/09/squid-game-without-deadly-penalties-games-based-on-netflix-show-to-be-held-in-abu-dhabi/

@Rowdythree no! 😲 is it good?

I went back & found the tongues bit I hadn’t read enough naughtiness until it 🤣

into it! Hasn’t realised what it jlllied

IMPLIED!!! Where the hell did jillied come from?

😂 @bettys! I can tell that episode had an effect on your ability to type! Control Z is a new character in the Yumiverse 😉

Well I've smashed my phone screen today so that is going to impact on my Drama viewing 😠🤬 luckily DH is out tonight so I can catch up on HCCC at least.Although I really want to watch more Beyond Evil!

Jin! 😯I am actually surprised that is happening! Maybe it will be a popular TV show everywhere, like Total Wipeout or Ninja Warrior!

When the Camellia blooms - part timer is really annoying me. I hate these type of characters.

CSI Miami references are funny 😄

I have found two real life kdrama fans at work 😱 thanks to Squid Game.
One is someone who I've worked with for 20 years but we have mostly been on opposite shifts recently so we were catching up and she asked if I'd watched it, turns out shes watched loads of kdrama and cdrama! Then a much younger colleague told us she used to have a massive thing for Lee Min Ho when she was a teenager and had lots of posters of him in her room.
Then we spent a pleasant few minutes googling pictures to decide our favourite PSJ 😁 (which is definitely Fight for my Way PSJ)
The advantage of working a Sunday shift and having time to have an actual conversation 🤣🤣🤣

Those sly Seoul dentists 😒

That's lovely TheGirl!

Turns out Coldplay were filming a My Universe thing more or less on my doorstep last night. I was oblivious but looks very pretty - lots of multicoloured globe lights with a local landmark backlit...

Ooh pol that's exciting!

Aha... For the Earthshot prize which will be broadcast at the weekend.

How exciting Pol!

"The idea that it came out of nowhere is this kind of like, Columbus discovered America. That something requires Western validation before it’s seen as worthy of notice,” said Wang Yuen
www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2021/10/11/why-does-the-success-of-squid-game-and-korean-pop-culture-continue-to-surprise-people.html

Rewatched Happy Marriage?! for some absolute brain numbing nonsense 😁