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!

Jesus wept. Episode 13 of Warm and Cozy. SOMEONE MAKE A FRIGGING DECISION ALREADY!!!

I'm skipping like a kangaroo now 😂

Ha ha Briiiiick it's a tad frustrating isn't it!

I found learning about the Haenyeo quite interesting though, and I'd love to buy that ramshackle house by the sea and do it up!

I’m back to Jirisan ep 1 after falling asleep the other night. Why send the guy with his arm in a sling out with the stretcher? Why?!?! It’s crackers. 😂

I’ve decided a quite like Jun Ji Hoon. He’s rocking his hiking gear as well as his Kingdom get-up.

Aaaand Jirisan just got a whole lot more interesting at the end of ep 1. 🙌 I thought it was going to be a fairly dull retread of the mountain rescue derring-do last seen in wooden snooze-fest Forest, all American hero-stylee and earnest in its sensibilities. But no! A strong whiff of the supernatural, a hint at a serial killer. Count me in!

I should have trusted the Koreans. It’s never “just” a romance, police procedural, courtroom drama. In kdrama we trust.

@boatyardblues

I should have trusted the Koreans. It’s never “just” a romance, police procedural, courtroom drama. In kdrama we trust.

👏👏👏

Thanks for all the J drama suggestions!
Caught up on Dali this morning- it's beautifully shot and easy to watch but I wish the FL would catch a break soon- the scene between ML and his Dad was very emotional- like @boaty said you think it's just a simple romcom but nope it's got emotional depth as well (although luckily no suprise serial killers yet!)
Undecided on the 2ml/villain- I feel like we need more back story/context on why he's obsessed with her & what he wants- Kwon Yul does make a very believable 2faced disturbing bad guy

The smoke machine technician in Jirisan is working overtime.

Undecided on the 2ml/villain- I feel like we need more back story/context on why he's obsessed with her & what he wants- Kwon Yul does make a very believable 2faced disturbing bad guy

I can’t think of a single drama where the poor guy isn’t a slightly dodgy 2ML!!

I am rather enjoying Dali and planning to get stuck into Jirisan (sounds like a loo cleaner) tonight as I do rather like yer man from Kingdom even if he’s swapped his zombie splattered robes for hiking gear

I've just watched the first episode of Jirisan, I thought it was brilliant! Can't wait to find out what's going on. The scenery in the show is amazing, I love the mountains 🗻

Yeah, I was definitely sold as soon as it stepped out of cookie cutter derring-do territory. Yer man off Kingdom is good in this, good to see him being slightly inept and naive because he so often plays cocky bastards.

Is Kim Young-Ok the busiest halmoeni in Korea! She seems to be in everything these days.

@Rowdythree

Is Kim Young-Ok the busiest halmoeni in Korea! She seems to be in everything these days.

She is definitely SK’s go-to granny.

Just finished Yumi's Cells. Well. That was a dull ending, although I didn't like Wung's character in it anyway as he was very stiff and a bit boring IMO. So enjoyed the Cells and can fully relate to the stomach cell methodology. 3 x stomach's for Food, Dessert and Alcohol :)

Aww, I quite like Woong, even though he probably wasn't the best boyfriend. I was still rooting for him 💪

Enjoying Hello, Me! this weekend but slightly worried that their allergen friendly idea for a new snack that anyone could eat is based on soya coated in sesame...

@polkettle I liked hello me
Mainly because I like Kim Young Kwan- he may not get many points for flexibility in Toppa trump's but he does have a very lovely smile

I like it too Hydrogen. Central conceit of living with one's younger self proving sweeter than I thought it would. And he does have a nice smile.

@AesopsMables

Just finished Yumi's Cells. Well. That was a dull ending, although I didn't like Wung's character in it anyway as he was very stiff and a bit boring IMO. So enjoyed the Cells and can fully relate to the stomach cell methodology. 3 x stomach's for Food, Dessert and Alcohol :)

Back when he was working & doing lots of business entertaining my Dad had a colleague who’d ask to see the dessert menu before ordering his started & main so he was sure of having room for his pud. 😆

I love is. especially enjoyed Mr Sunshine. Squealed when Lee Byung-hun appeared in Squid Game.

@polkettle I found the younger version really irritating but later on I warmed up to her- I like Choi Kang Hee as an actress too & I think it might be the first time I've seen Ji Seoung Hyun not as a villian- the central idea is really interesting- the whole thing really grew on me.
Thinking about it maybe I should give it a rewatch!

love is? love Korean drama ffs

[quote Hydrogensonata]@polkettle I liked hello me
Mainly because I like Kim Young Kwan- he may not get many points for flexibility in Toppa trump's but he does have a very lovely smile[/quote]
His lower versatility score would be offset by higher racehorse leg and amiability scores.

Welcome @Annonnimoouse42! I’m assuming you’re a new visitor, not a past one with a new nickname. Mr Sunshine was my entry drug, so I have a soft spot for Lee Byung-hun. I was pleased to see his cameo in Squid Game too.