MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #30): In which we return to Korea from our January Japanese adventures

[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. We don’t promote them as they are peppered with pop-ups of “Olga” and friends offering a good time, but we can point you in the right direction. We also dip into Japanese, Taiwanese & Chinese drama as & when.

The previous thread is here but our list 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. Writer/actor Simon Pegg referred to it fondly as “tonal chaos” - it’s part of kdrama’s charm. View the categories below as best approximate & ask if you need guidance about suitability for younger viewers.

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 Name (Netflix)
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)*
The King’s Affection (Netflix)
The Red Sleeve (Viki)*

Romance - lighter & fluffier
Beating Again (Netflix)
Coffee Prince (Netflix)
Dali & the Cocky Prince (Viki)
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)
Yumi’s Cells (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)/Rain or Shine (Netflix)*
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, Netflix)*

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)*
Hospital Playlist 2 (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)
Would You Like a Cup of Coffee (Viki)*

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)*
Happiness* (Viki)
Hotel del Luna (Viki/Netflix)*
King: The Eternal Monarch (Netflix)
Kingdom (Netflix)*
Kingdom: Ashin of the North (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)
In House Marriage Honey (Viki, Japanese)
In Time With You (Viki - Japanese)
Instead of Tipsy Why Not Get Drunk (Viki, Chinese)
Lost Romance (Viki, Taiwanese)
Love O2O (Viki, Chinese)
Million Yen Women (Netflix, Japanese)
Morning Call (Netflix, Japanese)
My Little Happiness (Viki, Chinese)
Put Your Head on My Shoulder (Netflix, Chinese)
Rinko Wants To Try (Viki)
Some Day or One Day (Viki, Taiwanese)
The Romance of Tiger & Rose (Viki, Chinese)
To Fly with Me (Viki, Chinese)
Tientsin Mystic (Netflix, Chinese)
You Are My Hero (Viki, Chinese)*

AVOID aka “the shit list” 💩

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

Posters’ Top Scoring 2021 Dramas
Courtesy of Hello’s kdrama spreadsheet, updated by thread regulars. Marks out of 10.

1. The Red Sleeve - 10 (2 votes, more pending)
2. Happiness - 9 (6 votes)
3. Devil Judge - 8.75 (3 votes)
4. Squid Game - 8.63 (12 votes)
5. Navillera - 8.57 (7 votes)

2020’s top scoring dramas
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 sometimes resort to acronyms and/or abbreviations of show titles or favourite actors’ names. 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!

instagram.com/houseofpinsshop?utm_medium=copy_link
This is their Instagram

I caught an ‘in loving memory’ bit in the credits for Kim Mi Soo at the end of ep 10. She’s the FL’s protester roommate. Only 29. 😞

edition.cnn.com/style/article/kim-mi-soo-dead-intl-scli/index.html

[quote boatyardblues]I caught an ‘in loving memory’ bit in the credits for Kim Mi Soo at the end of ep 10. She’s the FL’s protester roommate. Only 29. 😞

edition.cnn.com/style/article/kim-mi-soo-dead-intl-scli/index.html[/quote]
That's so sad.

I remember reading about that, so sad

Whimsical animation studios must make a fortune from romance k-drama opening credits.

@polkettle

sidles in with shifty eyes Love and Leashes has dropped and somebody has to watch it so I'm going in. Noble me.

I'm watching it purely because it has the same male lead as in Let Me Be Your Knight which so far I've totally failed to convince anyone else to watch. I'm expecting to see a bit more of him in Love and Leashes at any rate.

The Girl you are having a BTS kind of day then! I've only seen Bon Voyage 1 so far, I'm interspersing it with newer stuff so I'm on In the Soop at the moment. Very lovely t-shirt too :)

Brambly, I've not watched any Cdrama but I can only think of one period scene in a Kdrama, in Nevertheless. An interesting cultural difference.

Boaty Kim Jae wook is definitely being the strong and silent type. Lots of brooding glances going on.

Bettys thanks for alerting me that Forecasting Love and Weather is on Netflix! I've been looking forward to that one if only to see just how thrilling they can make meteorology.

I've had a busy day making tricolour jelly, spending obscene amounts of money on sweets and icing a fennec fox themed cake. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow head in hands, oh god

I love hall Director Pi. She’s crazy like a fox. A woman with no fucks left to give. Yes, Snowdrop has eaten a fair chunk of my day. 😄

@FedUpWithBriiiiick

Whimsical animation studios must make a fortune from romance k-drama opening credits.

Yes. There are plenty of really good ones, but I liked the Mr Queen intro animation best. So original and beautiful.

Oh no Musique that sounds like a children's birthday party 🤪
Have you got some gin in to recover afterwards?

As it was being discussed on here recently, I've started watching Because This Is My First Life. I'm really enjoying it. I liked Lee Min-ki in The Beauty Inside but it was quite a while ago that I saw it so had forgotten how watchable he is.
I'm still making my way through Possessed with DH and it's still rather uneven and not really working but it did have a real laugh out loud moment in the last episode we watched (in amongst a high body count, which remains a regular feature).
Glad to say children's parties are a thing of the past for me Musique. Best of luck (or should I say "fighting"?).

I’ve just realised that I’ve been played. I’m meant to be transfixed with Jung Hae In’s lovely arms. The penny dropped that it is wintry, every other character is in jumpers and overcoats but JHI has done the last 10 episodes in a black t-shirt. And very nice it is too.

Rowdythree I am finding All Of Us Are Dead a bit difficult to plough through, and I really don't know why. I adore zombies.

MusiqueAutomatique I absolutely loved Coffee Prince and like you, binged my way through it. Poor Yoon Eun-Hye must have been dehydrated after filming, she spend a lot of time crying.

This afternoon, I was going to watch the last episode of Goblin but I couldn't. I just don't want it to end. I want to see it all, I had the tissues all prepared, but I just couldn't. What is the matter with me?

Declaring first episode of Twenty-five Twenty-one both entirely unsurprising and completely satisfactory ☺️

Is it me or there are no historical Jdramas?
I have seen Chinese & Korean period/costume/SageUk dramas but never came across any Japanese. Is it because they still have monarchy & nobody dates to offend the royal family?

February looks promising… quite a lot of interesting stuff.

I am watching Trial Marriage on Olga. Translation is quite poor so I am doing a quite a lot of guessing. So far in the story it’s a contract engagement & ML doesn’t know that.

This afternoon, I was going to watch the last episode of Goblin but I couldn't. I just don't want it to end. I want to see it all, I had the tissues all prepared, but I just couldn't. What is the matter with me?

meth I do this too, I don't want to let go of a series I've really enjoyed so I put off watching the final episode, very strange. I've still got the final episode of The Red Sleeve to watch, but I just can't bring myself to watch it!

DD and I are watching Train To Busan tonight, I can't wait 🧟🧟‍♀️

Musique forgot to say, good luck with the Kids birthday party! Your not my sister in law are you? It's my dn's party tomorrow 😆

Rowdythree It is weird, but I have loved it so much, I shall be bereft when I do finish it. Oh Train to Busan is just fabulous, the best zombie film around. Gong Yoo running around looking delicious. Hope you and your DD enjoy it.

JinBhoot I don't know about Jdrama but film wise the Rurouni Kenshin series based on the manga novels of the same name springs to mind. Enjoyable but rather different from Korean period dramas, the action and swordfighting scenes tend to dominate. I'd be interested to know if they're typical or whether Japan produces anything in a more similar vein to Kdrama.

Episode 16 of Sharpshooter we finally have a kiss on the hand! 😍

meth we will enjoy it, Ice cream tubs at the ready!

The Girl, Prestel and Rowdy, how did you guess? Yes, a birthday party at home with eleven children. It's going to be noisy! I will probably have a nice strong martini afterwards to recover The Girl. I don't think I'm your s-i-l Rowdy but I hope your dn has a good one.

Metheven, I am enjoying it greatly but as usual I can't see how they keep it going for the rest of the episode run. I expect something dramatic to happen soon.

I forgot to update you with last night's viewing, a film called Thirst from 2009 that we watched on DVD. It was directed by Park Chan-wook who did Old Boy and the The Handmaiden amongst other films.

If you like films about Catholicism, vampires and Korea then it's probably the movie for you. It stars Song Kang-ho who is the poor dad in Parasite as a Catholic priest who inadvertently becomes a vampire and becomes involved with a young woman. There is sex. There is blood. There is Song Kang-ho mortifying a very particular part of his flesh with a recorder.

It also had Rosa from Hospital Playlist. I've only ever seen the poor woman surrounded by priests. Anyway, I enjoyed it but felt it was about thirty minutes too long and I got a bit inured to the blood in the end. Light and fluffy romance it was not.

Right, I'm off to watch a romcom in English!

The elite sharpshooters in Snowdrop are surprisingly bad shots (which is helpful for keeping key cast members viable, but not very believable).

The first episode of Forecasting Love and Weather (FLW) was good. Not as light and fluffy as I expected it. It's a bit more slice of life than PMY's most recent Rom-com output.

Anyone else?

Also watching a j-drama round Olga's called Okane no kireme ga koi no hajimari which is proving enjoyable so far. Only 4 episodes but they are loooooong.

@FedUpWithBriiiiick

Also watching a j-drama round Olga's called Okane no kireme ga koi no hajimari which is proving enjoyable so far. Only 4 episodes but they are loooooong.

(Long for j-dramas I mean)