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!

@boatyardblues

Omo! Two pensioner halmeonis hairpulling, yahhing and a Glasgow kiss! 😱 That’s a first!

I've not been watching much of late, but I had to come on and say this is now on my list 😂

Musique I'm sorry you've got the covid! Fingers crossed you're not ill with it!

pol awful about the woman killed near you, commiserations to anyone else that's suffered storm damage.

Irridium hello and welcome to the thread 👋

I thought DH and I had reached the end of We are all Dead, but it turns out we still have 2 more episodes to go. I am really enjoying it now, it took a while for me to get into it.

Right, the ML in Miss Granny is Lee Jin Wook not Kang Ha-Neul - I got them mixed up. I saw Lee Jin Wook in I Need Romance 2, which had a very jdrama sensibility IYKWIM. 👌

I'm in complete kdrama desert at the moment... Not really watching anything new that sets my heart on fire... Not watching Flaw yet as will binge... Not in mood for historical as I've overdosed on it recently!... Sigh! 😭😭😔😔😔😔

Miss Granny fun and uplifting Bea. It more than meets your brief for a well turned-out ending. Good cameo too.

Thanks @boatyardblues!... I'll give it a spin! 😁👍

I’ve been having a nose around the Korean Indie selection on Apple Music. Code Kunst is today’s find. Laid back hip hop with lots of collaborations with other artists I like. 👌

Also reporting back on non-Korean kimchi as I’ve had to resort to other sources due to the storm. Our Sainsburys stocks Vadasz raw kimchi: good crunchiness but vinegary, salty, harsh spicing but weirdly not “hot”. I couldn’t eat this raw (as opposed to in kimchi stew) like I do with the Korean brands. Yukata Korean Kimchi in a jar/long life - has that canned soup twang and is floppy textured.

I have a whole afternoon to myself, bliss!
Miss Granny and 39 Steps on the schedule for today. Making Galbi Jjim for dinner.

Thanks everyone for the get well messages, it feels like a heavy cold so far. I'm still positive (can''t go to work on Monday, yay!) but everyone else is currently negative. I've been creeping around my own house wearing a mask and feeling like a burglar whilst the rest of the family are out on a walk.

Ramen with an egg for lunch and now I'm going to settle down with Thirty Nine after spending too much of the morning watching videos of Otsukare.

That's terrible about the women up the road from you Pol. The storm was pretty violent.

Boaty thanks for the Miss Granny hint, sounds like something my DH would enjoy. Hope your LFT tests remain negative despite your dissing of Sung Dong Il .

Oh, and hi Irridium!

Enjoy your afternoon Aesops.

I've had that Yukata kimchi and didn't like it much Boaty. I've been meaning to ask what everyone's favourite brands are.

Thanks chingus.
Just had a lovely bookshop browse and picked up some great looking translated Korean and Japanese fiction. I feel my long lost reading mojo returning (phew). But after a fruitless search for Korean poetry in translation I happened upon this website. Were you looking for some too Boaty? Just had a perfunctory browse but it looks like a wonderful resource. jaypsong.blog/page/2/

@AesopsMables

I have a whole afternoon to myself, bliss! Miss Granny and 39 Steps on the schedule for today. Making Galbi Jjim for dinner.

That’s a perfect afternoon! 🙂

Thanks pol! Yes, I was looking for some translated poetry. I will check that site out.

DH and I had a good nose around the new South East Asian grocer’s this afternoon. We bought an armload of decent kimchi (Bibigo), a selection of mochi after DS1 expressed interest, a jar of that runny yuzu lemon conserve for making lemon tea, some frozen mandu and a pack of shredded dried squid after I explained to DH how it is used as a beer snack. I also told him that various shows have made a thing about dried squid stinking out pockets and handbags etc in (full disclosure). He still seems keen so we’ll crack the packet open later and report back.

I thought the writers of Miss Granny landed a few quiet punches about soulless manufactured kpop bands and harked after simpler times. Oh Du-Ri was spot on with her advice to the metal band about there being no point enjoying playing if your audience aren’t enjoying listening.

The curling final and DIY have prevented me from watching any K drama so far today! I'm just sitting down to watch A Time to Remember on Viki. A bitesize drama about a guy who remembers everything and a girl who can't remember much. It's easy to watch and has nice scenery so far. I also like the music in the opening scenery

Public Service Announcement! 📯📯📯
Ep 3 of FLAW starts with Song Kang in the shower 👀👀👀

Hahaha. I can’t be the only one who is happy that cheatin’ 2ML’s marriage is already fraught and miserable.

In FLAW, that is.

Yeah they both look like they are regretting that marriage 😂

Miss Granny is great Boaty, I love it so far!

Thoroughly enjoying FLAW
Also enjoying On the Verge of Insanity

Sleepless in Seattle in on TV … we can easily have a K version.
FL will be idol trainee or school teacher.
Who will play the lead roles 🤔

Well, Miss Granny is exactly my sort of film. Absolutely brilliant and rounded off nicely by the cameo at the end. DH and I watched in different rooms and texted each other but it wasn't quite the same.

I am looking forward to episodes 2 and 3 of FLAW, thanks for the warning The Girl.

I enjoyed episode 1 of Thirty Nine earlier, nice to see the ML from My Shy Boss again. I enjoyed the relationships between the three friends (although the idea that any of them need fillers is ridiculous) but I got lost in the bit where they were teenagers, I couldn't figure out who was who. The last scene was totally romantic.

Watching Thirty-Nine I kept wondering if SYJ has had work on her nose since CLOY. It need to go back and watch a bit of CLOY to compare as it seems more contoured either side of the tip, but it could just be lighting and being shot from an awkward angle. Either way, it’s a very dainty, shapely nose now.

Dh and I have just finished We're all dead, episode 11 was so sad. I've also had 3 espresso martinis so I'm not expecting to get much sleep 😬

Musique that's what DH and I did when I had covid, not quite the same as watching together, but the best thing to do given the circumstances.

How are you feeling Musique?

I don’t want to jinx things, but I don’t seem to have caught COVID from my contact. Today is 5 days since we spent time together at close quarters. I’m keeping everything crossed but continue to do LFTs in the run up to seeing vulnerable family.