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!

Woo Do-Hwan gets his own WDH and a lot of thread love whenever he is in a new series. His was the stand-out performance of King: The Eternal Monarch. LMH spoiled it by taking himself too seriously (as per usual).

I’ll consider myself schooled FedUp. 😂

I’m all caught up with 25-21 now. Nam Joo-Hyuk is lovely in it and a great foil for Kim Tae-Ri’s bouncy Labrador character. I also loved her dance workout with Class 7’s pretty boy, who I agree has all the smooth moves. It’s got a great feel good vibe at the mo. I hope it doesn’t all turn to poo.

How could I forget the loaches? Brilliant scene. 🤣

Thank you everyone, I do think I should start making notes

I will make a note of the ones we just listed and stick them under the OP on the next thread for reference. We often lose track and have to ask each other for reminders, so I wouldn’t worry too much. 🙂

Cheers, boatyardblues.

Loach soup (mmmm!) also featuring in Flaw made me speculate about a PPL deal with the Korean Loach Marketing Board 😂

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60488623

I think @Bea might be responsible for about 26% of this 😁

@FedUpWithBriiiiick 😱😱😱😱😳😳😳😳 how do you know?? !!... Surreptitiously hiding all my merch!...

(there's a new lovely photobook out for pre order at the moment! I'm successfully ignoring it as I think UK / europe dates coming soon.. ish! - late last night Las Vegas stadium dates announced! To play 4 nights - which will undoubtedly be sold out! - down the road from where the Grammys are to be held the weekend before!.... What a flex! 😂😳😂😱😱😱💜💜💜💜💜💜🤯 😂😂😂😂😂😂

"She should be the first to know" NO SHIT SHERLOCK 🙄 (Thirty-nine)
Also Chan-Young should have known life wouldn't go well for her when she had the misfortune to be born to Korea's hardest working Sad Ahjumma actress.

I wrote a message yesterday night but it disappeared from my phone and I didn't have the heart to write it all out again.

My main add for the glossary is:

PHS - Park Hyung sik

Bea I hope you are right about UK dates!

Pol I too felt national pride stirring when good old Yeong Guk's trillion won weather budget was mentioned in Flaw.

I need to catch up with 25/21 but I think that is a task for my last day of isolation tomorrow. Now I going to take a look at Love and Leashes after having a bit of a Goblin fest yesterday. After lots of episodes where nothing much happened, it seemed like everything happened all at once in episode 12.

Best translated title of 2022 goes to Memory of Encaustic Tile.

I was a touch meh about 25/21 and wasn’t rushing to watch it but I’m now gripped. I spent the loach scene on the edge of my seat wondering if the fridge was going to be the white truck of doom for FL’s fencing career. 😬 I also enjoyed the alley conflab and realisation of connections.

Musique - PHS is safely noted with the others for posterity. I hope you enjoy your last day of captivity.

Only on episode 1 of 25/21 but enjoying so far in fits and starts over the last couple of days.

Still not sure how I'm supposed to believe Kim Tae-ri is 18...

Anyone else dying to read the Full House manhwa?

I noticed a Full House 2 described as a remake on Viki last night. Is it the Full House, adapted? It was quite old, like noughties, so it’s probably full of wonky sets and cheerful groping by the male characters.

And by groping, I mean wall-pinning, wrist grabbing, unwanted kissing and so on.

I luuuuuuuuurve the 2005 Full House drama with Rain.

Is it on one of our regular platforms FedUp or do we have to visit Olga?

@boatyardblues

Is it on one of our regular platforms FedUp or do we have to visit Olga?

It was on Netflix but it was taken down a while ago ☹️

@boatyardblues

And by groping, I mean wall-pinning, wrist grabbing, unwanted kissing and so on.

Yep, with a side order of emotional abuse. Leave your feminist principles at the door. AGAIN. 🤷‍♀️

Hmmm. I’ll pass.

Ohhh I'm loving Kim Tae-ri during the fencing scene in ep 2 of 25/21. She's proper fierce!

But she's definitely still not 18...