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!

Hi Metheven, welcome! There are plenty of K dramas on Netflix to keep you going. Disney+ do have some K dramas but they're not available in the UK yet.

You won't regret getting Goblin, it's very good, and it has the lovely Gong Yoo in of course!

Thanks Rowdythree I think Netflix will keep me going for a good while.

Yes, Gong Yoo is a major attraction for Goblin, can't wait for it to arrive.

Sorry about your squished car Rowdy ☹️ Can you not get a new one on PPL if you promise to show off its heated seats, automatic parking and Bluetooth capabilities?
Hi Metheven! 👋

Hi polkettle , thanks for the welcome.

Post gym bath beckons.

What to watch... what to watch... 🤔

When I say gym, I mean 45 minutes walking on the treadmill and a literal 5 minutes on the cross trainer reenacting Bill Murray in Lost in Translation…

I need a reconfiguration. Melo is My Nature it is 💪

Welcome @Metheven! I love it when new people find the thread. Glad to have you here. 🙂 As you love Korean zombies I can’t believe no one has mentioned Kingdom (2 seasons on Netflix) and it’s spin-off prequel (to be watched after) Ashin of the North yet. Also, if you can run to £3-4 per month a Viki subscription is well worth it. Goblin is available on Viki, for example.

Thanks boatyardblues it's great to be here.

Ooh, more zombies, thanks, I shall put that on my ever growing list of things to watch.

I was wondering about geting a Viki subscription, but wasn't sure I could watch it in the UK.

Yes, it’s available in the UK. Some content is not available in the UK region but they’ve added a button to the app where you can tell them you want it if it’s not available in your region. There is lots of content on there. The subtitling is done by volunteer teams which can be a bit frustrating for currently airing shows if the subbing team is slow. However, the subbing is much more faithful to Korean culture and relational terms. The subbers sometimes add translator notes (TN) in brackets to explain culture points or a linguistic point like a pun or switch to informal grammar (rude or more intimate depending on situation). Many of us prefer it to the Netflix approach of glossing over all relational terms and shifts in formality.

Another thing about Viki, I’m logged in on both my phone and our AppleTV. It’s fine with it. I find the phone app more user friendly for browsing content.

Oh that sounds great, I will definitely think about getting that. I have found some of the Netflix subtitles a bit clunky, not exactly flowing well.

I feel like I have opened up a whole new world of tv!

Welcome @Metheven, make your self at home.

Oh @Rowdythree what a bummer.

Anyone celebrating Chinese New Year 🧧?
Happy year of Tiger.

Thanks @JinBhoot

Welcome Metheven 👋.

I'm going to try to finish last two eps of Our Beloved Summer. If I can stay awake.

Well done on the job Musique

Hi Metheven 👋 welcome!
Sorry about your car Rowdy

Thanks everyone for the well wishes! It's been a big relief to finally tell everyone at work. I've known I was leaving for seven weeks but it's taken ages to go through all the pre-employment checks.

Welcome Metheven, it is indeed a whole new world and a whole new culture to explore :)

Boaty I'm going to put forward my suggestion of "Least Convincing CGI Tiger" as a category again because (a) I am convinced there will be some more this year and (b) well, it is the year of the tiger.

Rowdy that is rubbish about your car, I hope the insurance claim goes smoothly. I think I might give Just Between Lovers a go, I need some nice hair to look at! What is is on?

We had episode 8 of The Red Sleeve and Million Yen Women tonight and goodness me, the drama! Poor Deok Im having to rely on an elderly king's memory was a wonderful scene. Slightly intimidated by the fact that I still have 12 episodes to go though.

Boaty I'm going to put forward my suggestion of "Least Convincing CGI Tiger" as a category again because (a) I am convinced there will be some more this year and (b) well, it is the year of the tiger.

I think this might be a flash in the pan thing, unless we leave it as a ‘least convincing CGI’ category, which allows for the possibility that tigers will have gone out of fashion next year. 😄

The “Happy man” from Birthcare Centre was 2ML in The King’s Affection I’m sure of it, but it’s not listed in his works on Viki. Is there a bit of sour grapes between Viki and Netflix?

Is this him boaty??

If so then he was in Birthcare Centre

Wotcha Metheven! If you like zombies you’ll love Kingdom and then want to watch more Ju Jihoon…

I’ve finished DrBrain , I wanted more cat stuff, daft though it was. Apple TV then rolled onto Invasion which just served to remind me why I don’t watch many UK/US productions these days.

That’s pants about your car Rowdy 😡

@bettys

Is this him boaty??

If so then he was in Birthcare Centre

Yes, that’s him.

Yes, sorry to hear about your car Rowdy. It’s such a headache. A street tree fell on our neighbour’s car in high winds a few years ago. She treated herself to a lovely shiny new car when the insurance was finally settled. About six weeks later joy riders in a stolen car lost control and crashed into her shiny new parked car and wrote it off. 🤦‍♀️ She was so pissed off.

Viki only ever lists works that are on Viki. Which is annoying. On the other hand if you need to know an actor's blood group it's got your back.

@polkettle

Viki only ever lists works that are on Viki. Which is annoying. On the other hand if you need to know an actor's blood group it's got your back.

True. But they fail to say whether they are Rh+ or Rh-, which means we can’t determine whether our preferred oppas would be suitable donors in a country short on Rh- population and supply.

If you established one was a rhesus negative match you'd just have to keep him for emergency use on the back seat of the car throughout your trip.