MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #31): After a kdrama dry January, a bounteous February glut saw the carousing begin!

[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, AppleTV and Disney+. 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)

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

So, current rankings @ 21.15ish today:

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 yes it was me praising the barking, he does a sterling job. I just wish Love and Leashes had been a bit more, um, how can I put it, raunchy?

If only Business Proposal was available to binge, rather than two episode a week, but it is great fun.

Thanks for the recommendation, I shall put Into the Ring onto my ever growing list. At this rate, I shan't leave the house again until June.

The Other Miss Oh was also unexpectedly enjoyable. The screenwriters’ solution to creating a scenario for forced intimacy between the two leads was genius.

Thank you, I shall look at that too. I really want to watch So I Married the Anti-fan but don't have Viki yet. I am holding off on getting it because I honestly am finding it difficult to actually do anything - all I want to do is watch kdrama. And that is just with Netflix. If I get Viki I'm not sure I would ever see sunlight ever again.

Save your pennies. I would not be taking out a Viki subscription for Anti Fan*. It did not ignite the thread.

• Though there are many, many good shows on Viki it would be worth subscribing for.

Well that is good to know, thanks. I think I probably will subscribe eventually, but not for now. Are there any kdramas on Disney+? I will get a few months of that to catch up on The Walking Dead soon.

Snowdrop is already on Disney+ in the UK. Grid with Seo Kang Joon is currently airing in other regions. Snowdrop is pretty dark in places but very well done (ignoring the technicolour saccharine overkill of the first couple of episodes).

When I get Disney+ then, I shall watch Snowdrop. I'm not opposed to dark, although my default programme is definitely fluffy and sweet, which is very strange because I am neither, just ask my husband

Episode 8 of FLAW was good but Yoo-jin wearing a wool vest during a heatwave was very distracting.

@boatyardblues

Save your pennies. I would not be taking out a Viki subscription for Anti Fan*. It did not ignite the thread.

• Though there are many, many good shows on Viki it would be worth subscribing for.

💯 don't get it for Anti-fan.

💯^ do get it for WWWSK, Melo is my Nature, Rinko-san wants to try^ and the plethora of delightful C-dramas 😁

FedUpWithBriiiiick you are a very bad influence, I like it

@FedUpWithBriiiiick

Episode 8 of FLAW was good but Yoo-jin wearing a wool vest during a heatwave was very distracting.

I thought the same. I can only conclude she got coffee down her t-shirt over breakfast or it was too see-through for work, and that bare arms are a no-no (otherwise why not take a layer off).

Has Song Kang "noona-ed" PMY yet? I'm waiting for that wee swoon moment 😍

I’m wondering whether PMY will panic or style it out when she and SK eventually get busted.

@FedUpWithBriiiiick

Boaty he's a absolute fucking wab, as they say here...

I haven't disliked a character this much in ages! What an absolute shitbag 😡

@FedUpWithBriiiiick

Has Song Kang "noona-ed" PMY yet? I'm waiting for that wee swoon moment 😍

I am also waiting for that! I wonder what the age gap is supposed to be! I love these two together, so sweet in the final scenes of ep8 🥰

In ep1 I thought Song Kang was like an annoying little kid, but his character has really grown on me.

I did feel sorry for Forecaster Um, although I liked his style of eating all the banchan and drinking all the beer 😆

I'll catch up on FLAW tomorrow (rearranging picture books in shops you say?? Ahahahaha) but 25/21 just so good. I love the complexity of the characters - Yu-rim and the mum. It would have been so easy to make Heedo be the poor girl. The writing I expect from Search WWW writer.
But frustrated that I can't look ahead for spoilers like when I watched Reply as the "who's the dad?"/how can they end up together thing is distracting me.
Oh dear, I think I may have to buy more ink to complete Positively Yours now. Although as they just snog each other's faces off and tumble into bed every episode I'm not sure why I need to do more than just keep rereading the same one over...

I'm all caught up with 25/21 and now am a bit disappointed in myself that I've binged all available episodes. Completely agree on the 'happy tank' boaty! It's beautiful and Kim Tae-ri's exuberance is joyful. Her mum is so cold though. Ice queen. 😳

Pol who on earth would do such a ghastly, self promoting thing as to bring forward one's own books in a shop? Honestly.

Absolutely no-one I know FedUp No-one. Uh uh.

I'm all up to date with 25/21 it's so good! All the characters are interesting and I need to know how things work out for all of them!

@boatyardblues... I'm sorry to inform you but you'll just have to start at the very beginning... As Julie Andrews says! 😂😂😂
Honestly... You can't predict as their back catalogue is sooo huge!!... Think they'll stick to group songs.. Similar to the recent LA set... As it's a sort of "welcome back!" performance!... 🥳🥳🥳

open.spotify.com/playlist/4S08POEOqVqtWrkLbM924d?si=rsIs9RoYR3G_2nghoytDQQ&utm_source=copy-link... This should keep you busy! About 16 hours worth! 👍

Slowly making my way through FLAW though still on early eps..
Please tell me ex gets more pathetic as it goes on! He's ridiculous! I'm glad pmy isn't having any of it! 👍😂

FOMO 25/21 … I was saving it for Nay but will start as Insta keeps showing me clips as well.

@Metheven

Thank you, I shall look at that too. I really want to watch So I Married the Anti-fan but don't have Viki yet. I am holding off on getting it because I honestly am finding it difficult to actually do anything - all I want to do is watch kdrama. And that is just with Netflix. If I get Viki I'm not sure I would ever see sunlight ever again.

This is exactly why I don’t subscribe to Viki BUT I downloaded the app and have limited access to shows (Chinese & Japanese) I don’t know how it works but it does on my phone.

Occasionally I have been to Olga to watch popular Kdramas.

Jin I almost wish I hadn't started, as now I can't wait until Saturday! I don't have the patience for weekly dramas (although managed with Hometown Cha Cha Cha).