MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #32): Spring is in the air, it’s blossom season and the BinJin wedding was lovely. Happiness abounds!

[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 actively 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)*
Snowdrop (Disney+)
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)
Pachinko (AppleTV)
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)
Business Proposal (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)
Twenty-five Twenty-one (Netflix)*
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)*

On The Verge of Insanity (Viki)
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, writers, film and music when the mood takes us. We have some ARMY (BTS fans) among our regulars. Some 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!

While we're on the subject, although kdrama has a lot of hot assassins to choose from I think Japan's Takeru Satoh* *as Himura Kenshin in the Rurouni Kenshin films is probably my favourite example of the genre.

Prestel I don't think I have seen any Japanese films, other than Battle Royale. I shall keep a look out for the Rurouni Kenshin ones.

Nothing. NOTHING beats Gu Dong-mae for long hair robe sexiness.

Which drama is this from?

100% Briiiiick 👌

I shall definitely look out for that Japanese film though *Prestel

Aesops your evening sounds top notch! I wish I could do the same (with both wine and twiglets!) I won't get any peace and quiet for the rest of the day, so I'm going to get up early and watch the next episodes of Our Blues and OLN in the morning

Mr Sunshine Metheven. Oh my, you have a treat ahead if you’ve not watched it yet.

I’ve just had a bowl of Ritz crackers topped with sweet chilli Philadelphia, some nacho cheese Doritos and 2 glasses of dry riesling for my evening meal. I think it’s safe to say I am not low carbing but I probably should be.

Thanks boatyardblues another for my list.

Gu Dong-mae is definitely right up there in the hot assassin stakes. I especially enjoyed his judo moves as a former (not very accomplished) judoka myself.

I’m giving Shitting Stars (can’t do the original asterisks, I’m too juvenile) on Viki a whirl. It’s not what I expected. It has the potential for great mischief and resultant fireworks.

Episode 4 of Pachinko is a thing of absolute beauty.

Shitting Stars 😁

Yes will be watching this week too

It’s got legs, FedUp.

I must get back to Pachinko. DH can catch up in his own time.

We are half way through Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. It is mentioned so often in Kdrama discussions that we thought we should watch it.
We are enjoying it - especially the scenes of Bong Soon showing her strength - and Park Hyung-sik is a good looking fellow.
The ‘poo soup’ scenes were a bit grim, but then I’ve noticed that lavatorial humour sometimes features in Kdrama.
I’m not over impressed by Jisoo’s acting - incidentally, he must have nearly finished his military service so I wonder what will become of him.

I watched Pachinko ep 7 on Friday….it featured LMH’s character back story and a whole piece of Japanese history I knew nothing about 😨
However is it going to be more than one series? There’s no way it can all be wrapped up in one more episode

Have been catching up with Again My Life On Viki and also plan to watch Shitting Stars - either a tongue in cheek deliberate ploy or a bad mistake for a title! 😂

I am not sure Jisoo will escape his school bullying scandal which had a sexual component towards younger children if I recall right. Grim.

It’s really Shooting Stars but shows as Sh**ting Stars on the Viki menu. It’s possible the schedulers at Viki are unaware this is how the British media get swears into print. But you know that…

Hello filthy noona chingus! I've had a nice weekend of seeing friends and drinking cos it was my birthday. One of my presents was a tiny 108 piece Jimin jigsaw 😍. It's v v mini. We did attempt it on Saturday night but it was too hard we were too drunk
I 100% concur that Dong Mae is the best long hair long robe assassin type
I am totally a filthy noona but would be mortified to meet any of them in real life 😅

Happy birthday!!! Jimin jigsaw in tiny sounds fun 🤩

Happy birthday Thegirl 🎂 The teeny Jimin puzzle sounds amazing!

All the little things and efforts Gu is putting in in MLN are giving me all the feels 😍

Me too. It’s so restrained that I have struggled to parse the meaning of some exchanges or events. I have now concluded that Gu’s angry thrash around in ep 5 (when we first sighted his empties collection) was because the idea that someone had taken an interest in him and he couldn’t just slide into oblivion was really confronting for him. It has created an accountability of sorts. It’s so cleverly written. I like that I have to think about it.

@AesopsMables I was like "okay, in Korea they have a tool for removing ear wax and doing it for your husband is a thing" 🤔The housekeeper!! Grandmarella? Pregnancies!! Ghosts, now Grim Reapers next? Bring it on😂Honestly, this is my fav show, the bonkers level is sooo high . What's with all the farting talk, is it a SKorean thing?🙄

Happy Birthday TheGirl! Sending you seaweed soup and an elaborate cream and fruit topped cake.
Still got the weekend's MLN and Pachinko to catch up on (so many treats) but up to date on Our Blues and just loving the quality. This patchwork story telling really works and while short term outcome of pregnancy storyline predictable given domestic audience, I thought the emotional nuances and different perspectives so far were actually surprisingly well handled.

Totally agree Pol. The quality of Our Blues storytelling (helped in huge quantities by fantastic cast) is superb. All those mystery back stories and flashbacks could be confusing if it wasn't being handled so well in the omnibus style.

I was going to do housework first, but the mopping can wait. I'm going watch the latest ep of Our Blues first