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!

Right, I’m back to answer my own question. There are numerous versions of Cuando cuando cuando/Quando quando quando on Apple Music. The closet version to Our Blues is Tony Renis’ Italian version.

On S-Korean plastic surgery
Has anyone else been extremely surprised at how different some actors/actresses looked before plastic surgery? I decided to google the hot actor playing Dong Ma, whose abs are on display multiple times in LftMD and honestly would not have recognised him from some of his old photos. I remember my DS, who used to work in Busan, telling me that in S-K a hot guy marries a gorgeous girl, then the children are born.....surprise!😳
There's actually an actress whose overdone, staring eyes I find so off putting that I can't look at anything she's in.😫
Kudos on their skincare tho!

Gotta say I love Kim Seul Gi’s cameo in Shitting Stars - Happy Beam!😄 She’s definitely one for Girls Night Out (separate event from the Pub Oppa Night)

💩⭐️is a bit uneven but definitely has potential

Have you got to the fag break scene yet? I thought it was perfection. 👌

Yes!! 😂😂 Just brilliant!

Alai started the new Park Hae Jin one Showtime - so far shaping up much better than that ghastly Forest plus the FL is Jin Ki Joo who is usually great

Mind you the special effects are a bit Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)

Ah boaty that sounded like a marvelous dream!!
I have watched zero telly at all this week but I have watched the trailer of the new Psy single That That (produced and featuring Suga) a silly number of times today 😂

Do you have a link to hand?

And yes, the NJH dream was amazing. It was annoying to wake up to reality. I encourage you all to work on inviting NJH into your dreams. He was lovely sightseeing company and the perfect gentleman. It was definitely a kdrama dream, no naughty jdrama content.

I shall have a word with my brain to see if it can manage a NJH dream 😍

And here's an interview of them both talking about it ☺️

Ah, I’d found the interview and a different clip of the MV by googling but I like the crowd dance clip. I suspect we’ll all be heartily sick of this track by the end of the summer. 🤣

Tiny jimin jigsaw completed! With photocard for scale.

Gah! All of the shows I'm watching at the mo are weekenders, so nothing to look forward to mid-week.

I know I should probably just stagger the watching through the week, but I can't hold my own piss 😁

Same Briiiiick, I'm still working my way through One Spring Night and Start Up in the week but I want something new and shiny too! I can't wait for Our Blues and MLN over the weekend 🤗

Cute puzzle Thegirl ❤️

Addicted! 💃

I've just discovered Showtime on Viki, which although it airs at the weekend could easily be left to midweek with Shitting Stars

It's catchy AF 🤠

Missing the point but I love Yoongi's Nikes!

Those are dope!!! 🤩😎

OMG, earworm central! It’s worse than omicron. I’m humbled by the realisation I’d be more Psy on the dancefloor than Suga. 🤣

There is NOTHING wrong with that.



Me too 😍. I normally have to listen to a song a few times before I decide if I like it or not, but I loved this immediately!

You know it's a good music video when it makes you laugh out loud.

1. When Suga drops from the sky with the eagle noise.
2. When he and Psy do the air face slapping in time to the beat of the song.
3. When Gangnam Style era-Psy is dying in Suga's arms
4. The choreography with their heads in the car.
5. When they do a lover's toast with beer in dimple pint mugs.

I'm hoping it's a big worldwide hit, too many pop songs take themselves way too seriously.

Right, time to stop watching That That on repeat and crack on with the K-drama!

Thanks for the birthday wishes too everyone 😃

I'm just going to add to this and say I love Min Yoongi 😍😍 the more I watch the video the more I like it, so much fun 🤠