MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #33): So much good content airing just now our Filthy Noonas’ hearts are fit to burst like squashed frogs on a country road

[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 a star 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. Happiness - 9
3. Devil Judge - 8.75
4. Squid Game - 8.63
5. Navillera - 8.57

2020’s top scoring dramas
1 - Mr Queen - 9.4
2 - Parasite - 9.05
3 - It's Okay To Not Be Okay - 8.88
4 - The Uncanny Counter - 8.50
5 - Once Again - 8.42

2019’s top scoring dramas:

1. Her Private Life - 9.40
2. Melo is My Nature - 9.00

3.= Crash Landing On You, The Crowned Clown, The Lies Within, and The Tale of Nokdu - 8.75

1. Hotel del Luna - 8.50

5.= Romance is a Bonus Book, and Search: WWW - 8.17

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!

@MigsandTiggs I think it's one of those multi-balms that are supposed to be amazing for hydration. They are never subtle about it 😂

Migs and Quirky it's the KAHI wrinkle bounce moisturizing balm stick.

Up there with the Dyson 11 and Kopiko coffee sweets as an iconic PPL item.

One of the webtoons I was reading earlier had a Dyson 11 in it! 🤣

IS NO MEDIA SAFE FROM THE CLUTCHES OF JAMES FUCKING DYSON??!!

Thank you @boatyardblues for the link, and @FedUpWithBriiiiick for identifying the balm stick.

Just started half heartedly to watch eve on viki! It looks very very intriguing! It's full on DRAMA! only half way through ep 1 but I'm very curious! Seems to be full of psychos and horribly rich! There's hints of affairs! Murder! Corruption! Entitled rich elite! Bullying! Revenge! I'll be following where it goes! 😱👍🏼

Can I get the link to this too, please? I've been dithering about asking or not because I don't want to be put off trying stuff for myself but curiosity has gotten the better of me - especially whether there is anything I've watched which no one else has (very unlikely, I suspect !)

Prestel - The interesting thing about the spreadsheet is that there are genuinely shows with a spread of scores and opinions. The ones that achieve broad consensus and plaudits make into the year’s top picks but there are loads bunched around the 8-8.5 average where there was more diversity of views and the scores spread from 6s to 9s. You can then see who scored it higher to see if it’s the posters who your views more frequently align with & give those shows a try. I’ll DM you the link now. 🙂

Bingeing to the end of Live. A bit didactic in places but such great characters. Much more to my taste than say, Signal.

Thanks Boaty 👍

Well folks I bought the Kopiko sweets when at Seoul Plaza yesterday. They taste like black sweet coffee. No surprise there then! Also bought some turtle chips (corn soup flavour) which were delicious. I was practicing my Korean with the cashier, it seemed to delight him 😀 Obviously bought my body weight in Mandhu to stock the freezer up. If any of you are foodies then I highly recommend K Food Show A Nation Of Broth on Netflix it's a glorious show covering all regions of S Korea.

Aesops that sounds excellent - have you tried the mandhu yet? I need to stock up on them as I’ve been craving them.

I get the ones I've tried before Adante. Bibigo - Pork & Kimchi and Chicken & Vegetables. Another I like is the huge kimchi one but they were out of stock. DH has mastered cooking by steaming first then putting in frying pan with corn starch and water to fry with lid on, giving them a crispy bottom. Delicious 🤤

아이고 Aesops, you post has made my mouth water.
Dh has got to drive to London soon and I’m going with him so we can make a diversion on the way home to the Korean supermarket in New Malden.
I shall also buy my body weight in mandhu.

‘Your post’ not ‘you post’

@Prestel especially whether there is anything I've watched which no one else has (very unlikely, I suspect !)
Is there any? I am intrigued now.

I keep wondering where have I seen Mr Gu & finally penny dropped. He was in MELO … the shouting scene with FL was brilliant 😂

*@JinBhoot@JinBhoot

Oops. Post fail!

JinBhoot I couldn't see What Happens to My Family on the pre-2019 page. I really enjoyed it, great ensemble cast, but over 50 episodes so maybe that's why it didn't make the list.

아이고^ Aesops, you post has made my mouth water.
Dh has got to drive to London soon and I’m going with him so we can make a diversion on the way home to the Korean supermarket in New Malden.
I shall also buy my body weight in mandhu.^

Not sure where you are but there is one on Golders Green road also. Seoul Plaza is another branding for Korea Foods. Enjoy!

We've watched a bit of A Nation of Broth and for the most part it looks so delicious. I found the pulsating abalone balanced on top of the ramyeon a bit challenging however as a former vegetarian

Andante I would not personally recommend cheeseburger mandu! Not a successful fusion food in my opinion.

I've been delighted to see that Viki has popped up another four episodes of Shting Stars, I hadn't even bothered to investigate if it was 12 or 16 episodes. I did not do my due diligence. I am intrigued as to how they are going to get another five episodes out of it but I'm sure they'll rustle up another five antifans!

I really want Mumsnet to sort out pretty much everything. I've got fed up with the android browser version disappearing my messages when I went to other tabs (to check actor'sname spellings mostly, much to my shame) so I'm trying the app and now I can't even see the messages in the thread! Do I really have to exclusively use my desktop for full functionality?! Feeling grumpy.

Costco has been selling Korean food for some time now -Japchae, veg pancakes, fried chicken, bbq beef short ribs, mandhu, kimchi. I'm thinking of making my own kimchi this autumn but I know why Koreans have a separate kimchi fridge. That fermented brassica can seriously stink up the whole room!
I know this because yesterday I made bulgogi burgers topped with tomato slices, onion and lots of kimchi, in a brioche bun. It was delicious but the kimchi smell lasted for hours. No wonder Koreans brush their teeth so well. Pondering on whether the wine fridge in the garage should be turned into a kimchi fridge tho.🤔

Thanks Aesops. We will be going home on the M3 so we’ll do a diversion to New Malden armed with a shopping list. Next time I have some spare time in London I’ll go to the others that you recommend.
Musique - thanks for the warning, I’ll avoid the cheeseburger mandu.

I just finished Eve ep2 and I'll be with you every step of the way, @Bea. The storyline is right up my street. The pace...slow lingering camera shots in perfect keeping with the seduction scenes; tango.😍The innocent husband, a complex wife plotting cold, planned, revenge. You just know someone's going to get hurt. Fantastic acting all round, esp by FL and it's unexpectedly racy to boot! I'm guessing that the ppl in this drama is the lingerie! hahaha.

I've yet to continue Eve... But I deffo will be as it seems full of dastardly deeds! 👍🏼😱😂😂

A long shot but anyone want my two free tickets to this on Thursday evening (at KCC so central London)? I'm gutted but I've double booked myself so will return them if not.
www.koreanfilm.co.uk/events/kfn-summer-nights-the-house-of-us/