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!

Boaty, obviously MLN has to go in under slice of life/serious.

Not sure the Guardian understood it any better Bettys 😉 www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/jun/26/miin-body-to-body-review-korean-feminism-101

With a ⭐ for MLN. Our Blues too in same category.

Awwww! SYJ and HB are having a baaaaaybee! Gorbless their beautiful genes being passed on 🥰🥰🥰

As long as everyone’s happy it’s all good….and although I’m sure Park Yer Bum is a lovely fella I just can’t warm to him ….but he was v good in Love in the Moonlight … however even then I preferred the assassin guy (who would look great in the matchy matchy outfits)

I feel they missed the significance of the abs ability to use hair as an extra performer with the hairdryer as a secondary character in the dynamic of dance portraying the innate nature of womanhood in all its myriad forms. Art, eh😎

bettys I agree about Park Yer Bum, for me it is he just has too many teeth which is very distracting. And yes, I also preferred the assassin in Love In The Moonlight, I think it was the clothing and swishy hair.

Art 😎👊
(Oh and turns out it's Celine not Louis Vuitton because I am as good on Fashion as I am on Art)(And obviously they're all wearing Celine so that's why they're matchy matchy really)(But. Still.)(And yes totally too many teeth)

Lovely lovely news!!! 😍

The wedding etiquette in SK if depicted right is hilarious. It seems that in laws buy gifts for the bride/groom and their parents. Whoever gifts first from their side sets the price limit. So if you are marrying someone whose folks are wealthier your folks are stuffed! That's not even including the brides family having to pay a dowry to the grooms?! According to WTWH.
FL has just received her 'box' including mink coat, luggage, jewellery and tons more from her Chaebol MIL. Her parents are now emptying life savings to save face 😳 I may have to reconsider my dream of DD meeting a Dr in SK??

Hello everyone, I'm back from a weekend of revelry at Glastonbury. Lots of K drama to catch up on now (and washing 🙄)

Metheven happy birthday, enjoy the strawberry soju 🍓

How wonderful that Pol and Bettys had a real life meeting, sounds like an interesting evening! 😁

I agree with everyone about Park Yer Bum, too many teeth and too childlike. Lovely if they're a couple though, I hadn't seen any of those rumours.

I can't remember what else I'd read, but I'm sure there was more I wanted to comment on, oh well. Hope everyone is good 😁

Enjoy access to a bathroom Rowdy

Thank you, I've used it many times 😁

I'm very tired after a double wedding weekend 😴 but I'm loving all the Taehyung in Paris photos. He looks like he's having a great time. This is my favourite 😂

I've just finished episode 3 of Sweat and Soap, that was one brilliantly bonkers sex scene 😂

Poor Tae. I hope he's not too traumatised 😂

(From meeting Robbie Williams 😂)

I wonder if Tae knew who he was?? But I guess Robbie could have some good tips for after being in a famous boyband. I would love it if Tae got absolutely leathered at Glastonbury 😂

That would have been fantastic Thegirl he'd have had a brilliant time. Hopefully Robbie gave him some hints about what not to do when you're a famous boy bander 😬

I have finished Money Heist and it is cracking stuff! Well worth watching even though it is a cliffhanger ending.
I swear I blushed at the steamy sex scene there was a double bluff and I wasn't expecting it

Thanks TheGirlWithTheArabStrap and Rowdythree for the birthday wishes. The strawberry soju is chilling in the fridge as I speak, I'm sure it will be delicious.

I have started Sweat and Soap and it is indeed bonkers. Bit of a shock seeing actual cleavage in a bra after all the very chaste kdramas. Seeing her sitting there all sweaty in the loo does remind me of my pre HRT self.

Love V and Park Yer Bum's necklaces in Paris, very chic.

Was it the fruit one? I was formulating a pet theory that it represented a fruit machine - jackpot, all their sexy life goalz achieved in one night, then I remembered the roses. Do fruit machines have roses as well as flowers?

Roses as well as FRUIT! Bloody hell, my brain is Swiss cheese tonight. 🤪

Yes, bananas flying out everywhere 😂I like that theory, I think they've both hit the jackpot sex wise.

I'm so delighted you are all getting behind Sweat and Soap. One of my picks 👍