MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #34): July brings internal conflict. Make the most of sunshine and the long days, or keep on top of your kdrama? 🤔

[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)🌟
My Liberation Notes🌟
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)
Our Blues (Netflix)🌟
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.

The Red Sleeve - 10
Happiness - 9
Devil Judge - 8.75
Squid Game - 8.63
Navillera - 8.57

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

2019’s top scoring dramas:
Her Private Life - 9.40
Melo is My Nature - 9.00
Tied 3rd: Crash Landing On You, The Crowned Clown, The Lies Within, and The Tale of Nokdu - 8.75
Hotel del Luna - 8.50
Tied 5th: Romance is a Bonus Book, and Search: WWW

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!

EPISODE 3 FOREHEAD REVEAL!

Be still, my beating ovaries...

FL’s mum in Daily Webtoon slithering off the sofa as part of her sexy times hustle made me laugh hard. Funniest seduction scene I’ve seen in a while.

🚨Sad Ajumma Alert🚨

Boaty, so many cameo celebs in KSS!!

Who was watching Sandman? Is it any good? DH wants to watch it.

I think my favourite CC from KSS is <strained grunt>

I'm sooooo behind on all kdrama! Too busy Adult ing! 😫😱😫

Want to watch Big Mouth but think only available on Disney! 😡

Got a couple of days with no gallivanting... So should be able to catch up on EAW!.. ☺️😁

Happy Heatwave all! 🥵🔥😎🏖️👋👋

I can't get over how lovely lovely Lee JunHo 🥰 in EAW is horrid mean 2ML Spurned lover in Nokdu! 😳😱

Kang Tae-oh will be enlisting soon! We will miss you, Golden Retriever!

Some absolute beauties will be absent for two years...

www.allkpop.com/article/2022/07/male-celebrities-who-will-have-to-enter-the-national-mandatory-military-service-next-year

Hmmm no mention of Jin in that article. Do they know something we don't?

I read something recently about some kind of special arrangement where they'll serve in a limited way with the ability to make some public appearances during their enlistment but I don't know if that was just a rumour. I do know the recently elected president had a campaign commitment to make a special exemption for them so I think there will almost certainly be something announced soon, though.

On the wider topic of military service, I had a feeling Sang Kang was going to be on that list. I hope he completes the promised second series of Sweet Home before he goes, I really enjoyed the first one.

Here's where I read the BTS military service thing, it was the BBC so there could be something to it, maybe.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-62393718

I’m totally over heatwaves. Enough already!

I finished Designated Survivor last night. It was excellent throughout. The ending allows for a second series. I hope they’ll make one. 🤞

I’m totally over heatwaves. Enough already!

Me too, I'm dreaming of chilly evenings by the fire, and not feeling guilty about putting the TV on at 4pm 😆

OMG when are they going to stop playing that sodding game in You Are My GLory? At least the ex has turned up so hopefully we’ll get some can’t-give-up ex-gf action as there’s really nothing else going on

That’s basically why I’ve given up on cdrama. Just sub out [playing the game] for all the other tedious stuff and [You Are My Glory] for the title. I’m done. It’s freed up so much time for saucy-bonkers jdrama and my life is better for it.

It was me Boaty. The first episode was good, some beautiful CGI and Neil Gaiman has done some of the screenwriting himself. It must be odd revisiting something you wrote thirty years ago as a younger person. It seems to be pretty faithful to the original comic with a few changes to the gender and ethnicity of some characters. It also has a naked man in it for most of episode one if that's the sort of thing you are interested in.

There was what was a described as a 'homing bird' in Alchemy of Souls but I don't think the poor sick looking pigeon would be able to fly to the end of the street, never mind a fortress in the mountains.

I'm enjoying the gradual change of the other new hire in Daily Webtoon from being a Mr Mardy Chops to getting into the whole webtoon thing a bit more. I've finished the webtoon of KSS so want to watch it now, but I need shows I can download for my holiday next week. I wish wish wish Viki had that function.

In other exciting news I have reached kdrama nirvana courtesy of my new back garden hammock. Kdrama whilst gently swaying in the breeze? Heaven.

Stick with it (or skip with it) Bettys because although it takes a while to get there, once the apparently relentless eSports stop and the snogging starts it's all low stakes delightful (you know I am a low stakes queen)(there is a certain amount of Noble Endeavour Science to glaze over too as well). Surprisingly varied and pretty landscapes too.

On the other hand if it's saucy JDrama you're after, I've just done first two stories of One Night Morning which are...pretty Japanese but probably not as marmite as the 60 Minutes to First Love Affair one I watched. Nice weird palate cleansers.

Hello chingus from very hot France 👋
Not really watched any kdrama, just a tiny bit of jungkooks camping vlog.
I've also enjoyed Benny Blanco/BTS/Snoop Bad Decisions.
I was also 👀👀👀 at Son's IG post today with him in his pants being a Calvin Klein model

Happy holidaying TheGirl!
Nobody show my cats Pomme's interior set up in Today's Webtoon or they'll get serious ideas.

Heatwave here but crazy flooding in Seoul... Where's crack forecaster Song Kang when you need him?

Happy holidays Thegirl, my eyes also almost popped out when I saw Son's insta story earlier 👀🧐🥵

For anyone who didn't see...

Oh my word! That underwear shoot has the potential to start another heathland fire in this heat. 👏