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!

Looks like CEO Han is cashing in Daddy Woo's "use my daughter one time to stick it to the bitch" card.

Amidst a pretty sobering EAW ep14 there was the funniest scene when Attorney Kwon wrapped his jacket tightly around himself as a shield against Geurami. She could eat him alive 😂So much light and shade in the characters in this ep and boy, do the actors hit their marks.👏

@polkettle wow 60 Minutes... is something else. Each episode is a rollercoaster. My favourites have been episodes 2 and 3 so far (the contrasting approaches to initiating sex are so clever - I'm definitely a episode 3 kind of girl 🤣)

Up and at em FedUp. That's the spirit (or up and at you...). I think those were my two favourite episodes although there's a fun one with two sisters...

I think they are clever exercises in very compact story telling.

Just watched and thought an approximation of this could well be the fate of many "covid era" graduates. A friend's daughter has chosen to do a post-grad just to delay entering the current job market, yet as our economy shrinks in line with global conditions, I'm not convinced it will be any better next year. Putting into practice advice to relocate to where the jobs are, depends on one having an independent personality, possible role models, and the resilience to set out on your own. It's a hard one and many young people will be impacted.

I think it's interesting how the stories I like and don't like are very much linked to my own sexual morals and ethics.

Creepy doll fetishes and affairs = no
Direct and equally power balanced = yes please

Omo! A hinged door in a hospital in ep 13 of EAW. So astonished, I paused to
post. 😂

🤣🤣🤣

I definitely saw gochugaru go into the pan, I’m sure. This is the fella I want to come round and make my dinner: www.instagram.com/reel/ChGQ-FzBlDg/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Eek. I could taste the cat hairs from here 😳

😄

I just started Lullaby on Webtoons. The CEO is a bit special, in a good way. He rocks the hanbok.

Anyone watching anything or is it too hot? 🥵

I've nothing going on except EAW. I'm waiting on the release of a few more Sleepeeer Hit! and Today's Webtoon to binge. It's fun doing a simultaneous watch of those.

Other than that, Webtoons and Manta is all I have energy for.

Oh I've literally just started that one, but big question... is it legal to have a ✨SHALALA✨ with no nipples involved?

I’m caught up with EAW. Agree about the relationship being unbalanced. When he was gooey-eyed over her excitement on the plane it reminded me of how we enjoyed our kids’ excitement at encountering something new when they were tiny. Dynamic was off. Also fretting for attorney Han.

It’s too hot for everything. I stupidly arranged a personal training session for lunchtime today before the forecast went insane. My gym doesn’t have aircon. 🥵 Wish me luck.

I like him even more with hanbok & his wings showing. Demon with the mostest. 👌

I just got suckered into throwing coin at No Perfect Marriage. They’ve nailed the suggestive cliffhanger. 😂

Gah that's one thing I don't like about Webtoons! I'm so impatient, but also cheap.

At least with Manta you pay your £3 a month, and get all you can eat ✨SHALALA✨

What are the toons like on Manta? Worth the £3? (Not that I need another time sink on my phone.)

Lots of fantasy, BL etc, a bit more risqué than Webtoons.

I think you can do a free trial. It's an Apple subscription after that for me.

I just headed over to Manta for a nosy and I’m cackling like a witch after ep 1 of A Hairy Business. WTF is the pile of hair the morning after all about? 🤣 Already way more risque.

Correction: Some Hairy Business

Now laughing hard at the twist in ep 2. This will never be made into a networked kdrama.

Also enjoying Hairy Business 😂
I have a subscription to Manta (I blame FedUp ), you can binge on whole completed series and catch up to the weeklies without spending coins or having daily passes so it's quite good. And def more sexee timez stuff although some is a bit 🤔

Will it prompt me to subscribe when I download the app (inevitable, I need to know if Saekshi - yes, really - achieves even pube regrowth) or do I need to sign up separately?