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!

Agree about multiple seasons, I like everything to be wrapped up within 16 episodes, so I can move on to the next show with a clear mind. I haven't finished EAW yet but I can't see that it merits another series, or Squid Game tbh.

I think Kingdom only had 6 episodes so with two series it was shorter than a normal series. I would like a third series though as it is the one exception!

Can definitely recommend The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-Mo to those who like their K-Culture noir dark. Would make a great film.

Rewatching Kotaro Lives Alone for the feels 🥲

I have been watching Cute Programmer cdrama on Viki about a girl who dresses up as a boy to join a company and ends up in a contract marriage. Coffee Prince it ain’t but it is quite amiable fluff without any nationalistic gung-ho sentiments about China having the best space programme/army/police/first response team. Also have a soft spot for the ML who I first watched by accident in The Eternal Love thinking it was Eternal Love 🤦🏻‍♀️ which is a nonsensical series about time travel and contains one of my favourite lines from a FL - “All I want to do is play with kittens and stroke your chest” 😂

Also have been watching Lie to Love but in spite of Luo Yunxi it is not a patch on Love is Sweet

The MLs in both dramas seem alarmingly underweight - working too hard or is it a trend?

Thanks to Briiiiick for the heads up, I've booked tickets for DD and I to attend the LEENALCHI performance! I'm very excited, I'm expecting a bonkers experience!

Ooh how exciting Rowdy! Let us know how it is! Thanks to FedUp I’ve been listening to them a lot today 👍

I too am watching Cute Programmer on my phone on holidays Bettys. It's really bad I think. I am hooked.
That's a great and very identifiable with line 😂

A few things in Cute Programmer - her friend and her (but only randomly when it suits because she also lives with her parents) appear to live in an interiors store.

• He has a dedicated home cactus cupboard.

-once again someone wears a garment with underarm cutaways.

I am now excited for next week’s AoS finale. Let’s hope it’s decent. 🤞

I have AOS from ep12, which was perfectly timed to finish by this weekend but my schedule was thrown off by last week’s absence.
we are away next weekend so not sure how to time AOS now 😭
decisions decisions 😩
Selling your haunted house is going well. I am last 3 episodes.

I forgot who was watching You are my glory, how is it going?

I'm way behind on all my dramas, I even forgot I was watching Today's Webtoon 🤦‍♀️

Has anyone watched Semantic Error? The Daebak podcast ladies are always raving about it. I have no idea where to watch it, but I'm intrigued.

My toes are curling in embarrassment at the office kiss in Cute Programmer ( episode 11, at 6 minutes in)

While watching Cute Programmer I am also playing the VHS equivalent of freezer bingo - what is on the label is not necessarily what you get. I put in a video that said The Last Emperor and got Inspector Frost 🤷🏻‍♀️

I've read the Webtoon but not watched the drama. Might give it a whirl this week.

I've just found it on Viki, it's only a short one, so I think I'll give it a try too 👍

I've watched Semantic Error. It's... fine. Dunno why Mrs Daebak is quite so keen though.

Finished EAW.. I've been very busy adult ing but managed to sneak in the last two eps! It was a pleasure to watch and a complete turnround from what I thought it was going to be... I had my reservations... (my first post about EAW shows this!)... And I still do! But its heart is in the right place and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 😁

An interesting question and I have some thoughts on this! 😊...

(Parents came over from Hong Kong /China in the 1950's... born and brought up in UK... Now married to English Devonian with 3 "Wasian" (the preferred term by all accounts! 😂) kids!)

but will post when I'm not pretending to be engaged in normal adult stuff! 😭😭

First day doing my course and I get distracted by this news.😁
Actors Choi Woo-shik, and Son Suk-ku will star in Netflix's new series, "Murder DIEary."

How excitingly multicultural Bea. Wasian eh!

Hello all, as usual I'm following the thread with interest :)

Currently watching and very much enjoying EAW and Youth of May, the latter a firm favourite of one of my course chingus. Saving Alchemy of Souls for darker evenings. After episode 1 of EAW I was not sure I was going to get on with this particular depiction of autism, but stuck with it and am glad I did. I thought episode 3 explored some of the issues surrounding autism and the perception of autistic people very well. If anyone has a particular interest in the subject, I can highly recommend the neurodivergent comedian Joe Wells (www.instagram.com/joewellscomedian/)

@MigsandTiggs there is an excellent BA in Korean Studies available my way (which I would love to be following but, alas, wrong time in my life to be doing a second degree). But not much use to you as it's in the local language, not English. Anyhow, shows just how popular all things Korean are all over.

@polkettle Thanks for the reading recommendations. Hadn't heard of either of those novels but they sound very interesting, have added them to the list 🙂

@Rowdythree I LOVE the BTS inspiration behind your daughter's study choices 😃🙌👌AMAZING

I would dearly love to see LEENALCHI live but can't get to the concerts in London or Brussels. Maybe they'll add another date closer to here, fingers crossed.

Ooh and on the subject of music, I was delighted to see the photo posted to Namjoon's Instagram account of him with Balming Tiger 😁And thanks again to all who recommended Instagram accounts to follow, has been enjoyable exploring it all!

Finished EAW it was good although last few episodes were close to home for me (data and cybersecurity is my field) so felt a bit like a work related subject, which isn't great when I watch dramas to forget all that! Still enjoyed it in spite of. Wish we could have seen a real whale/ dolphin shot and EAW's reaction.

I'm now watching a K Soap. Homemade Love Story. It's daft. I like daft.

Saram Youth of May is excellent, both the ML and FL play their roles brilliantly. Have your tissues ready though, it's heartbreaking. 💔

Well I've watched 6/8 episodes of Semantic Error today, which tells you how productive my Monday has been. I did unexpectedly strip the ancient wallpaper in the bathroom today though, so I don't feel too bad 😆 I'll finish the series off tonight, as DH is out.

AOS 2 Filming has already started!!!

As you all predicted, I have subscribed to Viki. So far I've seen What's Wrong With Secretary Kim which was lovely and have just started Doom At Your Service and If You Wish Upon Me , which is a bit sad, so I can only watch a little bit at a time. I think JCW is really good in it, he plays sad characters so well.

On Netflix I am watching Hwarang thank you to whoever recommended it, I do like long haired men. I finished EAW which I enjoyed, I loved Kang Ki Young in it, give the man a leading role please. But I really don't think it needs a season 2.

Rowdythree I thought Semantic Error was quite sweet and easy to watch.