MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #35): Autumn - season of mists, mellow fruitfulness and Woolly Wookiee oppa

[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 an asterisk 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
Alchemy of Souls (Netflix) 🌟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)
Sweat and Soap (Viki, Japanese)
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!

Aw FedUp - egg sandwich ONM is adorable and so beautifully shot too 😍
Welcome IwillShine 👋

The whole series is a beautifully shot dream Pol. You will do one of those loud sobs at the end.
*
IwillShine welcome to the thread! There's a lot* going on at the moment so don't be scared! 😁 check out Boaty's amazing list in the OP for some Filthy Noona approved kdrama watches 👍

Stupid question but I don’t know because I ponied up for the paid content immediately: how would I know which VIKI content is free? I’ve been bigging up Melo to a friend but she’s on a limited income and doesn’t want a subscription. Do you just sign up and watch the free stuff? How do you access it?

Hello and welcome @IwillShineOnYouLikeMorningStar 🙂👋

Re: learning the language. I follow an online course offered by a dedicated Korean school which also has many in-person classes. I'm not in the UK, and am assuming you are. In which case you could follow the course no problem, as it's taught in English, but would not be able to take the exam and get a certificate as that has to be done in person here unfortunately.

💤GEEK ALERT 💤They use the Active Korean series, published by the Language Education Institute at Seoul National University. It's a textbook, plus a separate Workbook. Both with a CD (! it was published in 2006). Lots of practice exercises, and there's a dedicated reference section explaining grammar. Active Korean 1 is suitable for total beginners, for example the first unit is purely about getting to grips with hangul. If you have some experience of language learning I reckon it would work for self-study. It's available online via Amazon (and no doubt elsewhere too).

Saram13 oddly I seem to do better with self study when it comes to learning languages. I learned French & German at school, & didn’t do particularly well at either, although I can sort of read German, with a bit of perseverance. Tried again with the French in my 30s via online resources & workbooks etc, & it stuck much better. Also, Greek which I’d had no prior experience of at all. Am still in the stage of learning the basic Hangul characters, trying to figure out the grammar & sentence structure etc ATM. I know a few words from drama, YT videos etc but so far it’s not even what you could call a “holiday” level. Am not bothered about any certification, I just want to learn.

I think 'Standard' is the charged shows and they only allow first two episodes.
When I access VIKI not as a recognised member the chargeable shows have key locks on them.

The Law Cafe eps 3 & 4 were decidedly meh after a strong start. Hopefully things will pick up now that FL has "declared". I'm wondering if I'm judging it harshly because I've been watching Misaeng which was very good. It's got a strong cast, so hope it doesn't go down the Cafe Minamdang route!

Destructive Desires. After a previous comment, how could I resist a manhwa where the ml torches the fl's business, all in the name of coercive control luuurve?

I enjoyed Semantic Error and there's a hilarious and well written, but smutty, piece on AO3, Semantic error
Looking for BL drama recommendations please, either manhwa or dramas. I want a well rounded education!!😜

There's a raft of BL on Manta. All very formulaic (small blond man gets bummed by dark-haired large CEO/senior lawyer/gangster) but entertaining enough.

If you want explicit BL dramas then you need to go to Thailand Miggs and try Kinn Porsche (I think ?Buddy Boys also is supposed to be good - may have got title wrong) I didn't do all of it as I got a bit bored with all the scheming but it's a hoot. I really liked Old Fashion Cupcake JDrama bl recently - although that's very tame but nicely written. There was also a lovely heartwarming Taiwanese one which was a bit shonky at the seams but notable for complete absence of homophobia and everyone obviously having a good time Be Loved In House-I Do. All the Viki short form KDrama BL blend into one in my head but the dancer/boiled egg was a nice one...had dance in the title I think?

It was You make Me Dance Migs and Pol

There's a raft of BL on Manta. All very formulaic (small blond man gets bummed by dark-haired large CEO/senior lawyer/gangster) but entertaining enough.

😂🤣😂🤣 This is so on point. I thought it was just me, but they are as trope laden as kdrama TV shows. The Dangerous Convenience Store on Manta /FedUp’s filthy site meets this brief in spades.

Thanks all, it doesn't have to be explicit, just interesting.

Morning Morning!!!! 😎😍

I have the afternoon off work and want to find a new drama. Any recommendations? I like slice of life,workplace or Melo ?
Really struggling to find one that sticks. I started If You Wish Upon Me last night but after first episode I'm not feeling it 😑

Speaking of melo, have you watched Melo is my Nature on Viki?

Other SoL favourites are My Mister and Navillera.

Sorry if teaching you to suck eggs!!

If you're prepared to go to Olga's (or do a free month of iQuYi), I reckon Lost might work for you Aesops. Or a JDrama palate cleanse?

GUYS GUYS GUYS!!!!!!!!!!! I just joined Disney + (£1.99 special offer for a month ends Sept 19th) so I could watch PTD and look what I found!!!!!
I'm giddy with excitement

SQUEEEEEEL!!!! SKJ!!!! before he went off to the military!!!!.... how lovely!!!!!... #

i can't believe this slipped under our radar...very much looking forward to binge watching the whole flipping lot!!!!n Please Be Good!!! Please Be Good!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Good find @Bettys!!!!!!

Bettys! Disney plus UK actually giving us K Content??!
In other news my Google news feed has just made me hoot. You and me both J-Hope. You and me both...

🤣 Me too J-Hope, me too!

There's also Snowdrop, Running Man and The Zone but no Big Mouth or Crazy Love as well as PTD.

Actually it might be September 18th the deal ends I'm not sure, but I reckon I can watch it all in month before the cost goes back up

Can Jdramas be counted as a palate cleanse? I always feel a little first after them 🤣🤣🤣

*dirty not first

Hilaire non-Baguette manwha to check out @boatyardblues - My Cute Beast 👍

That's only cos you choose the dirty ones FedUp 😁

Guilty as charged, my fellow Filthy Noona 👩‍⚖️