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!

I was coming on to post about ep 1 of Little Women (excellent) but I’ve been upstaged by 50 Shades of Wookie. 👏

Thanks for the time stamp chingu 😁

I just watched it, it gave me a chuckle. Thanks for sharing, Wookie is looking good with shorter hair too!

Boaty good to hear Little Women has started well. Hopefully I can start watching it tomorrow

Love the idea of Wooki reading 50 Shades of Grey. We’re watching him in Suspicious Partner at the moment.
Looking forward to hearing any reviews of Little Women.

Lee Jang Woo, WJSN's Yeonjung, Lee Kyu Hyung ... - Soompiwww.soompi.com › article › lee-jang-woo-wjsns...
7 Jul 2022 — The opening performance of the “Crash Landing on You” musical will take place on September 16 at the Seoul COEX Artium. Check out Lee Yi Kyung ...

Sounds interesting, but Capt.Ri and Yoon Se Ri will always be Hyun Bin and Son Ye-Jin.

As the lady said, 50 shades is “Art”. Poor Wookie being corrupted by reading porno 😎

Wookie could read me anything, he has such a lovely voice, really soothing. But I do pity him having to read any of 50 Shades of Shite, it is absolute drivel.

Agree on 50 shades. We had multiple copies hanging about the tearoom, but when I tried one, the writing was so awful that I didn’t get beyond chap 1.
Little Women has a belter of an opening ep. Tight storytelling and setting up of intriguing further eps. Defo worth a watch so far.

While we're talking erotica...

www.instagram.com/p/CiIL0ImK_Xo/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

I read all of the Fifty Shades books. I used to read lots of shite and undemanding young adult fiction at busy times in a v stressful job to help me switch off. The sex was pretty boring and repetitive. Christian Grey is a MN LTB red bunting festooned tosser. Even money can’t fix those kinds of character defects. I would have kicked him to the kerb (but felt sad about losing the housekeeper and private jet).

My daughter won a booby prize at university in an English Lit quiz. It was Fifty Shade of Grey. She said here you are mum, you can have it. It was absolutely awful, so badly written I couldn't finish it. It started off as fanfiction, I have read some wonderful fanfiction in various fandoms, but this was unreadable. I do like a lot of young adult fiction, though.

Vet show is up! Yay!
Vet show is only 12 half hour episodes. Poo.

(first episode up not whole thing. 3 a week at least)

Once upon a small town I was very happy to see it’s only 12 episodes - 3 episodes per week further heightened the excitement.
Only 30mins episodes reduced it.
I have watched the first episode & must say it’s flat. I am not feeling it & ATM it’s nowhere near HTCCC.
Police lady is annoying me.
Will watch this week before dumping it.

Maybe it’s the busiest start of the week (everyone is back from holidays and work is full on). I was hoping to relax but didn’t work.

I just watched the vet programme, I thought it was okay. 30 minute episodes are the right length I think, it has the feel of a lunch time drama to it. I'll keep watching, although if the ML continues to have a dog barking as his ring tone, I might have to reconsider 😂

I've also started The Flower of Nokdu today we seems pretty epic at 48 episodes long. It should keep me going through the dark winter months if I take it slowly.

I'm going to watch Little Women tonight, once the kids are in bed

Sorry - The Nokdu Flower, not the other way round

Lordy, lordy, nothing gets between him and his CKs😁

Just so you know, I’m currently necking sipping red wine, in the dark on my deck, and blasting Santana and BTS on stereo. And practicing Jimin’s “hip like a belly dancer” moves. 😉Not impressed by the vet drama so far - that fl is a tad annoying.

Sounds like a lovely evening Migs!

I'm very impressed with Son's smouldering skills as he seems like a very Good Boy when I watched his documentary 😍

I read the first 50 shades when it was still Fanfic and then read the book version and I was really surprised that they were so similar. I definitely agree there is better fic out there but it just caught the public imagination! 😂

I think he is a Good Boy too.

Just wish he played for Liverpool 🤣

Oh man, meant to say, the opening credits to Little Women are gooood. Love that theme tune.

Recommend 'You're Perfect For Me' on Tapas. Inventive and making me snort daily

Top Tip pol 👌 I'm thoroughly enjoying the upturned tropes and misunderstandings!

Post on my local FB group Need ideas for 16th birthday present - she is a huge BTS fan.Where can I get good merchandise from? Want to get her lots of small pressies in addition to the big one. UK based.

Its time for me to shine — chingus recommendations please.