MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #36): The one where gluten-free and baguettes stopped being about baked goods. Best leave it at that.

[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
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!

@FedUpWithBriiiiick can't wait to see what you find

Ha I'll be doing that now!

I mean now we’ve made the connection I’m astonished the emoji aubergine caught on as the penis substitute when the re is a perfectly good baguette emoji.

🍆 or 🥖? I know which one looks more filling to me. 😄

Up to date on LifS (which is definitely saggy and annoying at the moment but should turn corner I hope) given up on LiC I think (although might watch last episode if it sounds fun). Going into May I Help You which is on -GASP- Prime.

Yes yes to May I Help You

I like Hyeri

Omo TheGirl that baguette sweatshirt plus Saram's Kenneth Williams voice in my head made me snort my Friday night wine (yes I know it's Thursday in the real world). I now can't wait to see Japanese equivalent which is FedUps mission!
I have more or less given up on LiC, will catch up with LifS at some point but may skip the whole misunderstanding phase <yawn>
Will also try Behind Every Star although thought English version dreadful, not sure any adaptation can match the original.
Currently enjoying the leisurely pace of Forever & Ever although ML does sigh a lot - I rather like 2MLs man bun. Evil MIL should've been on the bingo card.
Still stuck in manhwa isekai & baguette land too

ML has to sigh a lot Bettys in order for you to fully appreciate emergence of his smile as a reward for 20 hours of watching. He did actually almost make me cry with a poppet speech towards the end when there is a sudden rush of incoming Plot. I thought Manbun a bit of a hotty too.

Unless you're at the last few episodes, don't bother finishing Love in Contract.

Enjoyed Palin's North Korea and at last, after two false starts, watching Reply 1988 now and it's really cracking me up.

I gave up on LiC but will watch the finale on x1.5 speed to find out what happens to 2ML.

That baguette T-shirt is a must have!

I’ve been out. The resumption of normal life post-pandemic is hashing my kdrama mellow. I’m still reading (“reading”?) far too much manhwa but occasionally finding joy in some of the Bato BTL comments though. This one made me chuckle earlier.

I am "reading" the exact same manwha as you 😳😁

New drama alert

- please be a good one, I want a good country side/small town drama. HTCCC is the bar.

Saw this on insta and it seems interesting, albeit with the Feathery-Stroker Im Si-wan.

Definite HTCCC and Studio Ghibli's Only Yesterday vibes.

Forever & Ever really is glacial in pace. I'm liking the absence of high pitched, squeaky daft FL/2FLs though 👍

boaty & FedUp which manhwa would that be? Asking for a friend.

Sound advice ré LIC btw. I skipped the last 4 eps & went the the last 10 mins and don’t think I missed much and saved time for more manhwa

I'm actually embarrassed to type it out.

Come on fedup, I want to "read" it too'

Come on fedup, I want to "read" it too'

The ML in Forever and Ever is TOO CUTE.

I would eat him alive 😈

🤣 PROTECT THE PURE NERD POPPET.
Let him never know a baguette as anything other than a French creation of refined flour and yeast.

God, me too! It’s one of those ‘does what it says on the tin’ titles. I’ll PM a link.

I’m also looking forward to Summer Strike as we loved Hometown CCC and Once upon a Small Town.
The Korean countryside is so beautiful that just looking at that is enough for me.

I've realised I'm watching this with a fatuous smile on my face as if I'm just going 'awwwwwww' the whole time when the nerd poppets are together.

The family relationships are a bit complicated as everyone seems to be an uncle or grandma - beyond the normal calling uncle & auntie to the older generation - so it took me a while to realise that evil MIL is not his real mother

I know - all that 4th Uncle stuff is mystifying. It's an incredibly soothing watch (if you like soporific dramas and I do). I should say that quite a lot happens in last five episodes or so. But I never felt very worried. Those nerds are solid as a rock despite Mild Peril.

Love in contract... Done... It was OK... I enjoyed it... But it was just OK... Mr Woo was lovely though and he reminded me of a young ji chang wook! And think ending could have been much better... 🤔😂

I'm in ep 11 of Bad Prosecutor and it's good! The villain is the lovely lovely friend of alien in Love From Another Star and he was such a kind gentle soul in that I'm finding it unnerving how wicked and eveel he is in this... Also lovely investigator Chul ki is giving me younger lankier Hyun Bin vibes! 😍😂... FL is young lady from young lady and gentlemen... Thankfully no shrill screeching ajummas in this! 😱🤭👍🏼