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!

Bloomberg had a bit yesterday on the problems facing SK because its education system is no longer fit for purpose and wrecking the mh of young people.

I found this online.

www.thecornelldiplomat.com/issue6/2021/11/24/the-race-for-the-perfect-score-the-detrimental-effects-of-the-south-korean-education-system

@JinBhoot the chat groups are just me and Korean course chingus/teachers waffling on about all things Korean 🙂 They are much younger than me and very into K-pop, so there's lots on BTS, Enhyphen, Blackpink, Red Velvet etc. :) but we touch on drama, films, food, language, current affairs too.

Yes, purely in terms of age Yoongi is next (30 (western age) in March). Which means a high chance of a solo album (and folio photo book) between now and then 👀

As to whether military service is harder for celebraties. As Cobol says, the scrutiny is potentially horrendous. But my impression is they will probably have more privacy than they do now. And from a purely physical/mental point of view, idols must be made of steel to cope with the demands of traineeship/promotion schedules/touring and are presumably pretty used to being told what to do and when. Someone upthread (Andante?) drew a comparison with former boarding school pupils coping well in prison and I think that's spot on.

@MigsandTiggs Oh gosh I didn't think about kick-starting fermentation 😱

I just realised that the last two episodes of Little Women are available here now!!! First chance to watch will be Wednesday 😱 @sakura06 I'm in Europe and Netflix K-drama releases are usually somewhat later here than the UK, to allow for subtitle translation I assume.

Hmmmmmmm not sure this is a good idea...

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bts-jung-kook-2022-fifa-world-cup-opening-ceremony-1234630048/amp/

@FedUpWithBriiiiick oooh yes was just discussing this with course chingus. Idols are of course expected not to take stances on anything 'controversial' or to have political opinions. This does seem particularly tone deaf though given their LGBTIQ following and openly pro-LGBTIQ stance (quite unusual in itself). Let alone the other multiple problems with Qatar.

BTS has worked with Hyundai on promotions for at least several years.....and Hyundai are a major sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2022 😬so probably contractually difficult to challenge. Still, I'm not on board and the Hyundai World Cup version of Yet To Come is shit.

I'm a huge BTS fan but I'm probably not going to watch.... I suspect I'll see it anyway on groups I'm in. I'm not going to pick on them I particular though....this has been the reality of this decision by FIFA for years and I do feel like people pick & choose what they get angry about.... frankly they consistently treat women like crap but they seems to be a non iissue ATM 🙄 and yes the FIFA version is cak

Ah, I see @Saram13! 😔 Our laptop was playing up last week and claiming we were using a proxy sever and then AoS wasn't available in 'our country' wherever that was meant to be via proxy server! Hope you get to see it soon.

Just coming on to agree that Min Yoongi's man bun and performance in Run BTS dance practice was 😍

@sakura06 cheers 🙂 yes it should be up sooner or later.

This reminds me of something I wanted to ask you all about Netflix. We have one shared account, with an individual profile for each of us. For the first few months we had it I just used Mr Saram's profile to watch K-dramas. Eventually I made my own profile as he was getting pissed off with all the K-drama recommendations it made more sense. Weirdly, some series are only available on his profile, not mine (Hotel del Luna and Youth of May for example - latter was recommended by a course chingu but it wasn't listed. I switched to his profile and there it was). Is this a Netflix thing?

Dd and I have just watched that BTS dance routine a time or two 😂 hats off lads.

That is mysterious Saram. I have never come across that. I get more frustrated with it constantly suggesting stuff on my profile that I’ve already watched on our shared profile. I had to split off from my shared profile with DH when it was only suggesting subtitled Asian content and he lost his usual equanimity. It took about 2 years for him to retrain his algorithm back to “normal” (in his eyes). He still grumbles about it.

Apologies if this has already been spotted! But... Drama with Park hyungsik on Disney+ there's a load of dramas on there! 😳😱

Whoop whoop!!

Finally Bea! Hooray

It's very understated... Reminds me of the lovely lovely calming soothing Would You Like A Cup of Coffee?

I love Coffee Prince @sakura06 it is one of my comfort dramas.

I am beginning to see the appeal of BTS because of this thread, damn it. It's the longer hair that does it for me.

Been ogling real life Korean abs AGAIN 🙄😉 - a KCC sponsored promotional beat boxing, street dancing and music event. They were (unsurprisingly) incredibly slick and good - even DS was impressed. The cavernous venue only about a third full which was a shame given quality - obviously hadn't really been promoted (I got offered free tickets last week).
Anyway quite apart from the skill, every time they went spinning around on their heads their shirts fell down and it was real life KDrama time for filthy ahjummas ahoy.

@boatyardblues Hmm, looks like that particular glitch is specific to us then. Mr Saram nearly jumped up from his chair in excitement at the mention of a brother in arms whose algorithms have also been ruined by Hyun Bin and co 😂

@Bea My Netflix backlog is so large I keep forgetting to check out Disney+ for Korean content. Thanks for the reminder!

I was very late to Coffee Prince but absolutely loved it too🤗

Loving all the love for Min Yoongi And His Man Bun 😻@Metheven 😁🙌 have you started properly trying to tell them apart yet and learning their stage and 'real' names? Because that was my point of no return. By then I was INVESTED

I will admit I do know who is who in BTS @Saram13 and I do like some of their songs. Oh god, I'm going to be watching their concert on Disney+ soon, aren't I?

@Metheven DO IT. I will be your pusher 😁

@Saram13 Noooooooo, don't make me.

[hums 'Dope', 'Black Swan' and 'Telepathy']

I'm just watching a few minutes before I go to bed, they're very energetic, I must say. But nothing can beat Adam and the Ants at the Cornwall Coliseum in 1981😁

@Metheven and there's V's Singularity if you fancy a Barry White snogging vibe. 😎

@MigsandTiggs Stop. I shall not succumb.

But @Metheven, it's so smooth, it'll put you to sleep. <innocent face>