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!

Baby Binn !! 👶🍼🐥

MiniBinnieJinnie

Ahh baby binn! 💗

Lovely news about BinJin’s baby. That kid is blessed with excellent genes.

First Love is cracking. Ep 3 was 😭. I will probably crunch it over the next 48 hours, it’s so good.

Where are you watching it Boaty?

I stepped away from here for few hours (less then 12hrs) and so much activity here … Jin’s enlistment date, Baby Bin … busy news day in SK.

Netflix recommended First Love and it looks really good. Thanks Boaty for green light.

Under the Queen’s Umbrella - I am in love with queen & crown princess. The conversation between crown prince & crown princess after consummation night is just adoreable. Can’t believe next week is the last two episodes.

I have also added Birthcare centre on watch list. The clip of drinking seaweed soup & dying to have coffee, reminded me of my post birth parent. Had a flash back of conversation between MIL & I 😭

Netflix Pol.

Thanks Boaty - found it and followed you in and you're absolutely right. It's delightful.

Welcome to the world BabyBinn 😍

The makgeolli workshop this afternoon was a total blast. The woman leading it was one of the two organisers of the film/art festival I posted about yesterday. Her mother runs a makgeolli/soju brewery in Seoul 🤩 News to me was that makgeolli is made from the by-product of soju-making. Ergo, soju is traditionally made from rice (I thought it was sweet potato). BUT she said the mass-produced soju in the green bottles we know and love isn't made from rice, or even sweet potato. It's made from wheat or other unspecified ingredients. Her mother uses mass-produced soju for cleaning purposes only 🙈 😁. Mass-produced makgeolli contains no rice either, apparently 😱We tried her Mum's traditionally-made soju and it was much stronger and earthier than the standard stuff. Probably most similar to grappa.

I hasten to add I will continue to buy and enjoy mass-produced soju and makgeolli despite this revelation 😃

In other news, I was in a Korean restaurant tonight and the (much younger) friend I was with did a massive double-take and nearly jumped off her seat as a group of people walked past to leave. Apparently one of them was Jihoon, a Korean influencer. Any takers? 🙈 I clocked she was a Korean lady with a nice hairdo, but that was about it 😁

Have you got to the bit when she’s chomping on the giant shrimp in the cafe with her colleague, shell and all? I was 😱 I had no idea you could eat the shell (or that anyone would think to).

What’s the silt in commercial makkeoli if it’s not rice, then? Wheatgrain?

Yes Boaty and also boggled!

ML in First Love reminds me of His Hotness Kim Jae Wook. We need more Kim Jae Wook, stat.

That alone is sending me over to Netflix RIGHT NOW!

It’s really beautifully filmed and such a lovely but complex story. The son’s story arc is compelling too. The snowy bits are beautiful. The aerial footage from the planes is doing a great job of selling Japan as a destination.

Proper lolling at the deaf sister’s proposal scene.

"I had no idea you could eat the shell (or that anyone would think to)."

Eating shrimp shell is common in Chinese type cultures. Done right, it's crisp and breaks up in the mouth with no sharp bits. I've had prawn heads, deep fried in a light batter. Delicious!

My question is, how can they eat whole crabs? I found even the soft shell ones problematic 🤔

Good question Boaty. I will ask her. We've been invited to report on the makgeolli's fermentation progress - with photos 😁 - over the next week. At the moment it just looks like weird porridge and absolutely not something you would want to injest.

Satoh Takeru has been cast in the lead role of Namik Harumachi. Takeru has already been seen in two Netflix Original movies, having starred as Himura Kenshin in Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning and Rurouni Kenshin: The Final.
Link: www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/first-love-romantic-j-drama-series-coming-to-netflix-in-november-2022/

Adding both of the mentioned shows to my watchlist.

He's the tsundere doctor in An Incurable Case of Love

Bingo! I just looked him up & was about to post the same.

I've seen the first two Rurouri Kenshin films (I think the two Netflix ones mentioned above are the last two in a series of 5). Satoh Takeru is one of my favourite hot assassins. I've not seen him in anything else, though. Now I know it's him I'm definitely going to have to check First Love out.

Bea - DH and I are so enjoying Vincenzo. I love it when after stalling a show you dip into it and get totally immersed. I have a question though ..

Why did the CEO work at the law firm undercover as an intern? For what purpose? If there was a purpose at all!

Own up. Which one of us is this? 😂www.instagram.com/reel/CkOJMqBAOEO/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=