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!

Bonus oppa advent (as I'm imagining he's too late to feature in the main one) of Sato Takeru advertising ice cream. twitter.com/TakeliciousIndo/status/1598599372748763136?t=MeC7dh6AAkj_CigyjPOjRg&s=19

I want to be ice cream.

Welcome @AmVa !

Love the double denim 😁 sometimes Korean stylists seem to be doing their damned best to render objectively very attractive people actively unattractive (anyone remember Yoongi's 'gangsta' ginger dreadlocks? 😱)

Re: cookbooks, I use Joanne Lee Molinaro's The Korean Vegan most weeks. Has excellent vegan alternatives for Korean standards, and some very useful basic sauces. Photos with every recipe. But it's probably a bit niche if you eat meat and fish.

I've finished Vincenzo and now straight into Reborn Rich so double exposure to SJK 😉

I should be doing so much today, chores,Xmas planning etc. Instead I am still in Pyjamas and procrastinating getting my backside into gear. Just one more episode ...

I have just flicked through & can confirm 1 recipe per page with photo on facing page.

She has a foolproof sticky rice lidded pan instructions too which I used regularly before I bought my rice cooker.

These messages ^ were about the Caroline Hwang book.

Welcome @AmVa you will find so many great recommendations on here, you will never be able to leave your house again😂

Thanks Rowdy what a fabulous picture to start the day with (despite the double denim). You are right @Cobol, that has made me very happy, I am a Wookie woman at heart.

Rowdy what were you up to posting him at 3.50am? And then everyone else up too. Proper Saturday night

That was what time I was going to bed after a bit too much partying! I knew I wouldn't be in any state to post it in the morning so I had to do it before I went to bed 😂 major regrets...

Welcome to the thread AmVa 👋

I'm going back to bed now 😴

Thanks Boaty, It sounds perfect.

I’ve been to the Suncheon Bay wetlands (on the pinboard) and they are certainly beautiful. However, we went during the day and there were a lot of other people - which is absolutely fine but they weren’t quite as atmospheric as they were at dusk (or was it dawn) in the drama (can’t remember which one it was).
If you go to the top of the hill there’s a viewing platform - it’s quite a steep kilometre walk but well worth it.

Good to know Andante! Very excited

Good lord. I have a sudden craving for haagen daz 🤭

I should have had Vincenzo on my loved list as well! We are about to start Reborn Rich too - it's one my husband is interested in too which means we will be watching it much slower than when I can just binge on my own. Looking forward to it!

We are within the last 50 posts and I have a busy couple of days ahead of me. I’m operating on a precautionary basis given that Baby Binjin pics are still pending & the advent calendar is leading to a flurry of appreciative morning posts. Here is the next thread:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/4691544-mslattes-daebak-cybercafe-kdrama-addicts-37-the-one-where-fedups-big-birthday-could-tip-her-into-ajumma-territory-thankfully-filthy-noona-status-is-forever

But fill this one up first so no one gets left behind. 😄

Hedge funds have identified WEBTOONS as the next big investment area of Korean culture. I blame this thread with the prominence with white baguettes 🥖! It introduced me to BL and the world of A/B/O so no complaints from me!!

😍😍😍

The greatest gift of all!

Thank you Boaty 😁

Oppa advent day 5

No umbrella need, its Rain Oppa!

Welcome Amva 👋

I stayed awake until 1am watching Reborn Rich, it's v good if you want to watch Chaebols and their corporate shenanigans.

Looking forward to the Baby Bin pics 🍼👶💕

Yeah, Rain Oppa!!!!! In artistic black and white ❤

Make it Rain! 🌧️🌧️🌧️

Welcome @AmVa 😊

Today’s oppa is so fit for his age & can easily compete with younger (teens & 20s) MLs.I am really impressed with his posture, must have a good yoga instructor, gym routine & diet.
Its time to bring this video back, it always makes me laugh.

@polkettle I am loving your planning & I didn’t know Yulje was an actual place 😆 just assumed it was a random lobby in some building. I can’t wait to see photos of you enjoying iced americano in the cafe. Don’t forget try ‘Egg Drop Sandwich’ place.

Love that Rain video Jin very relatable. And what a lovely advent Oppa 🎄😍

No umbrellas required. Starts to compose another sentence about choosing to get wet but everything comes out filthy

Love that video. Rain's reactions are spot on 🤣