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!

Thanks Pol - I’d forgotten about Arang. 👍

Welcome to @Fairy36 ! 👋. If you have nippers you might manage to swerve the level of obsession some of us have developed - small children certainly keep you busy. 😂

Welcome The Loup and Fairy 👋

I've caught up on Gau Electronics which makes me LOL in every episode. Not watching much more as had busy weekend. It's silly season now for the Aesop household with year end madness (work) and socials into new year. There seems to be less new shows?? Looks like I will have to scour the spreadsheet for a missed classic!

I'm going to go through the back catalogue too Aesops, there must be plenty of good dramas I haven't watched yet.

It's November! How did that happen. So I'm going to take requests for entrants into this year's Oppa advent calendar! Let me know which Oppas you want to see 😁🎄

Age-appropriate oppa Ji Seung-Hyun please Rowdy. He was verrrr suave as sad business marriage husband in Search: WWW and fun as a baddy in Joseon revenge flick The Swordsman.

mydramalist.com/people/9307-ji-seung-hyun

I have to say, one of the things I am loving as a k-drama novice is the amazing back catalogue. I'm spoiled for choice! Started watching Hotel del Luna last night, but I also want to watch so many others..... How will I fit work in? ponders

The housework is the first casualty IME LoupGarou. 😄

Rowdythree A vote for Kim Woo Bin here, preferably showing off his gorgeous smile. Plus, given Alchemy of Souls was such a big show this year, I think Lee Jae-wook deserves a spot.

Oh and Kim Jae-young, our hot assassin currently in Love in Contract would also be nice. I'm assuming I don't even need to ask for our other hot assassin, Yoo Yeon-seok 😉. I was actually watching him recently in Warm and Cozy. It's been on my watchlist for some time because it was written by the Hong sisters. I'd started it a few times but not really gotten into it but decided to power through this last time. It's ok, kind of a poor man's Hometown Cha Cha Cha (or maybe even an inspiration for the latter?!) but really not a patch on their more recent stuff. Yoo Yeon-seok was good fun in it but it was all a bit too "B" list soap opera for my taste really.

Nominating Wi Ha-joon, didn’t like him in RIABB but Little Women is a different story.

Hello to Fairy36 btw.

And TheLoup Hotel del Luna is a good one. I really like supernatural shows and it's one of my favourites.

Thanks for all the nominations! They're all noted down, keep them coming 😊

Beautiful Ryu wotsit please Rowdy. Do you need more than that? Preferably in long hair Lost mode.

Beautiful Ryu wotsit please Rowdy. Do you need more than that? Preferably in long hair Lost mode.

Seconded! Also Kim Ji Hoon from Money Heist, preferably in long hair boiler suit mode. I'm consistent in my tastes....

Another vote for Ryu wotsit please :)

I also second Kim Woo Bin, liking him in Little Women 🙂

Surely the perennial noona favourites Gong Yoo and Hyun Bin?

Lee Je-hoon (age-appropiate oppa) and Tang Jun-sang (non-age-appropriate 🙈) as I loved Move To Heaven so much.

Sung Dong-il (to balance out age-inappropriate Tang Jun-sang 🤔) but only pre-eyebag removal please.

Seeing as there seem to be alot of admirers of long-haired oppas here, can I ask for a special dispensation for Min Yoongi to feature this year? The current glorious visuals need to be celebrated and remembered before they're transformed into a buzz cut 😭 But preferably a cheerful photo, not a pose-y one 🙄

There aren't going to be enough days in December are there?! 😱

In other Xmas news, I've decided to make my own BTS decorations this year 😁 Crafting-quality empty perspex baubles CHECK fan-made stickers and photocards CHECK glitter CHECK festive ribbons CHECK

Good catch - definitely one for this year’s calendar.,👌

Sorry I meant I second Wi Ha-joon 🙈 not Kim Woo Bin. Not sure where he came from 🤔 sorry mate for raising your hopes 😂

Kim Woo Bin came from me, Saram and I'm more than happy to keep him all to myself - although Shin Min-a might have something to say about that...😄

No hogging Kim Woo Bin. Everyone gets a bit of Oppa. There's enough of him to go round anyway.

You know...

I'll make a start on the 12 days of Alternative Oppas in December!

If there is space then from Shooting Stars

1. Jong-Hoon Yoon - he was so caring
2. Lee Jung-shin - he inspired me to finish work on time (inspiration last only couple of days, when you work for cash stripped public services you cannot finish on time.

Moon Sang-Min, Grand Prince in Under Queen’s Umbrella but it feels very inappropriate to be eyeing him as oppa.😆

BTW, remind me age appropriate oppa calculating formula

Is there room for Bu Bae in his tiny swimming trunks in LftM&D?

@Saram13 I'd vote for long haired Min Yoongi too!

BTW, remind me age appropriate oppa calculating formula

Is it half your age plus 7? Something like that I think 😉

All advent suggestions noted, thanks everyone. I've got a month to scour the Internet looking at dreamy Oppas to get suitable pictures 😁