MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #37): The one where FedUp’s big birthday could tip her into ajumma territory. Thankfully filthy noona status is forever.

[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 an asterisk 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)
Little Women (Netflix)
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
Gaus Electronics (Viki)
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 Recommendations
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)
First Love (Netflix - Japanese)🌟
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.

So, current rankings @ 21.15ish today:

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

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!

OMO, OMO, OMO! Yes to more freebies when you're late rowdy!

Omo! Rowdy! Is it suddenly warm in here?

OMO!!! 😍😍😍 Our hot assassin really knows how to turn the heat up on this cold and snowy morning. If you need me, I'll be on page 8 😁

Cobol, page 8 will be getting so crowded that I'm setting up a coffee stand there!😂

Let's all just sit and drink coffee and stare at our beautiful assassin, it's definitely the day for it! 😍

My plan to get up early and watch AoS2 was thwarted by me having a very unusual lie in, and then the kids being desperate to go out in the snow. Hopefully I can start watching it this afternoon

Here for this triptych.

What a triple treat, thanks rowdy !

Triptych of delights! Thank you Rowdy!

If anyone is in need of a giggle, there's a little Japanese comedy over on Viki called Encyclopaedia of Hopeless Love that I've been chuckling away too. It's really good fun.

Hi @duc748 👋👋👋 welcome!!!
How would anyone pick between those three pictures 😍

Well, following Kingdom, I do like the Joseon stuff. Let's be right, it's the hats, isn't it? More hats than Millers Crossing, and they are so cool! And the police /prosecutor ones. I've steered clear of a few that looked too rom-commy, mostly cos they are so slooow! I wonder too at the paradoxes: a kiss is apparently too daring, yet young tots maybe having their parents murdered in front of them, that's fine family viewing! And yes, I have noticed, they are fine looking people! 😃But😃But I am restricted to Netflix really.

I'm sure it's tricky, but in the interests of full disclosure, I am a bloke. 🙂I'm a recent arrival on MN, having left a talk board we'd posted on for many years, after some of the women posters were treated so appallingly by the site owner. So we set up a 'lifeboat' thread here, and are slowly spreading around. It all started cos of the womens' rights issues, and yeah, I get that MN doesn't need more blokes mansplaining all over the place!

Yearly festive Japanese market in the church hall opposite today. I have very very cute teddy bear chocolate bread to eat and some BEAUTIFUL wrapping cloths.

How lovely!

That sounds lovely Pol

@duc748 time to get some good security, a vpn and head off to Olga's aka dramacool, kissasian etc. They've got everything!

Oh, and welcome! Next year's advent calendar will be interesting! 😂

Ha! My son said to me the other day “how do you know the other people on your kdrama discussion are all women?” I laughed and said I didn’t. Ah well, you’ll have to put with us all objectifying the beautiful men.

Thanks! If it includes the lovely Kim Hyo-jin... 😍

It could be the hats. It’s definitely not the disappointing shoes and the saggy socks.

Have you watched Mr Sunshine yet, Duc? It’s a period drama, but on the cusp of modernity c1910 - so all the upheaval with the Japanese colonisation, the last emperor stepping down, the peasant counter-insurgency. There is a romance, but so much more. It is action packed, beautiful to watch and a fantastic cast. It’s on Netflix.

Mr Sunshine, yes, I started it, the history side of it was interesting, but I got waylaid by something else, 1899 I think, and didn't finish it, I'll have to go back and revisit it. As you say, it does look gorgeous.

I worked for occupational psychologists who performed psych testing as part of management recruitment process for some huge worldwide companies. I'm a big fan of MB tests and INFJ descriptions for me are uncannily accurate.

I once had a job interview that included M-B testing. I was the only person with the same result as the manager of the company, which was an international one. Needless to say, I wasn't offered the job!

@Rowdythree - you've definitely spoilt us with these pics of KJY.. goddayum!!!

Ah Goblin... cuteness overload from Kim Go-Eun, and the male cast; bawled eyes out with this one. And a hauntingly beautiful OST that I can't stop listening to.

Kdrama kisses... can we talk?! She goes to walk away, he grasps her arm and pulls her to him and then it's.. both hands hold her face as he bends down to plant one.. slowly... whilst she stands there, eyes wide open, arms to her side..

Ah girl.. you knew it was coming, just give in already! Ravish him for goodness sake ;-) But seriously.. this hand holding face thing, sigh...

Any top 10 list of best kissers?

Any top 10 list of best kissers?

Song Jung Ki in Nice Guy and Vincenzo roles, HAS to be on that list!

Not a fan of the straight armed, fish look kiss tho. I like wimmen to kiss back! 😂