MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #38): Where we’re still reeling from the 2022 top 5 scoring Jdrama First Love v Alchemy of Souls kerfuffle. What can I say? Takeru Satoh broke our scoring rubric.

[boatyardblues]

A quiet corner of MN for serious addicts of Kdrama, or the K-curious. Most of our shows are on 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)
Little Women (Netflix)
My Name (Netflix)
My Secret Terrius (Netflix)🌟
Signal (Netflix)🌟
Somebody (Netflix, content warning: sexual & violence)
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)

‘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 ‘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)
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)

Top Scoring 2022 Dramas
Courtesy of much-missed Hello’s kdrama spreadsheet, updated by thread regulars. Marks out of 10.

#1 My Liberation Notes 9.45

#2 Alchemy of Souls 9.10

#3 First Love 8.88 (Jdrama)

#4 Our Blues 8.83

#5 Gaus Electronics 8.75

Top Scoring 2021 Dramas
#1 The Red Sleeve - 10
#2 Happiness - 9
#3 Devil Judge - 8.75
#4 Squid Game - 8.6
#5 Navillera - 8.57

Top Scoring 2020 dramas
#1 Mr Queen - 9.4
#2 Parasite (film) - 9.05
#3 It's Okay To Not Be Okay - 8.88
#4 The Uncanny Counter - 8.50
#5 Once Again - 8.42

Top Scoring 2019 dramas
#1 Her Private Life - 9.40
#2 Melo is My Nature - 9.00
#3 tied: Crash Landing On You, The Crowned Clown, The Lies Within, and The Tale of Nokdu - 8.75
#4 Hotel del Luna - 8.50
#5 tied: Romance is a Bonus Book, and Search: WWW - 8.17

We are fans of all things Korean, so equally happy to talk about Korean cookery, language, current affairs, film and music when the mood takes us. A few of us are learning Korean, Japanese and/or Mandarin (some more diligently than others), so we swap tips and links to language resources. Basically, anything topical goes.

We often resort to acronyms and/or abbreviations of show titles or 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!

If you look at the Relationships board, the "white knight" seems to be a common theme.

Single or recently divorced neighbour/family friend needs emotional and labour support from the DH. Even if it's not a full blown affair, the time and resource investment spent away from one's own family is wrong.

Fedup, I forgot about the white knight syndrome! A friend's dd is currently divorcing and the emotional affair with a neighbour may well have been the impetus for checking out of the marriage. I remember warning my friend that an emotional affair could be more dangerous than a real one,

Pol, yes, there is that ML fancies FL plus understands the class issues because of his own background. This is reinforced by the work colleague who breaks up with poor long term gf and goes ahead with marriage to a more suitable person even though he still loves x-gf, and the manager whose progress is hampered by marriage into a poor family.
Real exploration of love and relationships?

All too real. If anything its the FL motivated by pity in her relationship.
These blog posts are good (spoiler full obviously) She gets Sang Su's social status slightly wrong in first one but everything else spot on: crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2023/01/07/the-interest-of-love-episodes-1-4-thoughts/
crabbyfordramas.wordpress.com/2023/01/18/the-interest-of-love-5-8-thoughts/
Both can't wait for episode 12 today and will be watching from behind cushion.

Btw just discovered that anyone can join Korean digital library and take out loads of Korean translated ebooks and audio books for free!
library.ltikorea.or.kr/

Thanks pol

May I Help You - Amazon Prime is quite nice... it's like Tomorrow... a little supernatural... helping people in the afterlife... episodic little stories but with a regulatr theme running through... worth a watch ...

Migs I think Pol, FedUp and Jin have it covered in their analyses. I will definitely be checking out this drama when it's out here, sounds interesting.

Pol thanks for the link, what a great resource!

I'm starting TIoL ep 11 now and just want to give all the characters a motherly wake up slap. Can't believe how much this drama has sucked me in.

This discussion has got me intrigued about TIoL. I'm going to try it next, only 1.5 eps of UTQU to go 💪

Has anyone else been checking out the videos of Yoongi at the Valentino show? See voguekorea and marieclairekorea on Instagram. He was sitting next to Sam Smith in the front row, and I was edified to hear Antony and the Johnsons on the soundtrack 😃 I thought he looked a bit overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. And very shiny.

I was enormously tempted to pop on the train over to Paris just for the hell of it 😁but was in sole charge of JuniorSaram, who would only have gone 'bruh' and rolled eyes if taken.

There was alot of hysterical screaming and shouting from photographers on the red carpet : 'Sir! Look left sir!' etc. I guess that's all par for the course, certainly at their level of superstardom. It did rather remind me of the video for Shadow, though 😬 I was thinking I would actually have been able to shout instructions in Korean, if required 😁 and to ask politely for a photograph. Phrases I will likely never need in my life in the context of BTS 😁 might come in handy in a dream though

hwaiting Rowdy 💪
All I can say about TIoL is that I go "Aigoo!" after every episode and today's was no exception.

YOONGI MARRY ME

Pffffff hahaha

😁

😂 Oi, what about SSK!

Yoongi looks great, but I thought he looked very slim!

Rowdy yes that struck me too 😬 almost disappeared when he turned sideways. Maybe he just didn't have the energy to be very responsive 🤔 I'm always reluctant to comment on people's weight. There can be all sorts of reasons for weight loss and gain. It's rarely my business, and even when it is commenting on it is rarely helpful. And we all know what Korean beauty standards are like. My fantasies involving Yoongi are generally focused on getting some food into him. Hope Valentino are paying him in tangerines 🤔

Might I suggest turning up in a wedding dress complete with bouquet? Worked elsewhere for a fan!😁

Haha fedup - there's an idea for Wednesday 🤣

Yoongi is looking very ethereal in those pics - he's like one of the Bride of Haebek gods or something.

TIoL is good on so many levels but its tense, stomach churning angst needs some relief ... and once again Reddit comes to the rescue:

"Now that we finally got a hot, steamy kiss, I am once again asking for our leads to do the sexiest thing of all - go to therapy."

"Making me watch that awkward, tense mess should be against the Geneva Convention ong".

Snap!😂😂😂

I don't normally rewatch shows, but think I'll have to rewatch all the earlier episodes in case I've missed things that have later significance, and I haven't a scubbie what's going to happen next!!!

Today was "Aigoo" chanting day.😭

Wow! Like finding treasure. 😍 Thanks Pol.

Yes, brilliant Pol thanks!!

The first two episodes of The Interest of Love dropped here today, so I've paused Vincenzo to make a start. Definitely intriguing! Will be two a week between now and mid-March, so I won't be able to binge-watch even if I wanted to.

Lots of familiar faces, so working out where I've seen them before will keep me busy tomorrow 😁The FL reminds me (visually) of my current Korean teacher, which is a bit distracting 🤔😂

I’ve been browsing the ebooks on that library. @polkettle If I want to read on my Kindle is it best to download the pdf into Kindle, or does the overdrive ebook integrate with Kindle? I feel tech naive at this point.

I am not the person to ask but saw on Twitter that one could do it through downloading Libby app and then adding Digital library of Korean Literature as a library. Your card number is the email you signed up with. I have successfully borrowed a graphic novel and got two other things on hold.