MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #39): February sees the Filthy Noonas warmed by the smouldering embers of Jin’s leather trousers

[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)
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 Forbidden Marriage (Viki)
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 (Netflix)🌟
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)
Sell Your Haunted House (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)
Meet Yourself (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 Makanai (Netflix, 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

#2Alchemy 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!

It's worth a watch migs - especially when Jimin pops up. We got dance time, squirrel cake and balloons, Yoongi in the chat and lovely sunshine Hobi. I'm off work today revising software testing and it cheered me up greatly.

Re: Jin - I think if I had the opportunity I would find it hard not to check out his package (ahem) but bad craic for the drill instructor to post details on the internet (I'm sort of imagining a version of the showers in hwarang 🤣 I'll have to go for a lie down!) Apologies to all the normal people on the thread for the bangtan FN spam - I'll give myself a stern talking to!

Apologies to all the normal people on the thread for the bangtan FN spam - I'll give myself a stern talking to!

I wouldn’t worry. We found our level a while ago and your recent posts are in keeping with that. 😉

I'm now wondering what the poor male on this thread is thinking 🤔 probably that we're all quite mad! 😳🫣
<mumbles need to escape >

🤣 it's sort of a sorry (not sorry) situation really.

I wanted to watch the J Hope in the box documentary tonight, but DH put his foot down and we are watching Bullet Train (Brad Pitt movie)

I am eagerly waiting for next episode of CCiR.
It suddenly clicked - what if missing brother of female student is ML’s secretary & you know who ⚪🫢

Ooh JinBhoot's finally caught up with CCiR. I was there a few days ago and similarly hyped for the next episode. It's very well done. You get it exactly when they want you to get it.

I watched the end of LtHY and the first half of Jhope In the Box before DH got back from the pub 😅
Both were excellent!!

I just had a lovely dream about Cha Eun Woo, very wholesome and not at all FN. Probably because DH and I started Island last night, even though the hot Priest only appeared in a few scenes.

I'm so looking forward to CCiR, I save both episodes to watch on a Sunday afternoon when I have the house to myself, bliss. Jin and cobol I agree, it all starts to click into place, very cleverly written.

@MigsandTiggs - go for haircut if you have silky hair.
My previous look was more like FL from Mad for you. My hair curley/wavy plus frizzy.

I can’t stop watching K docs, as much as I would like to take a credit but it wasn’t me who found it so who ever did it, great find.
My take so far, in majority of couples, men & MILd are behaving quite similarly regardless of ethnicity. Could it be Asian behaviour?

by Shin Seung Hoon where are tissues?

Lots to think about then Jin, as I both swim and colour my hair so it's a constant battle against dryness. I'll have a chat with my hairdresser but if it all goes Worzel Gummidge, I'm chopping it all off!

I'm watching the movie Unlocked on Netflix. Very disturbed young villain. Can this shit really happen? 😧 Only marginally related, but I'm very glad banks are now using voice recognition for id.
I don't know why I like horror, crime and thriller genres so much. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Who in BTS are going camping???? Suga, J Hope???

Even though familiar with KDriving standards the end of today's CCiR had me actually shouting "Look at the bleeding road!" 😂

Pol I been known to count aloud the seconds the driver has their eyes off the road!

Ha - the thing I always notice is when they just park the car in the middle of the street and also holding hands while driving (Healer, I'm looking at you!).

Don't know who is going camping migs but that looks like a nice setup! We are getting a lot of content at the minute - makes me wonder if the hyung-line at least will all be doing military service by the end of the year ...

J-Hope documentary was great 👍

So much content Loup that my phone keeps going off in the wee hours of the morning as well as during the day and I get fomo if I don't check it out! I want more drunk JK 😂

JK's drunk live is living on, rent free in my brain 🤣 that boy is pure trouble.

Correct me if I'm wrong guys but the camping images are I think the first concept hints for Yoongi's PHOTO FOLIO 😻credit card at the ready 😁🤘
(I had to turn off Weverse notifications as MrSaram was risking permanent eye dislocation what with all the side-eyesing going on, checked it out just now to see what was going on 🙂)

I've seen the stills from Unlocked. What is it with dodgy stalkers/psychos/creeps and late 80s / early 90s glasses? Cf Unlocked, the creepy deacon in Hellbound and of course Somebody. I mean ok I get the Nilsen/Dahmer reference 🤔but this is definitely a K-drama trope now, right? Steel-rimmed aviator-shaped glasses = gory, twisted deaths about to ensue. (Or this is a general thing and I've missed the memo?) To make it worse they're very in among trendy young folk here, together with mullets (embryonic and otherwise) which I'm finding a bit unsettling 😁

On the last episode of LtHY and it's up there as my top drama this year so far, together with The Glory (can't wait for part 2) and CCiR (pray for my soul, last part won't be out here till the end of March 😥). Really love Yoo Teo, he is so expressive. Guaranteed a place on my personal advent oppa list. He's about to promote his latest film, Past Lives, at the Berlinale, so will be looking out for that in the cinemas.

There is no kdrama whatsoever happening here. DH has paid for a month’s NowTV so we can crunch Last of Us this weekend. So far the US chombies are “mid”, as the yoof would say. The kids have already watched it on Olga-like sites but DH wanted to watch it properly. They pop in and out to watch bits, then drift away to do other stuff.

I bought a jar of Korean citron tea in Homesense (TK Maxx spinoff) this afternoon. There were a few, so you might find it at other stores if you have one locally.

Ahhh is that what the camping set up was about? Mr Loup also has eye-strain from continuous eye rolling and side-eye - he has to contend with ds trying to learn the 'Fire' choreo in the living room and dd watching music videos on repeat as well. Pray for him 🤣

I'm very behind with CCiR, only on episode 4 - something to look forward to! Given up on Kokdu for the time being - just lost interest. I will prob watch it when it's all out and I can ff the boring bits.

boaty I'm quite enjoying The Last of Us - I don't think I could binge it though, it's a combo of stressful and a bit boring in places - 1 episode is my limit!

Boaty my only non-Korean viewing recently has been Wednesday and the Pamela Anderson doc (not the mini series 😬). Both thoroughly enjoyed!

TheLoup On balance, I think your DH is probably suffering more than mine. At least here, JuniorSaram is definitely on his side and says 'bruh' whenever Korean things are mentioned (except Korean soft drinks and snacks which - strangely enough - are very popular all round 🤔).

Given up on Kokdu for the time being - just lost interest

TheLoup I’m finding it hard to follow what’s going on.

Andante I'm finding the FL very irritating and the plot is all over the place - it's a shame as I thought the first two episodes were promising. I will probably pick it up again after it's all broadcast just to see how things pan out....

I was just saying we should down tools shortly. We’re up to ep 5 and it’s creeping me out. I want to sleep well tonight and zombies often give me nightmares, and the rapist/murderer post-apocalytic humans even more so.

Agree the humans are worse than the zombies, although fungi creep me out at the best of times so fungi-zombies are absolutely not my favourite.

You're not really selling me either Kokdu or The Last of Us, guys 🤔😂 We started watching The Walking Dead years ago and both loathed it. I REALLY like Korean jombies, though. Particularly the jolty way they move and the kind of guttural hissing 👌