MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #40): The Filthy Noonas’ rapidly expanding flock gambol into spring with a giddiness only matched by Junkook’s drunken vlives

[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)
Our Blooming Youth (Viki)
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/Netflix)
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 Course in Romance (Netflix)
Crash Landing on You (Netflix)🌟Descendants of the Sun (Viki/Netflix)
Doctors (Netflix)
Doom At Your Service (Viki)
Extraordinary Attorney Woo (Netflix)
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)🌟
Delivery Man (Viki)
Happiness (Viki/Netflix)🌟
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’
We 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
Coutrtesy 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 - 9.42
#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!

@Rowdythree would you recommend Crunchy Roll? DD really wants it but we have so many subscriptions already. 😳

DH and I just started 'Tale of the Nine Tailed' which I'm getting addicted to! DD has got us watching live-action 'Kimi Ni Todoke' which is very cute. I need to try to get some English language drama in so that I have things to talk about with real life friends... 'Beef' looks good!

sakura I know exactly what you mean about having no TV shows to talk to real life friends about 🤣 in the last 6 months I've watched Wednesday, Vikings Valhalla, Smoke and Bone, that Wu Tang one on Disney+, Lockwood ..... Enjoyed all but they are all probably a bit niche for random water cooler chat as well (or would be in my work 🙄)

We've got Crunchy Roll on a roku stick, but it's the free version with loads of adverts - I wonder if you could get a free trial to decide if it's worth it? I'm implementing a one in one out system for subscriptions - Apple tv got sacrificed for Viki.

I think we're on a 2 week free trial for Crunchy Roll, but it seems like good value as its not as expensive as other subscription services. However, we have found that not all the shows have English subtitles which is a bit frustrating.

sakura I'm going to watch Beef so I have something to talk to my friends about too 😂

Black Knight | Official Teaser | Netflix [ENG SUB]:

(my) Kim Woo Bin 😍

Loup, sorry, not sorry, for TRHC😆It's binge worthy tho.
Can't wait for May and Black Knight!

Call it Love wrapped up very nicely. Liked it a lot although between that and IoL definitely new Daebak award category of Ponderously Slow Meaningful Couple Walk.

Haha! Thanks everyone. I suppose we just need to convert all our friends to K drama addicts. This has worked for one of mine, but she doesn't like romance so just watches all the dark stuff!

@TheLoupGarou a one in, one out system sounds ideal. Sadly no idea what I would get rid of though.

Evening all!

A quick recommendation for Powerless, a gluten-free manhwa on bato about a man who loses his superpowers and has to adjust to life as a normie. It’s really well done. I love the writer’s sense of humour. Only 7 episodes so far but all killer, no filler.

Ooh I've got a work convert! She asked for more recs after she watched CLOY and then Oh My Venus
She's going to watch Fight For My Way next.
We had a lovely chat about shower scenes 😁

I think it was you TheGirlWithTheArabStrap who first mentioned BTS fanfic and now I can't stop reading it. I don't even listen to much of their music! But the fanfic, I love it. Watching very little drama at the moment because of it.

Haha sorry *Methaven^ 😬
There is a never ending supply!! Have you got any recs? Have you got a favourite ship?

I'll forgive you just this once TheGirlWithTheArabStrap 😁. No particular recs and no favourite ship, to be honest, although I do quite like original characters/BTS how about you? Yes, there is plenty out there, some of the authors are just so talented, I am in awe.

I havnt found that many OC ones that I've loved. I think Namkook or Taejoon are my favourites, or OT7 🤔. Basically I'll read anything, and I agree there are some amazing writers 💜

A lot of the OCs can be a bit annoying, that's for sure. Yep, I'll give most fics a try, you never know until you delve in.

Aigoo twitter thread of the day.
https://twitter.com/juwonreports/status/1646494684427218945?t=jZLStlThLR7w8Ic0P3-KtA&s=19

Blimey. That sounds like a lot of pressure on everyone. No wonder people are deciding not to have children. 😕

Oh dear, that was a sad read! It's no surprise that people don't want/don't have the means to have children. I have no idea how the situation will improve whilst everything is so culturally ingrained, right from birth it seems. I guess a lot of depictions in dramas are quite realistic when it comes to the fierce competition for education and the sacrifices that parents/grandparents make for their children 😕

Some Chinese people are reacting against the pressure.

The idea of 'lying flat', or tang ping in Chinese, means taking a break from relentless work. The tang ping movement took off during 2021 as many felt they were coming under increasing pressure to work even harder and out perform their peers.

Maybe a similar movement will start in Korea.

That was a slightly depressing read - I was watching a show randomly about a forest school in Japan and the founder was saying they started the forest school because they never saw children playing outside in the town they live in - all their time is spent studying. The mad thing is that no parent would say they want their children to live like that, they just think it is necessary in the system that exists - as Rowdy said, it's so culturally ingrained.

Whilst I understand totally where that twitter poster is coming from in saying they don't want to have kids for all those reasons, I don't think he should regard his parents child rearing years as 'wasted' because they are the ones that made the choices to do those things if that makes sense? Almost all parents choose to make sacrifices for their children. I wonder if that poster would feel differently if they perceived themselves as being more successful? What would make all that effort worth it?

Also, I watched the rest of OBY - I thought it really picked up in the last 3-4 episodes (why not spread the story out across earlier episodes I'll never know). I didn't dislike the ending but thought it was a bit underwhelming. I think the drama might have been better without the main romance - I accept I had some 2ML syndrome though...

The reality in countries like SK and China is that education and working long hours are seen as the primary enabler of social mobility. People "dropping out" of this mindset will probably be viewed as foolish by the majority of their peers and I wouldn't be surprised if they see this as an opportunity for them to fill the vacated spaces in education and employment.

I think that people on this thread have an understanding of the complexity of life in a Confucian based social model and the role of all generations to support the success of the family. The idea of a family pooling resources to enable the success of other members (who are in turn expected to help the family economically and otherwise) is widespread.

Pol, I read the twitter feed and have to say that at my uni here, the results of the final Eng degree exams with placings for all 150 students were put up on the notice board for everyone to see. At school abroad, this also happened with O and A Level results. I'm guessing that this no longer happens?

I agree with Loup that the tweeter's (westernised) perspective of the "sacrifices" that parents/grandparents make, from their pov, are likely to be what caring parents/grandparents do.

Chingus, my seeds have arrived! Trying to grow looks like being a test of my gardening skills as the packet from the nursery warns that "germination is difficult and erratic"! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼