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!

Good girl B.

I want one so bad. Maybe we could fashion one out of our heated throws and an IKEA Lack?

OK am I going to be the first to link to it....? 😁

Looks like it's so good you've got it twice 🤔😁

boaty you weren't too off with your interpretation of some of those concept photos 😁 I see a visual reference to Slowthai's Inglorious video (which may in itself have been a film reference, not sure). So much to unpick there. Not least the continuation of themes explored in Daechwita.

Listened to the full album once at the crack of dawn. Haven't looked into the lyrics yet. Main takeaways: 4 immediately outstanding tracks. Slight overuse of autotune (is that what it's called?) on some of the vocal tracks (seems to be in stylistically at the moment, also features on Face). Occasionally a bit too much English in places for me. But nothing near the horror of People part 2. Which, predictably, has grown on me massively despite the awful refrain. The reptile part of my brain has no taste 🙈

FedUp and Rowdy Was It Love? is added to the list 🙌

I'm working today but will be listening to Yoongi on my way home 👍

Saram - thanks for the heads-up and link. Enjoyed that, quite a lot to unpick, looking forward to reading all the theories. A

Episode 3 of True to Love/Bora Deborah is most accurate representation of a painful break up I've seen I think. Brilliantly done.

I can't wait to watch! I enjoyed first two episodes so much 👍

I have finally started Alchemy of Souls it's a bit good so far.

Ahhhh Metheven a treat in store re AoS!

Saram! That Haegeum MV is CLASS. I think tropical shirt gangster AgustD is my favourite ever Min Yoongi 😍

Listened to a bit of the album in the car but only got as far as first few tracks, love "Huh!" feat Hobi.

TheLoupGarou I am definitely enjoying it so far.

TheLoup glad you liked it! It is indeed a quality production 😁 I've watched it about 15 times today at least, so it must be 🙈😁 In that Palette IU interview he said he'd been approached for acting jobs after the Daechwita video but wasn't interested. There's also a clip I've seen a number of times of Ra Mi-ran (it wasn't just a random FN anyway) calling to him backstage at some showbiz thing around their debut saying 'are you interested in acting?'

Wdn't surprise me if he goes in that direction eventually. I see a bit of Joaquin Phoenix's Joker in the tropical shirt gangster, and Al Pacino in the ?corrupt police officer. And I like the fleeting reference to tangerines 🙌 🍊

It occurs to me that MrSaram has a number of tropical shirts like that, and in fact a red and black plaid shirt almost identical to the one Yoongi wears quite alot. Taken together with what I call my 'J-Hope hoodie' 😁 we're quite the Sope 🤔 😂

I really like the album as a whole. I was a bit worried after People part 2 that I have might have gone and pre-ordered myself some rather expensive coasters, but I think I'm ok 😁

Just watched again to spot the tangerines 🍊

I've been rewatching the Hageum MV again today and am blown away by the storytelling and the use of colour, all those blues and highlights of reds/oranges like chopsticks and tangerines.

However at the very end I keep wanting to shout 'Get Your Head In From The Car Window Min Yoongi It's Dangerous!!!'

Just done my first D-Day album listen - it's really good, definitely not a coaster Saram! Standout tracks for me : Haegeum, Huh!, Snooze, Polar Night and I like Interlude: Dawn as well.

Even DH was vibing to Haegeum - it's a banger!

bettys same re: car danger 😂 The more I watch this video the more I'm floored by the creativity and expression 😵 I always struggle trying to explain to people that modern Korean music is not just about 'boy bands doing their little dances' as one friend put it (although that is also fun, don't get me wrong 😁). Here is the proof, if proof were needed!

TheLoup I love Polar Night and Snooze too. Also Life Goes On. Be was released just as I was getting seriously into Bangtan and I thought it was a stunning song from the start. Love this new take on it.

Any one near Hastings? This looks cool
Yun Hyong Kyun exhibition

' Yun Hyong Keun' that should read - sorry for typo

I see that Hastings Contemporary is also putting on a special event Korean Day Late (Film & Food) on the 17th Aug.

It's a day out chingus!!!

...I've also checked out the distance from LGW to Hastings...😉

Just noticed that Netflix has a new section "Newcomers to KDrama" and the curated content may be of interest to newcomers to this thread.

And my 4th post is a comment on that Haeguem video.Loved it Never mind the guns, violence and potentially lethal chopsticks, where is the health warning against smoking cigarettes???😂😂😂

Soju bombs!!
Ahem.

I’ve been listening to D-DAY today, a bit slower to it than the rest of you. I really like it, the second half of the album more so. My faves are Amygdala, Polar Night & Snooze. I like Interlude - it shows how versatile he is. Weirdly, People pt 2 is one of least favourite tracks, too poppy.