MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #42): Where we weigh up two smokin’ hawt chaebol hotelliers, one tortured by loss and the other crippled by abandonment issues

[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
Bloodhounds (Netflix)
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)
Race (Disney+)
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)
The Good Bad Mother (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’
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)
F4 Thailand (Viki)
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
#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!

Haha! I'd forgotten about the upcoming space-gynaecologist madness 😁 I'm eagerly awaiting it!

I've got to confess, ABH is not doing it for me in SYIMNL , although i have liked him in other things - maybe just the character/Lego hair? Dunno.... I felt the same as you Andante - lots to like about it, but not in my top ten.

I started watching Longing for You on Viki (4 episodes out so far) I'm not quite sure how to describe it - tonally it is all over the place - sort of a police thriller? It is tropey as owt and the episodes so far seem to have basically been story set-up, however I'm sucked in somehow. I do love a police drama. I especially like that the Korean detectives always have the same wardrobe and hair and basically the same supporting characters (and sometimes actors 😁)

Excellent work re: accomodation bargain boaty - the room-scrolling paid off! 🫶

I'm thinking now of compiling a top ten police-oppa list 🤔 I'll give it some thought....

Omo! Omo! Lads! I’m away for work. 😭

just been watching some of Alchemy of Souls with the kids this afternoon as we are all a bit under the weather - both ds's getting into it (although both said they think Yul should be the hero, due to being cool - they haven't seen Jang Uk at full strength yet). I had to ffwd a couple of gory bits. Don't think they have got the whole 30 episodes in them though 🤣

Aaahhhhh!!!!!! 😭😭😭

I agree about SYIMNL. It's a nice little mystery and Shin Hye-sun is very watchable as always but there was nothing particularly exceptional about it. I think it was Ahn Bo-hyun's character, rather than ABH himself, though, that was lacking. It felt a little underwritten to me, with not enough for the actor to work with.

I'm having similar issues with KTL as well. I finally made it through ep 10 (while ironing) but feel no further forward and wondering why I'm bothering. I probably wouldn't have, but Six Flying Dragons was getting a bit intense, so I needed a break. I think it's the knowing a bit about what's coming (being based on proper history and all) and Yoo Ah-in crying in the snow, but it all got a bit much and I needed some light relief but KTL didn't really deliver. Too much extended glossy photoshoot and not enough humour.

I'm missing Heartbeat, basically, and just counting down the days to the next episode ☹️

@Cobol I am right with you on Heartbeat- I can't believe I only started watching it about 2 weeks ago - it so quickly shot to the top of my watch priority list!!

Love Heartbeat as well. I had to persevere through first two episodes as there were some cringe moments but after that I was All In!

TheLoup, you were right about D.P. it's very good. I agree it's upsetting in parts but already well into it. One of my 17yr old also saw a bit of it and through it was right up her street, a bit dark but with lighter moment. I watched all 2 hrs of HeartSignal S4 last night, ohhh it has captured me, not sure why. Hoping to be able to get Netflix on the Amazon firestick while we are on holiday. Think I might download KtL onto my ipad for when I am not driving.

If anyone fancies a trip to hospital for a stomach washout try taking a shot for every PPL handover in finale of KtL

Haha pol - but is there subway? Every chaebol's favourite sandwich 😉

I'm still on ep 11 and wondering if giving out plaques at anniversary events is really a thing and, if it is, what happens to them all. I'm imagining a fly tipping island somewhere with a small mountain of the them alongside a hillock of unwanted Blankety Blank chequebook and pens 😂

Or a cottage industry of commemorative plaque depersonalisation/recycling.....

We’ve just finished King the Land and we enjoyed it, but as regards chaebol falling in love with employee, it lacked both the imagination, light touch and singularity of What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim.
There were some sweet scenes though and some beautiful scenery.

The Uncanny Counter 2 ep 4, if the camera had gone 0.5cm lower in the bathroom scene, it would have been 🫣🥖 for the main villain!!! K-drama is getting much freer with nudity 🤔 ... and we already know where JK has taken k-pop. Anyone else seen the bit where he opens up to say "Ah!" with a cheeky grin? it might have been on his latest Live. <shakes head and mutters, "I'm too old for this!>

I've seen it migs - also the cheeky delivery of the "seven different angles, I can be your fantasy" line in several performances 💀💀💀💀🪦 < applies supplementary oxygen >🤭

I see Mingyu has also levelled up after his 4am live with JK and has gained the skill of random solo lives as well. I bet there is a PR team somewhere sweating 😅

migs there was Mo Tak's topless training scene as well - Uncanny Counter is delivering the Ahjussi eye candy for sure 👍

@polkettle I was full on cackling at the synchronised nespresso machines!! And the random almond milk (??) Gu Won and Manager No drank together. Took me out of the show a bit 😬
There was a particularly clunky / bad dominos PPL spot it the finale of HTCCC that may have just been topped as most awkward.

On the whole I've enjoyed KtL without it being a favourite. And the first kiss will go down as legit one of my favourite ever on screen kisses.

Morning everyone! I'm back from a week in a caravan with no phone signal. I downloaded all of DP2 so could at least watch that. It was really good!! And last night managed to finish DR3 which was lovely, and ended with a set up for another series!!

Hello everyone, I've not posted for over a year 😳

Thoroughly enjoyed King the Land, I also loved Business Proposal. Are there any other sweet and daft series with the same vibe?

I am so loving Not Others. Heart melting over appa's hot seduction moves in today's episode 😁

Welcome back Leonardo. Not sure if you're limited to Netflix and what else you have watched but off top of my head might suggest What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, Oh My Venus, Hometown Cha-cha-cha, She was Pretty, Her Private Life, Love to Hate You and Touch my Heart as being (to various degrees) fluff-tastic.

(oops make that Touch Your Heart)

All of the above Leonardo, I'll also add Fight my Way, 1% of Something, Law Cafe, Romance is a Bonus Book, While You Were Sleeping 🙂 Have you watched Crash Landing On You ?

Thanks for your suggestions 😃 I'll look for them on Netflix (I don't have Viki). Netflix has a lot of choice.

I have seen CLOY, the 'gold standard '. I'm waiting for the perfect time to rewatch it!

I have seen CLOY, the 'gold standard '. I'm waiting for the perfect time to rewatch it!

It is indeed the ‘gold standard’. I have a fantasy of being married to Elon Musk or similar billionaire and offering Park Ji Eun the script writer and all the cast to name their price to make another series (yes I know it would be impossible to come up with another story given the North/South plot, and it’s also impossible that I’ll marry a billionaire).