MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #43): Where we marvel over the singularity of Taecyeon’s ears while waiting for Lee Min Ho to show up in his space scrubs

[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, Thai & Chinese drama as & when.

The previous thread is www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/4842000-mslattes-daebak-cybercafe-kdrama-addicts-42-where-we-weigh-up-two-smokin-hawt-chaebol-hotelliers-one-tortured-by-loss-and-the-other-crippled-by-abandonment-issues?page=1here
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, 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)🌟
King The Land (Netflix)
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)h
Misaeng (Netflix)🌟
My Liberation Notes🌟
Move to Heaven (Netflix)
My Mister (Viki/Netflix)🌟
My Unfamiliar Family (Viki)🌟
Navillera (Netflix)🌟
Not Others (Viki)
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
A Time Called You (Netflix)
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)🌟
My Lovely Liar (Viki)
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
Behind Your Touch (Netflix)
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)
Fake it Till You Make it (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 yes that's it 🤣 the facial expressions are truly classic.

@Cobol I'm intrigued by the Treasure YouTube ghost story thing - will have a look for it.... I liked Lee Jae Wook in AoS and in Extraordinary You (although EY character was a problematic douchebag) dunno what age I thought DW was - probably just filed him under 'age inappropriate' somewhere in my brain....

Oh LJW's character in EY was definitely a douchebag but he was very memorable in the role.

The Treasure ghost story is called The Mysterious Class. There's a lot of them (12?) and I couldn't always tell them apart (😁) but it was still quite fun.

And yes, Dylan Wang is very age inappropriate, but very watchable, especially his facial expressions, which are often hilarious.

I've just started on My Roommate Is a Gumiho and enjoying it a lot. Still not completed Café Minamdang as while it is LOL for me, the suspense is starting to kick-in, so I have to not watch before bed! I am a wimp. Also am rewatching Yet To Come in Busan as I watched it at the cinema before but quite like the luxury of my own sofa. I keep getting pushed clips of Byeon Woo-seok as the 'baddie' in Strong Girl. I've not started watching it yet but my word he plays a very good baddie! Took me a while to realise he was the dreamy one in Joseon Flower Crew. He's transformed into baddie really v well. Mind you spotted he was only born in 1991, and I was a a grown-up by then😱

Dragonrock I had to look Byeon Woo-seok up as although I watched Flower Crew I have zero memory of it and I didn't recognise him in the couple of eps I've watched of Nam Soon but have now realised he was the escort in Search WWW and also Park Bo-gum's friend in Record of Youth. I was also a grown-up (just) in 1991 but according to the formula previously mentioned on these pages and recently quoted in Ghosts of half your age plus 7 I'm going to declare him age appropriate (for me anyway😉).

I also really enjoyed Gumiho, it's a good one.

Watching this reel explains why I haven’t updated the spreadsheet for ages. I have a trail of half finished dramas in my watch list and I haven’t even started half of them.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyB0627s6oM/?igshid=Y2NkYjk0MDhjYg==

Well that was a damp squib of a 22 episode trip to China. She never did find his helmet. Oh well.

Twinkling Watermelon - wrapped up nicely 👍I'm really going to miss watching it every week. Really good ensemble cast, but especially strong performances from Ryeoun and Choi Hyun-wook. Just a very likeable, fun and moving drama, one of my favourites this year.

😂 still no helmet?! Someone called the health and safety department!

While I wait for the final ep of The Killing Vote to air, I've started Moon in the Day (Wiki). It's a Fantasy/revenge/romance/mystery and ML, Kim Young Dae is killing it in the role of a lost soul who takes over the body of a dead actor (bear with me) who then comes back to life so he can revenge his death on the current reincarnation of his killer of 1500yrs ago. It's fun, even though the kissing so far is shite.

Yes! Its good isn't it Migs?! KYD is doing a good job with the dual role.... Agree about the kissing though- its a bit crap, dead eyed fish kissing..... without any spoilers, its possibly intentional due to the storyline though? I'm on the fence about FL - I dont dislike her, but I think she's a bit miscast (that's probably a bit of a webtoon hangover though - I'll do my best to get over it...)

Loup, I first encountered the actress now playing the FL when she was in VIP, but liked her in Taxi Driver, so I'm ok with her in this role. I'm going to be so disappointed if I find out that magnificent tree is CGI and OMO, isn't Han Joon Oh's living room spectacular?!

📣Singles Inferno 3 returns on Netflix on Dec 12th!!!!!

The Singles Inferno update has cheered me. It is perfect TV for these long, dark evenings.

www.instagram.com/reel/CyZhjzFPJvH/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Just putting this here to remind everyone why he's been nominated for the Advent Calendar 😎 #filthynoonas

Ok Taecyeon, your shirt is missing a button or two! I say this with 100% love, but I enjoy his stage persona all the more because he's really kind of a dork 😆 still in my top 3 oppas though!

Worth a read because the parallels with Dr Cha are startling when you get to the discussion about cultural factors:

Most living organ donors in India are women giving kidneys to men.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7dc84962-83a4-11ee-8006-26a8adc181a5?shareToken=07591bac668f02f1848474494118d7c3

That plot in Dr Cha was INFURIATING- the horrendous mother in law!! I remember watching it in the gym with my headphones in and my facial expressions must have been hilarious. I mean, would I give dh an organ? Yes. But I'd expect him to give me one too!

I’m watching The Real Has Come. Don’t ask me why. It has a strong makjang vibe with all the shrieking and chaebol machinations. I was shocked to see it was made this year because I’d have put these wobbly production values and too bright lighting in 2015. I usually can’t stand Ahn Jae Hyun and my finger is hovering over the off button. I’m skipping all the boring bits, Bea-style. And yet… God, I love a contract marriage set-up. I’m such a sucker for them. My fave romcom subgenre for sure. Tell me if it’s pants, though. I’m only on episode 3.

It is a bit of a Brookside aesthetic with the bright lights and wobbly sets boaty - the plot got on my nerves in many places but i made it through to the end , because i somehow got invested early on and wanted to know what happened, but skipped all boring bits, even entire episodes toward the end....

I’m skipping:

• all the bickering ahjummas and halmeonis at Old School,
• scenes with FL’s loser donsaeng, the stage school poppet and dopey samcheon
• the ambitious secretary
• the screechy chaebol household, and
• teaching scenes.

It means I’m cracking through it at a lick. I basically have time for FL, ML and his mother. I might also slow down to see if the rekindled couple are going anywhere.

Chaebol household get a bit more likeable as it goes on, especially the halmeoni, and dongsaeng/poppet get quite a cute but predictable storyline. Ha, when I was watching it I also skipped ALL the teaching scenes right from the start 😴

Urgh. The women are subject to so much social sanction in The Real has Come for their fertility choices while the men get off scot free. I keep hoping a big Terry Gilliam/Monty Python foot will descend on screen and crush the worst offenders. I am gradually leaning towards hate-watching this show. My ffwding is entirely guilt-free.

The Old School principal is on the side of the angels and will be spared the giant foot. 👏

Fourth rewatch of Good Morning Call and I've brought @TheLoupGarou along for the ride.

Yeehaa!

And I am 1000% in. This is Jdrama GOLD I tell you. I am bingeing it like mad and the laundry remains unsorted 😁