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!

I'm following Deema. She looks like she is very busy! And I feel sorry for her that it's raining constantly 😅

Me too!

I've been following Deema! She looks like she is having a great time, despite rain and she has been to so many locations. I got especially excited by the house from Our Beloved Summer.

I’ve also enjoyed Deema’s posts. I hadn’t realised the abandoned fairground from The Sound Of Magic was a real place - I thought Seoul land was so valuable that somewhere like that would’ve been snapped up for building.

I just saw that one this morning - it's as if JCW could just appear in a top hat from nowhere < day-dreams > I think that park is maybe in the middle of nowhere, so not been built on before becoming a tourist attraction...

Any tips very welcome. We will mainly be just exploring Seoul, but possibly a day or two somewhere else. We will probably be there for ten to twelve days. Dd2 hates missing any school and we aren’t sure whether we want to be there for Christmas Day itself, we also have animals. Ten days doesn’t seem long enough though.

Deema is visiting many of the places we have also earmarked. Been interesting to see from her how much more commercialised some of the KD locations have been than I expected eg HCCC mural etc. The abandoned fairground is on my potential list but definite for other travel chingus (some hard decisions will have to be made) . It's slightly off the beaten track, hence the fact presumably that better monetised as creepy filming location than sold for development.

🚨PSA 🚨
Song of the Bandits episodes 1-9 have dropped on Netflix. I have already informed DH that this is what we will be watching tonight. Trailer looks really good....

Yey fancy that too 👍

I'm watching and enjoying First Responders S2 and while some of the autopsies are grim, I'm reminded that any visit to Seoul could only be enhanced by grabbing your very own steel bar and wading into a gang fight. Flying kicks optional!😂

Today’s An Hour of Romance manhwa episode was excellent. For once the baby monk was a welcome addition, rather than a cock-blocking annoyance. I will keep everything crossed some wise TV exec snaps up the adaptation rughts.

Been Very Brave and gone into Moving even though there's a bad man doing bad things and I know it's going to make me cry but it is indeed Quality Good 👍 👌

I’ve just finished Moving. Literally, like 5 mins ago. You have to get through all the blood and punch-ups. It’s got a heart of gold. I hope they make a other season. 🤞🤞🤞

After Moving finished I watched the trailer for Han River Police (Disney+). I nearly passed out from the raging testosterone fumes and the shiny-shite razzle dazzle, but I can confirm it is well provisioned with age appropriate oppas and quality ahjussis. Good fan service in the teailer alone. 👏 I can also confirm sightings of Sung Dong Il for the thread noonas with niche tastes and Lee Sang Yi for those of you who need a post-Bloodhounds top-up.

Oh that looks fun Boaty

I've got so many shows on the watchlist 😣

DS2 asked me what I was watching earlier. After I’d described the plot of a couple he said: “haven’t you watched that before? I’m sure I saw a bit of it last year.” This prompted a very enjoyable conversation with DS2 and DH about genres and tropes and how western TV is just as afflicted but we don’t see it because its the water we swim in.

I'm starting Song of the Bandits looks interesting!

1st episode was pretty gruesome! Had to watch through my fingers

I'm up to the beginning of ep 3 but I'm not sure I can manage to keep watching 😨 so much violence and now some torture! The female assasin is v badass though.

Some of the scenes were shot inside Seodaemun prison en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seodaemun_Prison which was built by the Japanese during the occupation. Its a museum now, which we visited when we went to Seoul.

💯

"Haven't you already watched this?" is a refrain in this house.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Wow that's fascinating!

I'm on board for Han River Police. No such thing as too much Lee Sang-Yi, top me up drama-gods!

TheGirl I'm up to ep3 of Song of the Bandits as well. I thought ep2 was much better than the first one, which was both a bit slow and a bit grim in different bits. I enjoyed it much more after the time skip and the plot is getting moving....

Happy Hyun Bin's Birthday to all who celebrate.
Let us all take a moment to thank his mother for safely delivering him 41 years ago, to bring joy to the world.

🥳🎉❤️

I have a c-drama question ... after a bit of a work trip induced hiatus I am back on Fake It.. and wondering about how the ML is sometimes called Elvis by his office. Is that him using an English name professionally and I should just get that context? But it's also the actors name? Are they just using it because it suits him?? Is this all common in c-dramas?

Loving the slow ramp up of the relationship, still a bit clueless with some of the business scenes. Lots of seemingly babal conversations happen where everyone is annoyed by the end and I'm feel like I'm missing what has actually happened 😅 but the vibes of the main pair are 🤌

Pretty common to have an English work name in both China and international Korean companies (cf Search WWW) I think. But agree it's weird they picked the same as the actor's name in this case. Maybe there are LOADS of Elvises in China!