MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #45): Where we are *still* waiting on Lee Min Ho’s astronaut OBGYN to arrive and ponder whether 2024 will be kdrama’s breakout year

[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 www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/4956077-mslattes-daebak-cybercafe-kdrama-addicts-44-in-which-a-surprise-feast-of-corking-contract-marriage-dramas-is-undercut-by-an-imminent-bts-content-famine-as-jung-kook-rm-v-and-jimin-enlist?page=1 here. Our list is cumulative so includes previous threads’ recommendations. 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)
Maestra (Disney+)
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)🌟
The Worst of Evil (Disney+)
Tunnel (Netflix)🌟
Vigilante (Disney+)

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)🌟

Makjang
Perfect Marriage Revenge (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 The Eighth Sense [BL] (Viki)
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)
Semantic Error [BL] (Viki)
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)🌟
Daily Dose of Sunshine (Netflix)
Descendants of the Sun (Viki/Netflix)
Doctors (Netflix)
Doom At Your Service (Netflix/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)/When the Weather is Nice (Netflix)
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 (Netflix)🌟
My Strange Hero (Viki)
One Spring Night (Netflix)
Red Carpet - film (Netflix, very adult content)
Romantic Dr Kim - seasons 1&2 (Viki), season 3 (Disney+)
Search: WWW (Viki, Netflix)🌟
Something in the Rain (Netflix)
Tell Me That You Love Me (Disney+)
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)🌟
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/Netflix)🌟

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)
Twinkling Watermelon (Viki)
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)
Moon in the Day (Viki)
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)
My Personal Weatherman [BL] (Jdrama, Viki)
Orange Days (Japan, Netflix)
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 💩
Melting Me Softly
The Birth of a Beauty
Well-Intentioned Love season 1 (S2 is fine & stands alone)

Top Scoring 2023 Dramas
#1 Bloodhounds 8.9
#2 = The Good Bad Mother 8.8
#2 = Deaths Game 8.8
#2 = Moving 8.8
#2 = The Glory 8.8
(#2 rankings by number of votes)

Top Scoring 2022 Dramas
#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!

This is exactly the sort of thing where I snort in disbelief and Google "Likelihood of wild boar attack in Korea" and then immediately find terrifying statistics that X number of people are killed or seriously maimed by boars each year and have to recalibrate.
I'm really enjoying QoT but confused by KSH's emotional journey and how he's going to be redeemed from actually wishing his wife dead. Liking the fun of it but hard to have the feels yet.

I'm not quite enjoying QoT due to KSH's attitude to FL - especially after the reveal as to why they may have grown apart.
Agree found his hovering around why she discussed work with baddie 2ML cringey

bettys · Today 14:56

I'm not quite enjoying QoT due to KSH's attitude to FL - especially after the reveal as to why they may have grown apart.

Im a bit confused by it. Is he faking it as suggested by his friend, or does he mean it? A lot of long, lingering shots which I don’t remember in CLOY or MLFTS.

@Andante57 I don't know either, the signals are very confusing. He says one thing to his friend and then is obviously jealous. It's as if they are both reawakening to the feelings that got them together in the first place. She is obviously very emotionally withdrawn & incapable of saying how she feels ( as shown in the ep 4 epilogue)
I'm not keen on the brain tumour storyline either, how are they going to wriggle out of that one?

I feel dreadfully sorry for the FL in QoT. Hateful family, stressful job, unsupportive husband, clear trauma from [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS], death of sibling, and a brain tumour.

Are we supposed to be on ML side? He's pathetic!

Are we supposed to be on ML side? He's pathetic!

I don’t know. I’m enjoying Kwak Dong-Yeon’s character the most. He reminds me of Seri’s elder brother.

100% agree!

Compare & contrast with Wedding Impossible which is winning hands down. There we have a ML who started out a jerk who I’m totally rooting for. It has so much more heart, which is sorely lacking in QOT. The leads also have 500x more chemistry, despite being ostensibly less attractive than top earning dreamboat KSH and Kim Ji Won. < This MN emoji was sorely needed here.

FL in Wedding Impossible has such a hangdog resting bitchface expression when she’s not smiling. When she smiles her face lights up and she’s so pretty. It’s really odd.

I'm going to trust QoT is going to pull it all together given the amount of talent on board and the dripfeed of information. For now...
But agree that WI is uncomplicatedly delightful and punching above its weight thanks to leads. I love a resting bitch face. Got one of those myself.

Fully sucked in by Chicken Nugget now. Brilliant and hilarious! I'm hoping Cha Eun Woo does actually turn up at some point?! Although maybe Jinyoung is bringing all the K pop stardom (although DH despises him because of Yumi's Cells).
^
Loved the ending of Doctor Slump^. Nice comfort blanket of a drama.

Definitely keen to watch QoT at some point (although it's not sounding great so far from what you've all been saying).

Agree with Pol that I'm just going to trust the team - and honestly we are enjoying it, laughing at all the right places but as people have said, not currently excited about the main couple getting together.

I'm enjoying QoT - and quite sure that the main couple will be riding off into the sunset together. 😁

I'm enjoying QoT too Migs. The role reversal is interesting. If a poor wife was overwhelmed and wanted to run away from their wealthy, domineering in-laws would they also seem pathetic or do we expect more from our ML because he's a man? Our leads seem like a couple who never got past the dating stage, who married before they really got to know each other and have become trapped by the roles society and those around them expect them to play.

You make some interesting points Cobol. Perhaps I should give it more time before rushing to judgement.

I'm up to date with QOT now and enjoying it. I'm confused about the matchmaker woman - is she a member of staff? She sort of seems like it but then she was sitting at the table with the family eating so presumably not ...?

I am also confused about the matchmaker woman.

I am also confused about the matchmaker woman. Who maybe also runs a spa?

I am all up to date on WI and sad I can't binge it all at once. The chemistry and yearning from main couple are top notch.

Am loving Moon Sang Min as the ML and feel like I am venturing into more FN territory than usual for me as he is only 23 🫣

I was also wondering who the matchmaker in QoT was. Is her name Ms Goh, as Wiki has her listed as a private secretary to the Queens family which I guess would make sense.

AmVa I've also been caught out. When watching Fairy and Devil I was thinking Dylan Wang was late twenties so it was a bit of a shock to discover he was only 24. When I later watched Meteor Garden it was very obvious how young he was so I blame the devil make-up 😁

I just realised the matchmaker seemed to own a spa, so can't be who I thought she was. #baffled

A woman with many strings to her bow clearly!

I fell asleep watching the new Physical 100 intros but was super impressed by the range of occupations and ability on show. There is even a v muscley (but so, so vain) actor. I recognise him. I think he was 2ML in The Other Miss Oh and I’ve seen him in a police drama. I’m going to compare notes with my PT later this week because I am amazed at the female bodybuilder’s physique. My PT will be able to advise whether that's even possible without steroids. There are some serious female bodybuilders in my gym and none of them look like the P100 woman. The sports model chap looks his face was hewn from granite by a gifted sculptor - chiselled!

There is even a v muscley (but so, so vain) actor. I recognise him. I think he was 2ML in The Other Miss Oh and I’ve seen him in a police drama.

He's also the ML brother in Weight Lifting Fairy KBJ

I'm enjoying Physical 100 so far, the female MMA fighter is 💪🏻👌🏻. I know I'll inevitably get angry at it though, as the women will have no chance of winning them main prize.

As I wait for the gay male story arc to unfold in Wedding Impossible, sharing this look at current reality for context.

I’m am enjoying Physical 100 s2 so much. The female MMA fighter in ep 2 is really impressive.