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!

Other takeaways of the trip so far: Seoul is beautiful in the rain, too. Getting off the beaten tourist track is the best - loved the Buamdong area, up near entrance ?1 to Bukhansan. Itaewon is my least favourite area by far, as it's the least 'Korean' I guess. Loved being in Daegu again (decided quite last minute to extend a planned day trip to an overnight-er). Despite being propositioned by a polite but keen elderly Daegu man, who looked genuinely gutted to hear I was married 🤔💀🤡 God loves a try-er 😁

Wedding later today!

@Saram13 your trip sounds amazing! I would love to go to a fan meeting!

15 years since I was there, but I agree about Itaewon. I felt there was a strange edge to the place.

Saram your trip sounds amazing. I agree Seoul is beautiful in the rain and there are some very atmospheric photographs of downpours there.
We’re going for three weeks at the beginning of April. Among other things, we’ve rented a house on the coast at Pohang so we’ll do some Hometown Cha Cha Cha locations hunting.
We’re having Alex, best guide in the world, for some of it - I’m so looking forward to seeing him again.

@Andante57 Alex is indeed the best guide in the world, and Pohang is great, so much to see and a completely different feel to Seoul. Enjoy!! (oh the FOMO is real would so like to go back)

That's fascinating about the fan meet Saram. With the quizzes and prizes it sounds kind of like a birthday party for adults. Were there many male fans, or was it mostly women?

Trip sounds amazing @Saram13 !! Very jealous :)

I also have no idea where QoT is heading - I want ML to start being a little more assertive - especially with weird psychopath dog killer who threatened him with a gun.

Love the aunt 😍 I didn't spot what was on the TV but my husband did - he was like 'was that Jeong hyeok??' 😊😊 I've taught him well.

Is Alex bookable directly for independent travellers? Asking (in all earnest) for a friend. 😄

Having caught up with QoT yesterday I started Impossible Wedding. I'm loving the Six Flying Dragons references in it.

@sakura06 interesting you had the same feeling about Itaewon. Hongdae is comparable in some ways, but has alot more charm.

@Cobol it was almost all women. Except a few bored-looking boyfriends 😁 and a couple of solo fanboys in their 20s 😍

A kid's birthday party is a good simile. It also had the flavour of an 80's family TV game show at times. There was one woman who occasionally shouted out 'sek-sshi!', to much hilarity and good-humoured modest winceing from ABH 😁 It was obviously managed and planned to the rafters, down to the careful filing out at the end. But that did not detract from its charms.

boatyardblues · Today 12:31
Is Alex bookable directly for independent travellers

I’m not sure - I’ll ask him. He gets very booked up in the spring and autumn which are the biggest tourist seasons and we’ve only got him because he did us a favour. He was booked up but he swapped with another guide so he could guide us which was v kind of him.

DH has agreed to a trip next autumn (2025) so I’m starting to pull together ideas. 🥳

@Saram13 , what a treat to follow along on your trip. It all sounds just wonderful. I think when I get to go again I need to make sure to get into a fan meet. Have not much prospect for a few years as got twins starting Uni (hopefully) come Sept, so no sare £££s for a while and it will only be if I sneak in a work trip.

Hi visitor here, have you watched this doc about the haenyo
i
it even featured samdal-ri. Am nearly finished the series, and feel these women are wonderful.

Thanks for the heads-up @twosevenn . That looks interesting.

HOORAY!!! 🎉

Whoop!!! Excellent news!!

I've watched the first 4 eps of Shogun this evening. To get me in the mood for our Japan trip (in one week!)
It's pretty gripping, but everytime the English guy speaks I keep remembering that one of you (sorry I can't remember which!) said "why does he sound so posh?" which is 100% correct 🤣

Loved hearing about the fan meet @Saram13 and seeing your party bag contents! Tutting at Daegu ahjussi. It's been years since I've been to Seoul (remember enjoying pottering around Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong though #basic)😁

Drama-wise I finally finished Dr Slump and thankfully the final 2 eps were 100% cosy feels (was dreading 11th hour evil rich parents shenanigans) so I ended up feeling quite well disposed towards it, despite the pacing issues.

Then rapidly binged Chicken Nugget 😆What a batshit, heartfelt, shoestring-budget, crunchy syrup-coated treat! Wasn't entirely sure at first but by the fatcaron cameo in ep. 3 I was GONE. Definitely bumping Be Melodramatic up my to-watch list.

Currently watching The Three Body Problem with DP and catching up on Hospital Playlist, finally.

Probably an outlier here, but I really like QoT and as the backstories are slowly being revealed, what a bunch of vampires preying on the family! Had to laugh when one of the IG comments was that this drama should have been called "King of Tears". The aunt is 🙌

Someone described his as "eating the scenery" which is perfect.

He's the only fly in the ointment. Hoping he dials it down in the latter episodes!

I'm also enjoying QoT - so many baddies, though!

I've been sick this weekend thanks to the gift of a vomiting bug from dd 🤢 emerging from my pit to watch Chicken Nugget today - well its completely bonkers isn't it! I love it.

Be Melodramatic is definitely worth watching - it's in my top 5 k dramas of all time (although I think there are those on the thread who weren't as keen)..... that's got me thinking about what else would be in my top 5..... Maybe Reply 1988, Kingdom, Healer... I'll have to think about the last spot....

@mrsfeatherbottom I just said this to my husband!! There are so many baddies. We are also enjoying it, I think I am being put off guard by all the usual kdrama plot beats being all out of whack.

I'm lining up Three Body Problem to watch with dh.

Heheheh it might have been me (or boaty?) moaning about the Anjin in Shogun - I know the character is based on a real person, who I can only imagine was less of a douche or else he wouldn't have lasted 10 mins in feudal Japan.

I’ve been trying to gauge how posh Cosmo Jarvis (the anjin) is, because there are an awful lot of ex public school boys in acting. Eton seems to churn them out. imdb and wikipedia are not particularly helpful and I hit a wall of meh at that point.