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!

New Lee Jae-wook drama The Impossible Heir but I no longer have Disney+ dammit 😭
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2xB2sdJsc0/?igsh=MXJmNng1Mm8yeWNjZA==

I avoided this thread until I just watched ep 10 of MMH in case there were spoilers. It's so joyous.

Agree on the drinking but another thing I've noticed which happens A LOT which I've never experienced IRL is the arm grab! A woman apparently never gets to walk away from a man in Korea without her arm then being grabbed (in slow-mo obvs).

Tall men often struggle with dancing. Stray Kids fans in our house and they're all pocket sized (and fab dancers).

Speaking of Stray Kids, dd has got wind of Europe tour so I might try to get her tickets for her birthday.....

She will be 8 though so I'm in two minds about Hyde park..considering it carefully

I've just signed up for presale. Looks like Hyde Park is the only UK date so it's that or nothing! Fingers crossed. Could work out expensive with flights and hotel!

I've signed up too...

I don’t know how long you’ve been watching MrsF but the arm grab is the least of it. Back in the 2010s dramas the arm grab was followed by a wall pinning. 😬 The message must have got through at some point that it wasn’t a good look, so they toned down the grabby harassment. Still with the arm grabs though... 🤷‍♀️ Give it another 5 years and all the MLs will be feathery strokers. 😆

The arm-grab is a long standing trope! A staple even back when dramas were less prudish. Glad to hear the kabedon is rarer these days, but what about piggybacks? Was always quite fond of those and slightly hoping PMY's excruciating footwear in MMH was laying the groundwork for one.... though the height difference between the leads makes things awks, so can see why they've gone for cradling.

I feel that to participate fully in this thread I should investigate this young feller Rowoon more thoroughly. Which show, please?

Here you go maldondhwae: https://mydramalist.com/people/11629-ro-woon

I liked him in Extraordinary You. The premise of The King’s Affection is daft but Rowoon scrubs up nicely in a hanbok.

@maldoandwae I enjoyed him a lot in Destined With You - he is very good at playing the fool, but in a hot way 😆

I feel like there was a less threatening update to the arm grab in King The Land but for the life of me can't remember what he did. Some kind of less grabby hand hold?

I really liked him in Destined With You.

He's good in Tomorrow, Extraordinary You, The Kings Affection, Destined With You, The Matchmakers..... he has a cameo in A Time Called You but it is v short.

Real life Rowoon is also super adorable - he used to be in a an Idol group called SF9 and has done a lot of variety shows. I love him 🥰

Yes, yes I'm technically old enough to be his mother 🤭

I couldn't believe it when he popped up in a Time Called You!

The BL drama that we were denied @mrsfeatherbottom I would pay good money! Someone green-light it!!

I used to be snooty about woori Rowoon as mere tall eye candy but I have to say he showed proper comedy chops acting in The Matchmakers. He's a work in progress but he's an improver.
LOVED end of Like Flowers in Sand today. My fave for ages.

Can I join in here please? I've noticed Netflix only seems to recommend Korean shows to me these days, after watching a fair few. I am also trying to learn Korean with the help of online courses, and get very excited and pleased with myself when I recognise a phrase in a show...

Just finished watching See You In My 19th Life, and started on Destined With You.

Of course @ScarlettSunset ! Pull up a chair and join that chat. If you’ve crocked (or properly trained 😉) your Netflix algorithm to only feed you Korean content, you’re definitely in the right place.

Just caught up on the days chat about Rowoon and his lovely blue jumper 🤩

I have been watching Flowers in the Sand and know also just watched the 1st ep of MMH because the fomo was too bad. It wax excellent 👌 looking forward to watching more.
I also want to watch Dr Slump too but my drama watching is so slow these days I'm not sure I can fit it in.

I am also trying to learn Korean with the help of online courses, and get very excited and pleased with myself when I recognise a phrase in a show...

Welcome Scarlett. How long have you been learning Korean? How are you finding it?
I have a lesson once a week with the most delightful, patient teacher, but my progress has been slow, I have to say. Every time I learn something new I forget something else.
It’s a beautiful language with some great idioms - one of my favourites being ‘to be hit by the wind’ meaning to be stood up.

Waaaaa. I just lost a mega post about this article.

Why a daily dish of kimchi can help beat middle-age spread.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/571afcc6-05a0-4a8e-a58d-502a083191ca?shareToken=4aa4abd432638bce2dd8f74d1bf9c149

Basically I think it’s over-reaching. My guess is that people who eat more kimchi eat more healthy traditional guk-bap type Korean meals, whereas people eating less kimchi eat a more (high fat, high carb) Western diet. However, I am editorialising too. It’s the old “correlation is not causation” chestnut.

I am also cross that people keep publicising how great kimchi is because my local Chinese-Korean grocery keeps selling out. Shhhhh!

Spot on Boaty.

A kimcheese toastie a day does not a healthy diet make!

Hello ScarlettSunset, welcome on board. @boatyardblues have to 'fess up and say that while I love all things fermented and pickled, I struggle with some kimchi due to the 🌶content. I can take, salt, sweet, love sour but only like the flavour of chili, can't cope with the heat. Get told by my daughters that it makes me very 'white' 🙄

Thanks all for the Rowoon advice! I'm a sucker for the pretty playing the clown so sounds like Matchmakers or Destined with You will be the way to go.

Still inching through Kidnapping Day with DP (kdrama newbie, no stamina) and wolfing (tigering) The Red Sleeve by myself. Bit discombobulated by the turn the court ladies arc has taken but everything else is pure class.

Really fancy a kimcheese toastie for lunch now...