MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #46): *Still* no sign of Lee Min-Ho, leaving us with plenty of time to debate whether Queen of Tears can be genre-defined and what’s going on with Kim Soo-Hyun’s neck

[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/4989666-mslattes-daebak-cybercafe-kdrama-addicts-45-where-we-are-still-waiting-on-lee-min-hos-astronaut-obgyn-to-arrive-and-ponder-whether-2024-will-be-kdramas-breakout-year?reply=132388025 here.
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, 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
I picked up a celebrity on the street (Viki)
LTNS (no major platform yet)
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)
Killer Paradox (Netflix)
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)
Destined with You (Netflix)
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 for Love’s Sake(QiYi)
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)🌟
Wedding Impossible (Viki)
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)🌟
Marry My Husband (
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)🌟
First Responders (Disney+)
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
Chicken Nugget (Netflix)
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)
Let’s Talk About Chu (Netflix, Taiwan)⭐️
Lost Romance [BL] (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, Japanese)
Some Day or One Day (Viki, Taiwanese)
Sweat and Soap (Viki, Japanese)
The Makanai (Netflix, Japanese)
The Romance of Tiger & Rose (Viki, Chinese)
The Untamed (Nertlix, 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 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!

I’m left unsatisfied by 1 series of Shogun. Bloody US sites. They give you more series when you don’t want them to and don’t when you do. 😤

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap Mariko's cross explained in this interview with the writers

Bugger edits!
link

Oooh thank you!

Good article migs - interesting to read the writers perspective, sounds like it was a labour of love all round.

I'm up to date with Unknown now @polkettle it is so good - particularly the actor who plays Wei Qian, his reactions and facial expressions are just so high quality. I'm definitely in my step/fake brothers bl era - delicious angst - but if my fears of a sad ending are realised I'm gonna feel like putting a brick through the TV.

Isn't it great? I feel slightly more optimistic about ending given how slow the burn has been but I blooming wish he'd take better care of himself. Never mind the brother, I'm just about ready to fly over with special tonics and to whisk him off fishing myself.

Saram & mrsfeatherbottom - so pleased you both posted about Fight for your Way. Just moving into Ep3 and already I am hooked! Was able to intro one of my nearly 18yr olds to the lovely PSJ. She was also most pleased when I let her know Gong Yoo has a film and series on the horizon, since watching Train To Busan (she can deal with suspense and the like in a way I cannot) she has thought he is.

Hi all - avoided the thread for a few days as we hadn't managed to finish QoT until now. While it wasn't perfect, we still need really enjoyed watching it with its constant tonal shifts. One thing about Kim Ji Eun is I find her writing always so funny - there are laugh out loud moments in all her dramas, in all episodes.
Other observations - Finally get the appeal of KSH, but not in a big way for me.
Kwak Dong Yeon is amazing, loved his trajectory in this and want to see him in more. I know I've said this about three times on the thread but 🤷

Welcome @Spaghetti127 ! We potty trained about a year ago and did the clothes off, three naked days, bidh bash bosh method. Not quite as simple as that sounds but v glad we did that style.

On a kdrama note - if you like the kind of supernatural storylines, Legend of the Blue Sea by the same writer as QoT that we've all been talking about is great.

Also finished Rain or Shine on the weekend and was crying a lot for the last couple of episodes - much more than the tear or two I just shed watching QoT finale. Definitely best Jun Ho I have seen to date.

Watching Eye Love You for some light relief and feeling very smart whenever I understand his thoughts 🤣 usually it's things like 'wow, so pretty' which at this point in my kdrama journey I have heard a million MLs say to their respective FLs...

I cried A LOT at the last couple of episodes. He is very charming - much more so than in King the Land.

I was inspired by PSJ in FFMW to watch something else with him in and choose She Was Pretty on Netflix (after seeing the gold star on the list at the top of the thread) and so far, so good. I needed something very fluffy and it's certainly delivering that!

@mrsfeatherbottom his crying 'why' moment in the street was so heartbreaking.

And with Sangman and his mum 😢

Also finished Rain or Shine on the weekend and was crying a lot for the last couple of episodes - much more than the tear or two I just shed watching QoT finale. Definitely best Jun Ho I have seen to date.

I loved Rain or Shine. Have you seen The Red Sleeve yet? That’s my favourite Junho role & there is crying involved there too.

@boatyardblues I haven't! I have yet to see a saeguk drama that has really captured my attention ... Maybe what has been missing all these times was lovely eyes Jun Ho?? I know TRS is very highly rated around here.

Argh final thought on QoT, sorry for spamming the thread - we thought that it seemed obvious / likely that the actress playing Da Hye wasn't very available in the second half of the filming as there were so many scenes where it was just weird that she was missing. It was like unless the scene directly was about her and my fave KDY, she wasn't there and it was just like 'oh da hye is having a nap🤷'

The slowest of burns - but such great pining and longing looks 😊 At the end of episode 10 I was like omg JUST KISS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

One of the things I really like about it though is that the characters are complex and realistically flawed - like Qian is so stubborn and frustrating, but then he's spent his whole life basically in survival mode, never considering himself/his own happiness. Yuan probably does have a lot bit of unhealthy attachment going on, let's face it but you get to see his emotional growth. I like the dynamic between Yuan and Wei Lili (I quite like her and San Pang together - he is such a green flag, apart from the whole being the landlord and her older brothers friend I guess...)

we thought that it seemed obvious / likely that the actress playing Da Hye wasn't very available in the second half of the filming as there were so many scenes where it was just weird that she was missing

AmVa that’s a very interesting point. I hadn’t thought of that but now you mention it……

I've finally caught up with the finale of QoT (and the thread) and agree with this 💯:

QoT final word: hot mess with added neck observation

It was both missable and unmissable in equal measure. It was definitely a bit of a love/hate relationship for me.

Welcome to all our newbies. It's getting quite busy here these days. I was only away for a few days and came back to about a million posts!

Yes, I finished it on Sunday when it aired and I still can't decide whether I liked it or not. As someone has already said, some properly funny and poignant performances, but from the support cast and cameos, not from the leads.

I don't usually mind a mash-up but this was messy.

As someone has already said, some properly funny and poignant performances, but from the support cast and cameos, not from the leads.

Very good assessment.

Anyone watching Cdrama Will Love in Spring ? Trailers look good, ML is same one from Meet yourself.

Obsessed with it Jin.

Yes Jin it's good good stuff.

On episode 2 & loving it
Cdramas have improved significantly & writing has improved.
FL’s younger sister, I can’t place her. I have definitely seen her in some recent drama.