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!

Loup, that ankle sock length is the latest gen z craze!!

I feel like those socks are in fashion, but the shoe choice looks like he packed for a holiday and forgot to bring any casual shoe option!!! But loving the rest of the outfit 🤩

@Andante57 (and others) - the titles of K-dramas are often a mystery to me. The Midnight Romance in Hagwon is just called 졸업, or Graduation, in Korean. That would work just as well, right, so why change it? Interestingly, some dramas (e.g. The Glory) just use the English title for the domestic market, but rendered in hangeul.

@Dragonrock BTS tickets - I'm official ARMY too (never bothered before, it's a recent acquisition, with tickets in mind). It will be a total bunfight to get any, so I'm half-resigned to it being impossible. My strategy is to go as high category price-wise as possible. Apart from that, in my heart I'm willing to go anywhere as long as one or more chingus can join. Though my head will probably draw the line at non-EU locations if not Seoul. I hope at least we get decent advance warning. The Suga tour took me totally by surprise and I couldn't have made any of the dates even if I could have gotten tickets because of work and family commitments. This time I'm playing it differently. I'm keeping the second half of next year as clear as possible for as long as possible 😂 and DH has already been warned about possible cost / unexpected absence should I be one of the lucky ones 😁

boaty I am HERE for Go Kyung-pyo's fashion choices, too 🙌😍 Post discovery of all things Korean, I definitely started dressing more out there under the (possibly dubious) influence of Bangtan and K-stars in general. I know I shouldn't have expected all Korean men to dress like they've walked out of Vogue Korea, but I did expect trends to translate into watered-down high-street versions. But regular young Korean men (in Seoul, at least) are generally quite plain dressers and stick to a limited colour palate (lots of grey, black, beige and white), e.g. lots of plain grey tracksuits and hoodies. I mean it suits them, it looks very classical and 'clean'. Just I was surprised at the lack of variety. Young men in Daegu seem to favour more visible 'streetwear', and I saw some very sharply dressed older gentlemen (lots of jaunty hats, OTT shoes and, in one memorable instance, a black fur bomber jacket 😁). I also spotted an ajussi in the bus in Seoul who looked like he'd just come from a 90s rave (all he needed was a whistle around his neck). Women's fashion in the big cities has more variety, but still tends to stick to those same rules and colours.

AmVa I'm halfway through My Mister and absolutely loving it. I agree that the poster is madly misleading.

Interestingly, some dramas (e.g. The Glory) just use the English title for the domestic market, but rendered in hangeul.

Yes, King the Land is also English rendered in Hangul. I wonder who chooses the English title - in a Netflix show would it be a Korean person or an American?

King the Land is such a weird title. Annoys my daughter every time she sees it.

King the Land is such a weird title. Annoys my daughter every time she sees it.

Yes it’s a very annoying title. It doesn’t even make sense.

We’ve finished Lovely Runner and dare I say it, I only quite enjoyed it. I think I’m too old probably to appreciate it.
I found it a bit repetitive and got confused by the time slips. However I loved the scene of the ripped shirt and the bag of……

Would you chingus recommend Midnight Romance in Hagwon?

Andante I'm up to episode 11 of MRiH and really enjoying the slice of life vibe and geeky hagwon details and Wi Ha-joon But it's not a high-octane watch.

Right, I’ve got a long journey coming up. I need Netflix recommendations that won’t get zapped when I switch to Netflix’s EU region and are safe to watch on public transport, so not Somebody. 😬 I’m thinking currently airing shows are risky for region hopping. Or can I fox it by using a VPN?

Saram thank you. We’ll definitely watch that next.

We are Loving!! Smeraldo Garden Marching Band in our house - such a great sound, really fun MV. Really looking forward to Muse. We both listen to Face a lot.

Having finished Sh**ting Stars, I've moved on to The Sound of Magic. I don't mind a stage musical but I'm not a huge fan of singing in films. However, I'll watch JCW in anything so I'm fast forwarding the musical interludes and all is good so far 😁

DH is enjoying House of Ninjas and we've also started Word of Honour, which is proper Chinese silliness with plenty swirly robe, sword and folk tale/fantasy action.

Helloooooo chingus,
Hope everyone is well. Not watching anything these days … it’s been a while nothing is grabbing my attention… I start watching something but ditch it after few episodes as ML or FL (mostly FL or her mum or her friend) gets on my nerves.
watching Glastonbury (on TV) Coldplay’s my universe come up and made me think of you all 😊

Hi Jin 👋

Hi Jin :) I kind of know what you mean about currently airing things.. I watched Lovely Runner (10/10) followed by My Mister (10/10) and now everything seems meh in comparison.. I tried Miss Night and Day and didn't get through the first episode. Haven't tried My Sweet Mobster yet as am waiting for a few more episodes to be out.

I think I probably have some kind of tried and true rom com rewatch in my future.

Finished Lovely Runner and agree with oyu all 10/10 from me, everything I like in a K drama esp the ensemble cast. I am resurrecting She Was Pretty to try light and fluffy in next few week but might swap to MRiH soon. On the BTS tickets front, think am going to pay for one of the newly-minted 18yr olds to also have official membership. She is already planning being at Uni and also trying for tickets for us both. How am I so invested already. On a final note, I watched my first full Glastonbury sets this weekend. The teen was very happy with Seventeen and I think they did a solid job. They looked very relaxed and like they were having fun and the camera teams did a lot better than many that I have seen. And Coldplay did a good job and I was very happy with the shout out to BTS and the large images projected on the stage.

I spent the weekend immersed in Glastonbury and The Whirlwind (Netflix). TW was unrelenting punch after counter punch in a ruthless President vs Prime Minister battle. Some of the resolutions required the viewer's suspension of disbelief but the storyline reminded me that being a politician always involves compromises in alliance building to have effective power. Lots of philosophical ideas to think about: Does the end always justify the means? Personal morality vs the greater good etc. Sacrifice. I enjoyed it.

I also recently went into my unwatched list and chose Familiar Wife (2018) It was very good too.

I'm so enjoying both Miss Night and Day and My Sweet Mobster - perfect balance of sparky fluff and fun. Plus bonus hot shower scenes with a frankly v fine Choi Jin Hyuk.

Started My Sweet Mobster because you all were talking about it!

📌Red Swan (Disney+) Rain returns as a bodyguard! Just watched the trailer and it looks exciting. Starts on Wed 3rd.

Hello all! It's been a while but I have been busy watching lots. DH and I finished Lovely Runner (I don't get the name!) It was just brilliant 10/10 from me, DH didn't like the last episode but he has been that way with lots of last episodes where nothing really happens. He wants an exciting end. It took us a while to get through it as we took a break for Bridgerton (what a waste of time) plus all of DH's sports and work really got in the way of my drama watching. I feel like this about my own job tbh.

We have started Shop For Killers and about halfway through. Fab so far.

I finished What's Wrong With Secretary Kim. Didn't get the hype and didn't enjoy it that much.

Now that both DDs are back from their travels we have resumed CLOY and loving it just as much the second time around though I do spend a fair bit of time watching DD1 for her reactions.

I'm halfway through ep5 of Red Sleeve and I am a bit lost with the court intrigue. Why did Sir Perceptor order FL to be executed when she was following the prince? Who is the old man he keeps meeting? Some kind of Councillor but don't know if they are working together or against each other. And also the lady with him, his wife perhaps? What does the royal aunt have against the prince? Why do they need to go to the courtesan place to have a meeting? Surely they can just meet in the Palace since they're all people that meet together regularly anyway. I was expecting fluffy romance. Not really expecting answers to all of these and I expect things will become clearer the more I watch but I want more of the romance and I'm completely uninterested in the intrigue

I tried to get both DDs to watch QOT or LR with me in the afternoons but they said they can only commit to 1 drama at a time. Though DD1 started Weightlifting Fairy with a friend yesterday which is a cute one.

In related news, one of my teacher friends suggested we do a K-Club for enrichment next year which I'm more than happy to do. So we will look at kpop, watch a few episodes, hopefully be allowed in the food tech room to make some food. Any other suggestions? We would like to bring in members of the local South Korean community too and hoping the kids will lead the club. I have some very excited Y10 girls waiting to join

That sounds amazing!! DD would love her school to do that!

Great idea Peanut! Learning to read/write hangul could be fun? Like a secret code...
Your description of getting lost in politics of TRS really made me laugh because that is every sageuk drama ever. Indistinguishable wispy bearded men scheme while you drum your fingers and wait for the snogs.