MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #47: Lee Min-Ho’s a no-show, Kim Soo-Hyun cried himself into a dry husk and a sweet mobster sausage supremo is currently charming the noonas. We continue our ongoing mission to spread Kdrama joy. 😘

[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 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)🌟
Missing Crown Prince (Viki)
Mr Queen (Viki)🌟
Mr Sunshine (Netflix)
My Dearest (Viki)
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)🌟
Lovely Runner (Viki)
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 Atypical Family (Netflix)
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!

Hard agree with that thegirl!

We have had him, but there is no rule against repeat appearances!

There are always repeats! Some Oppas are timeless, some are just for one year only 😁

In that case I'd like a repeat of Kim Jae-young to celebrate his promotion to full blown ML opposite Park Shin-hye Rowdy. I doubt if you'll be able to top your previous 3-pic montage but I'd appreciate it if you'd give it a go.

Ah Rowdy it's the best time of the year again 😁 I'm doing my annual nomination of age appropriate oppa Kim Jae-wook... .

Also suggest Wi Ha-joon & Lee Do-hyun.....

All nominations so far are on the list thank you 🤩

Yeon Woo-jin for 💥 oppa
Is Japanese Kentaro Sakaguchi allowed on the 🔥oppa list?

Rain (perpetually partially clothed in ripped jeans) for alt oppa. Sorry, not sorry, if I have offended any Rain fans!😁
Kim Nam-gil - alt oppa

My nominations would be Byeon Woo Seok, Cha Eun Woo, Kim Young Dae from my 2024 obsessions. Seo In Guk who I haven't seen it anything this year but is an always nomination for me 😁

Ooh yes, definitely Byeon Woo-seok. Lovely Runner was a stand out show for me this year and he did a great job as an aspiring swimmer/pop idol ⭐️
I'm a little unsure about ChaEun-woo. He does a lot of modelling but I've never seen him do anything really 🔥 but maybe he can surprise me 😁.
Seo In-guk, though, is definitely timeless. Although he hasn't had anything new out he's still managed to dominate the thread on occasion this year, which is quite impressive.

While unpacking from my recent trip I came across a slip, printed in English, from a popular restaurant which explained that Korea has a no tipping culture and asked instead that customers express their appreciation via positive social media posts.

This got me wondering how wrong I had been in insisting that a guide/driver accept a tip even when they were indicating no to it. A frequent business traveller to SK had mentioned to me that they didn't tip as it was an insult to some Koreans, so I am now coming to the conclusion that a small gift from my country would have been more personal and thoughtful.

AIBU in now thinking that tipping could be seen as enforcing a western cultural value that has implications for undermining their own cultural social values? Especially as the amount of the tip is a reflection/rating on how well the person has done their job?

Lee Jong-won
Wang Xingyue (Chinese) Both for the 🔥oppa list

Ha! As someone who did not tip and brought small gifts instead on my trip I am quite sure that our drivers would have appreciated money more in some cases. They were pretty dismissive of our offerings. There is obviously a culture of refusing money too so I'm not surprised you met resistance but that doesn't mean it was unwelcome in the end. I really doubt you caused offence - you just accentuated your 'foreign-ness'.
Having said that I loathe tipping culture - and find it makes trips to the US more stressful (not to mention hard to budget!) now that the expectation is that minimum 20% should be added to a range of bills. Just pay people properly and charge people appropriately in the first place ffs!
You ABU xxx

(sorry to have been largely absent from thread - I must catch up. Solid CDrama recommend for Fireworks of My Heart on Viki - which is surprisingly well plotted and has Yang Yang on great smouldering form. Literally quite often. Also had a little enjoyable vintage Korean trip to 2009 City Hall - draggy in places but again good chemistry and nice arc to the plot)

Especially / somehow his voice! 😍

@MigsandTiggs pol has nailed it. I had the same experience. I'm now thinking that the gold standard is probably to hand over a small gift with concealed cash. So no-one mentions cash, no-one sees it, but a tip is given 😁that would be peak Korean.

@Dragonrock The thumbnail for Family by Choice is a bit misleading. I'm not at all into teen angsty stuff, and it has alot more than that. While the relationship between the three younger leads is at the heart of the story, their relationship with their parents (and the parents' relationship with each other) is equally important (and brilliantly played). Food and how it's used in the family setting is also a key theme. Throw in the seaside, small telling moments like wound anointing, C-Sat exams, period details (I think FedUp's right that it's going to jump to the present day) - so far so brilliant. It's definitely in my top 5 dramas of the year. SO FAR side eyes Marry My Husband.

As for the oppas 😁

On the alternative front:
Lee Jin-wook YES PLEASE
Any (all?) of the Thirsty Deer reformed gangsters from MSM 😍
My perennial top oppa (and part of the draw of FBC, ngl) Choi Moo-sung
Sung Dong-il OBVS 😁
Ahn Jae-hong (Chicken Nugget rather than Mask Girl style please)

Regular oppas:
Um Tae-goo is SURELY a shoe-in?!
Yes also to Wi Ha-joon (ARMS) and Lee Do-hyun (Exhuma edition if possible)
Ahn Bo-hyun (FlexXCop cheesy king)
Yoo Yeon-seok (topical, he has a new drama out soon on Netflix, fingers crossed for that).

If I think of any more I'll pop back 😁

Exhuma edition Lee Do Hyun was already in my mind @Saram13 😌😁

All the above on the list 🤩

I haven't been watching many K dramas lately as I'm enjoying being down a Thai rabbit hole. But I've just started a really nice K BL on IQIYI called 'Let the curse of Taekwondo be free'. It's a very atmospheric, angsty, wintery show, perfect for this time of year 💙

@MigsandTiggs I agree with both @polkettle and @Saram13

When in Korea it was a huge relief not to have to tip anywhere & everywhere, but by the same token important to show gratitude to those who go above and beyond like the amazing Alex and other drivers and guides. It's a fine balance, so for some I think the small gift & concealed cash is perfect, but would have hesitated to give money to Alex (our amazing driver & guide who several on here know!) as he was old school, so a gift best for him.

Also haven't been posting much due to being down a webtoon/Bad Novel/cdrama/music rabbit hole.
But I can second polkettle's rec of Fireworks In My Heart and would like to nominate Yang Yang for the oppa advent or at least a mention for Most Sculpted Eyebrows On A Male Lead

@Cobol I am definitely picturing primarily Cha Eun Woo in photoshoot mode, but what sent me off on the CEW tangent was an extremely hot kiss in good day to be a dog - an otherwise pretty middle of the road drama.

@Saram13 - yesssss the frustration of MMH - insert Tyra banks we were all rooting for you gif in here

I've been caveatting show recommendations all year because of it ... 'its good so far but could do a MMH'.

What kind of small gifts did you take with you to SK? I wouldn’t even know where to start.

They don’t tip in Iceland either. Everyone earns a living wage and, though not frowned on or insulting, people are a bit non-plussed when you tip. I had to google etiquette after a couple of days’ reactions & then stopped tipping for the rest of our trip. I agree about the US & Canada, but would add Italy as my least favourite place for add ons, service charges and tip expectation. If SK doesn’t go in for any of that, all good in my book.

@boaty I took small trinkets from famous tourist things local to me. Think keyrings, bookmarks, badges/brooches. Just to hand out to people I'd arranged to meet/randoms. And larger gifts (drink/snacks/tableware) for specific acquaintances/people who helped me sort stuff for the trip. The gifts for specific people/random handouts all seemed to go down well. It's the occasional driver I used who looked slightly perplexed 😁 and would probably have favoured a cash addition.

For example I randomly encountered 3 fellow ARMY when alone in Seoul. I was at that old bookshop which is now a cafe, visited by RM. A Korean and international ARMY who already knew each other were there, and had picked up another solo international traveller there for BTS. They recruited me too 😁🙌 and we ended up spending an impromptu afternoon together. When we parted ways again we all swapped details and the Korean ARMY produced small gifts for us all. It was nice to be able to reciprocate.

Further to small gift, how much do you tip, 10k, 20k? Same amount for both driver and guide? What happens when you are dissatisfied with the guide? Arrrgh tipping is a nightmare!

AmVa I really enjoyed Good Day to be a Dog, although the second half was a bit light on cute dog, who was clearly the star of the show 🐶.

As for whether to tip or not to tip, alas I don't think this will be a dilemma for me in the near future 🙁. I do enjoy hearing about all your travels, though. If I ever do get the chance to make the trip I'll be well prepared!