MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #48: Time for all the seasonal goodies, advent surprises and the weighing of the year’s dramas for the vote-off. Lazy holding title because I dropped the ball 😄

[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!

Good point Cobol. I must admit that I never even thought about which country produced it.

WOTCHA!
Long time no see chingus. Except I have been seeing and appreciating all our Oppas 3 and 2D very much but in lurk mode through having been signed out on my phone and failing to remember my password to sign back in.
Still don't know it.
Should set up another one but effort...
Moved to come on to my laptop where I AM signed in to say - hasn't it been the case in previous years that a drama needs a minimum of 5 scorers to make our end of year faves?
And totally agree about Shogun - would exclude the excellent Pachinko on same basis.
And as a fellow dark stuff avoiding wuss would support a Best of Category Award shift (although I'm afraid I am still not much of a fellow flag bearer for Lovely Runner AmVa)
Anyway many New Year SHA LA LAS to one and all.

I haven't missed the boat to update the spreadsheet have I?
I reckon I've got a few to score... I'll do it anyway, even if I've missed the end of year figures....

Also have I or Rowdy recommended Our Youth (J BL) yet? 11 x 25 min episodes it's one of my favourite things I've watched this year....

Other stand outs for me Lovely Runner, A Time Called You, My Sweet Mobster, A Shop For Killers.. there's prob more!

We’ll do scores for 2024 for the next thread header I guess, so there’s time yet for scoring & adding latecomers like Our Youth

Definitely not. We’re only ~500 posts in, so there’ll be another couple of weeks at least before we need a new thread.

I love that we’ve descended into parking thread levels of intensity about the scoring. 😆 Pol’s right though. We previously had a min no. of votes to make the top 5, but dropped it because some of the best dramas in a year weren’t making the cut. We were a much smaller community then, so it’s got easier with time. There is definitely a platform/access aspect but it would help if all the slowpokes like me get voting. I say we give it a week, encourage voting & take stock about setting a quorum to go through tonthe top 5 then. 🙂

Good shout TheLoup Our Youth is a brilliant emotional coming of age JBL 😍 - its on Gagaoolala, but can probably be found elsewhere

Also I'm going to add Taiwanese BL See Your Love which is on Viki and IQIYI

@bettys we should probably have a BL category on the spreadsheet! 🤩

Pol, nice yo see you. I am the same, only able to access on my PC not phone, so end up either flooding thread or being quiet for a while! By the way can anyone add a score on the file? Not sure where to find but happy to add more votes for the romcoms!

I made Korean Braised Potatoes tonight (Gamja Jorim) and they were absolutely gorgeous!

Here's the recipe I used:

mykoreankitchen.com/gamja-jorim-korean-braised-potatoes/

Went to the Asian supermarket at the weekend and got glass noodles so I can make japchae too. Tried to find thinly sliced ribeye for bulgogi but they didn't have any so I'll have to buy some at the butchers and try slicing it myself - eek!

I’ll DM you the link. It’s a googledoc spreadsheet.

I made these last time I had friends for a Korean dinner. They were a smash hit.

@mrsfeatherbottom those potatoes look insanely good! Will have to try!!

@polkettle !!!! Have been wondering where you'd gone but could see from your biscuits reviews you were alive and well (and eating biscuits).

Glad to hear we have a bit more time - I watched almost nothing over the holiday, but j am fully invested in Family by Choice so that at least I will try and finish and score!!

@Rowdythree we did use to colour code the titles but then forgot;
Blue titles are for films.
Green titles are for web dramas.
Purple titles are for anime/animated shows.

Choose a colour for BL !

@bettys A belated thank you for kicking off Draw January on the heels of the alt oppas. You’ve reminded me I need to finish Positively Yours. 😁

Rainbow, surely! 🌈

I'm going to do some scoring now, I don't think I've done any all year!! 😔

Done my scoring, I realised I didn't do any at all the year before. Oops!
I'm a Lovely Runner fan, looking back it has been my favourite. A classic kdrama. And I still listen to the soundtrack.

Today's Oppa is King Jeongjeo from The Red Sleeve. A tale of lovers caught in an impossible situation. Beautiful artwork, sigh......

Manhwa: The Red Sleeve
Platform: Tapas
Genre: Romance, Historical, Tragedy, Based on the novel not drama 💔
Status: Ongoing

Lovely (and surprisingly unusual) to see some manhwa nipples. Can we bring back see -through white house coats for men?

Maybe only for men who look like that!

I watched When the Stars Gossip - not impressed. Will have to see if I bother continuing with it. The mouse surgery was ludicrous but not as ludicrous as LMH in a school uniform - some actors can just about get away with it in their 30s but he was pushing it.

Just added in my scores. Makes me realise I need to get on with some more viewing in 2025! Mind you have have watched some slightly older C-dramas so maybe seen more than I think.

It was a struggle to believe LMH could be in school uniform in Inheritors! How long ago was that 🤣

After FedUp showcased Bae Sung-Woo in the alt oppa series I recognised him as the detective in Light Shop.

I want to say I’m enjoying Light Shop as it is excellent. However, I have to watch it in short bursts and definitely not just before bed. I’m crap at braving out creepy, psychological supernatural stuff. The bone-cracking woman in the alley and the creepy apartment are the worst. 🙈

See, I wanted to watch it because it's by the same people as Moving (which we loved), and Um Tae Goo ... but I'm really not good with scary things and perimenopause already means I'm not sleeping so the last thing I need is to give myself nightmares!