MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #49: Still reeling from the insanity of When the Stars Gossip, we dust off our party frocks to present Daebak Café’s 2024 best scoring shows

[boatyardblues]

A quiet corner of MN for serious addicts of Kdrama, or the K-curious. Most of our viewing is drawn from Netflix, Viki, Amazon Prime, 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 - the best are listed below.

The previous thread is here. Our list is cumulative & includes previous threads’ recommendations and favourites. Shows marked with a star are more uniformly loved or admired. On genre categories, 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. This tonal chaos is 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)🌟
Family By Choice (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)
Light Shop (Disney+)
Moon in the Day (Viki)
Moving (Disney+)
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)
I’m Married But… (Netflix - Taiwanese)⭐️
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 2024 dramas with 5 or more votes
Overall scores reduced due to more voters this year.
#1 A Shop For Killers 9
#2 Lovely Runner 8.8
#3 Let's Talk About CHU Score 8.8
#4 Family By Choice 8.6
#5 Squid Game 2 8.5
#6 Mr Plankton: 8.3
Full run down by Bettys here.

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.

@Saram13 There’s a Kim Young Kwang moody romantic drama on Disney+ from this Feb called Call It Love. I discovered it this morning after seeing an untranslated trailer on his Insta feed & tracking down the English title. The Kdrama search and suggestions on Disney+ are crap. This hasn’t once been suggested & I try regularly to find new series on it. It’s exactly the kind of thing I’d be all over. 🙄

I stand corrected. Call It Love was released in 2023. KYK doesn’t post much on his Insta. 😄

😂

Call it Love is a good slow burner. Very slow 😁

Yeah, I started watching episode 1 this morning and am fairly convinced I started it but possibly dropped it. It seems quite gloomy at the outset, like My Mister. However, as we all know, a gloomy start makes the eventual kdrama sunshine all the more warming.

So, I finished CLOY. Slightly devastated! It was so so lovely (even though I was a bit at the ending). There were tears.

I’m rewatching it with DD and loving it just as much second time round.

Heavenly Ever After is getting an 8 from me so far. Quirky plot, bad ass FL and Mr Gu. But given a certain dog dance in ep4 I hope it doesn't end up like WTSG.

I enjoyed The Secret Life of My Secretary, just lovely and silly. Need to get onto Divorce Insurance as I like Lee Kwang-soo on variety shows. I need to start Resident Playlist as well., oh so much to watch and so little time. Saram enjoy Kian's B&B. I enjoyed it a lot and my hubby even asked me questions as I was watching.

I finished Heesu in Class 2 today which was a lovely comforting watch. I really hope there is a second season 🙏🏼 As a big fan of the manhwa I want to see more of Heesu and Seungwon's relationship 😍

I’m looking at getting Viki to watch Heesu in Class 2 with DD, is it free? I’d never heard of it before this thread.

I'm up keeping tabs on the Canadian elections while also watching The Haunted Palace. (Viki). It's entertaining- like a Boy's Own hunting evil spirits adventure.Without the long hair on show, Kim Ji Hoon is just a middle aged king in it.😈

I think you can watch a couple of episodes for free on a trial if I remember correctly. Then, it's £4.99 a month so one of the cheaper subscriptions. I think it's good value for money as there is so much content and no ads (unlike Amazon).

No ads! ❤️❤️❤️

Thanks!

DD has spotted Coffee Prince on Netflix which stars the recruiter from Squid Game, one of her favourite characters (for some reason). So we’re going to give that a go as well.

Is there anything good starring Wi Ha-Joon? We both looooove him!

Another Wi Hajoon fan here.

I first saw him in Romance is a Bonus Book where he plays the 2ML. The other ones I've seen him in are Worst of Evil, Little Women and Gyeongseong Creature. I just love his smile.

Coffee Prince is really good, it will probably seem really dated compared to more recent dramas but don't let that put you off. Also look out for gorgeous long haired Kim Jae Wook 😍

If you like Gong Yoo and you get Viki definitely watch Goblin. Also is you don't mind Zombies, Train to Busan is a fantastic film. It's not on Viki though...Amazon might your best place to watch it

I loathe zombies 🤣. Can’t cope with them at all. Can just about cope with the mushrooms in The Last of Us.

Right, Coffee Prince is a go - thank you!

He is just lovely. DH just sighs in a corner when we get the squees over him 🤣.

Am making a note of all these - thank you!

Ddakji, I'm also a big fan of Wi Hajoon, he has a lovely smile but also plays not so nice very well. To be honest I'd have picked him over Lee Jong Suk in Romance is a Bonus Book any day...as has been discussed here before, can't see the appeal of LJS...feathery stroker😂. One of my teens is a big fan of Gong Yoo, describes him as a beautiful man. In OTHER news, I got tickets to see Jin at the O2. Feel like I have Run (ha ha) a marathon, have instructed the teens that I will purchase them ARMY membership, as getting tickets for the BTS world tour will be like the Hunger Games. I got them in 2019 but that was pure luck on the phone.

Wi Ha Joon plays Son Ye Jin’s (FL) younger brother in Something in the Rain. It’s not a great role for him to shine in, as the family dynamic is v patriarchal and he’s feted over poor overlooked SYJ. I vaguely recall his character being a bit of an arse.

LJS is the King of Feathery Stroking followed closely by Park Yer Bum.

I liked Wi Wi Wi in Little Women, decent wee melo-thriller.

@Dragonrock DD and I also got tickets for Jin 🤩

I fully agree about LJS being top feathery stroker! For years I couldn't even watch a drama with him in, but my feelings have mellowed somewhat now 🤣

Can I ask what a feathery-stroker is? Do I want to know???

Little Women sounds good, @FedUpWithBriiiiick, we like a thriller. Adding to the list!

A feathery stroker man is the opposite of a throwdown man.

Lightly touching gentle gentle. Cries afterwards.

ohhhh @Rowdythree, many congrats what day did you get? I got 2 x tickets for both days. Was aiming for 4 seats in one showing but just no luck. They went SO fast. My daughter says she watched the messages on TikTok about how fast they went. I wonder if more will be released for general sales, I couldn't' secure anything below level 4. As to LJS still can't take him seriously as a strong male lead but suspect there must be something about him as IU is no fool.