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.

😆😆😆

Just finished Head Over Heels and not sure what my final score will be. I loved the first half but the last two episodes were a bit weird and disjointed. Like, if it was that simple to resolve, why didn't they just do that in the first place. A bit disappointed.

DH and I also started Shop for Killers which I have high hopes for given how highly you all scored it. So far, so good.

DD and I just have one episode left of Better Late Than Single which we have thoroughly enjoyed.

I've finished both Marry My Husband - Japan (really enjoyable, same story but somehow totally different from the Korean version) and The First Night with the Duke, which I wanted to enjoy but just couldn't because the FL was so simperingly awful. Sorry Taecyeon 🙁. I've added them both to the spreadsheet. Just Head Over Heels to catch up with now, though sounds like the endings a bit disappointing. Not sure what to start next.

I've started watching Destined With You. And I'm totally distracted by FL house. I swear it's been in 10 different Kdramas. Same alley, same hill, same house on the corner. Unless Soeul has loads of old houses on a corner at the top of a hill!
I didn't mind the end of Head over Heels, I read somewhere it was cut from.16 to 12 espiodes and I think it shows.

I think I need a cheat sheet to explain the ending of Head over Heels. I'll buy a truncated series reason to explain the rushed ending.

@Rowdythreethey were fab and we had pretty good seats. We were so close when they came by on the carts at the end. Blackpink in a couple of weeks!

I haven't caught up with the thread so apologies for any cross posts.

Jin's Live performance at Amsterdam is being broadcast live on the 9th at Odeon. It's actually my birthday and can't make it for the live but have booked tickets for Sunday.

We have been away so didn't watch much. We watched Better Late Than Single which was great except I didn't like that there was no catch up with the contestants and 2 of them barely got any airtime at all. We also watched the first episode of Tastefully Yours which was ok but now we are back we have started Good Boy. I'm watching Dr Romantic and wondering how this tiny hospital in the middle of nowhere has so many emergencies. How did they cope before all the new doctors??

I've watched it 3 or 4 times and only really paid attention the last time as I was making SKZ freebies the first few times and therefore noticed lots more details. I love the soundtrack

🤜 have one back! I fully intend to watch as much kdrama as I can fit in this month. My timetable when I go back is heaviest it's ever been. Hope all of you in education have a fab summer. Plus if you can get to Switzerland to do a CLOY trip I'd highly recommend it

This was explained in one series by the proximity of a highway, but still. It doesn’t add up.

Yes, a busy road and a big casino were the reasons given for the high volume of emergencies.

I’d forgotten about the big casino.

Can anyone recommend anything absolutely brilliant, an overlooked gem? I’m in a slump. It needs heart like Our Unwritten Seoul but I’m genre agnostic. Would My Dearest fit the bill? I could do with more Namkoong Min.

I watched My Dearest recently and enjoyed it although it's a bit ... oh no, barbarians, oh they got away and are safe ... oh no, more barbarians ... oh, they're safe ... more peril ... repeat until fade.

I presume you watched WLGYT?

I’ve got about 3 episodes of WLGYT left to finish. I wasn’t feeling it so parked it for a bit. Thanks for the reminder.

I just realised my appraisal of My Dearest sounded quite negative but I actually enjoyed it so it is worth a watch. Another one that I watched very early on, loved but hardly ever hear anyone mention is A Time Called You. Have you seen it?

I've now finished Head Over Heels and although it felt a little rushed towards the end, overall I enjoyed it. It was quite quirky and different.
Boaty what sort of genre are you in the mood for with the hidden gem request? It might help to narrow it down. I recently watched Flex X Cop having it missed it when it came out as I remembered someone on here mentioning it and I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting. I'm sure between us we can similarly find something good that you've not seen yet.

I enjoyed My Dearest and will rewatch with DH soon. I liked the FL's development from excrutiatingly annoying brat to something more sensible, with the bonus of (for me) an age-appropriate oppa 😁

A couple of real interesting shows coming up! Aema looks great, and I think Love, Take Two will be lovely

https://www.instagram.com/p/DM2r_ANp4B_/?igsh=Z2wzaTJzMDYxcDRn

Thanks @Cobol . I’m afraid Flex Cop is a 🙅 for me because Ahn Bo-Hyun gives me the ick (since Itaewon Class). I’ve clicked away from a couple of series that were too violent recently, so not that. I’m open to sageuk or modern. I want something with emotional heft or engaging leads. I’m open to a comedy with some feels. I was reading a manhwa today thinking it’s a shame contract marriage dramas are out of favour these days because there have been some brilliant, sparky ones in the past. Maybe I need to look at some of the older dramas.

Agree about your picks FedUp. The precís for My Troublesome Star made me chuckle. Who doesn’t love a bodyswap drama?

@boatyardblues For sageuk (without barbarians 😁) I really liked Missing Crown Prince. It has a lot going on plotwise with lots of different characters and back stories with said Crown Prince in the middle of it all trying to protect himself and those close to him. The melodrama style possibly isn't for everyone, though.
For modern, if you're looking for another Because This is my First Life I suspect you're going to struggle as if there was such a thing surely we would have all found it by now, but I'll keep thinking, there may be something I've forgotten. Have you seen Record of Youth? It's more 'coming of age' than romance but it definitely fits the description of hidden gem, I think.

I liked Record of Youth and Bo gummy was good in it too. It's what I call a 'quiet' drama ie more thoughtful, less action.

I'm trying to binge Nothing Uncovered, Netflix, but the ML's uneven eye surgery is putting me off. 😬Sometimes I think each eye is going in a different direction.

@boatyardblues if you have Prime, Seoul Busters is a police comedy drama which is engaging and funny. I liked it a lot.

Edited to correct it's Disney, not Prime

We have Netflix, Viki, AppleTV and Disney+ but no Prime. I will check out your suggestions. The Love Island final tomorrow means I can reclaim the TV this week. 💪 Thank you all!

I absolutely loved A Time Called You. It's my very favourite k drama. It kept me guessing (usually incorrectly) and on the edge of my seat, the whole way through

I know, @ScarlettSunset but yet you rarely hear it mentioned