I’ve got a few- a shorter one would be Answer Me 1997. If I want a good rom com and old school , I would go back my classic City Hall- love me my ajusshi crush Cha Seung Won. If I want a good satisfying laugh, Vincenzo’s my pick!

Weirdly, when I need a palate cleanser (usually after a very disappointing or anger-inducing drama), I instead turned into variety show. Something chaotically funny, or a vacation-themed relaxing one. A nice little distraction as my brain tried to purge the latest experience from my brain. Or at the very least, to dull the edge of the bitter/sour leftover taste. Then in 3-4 days, I would be game for another dive into the unknown new drama territory again.

I don't exactly have a palate cleanser drama, but I do have memorable scenes of so many dramas - both the good and the bad, that I fall back and watch just to get my groove back. So yes, my palate cleansers are the collections of memorable scenes that are stored in or come into my head spontaneously.

I think it depends on the genre the drama that I need to forget.

For romance, I re-watch She Would Never Know ; for law/cop : Stranger 2, medical : Dr Romantic 1, fantastic : Goblin, etc.

Oh My Venus
Touch your heart
Fated to Love You [Korean version]
Weighlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo
Jugglers
My Love from the star

Warm,cute, tropey rom coms that always make me smile (P.S Cheon Song-yi is still the all time greatest rom com heroine in dramaland)

Once again
My Daughter Seo-young
Family weekenders that will never get old

Chief Kim
Mad Dogs
The uncanny counter
Special labor inspector Jo
Mr Queen
The Reluctant and unlikely hero is my all time favourite trope

When my love blooms
Chocolate
That winter the wind Blows
One spring night
Those languid, quiet and moody romantic melodramas, these people have problems but they are attractive and speak like quote generators so its okay.

I have never felt the need to rewatch a k-drama just to clean the taste of a previous one 🤔
I prefer to go on with something new.
However, if I have to say a comfort k-drama, I pick Flower Boy Next Door.

I don't necessarily rewatch whole dramas, though sometimes I might, but I think I usually end up rewatching scenes from Lee Seung Gi dramas. His dramas are like a mood playlist for me because if I want to watch bickering or challenging each other, I can watch scenes from Shining Inheritence (Brilliant Legacy) or The King 2 Hearts. For the chemistry, Vagabond or Gu Family Book. The dynamic between him and Cha Seung Won in You're All Surrounded or Hwayugi (A Korean Odsessey) always appeals to me. My favorite Korean female lead is Kim Yuri from The Law Cafe so I could rewatch scenes from that. My Girlfriend is a Gumiho is a fun one and the imagination sequences make me smile (such as the expectation vs reality escape scenario he imagined) plus Losing My Mind is so pleasant to me. I like the layered personas in Mouse.

Plus I like seeing his improvement or changes as an actor over the years.

WHY IS HE SUCH A CUTIE PIE OMONIIIII
Thanks to @missvictrix for choosing this pic as the cover picture!

BB Kim Seon-ho is forever ♥️. Yes, the mini drama was a sweet little gem. It was very easy to watch, and also quite tropey.

But to cleanse my palate, I agree with some comments above that I normally turn to K variety shows. The laughs are guaranteed, and I find nothing better than laughs after I've watched something not that good.

Hospital Playlist
Reply 1988

I never thought of this question before. I guess a short-simple-nice slice of life drama would erase the bitter ending of a current drama.

I guess I would recommend TO JENNY (2018).

Yes, I know exactly what you mean and also think of them as palate-cleansers. For me, any random scenes of the following will do:
Weightlifting Fairy
Kim Sam Soon
Marriage Not Dating
My Love from Another Star
Secret Garden

I don't have specific palate cleansers and just rewatch whatever I feel like in the moment. Statistically it's usually crime shows because they make me think logically rather than stew in emotions which I often struggle with as a T-type. Currently I slowly binge Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty (for the 3rd time or so) between all the ongoings - it reminds me a lot of OBY (but less unevenly executed lol) and is overall a very meditative watch with interesting cases, good humor and lovable characters. And much, much better songs.

I'm not a Robot, Chief Kim, My Secret Terrius, Memorist and Healer. All are sure bets to remind me of that good ol' k-drama magic.

Palate cleansers for me aren't only for when a drama leaves a bitter taste. I use them also for when I have watched a few new shows back-to-back and feel overwhelmed, or for when I have watched one or two VERY good new shows and I'm on a high and kinda scared to break the streak with a bad show...

A few of my palate cleansers:

Chief Kim
Lookout
Accidental Couple
Wild Romance
Greasy Melo
Naked Fireman
Deserving of the Name

YouTube clips from variety shows are usually enough to change a residual bad mood after a bad drama.

An episode or two of The Boy Next Door never fails to make me laugh and break whatever spell I was under.

For truly desperate times, the beach kiss scene from Because This Life Is Our First is a sure cure, but I try not to resort to that too often - I don't want to build up tolerance and have it not work anymore.

Coffee Prince - A whiff of that drama during the dry period, is potent enough. I follow it up with some oldies that I had not watched and before I know it, I'm keeping up with the current ones.
During a different kind of dry period where the usually chirpy world of kdramaland is not at all appealing to me, I opt for Because This is My First Life.

BECAUSE THIS IS MY FIRST LIFE. It’s the perfect palate cleanser for me: normal adults living ordinary lives. No scheming ministers, ruthless chaebols, birth secrets, serial killers, trucks of doom, comas, amnesia, etc. Instead, there is warmth, humor, friendship, and personal growth. Kisses to die for. And while it touches on some serious subjects (e.g., sexual harassment, abortion, broken relationships), it does so with thoughtfulness and nuance.

Answer Me 1988
Ex Girlfriend Club
Coffee Prince

These are the dramas I watched more than twice. While I’m not into watching variety I have to say Young Actor’s Retreat was a nice palate cleanser last year.

Lately I haven’t rewatched much tho, there is always new dramas but at the same time when I do inevitably get into a kdrama slump I usually watch anime or read

When I finish a show I tend to rewatch, but it's because something of the show I just finished reminded me of the other one. It doesn't matter if the show left a sweet or bitter taste in my mouth, tbh.

BUT with kdramas in general, sometimes I need a break. A new page. A palate cleanser. It can be one night, two days, a week or a month, Idk, but I transfer all my energy to another source of entertainment: webtoons, movies, variety/dating/survival shows, etc. And then I come back stronger than ever. 😆

And about the "kdrama magic" you mention, I think I got that magic from romcoms.

Hmm.. Palate cleanser. Haven't really thought about it this way but I now realize that I do have dramas I go back to from time to time. Sometimes it's the better dramas of the poor actors involved in a bad drama. But most of the time, it's one of these:
- Hospital Playlist S1
- Something About 1%
- Another Oh Hae Young
- Marriage Not Dating

For non-kdrama, it's a rewatch of random episodes on:
- How I Met Your Mother
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (the animated one)

I actually mentioned in a previous thread that I watched My Ajusshi as a palate cleanser (after watching Love in Contract). But to give Park Min-young her due, I often watch the first few episodes of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim to relax and clear my brain. Similarly, Another Oh Hae-young, and in older days, My Girl frequently. They're like comfort food. If I want a full kdrama infusion, I'll rewatch Thank You, I'm Sorry I Love You, or Ruler of Your Own World.

I don’t usually rewatch dramas. But I might watch a movie or few scenes or episodes as cleansing. Movies are usually my quick fix.

If I watch a particularly bad drama, I might lean to a drama by the same lead or similar genre.
Eg after Jirisan I watched a few episodes of Hyena to remove the bad taste this drama left.
While watching ep 14/15 off CCiR, I watched an episode of Weightlifting fairy.

Other dramas which I watch in bits - Gogh, starry night, Coffee Prince, Reply 97.

In cdramas, it’s Go Ahead. The initial episodes always bring me so much warmth.

I have a few that work really well for me, but fortunately I seldom need one because my fellow beanies steer me clear of most of the shows that would put me in the need of a palate cleanser, although I have on rare occasions, deliberately hate watched a show (looking at you FOREST) or have been jointly caught off guard (DO DO SO LA SO).

For me it is mostly the really classic romcoms which serve the purpose: MARRIAGE, NOT DATING, FATED TO LOVE YOU, the J-drama MISCHIEVIOUS KISS, LOVE IN TOKYO (and its various versions in other languages), etc.