KDrama Addicts Anonymous (thread 2)

[boatyardblues]

A quiet corner of MN for serious addicts of Kdrama, or the Kdrama-curious. Most of our viewing is drawn from Netflix and Viki, but the more seriously addicted have other sources, including dramabus. To our surprise, we managed to fill a whole thread, which is full of recommendations (and ones to swerve): www.mumsnet.com/Talk/streamed_tv/3337309-K-Drama-recommendations?pg=1

We have some recommendations for newbies:

My (current) top 5 – all Netflix
Live
Prison Playbook
Don’t Dare to Dream
Black
His Master’s Sun

Betty’s top 5
Black (Netflix)
Fight For My Way (Drama bus)
What’s Up With Secretary Kim (Viki)
I Hear Your Voice (Netflix /Viki)
Don’t Dare To Dream (Netflix / Viki)

Bea’s top 5
Strong Girl Bong Soon (netflix)
What's Wrong With Secretary kim (Viki)
She Was Pretty (dramabus)
Healer (netflix)

Our lovely occasional posters who have lived in Korea, are Korean or have Korean partners/family members pop up to provide the context for some of the more baffling cultural references.

We love a good kdrama bingo card to mark off the regular tropes – white truck of doom, drunk/med evac piggybacks, stalkers, rooftop apartments etc

We also stray into Korean cookery and kpop when the mood takes us. To get to grips with the lingo, try dramaloveaddicts.proboards.com/thread/24/korean-word-day?page=1

If you want to join us down the kdrama rabbit hole, pull up a chair, say goodbye to early nights and get stuck in…

By the way, I take back my grumble about the Viki subtitlers. I now appreciate their diligence in subtitling everything, including explaining the cultural references and wordplay.

😂😂😂... I quite liked Fatty!... It was quite endearing!!... Especially as Kim bok joo is absolutely modelike in real life! It was a great performance and kudos to styling to make her look so awkward... And her body language was perfect too!
Yes! I love NJH in WFKBJ... I gave up on Bride... I found his servant way too annoying... But I'll go back to it!
Sometimes I compare the different subtitles for my favourite scenes as it can give a totally different nuance! 🤣😂

Bea, you are in deep. 😆

😭😩😩😩Help!

Pinnochio... Huzzah! The haircut has appeared!... I love the relationship between Dal Po and his "father"... ❤️😍

Episode 4 is the one!...

The toast!... Saucy!!... ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Yeah! Dyou fancy some toast? takes on a new meaning. How is it that kdrama does these things so neatly/sweetly?

Was in Wagamama earlier & see they have added some Korean dishes to the new menu, including steak bulgogi with kimchee (yum). Is Korean food and culture on the cusp of breaking through in 2019? Feels like the “hallyu” (Korean wave) is about to break in the UK/Europe. There was quite a bit of media coverage of the kpop phenomenon last autumn before BTS’ UK dates.

In other news DS told his BTS-mad female friend’s about his Mum’s daft kdrama fixation at the start of the holidays. He told me yesterday that she’s watched a couple of series over the holidays & had asked him to tell me she loves it too. First they scoff, then they fall...

OK, I’m pondering what to watch next. I’m thinking maybe Cheese in the Trap, but my recent viewing has been light on reapers, ghosts and whacky supernatural goings on. 🤷‍♂️

I am cooking steak bulgogi tonight! Or a version thereof. I have been to the Korean supermarket and bought japchae, shrimp cakes, kimchee & yet more soju. I also found gochugang (sp) in Asda so may have a go at kimchee too.

I will be so chuffed if we are ahead of the curve - I can't understand why more people haven't discovered kdrama yet, especially as kpop & BTS are getting so big.

Cheese In The Trap has stuck in my mind so much it may move into my top 5. The ending is a little frustrating so I watched the film of it afterwards to get a better feeling of it. The film was done two years after the series, which had mixed reviews as the webtoon it was based on had such a strong following that when they changed the story a bit there was a bit of controversy.

It has lovely Nam Joo-Hyuk in a secondary role, and Park Jae-Hin from Man to Man

It has lovely Nam Joo-Hyuk in a secondary role, and Park Jae-Hin from Man to Man

I’m sold!

Ahhh! Boatyardblues... a NJH spiral is immanent!! 😂😂😂❤️

I have a soft spot for Park Jae Hin, Bea. I started Man to Man for Mr Sunshine’s hotel owner Hina but stayed for Jae Hin.

(I’ll also own up that the swim meets in Weightlifting Fairy made an enjoyable change from all the random shamesless shower scenes, as they were at least plot relevant.)

Aha! Jae Hin was the nice guy in My Love From A Star.... And he's in Dr Stranger with Toasty Lee Jong Suk.. Another on my list!... I love LJS... He cries beautifully...!

I love that kdramas really show vulnerable men... They're allowed to cry and be emotional... And was thinking the other day how kdramas pass the bechdel test easy peasy which is more than I can say for many US movies etc!

I just sniggered out loud at Toasty Lee Jong Suk!!

I declare that is what he will be called forever more!! 🍞 ❤️

I think So Ji Sub should hereafter be ‘Ji Sub in the tub’ after the excellent post-workout bath scene in Oh My Venus.

Bea - I strongly agree about kdrama showing men experiencing a far wider range of emotions and vulnerability than most western telly. In Live I was really struck by the male officers from the precinct all turning up at the maternity hospital to coo over their male colleague’s new baby, with the older officers talking openly about how much such a happy event lifted their spirits.

You make a really good point about the Bechdel test too. However, it’s not all one way traffic and its clear its no feminist utopia. I am frequently struck in the hospital, boardroom and police station scenes how few women there are, aside from the PAs/secretaries - usually one or two in a large group of men, if any at all. In the chaebol families, its usually because they are widowed and the favoured son isn’t ready yet. The boardroom/shareholder scenes are nearly always gray suited yes-men in their 40s+. Strangely, law, IT and primary care/community medical settings seem to be more balanced. Reply 1994 was great in that the 2 central female characters were on the same computer science degree course as 2 of their male housemates.

OK, about 20 min into Cheese in the Trap. Is Park Jae Hin a sly sociopath in this, because I’m not convinced I’ll enjoy it if I’m hating on the ML all the way through. You all remember how much I grumbled about the VC in Sec Kim...

Yes he is a sly sociopath it’s about how and why he’s like that & how he changes

I actually didn’t rate Park Hae-Jin before this it totally changed my view of him.

Or maybe I like sociopaths 😱😊

Yes he is a sly sociopath it’s about how and why he’s like that & how he changes

Promise me, all of you, that time invested here will be rewarded.

Weeeellll everyone’s take is different, I was rooting for the ML over the 2nd ML and my sympathies were totally with Park Hae-Jin as I found he made an unlikeable flawed character very attractive. I found it quite refreshing to have a ML that wasn’t immediately obvious.