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…

Shopaholic Louis.... Veeeerry satisfying!... A very very sweet drama !... All nice and fluffy!... ❤️😍... Laughed out loud and blubbed so a thumbs up from me! 👍

NEXT?.... Think I'll try and finish the k2... I love a bit of Grrr JCW!.... Mmmmm...

The one you two have been watching sounds good and intriguing!... 😁

... Meanwhile I'll get this printed and framed! ❤️❤️❤️♥️♥️♥️😍😍😍😍😂

Bea - There’s really no hope for you!

Or me... Bed beckons. Night all!

Tsk tsk no hope indeed

... I'm sorry!.... I have a problem!.... 😔

My name is Bea and I'm addicted to kdramas... Especially the ones with a handsome ML and a ludicrous plot line! 😔😔😔😔

It’s OK Bea, we already knew that. No need for an overt confession.

Has anyone watched Fates & Furies on viki? I’ve only got 4 eps of Just Between Lovers to go, so need to line up my next boxset.

Fates & Furies is on my list but I don't think it's finished airing yet. I think my next one might be Familiar Wife on Viki, or you could try Wok of Love with lovely eyes tousled hair as a chef with straight hair

Ooooh Viki have just added Devilish Joy which is supposed to be good.

Forgot to add, the FL in Wok of Love was v annoying so I skippitydoodahed but may go back to it.

Great minds Betty - I bookmarked Devilish Joy when I was browsing earlier.

If you are around IAm I was wondering about something in Just Between Lovers. There are sisters called Ha Moon Soo (FL) and Ha Yeon Soo (dead). When we last discussed Korean names, the name order seemed to be Family > Generational > Given. In this case it seems to be Family > Given > Generational. Is this common? Is it to do with the specific names and ease of pronunciation? Also, sometimes a character will comment that another’s name is pretty. Are there “pretty sounds” in Korean, or is more the combination of name meanings which are favoured?

Annnnnd I’m all finished. Betty - I know what you mean about the ML & FL - even when they are supposed to be majorly pashing, it’s all rather chaste and stiff. When you compare & contrast with the smoking 1930s snog in Chicago Typewriter, these two would struggle to light a cake sparkler fountain, let alone fireworks. Despite that, it was all rather lovely. (Am I alone in wanting have seen the finished memorial? I suspect it would have been a bit shit, even though the intent and all the family members’ quotes were terrific.)

Yy even when he’s IN HER BED (in full outerwear of course) all she can do is clap her hands over her mouth and say he might catch her cold 🤨 They made a v cute couple, the kdrama chasteness just seems unrealistic sometimes. Agree about the smoking 1930s snog. When it does work I’m not sure if it’s down to the leads chemistry, writers or direction. Some actors eg Lee Min Ki seem to get it right every time though.

Still def worth watching all the way. Agree re memorial. In the wiki link you posted the real life memorial was sited quite far away from the original disaster site shuck is now an apartment block 😮

Which not shuck 🤨

JCW is another one that gets it right 😘

They made a v cute couple, the kdrama chasteness just seems unrealistic sometimes.

Agree on both counts, but perhaps a partial explanation lies in that Soompi link you posted. If you have limited or no dating experience, those scenes are probably more uncomfortable or harder to do convincingly. 🤷‍♂️

It was the FLs first role so could be that. Lovely Eyes’s romantic scenes in ‘Wok of Love’ have more oomph, but then the FL in that is very different. There seem to be a whole bunch of nuances related to experiences ie if the FL is supposed to be innocent / in the throes of First Love as opposed to someone who has been engaged before.

I do get the impression that kdrama stars don’t have much of a social life as they are terrified of being papped. Very few seem to be married or in relationships.

I do get the impression that kdrama stars don’t have much of a social life as they are terrified of being papped. Very few seem to be married or in relationships.

Yes, I noted upthread how limited they seem to be in what they can say in interviews & how carefully their publuc images are managed.

I’ll just note how much I like that FL’s voice. Considering how tiny she was, it was surprisingly deep and husky. She was a great character - good at design, fixing boilers, HGV driving, telling it how it is etc.

And I liked her best friend’s story arc too, especially when she changed her house passcode.

Prosecutor Toasty LJS!!.... EP 1 While You Were Sleeping (viki).... It's veery good! Already gasped and have been shocked and swooned! It's looking good for plot!... Romance!... Snow! Drama!... Super duper!! 👍👍👍

Yeah!! I really like While You Were Sleeping 👍

Bettys!!... The bad guy!! Please confirm he will get his come uppance!!.... What a nasty piece of work!! To be soooo horrible to Toasty LJS!! .. I'm gasping how wicked he is!!

I’m having a kdrama break - but only because I bought the Rough Guide last weekend and I’m starting to research some holiday ideas in earnest. We haven’t booked any holidays this year yet because of Brexit, so I’ve been pondering long haul. After an hour or so of the Rough Guide I’m pretty excited about planning a trip. I paused briefly to post one of the recommended local tour companies habkorea.com which is described thus:

“In addition to regular itineraries, this group also offers specialist tours dedicated to things such as Kpop (including the chance to meet a star or three) and photography...”

I lied. I’m watching the last 40 min of Because This Is My First Life because I loved it so much.

boatyardblues "Have you had enough breakfast?"

Bea you will have to wait awhile for comeuppance I love how dorky Prosecutor Toasty LYS is in this. At one point he does a cute little dance of glee - so sweet!

Interesting tourist site there - I was all up for the photography tours but it seems to be a photographer taking pictures of you wearing a hanbok when I thought it was professional advice helping you take pictures iyswim. The food tours sound great though.

When is the best time to go? A friend of DHs who has visited Japan says Spring or Autumn.