KDrama Addicts Anonymous (part 5)

[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 there other sources, including Dramabus and AmazonPrime.

Previous Threads, with discussion of what we’ve enjoyed and what to avoid:

Thread 4 (previous threads linked from OP of this one)

Some suggestions for shows that we’ve enjoyed - those marked with an asterisk are more uniformly loved or admired:

Because This Is My First Life (Viki)*
Black (Netflix)*
Chicago Typewriter (Viki)*
Don’t Dare to Dream (Netflix, or as Jealousy Incarnate on Viki)*
Fight For My Way (Viki/Drama bus)*
Goblin (Viki)
Healer (Netflix)*
He is Psychometric (Viki)
Her Private Life (Viki)*
His Master’s Sun (Netflix)
I Hear Your Voice (Netflix /Viki)
Just Between Lovers (Viki)*
Last Train to Busan - film (Amazon Prime)
Live (Netflix)
Love from a Star (netflix)*
My Strange Hero (Viki)
Pinocchio (Netflix)
Pride & Prejudice (Netflix)*
Prison Playbook (Netflix)*
Romance is the Bonus Book (Netflix)*
She Was Pretty (Dramabus/Netflix)*
Something in the Rain (Netflix)
Strong Girl Bong Soon (Netflix)
Suspicious Partner (netflix)*
W (Viki & Netflix)*
What’s Up With Secretary Kim (Viki)*
While You Were Sleeping (viki)*
You are my Destiny (Netflix)

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

If you want to know your oppas from your unnis try this helpful guide to Korean terms of address and honorifics.

We are generally fans of all things Korean, so equally happy to talk about Korean cookery, film 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

We have a few frequently used acronyms:
FL/2FL = female lead/2nd female lead
ML/2ML = male lead/2nd male lead
SLS = Second Lead Syndrome (where the FL/MLis too thick to realise how much better the 2ML/2FL is)

We also abbreviate titles if they’re long, but usually only after using the full title & acronym together. Some of the regular favourite actors have been abbreviated too for speed/efficiency, although “him off Black” seems to have stuck for Song Seung-Heon. Don’t be afraid to ask for help/clues if we’re not making sense or have descended into acronym soup.

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

Well, good news and bad news. HPL loaded really fast this morning, so obviously an overwhelming demand problem last night. However, I only had enough time this morning to watch up to her Mum getting into her flat and chasing her around. So far it seems like a plot-bridging episode rather than a big reveal/shift one.

Also, focussing on silver linings, I really liked The Guest. I’m turning into Bea and have at least 5 dramas on the go at the mo: HPL, Life on Mars, Fellow Citizens, Legends of the Blue Sea (love-hate with this one, filler) and now The Guest. It’s starting to look more like a ‘normal’ viewing schedule.

I'm the same, I have a few on the go, categorised as 'desperate to see' (HPL), watching when in the right mood (The Guest, Confession, Missing Nine, Big Issue, Queen for 7 Days) and a binge-er (Are You Human)

On HPL her Mum definitely has a bigger role to play somewhere in the back story

But isn't it nice to see misunderstandings cleared up quickly? With lazier writing the whole 2ML sleeping over line would have been played out longer.

Lion is definitely one of the playground chalking kids. It’s no coincidence that 2ML’s Mum is editor of an art magazine and FL’s Mum does crafting - I reckon their interest in arty stuff drew the 3 mums & their kids together.

Agree about the quick resolution. The same about Ms Latte. A lazier show would have strung that out for ages and made more of it.

I like that FL is clear about how irresistible she finds Lion, and is forward in her approach to him. I may have watched the bit where he unbuttons his shirt a couple of times for S&OR

Now all caught up. The ending was lovely.

Bettys... BTS oh yes! I amnaged to watch a life stream of it.... me? obsessed? fan girling? No Way!

I absolutely love
They're sooooo cute!!!!!
(How can Mumsnet not have a Purple Heart!!!!?????)

Glad to see I'm not the only one with several on the go at the moment but I've recently finsihed some (Kill It & The Legend Of The Blue Sea) so I need to start racking them up again...

On the go at the moment...

Confession (for serious and gritty drama) it's a reall who dunnit what the fkip is going on drama (lovely eyes Junho! Sigh!)

and The Secret Life of My Secretary (For fluff and standard fun kdrama... ) although it seems to be getting more serious and not just fluff and nonsense as it would seem to be from the beginning.... am very much enjoying and the glo up of Jin Ki Joo (secretary) is quite surprising - although you knew it was coming from a mile off and I'm really liking Kim Young-Kwan (Pinnochio and The Guardians) he's got a nice vulnerability about him and his character is more deep than you would initially think...

Absolute Boyfriend looks like good nonsense 2 eps up and subtitles...so may start with that soon...

I seem to have drifted into ones on air at the moment and there are some coming up which I'm very looking forward to...

New Ahn Jae Hyun scheduled for November People With Flaws

New Jae Hae In One Spring Night.... though this is made by the same team who did Something In The Rain.... hope it's a little cheerier!

Jang Ki Yong (Assasin from Kill It) has a new one coming out and looks inrtriguing... hopefully he will smile a lot more in this one
WWW

Lovely Eyes Junho has got a film coming out Homme Fatale

and finally my first Kdrama love Park Hyung Sik with his new film out Juror 8 before he goes away !

Phew! DH has gone away with work and thought I'd get it all out of my system by the time he comes back.... ahem.... i don't think so!!!! BTS wembley in a couple of weeks!!!!! SQQQQUEEEEL!

I love The Cute One!

We are expecting a detailed update on the BTS gig, Bea. Pretty please.

In Bea’s link to the new Ahn Jae Hyun drama there was reference to “flower boys”, so I felt compelled to google. There’s a good explanation with historical context here - key paragraph posted below:

If you are into Korean dramas or Korean pop music, you have probably heard the term ‘flower boy’ (kkotminam 꽃미남) being used to refer to delicate, slightly feminine-looking boys. In dramas the ‘flower boy’ is the cute, generous boy next door who is kind and caring toward our heroine the moment she comes stumbling into the store where he works, or into the apartment complex he happens to live in.

Looking at those hangul charachters, though, it feels like the romanisation kkotchinam would be more accurate. Go figure! I clearly have much to learn.

Oh balls. I was reading the upended M ㅁ as ㅇ (zero consonant). I’ll put myself on the naughty step.

Detailed update... oh yes! You two are the only ones who appreciate my obsession at the moment.... I can't fan girl too much as family and friends will think I've gone completely bonkers (though I'm slowly turning them to the dark side!!!!)... I need a Lee Seon Joo (best fan girl friend HPL)

Flower Boys... oh yes they're my jam!!!!

Yes yes I need to live vicariously through your BTS Wembley night out Bea!! We need snapshots, screenshots, video and burnt-in timecode!

.....and V is The Cute One! With Jimin second

Also like boys - wasn't Hwarang based on the historical equivalent?

Ooooo! Grrr JCW... hosted a Vlive chat yesterday! It's up and got subtitles! Woo hoo!... Reading the soompi article that lead me there
.. Fans posted... Thanks for protecting your face whilst in the military..... 😂😂😂😂😂

I’m still struggling to identify all the BTS lads reliably, though I can now pick both RM and Suga out of a line up. Progress!

I’ve got them down pat now, 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

It’s up 0% subs lol!!

Boatyard I got a notification from the HPL subs leader that there were a lot of streaming problems so it wasn’t just you !

I'm ashamed to say I'm BTS trash now... And probably know them better than their own mothers! 😩🙄

Are you a sasaeng now Bea?

The viewer comments under HPL in viki are great. Someone young has obviously slagged off PMY for being too old to be a leading lady. The top 3 comments currently are a nearly 60 year old, an 82 year old and 45 year old basically saying you are never too old to enjoy a good romance & to get over it. There’s an interesting explanation about most kdrama being aimed at over 25s because the kids get their content online or watch in the summer, basically too busy studying the rest of the year.

One of the posters on Viki refers to “His Hotness KJW” which is just brilliant! That’s got to stick, surely? The man is sex appeal personified.