KDrama Addicts Anonymous (part 6)

[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 5 (previous threads linked from OP of each preceding thread)

There are suggestions for shows that we’ve enjoyed - those marked with asterisk(s) are more uniformly loved or admired. Cautionary note: in categorising series, its important to note most Korean dramas have multiple strands - e.g. romance and thriller; supernatural, romance and a thriller, crime series with blossoming relationship aspects. 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 elements. View the categories below as approximate & ask if you need guidance, eg for younger teens.

Comedy (with a side order of absurd)
I picked up a celebrity on the street (Viki)
My Fellow Citizens (Viki)

Crime/Thriller
Healer (Netflix)*
Heartless City (Viki)
He is Psychometric (Viki)
I Hear Your Voice (Netflix /Viki)
Life on Mars (classy remake of BBC series, Dramafast)
Live (Netflix)
Pride & Prejudice (Netflix)*
Prison Playbook (Netflix)*
Suspicious Partner (Netflix)*

Romance - lighter & fluffier
Beating Again (Netflix)
Coffee Prince (Netflix)
Don’t Dare to Dream (Netflix, or as Jealousy Incarnate on Viki)*
Happy Once Again (Netflix)
Her Private Life (Viki)*
His Master’s Sun (Netflix)
Love from a Star (Netflix)*
Pinocchio (Netflix)
Romance is the Bonus Book (Netflix)**
She Was Pretty (Dramabus/Netflix)*
The Beauty Inside (Viki/Netflix)
The Last Empress (Viki)
Thirty Not Seventeen (Viki)
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (Netflix/Viki)
What’s Up With Secretary Kim (Viki)**
You are my Destiny (Netflix)

Romance - heavier weight/more grown up
Because This Is My First Life (Viki)*
Chicago Typewriter (Viki)*
Fight For My Way (Viki/Drama bus)*
Just Between Lovers (Viki)**
Mr Sunshine (Netflix)
My Strange Hero (Viki)
Red Carpet - film (Netflix, very adult content)
Something in the Rain (Netflix)
The Package (Viki)

Supernatural/fantasy/sci-fi - fluffier
Goblin (Viki)*
I am not a Robot (Netflix)
Legend of the Blue Sea (Viki/Netflix)
While You Were Sleeping (Viki)*

Supernatural/fantasy/sci-fi - darker
Black (Netflix)*
The Guest (Dramafast)
W (Viki & Netflix)*

Zombies
Kingdom (Netflix)*
Train to Busan - film (Amazon Prime)

Mad as a box of frogs/uncategorisable
Strong Girl Bong Soon (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. (Although its possible we have scared them all away since our early threads with the incessant fangirling. If you’re still reading, please say hi.)

If you want to know your oppas from your unnis and other Korean terms of address and honorifics, there are good resources online.

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…

Hah, just watching the first ep of Kingdom now

I realised earlier that Mr Oh has 24 episodes. 😩 Tricky. It has me in its grip because ML/FL’s story is so warm and they are good together. I also like the Mr Oh character (and the actor). But, it also feels a bit dated and some of the plotting may as well have been filmed in semaphore - it’s not nuanced. But still... Can’t. stop. watching.

Hmmm well I have had several glasses of wine with a friend this evening before coming home to Mr Oh and I. Am. Losing. Patience yawn
(More likely to be the wine effect as Mr Oh has had the haircut but is still in bumpkin clothes)

This is one where I am - for the first time ever - recommending you skip to the sharp suits (ep 15 onwards) and skip all the annoying bits in between. Even the ajummas are getting on my nerves now. 😖

I’m nodding off here. Need to turn in.

Will skippitydoodah then - think I’ve figured out the mystery masked man storyline anyway 🧟‍♂️

That all gets sorted by about ep 12. I don’t know why the hell it needs 24 episodes to finish off the (slight) story. On the upside, it creates space for Mr Oh to lathe his wood in his new suits (not a euphemism). Daft, but visually appealling.

Right. 🥾🍑

Cheshire - this ^ is the thread standard bedtime kick up the arse emoji combi.

I wondered about that, but I can't actually see the first emoticon, just the peach. Is it a foot or something.

Is someone able to explain to me why they call it Dongnae as opposed to Dongrae/ Donglare as it's 동래?! I've double checked the Romanization and even under the revised one (which I find spectacularly unintuitive FWIW) it should still be either L or R.

It comes up in the first episode of Kingdom and it's annoying me.

It could be a dialect word Cheshire. I was struggling with an unfamiliar relational term in something. When I googled it popped up in a glossary of Jeju dialect words.

So I skipped to ep 15 as you suggested boatyard, and then straight to ep 24. Job done

I wondered that, it's the name of an area. It's the Romanization that's odd, I don't actually hear an n either, more l anyway.

One Spring Night has really tested my patience, but Jung Hae-In... Hope to God it gets going tomorrow. 🙄

I am rather enjoying Angel's Last Mission: Love (Viki)

I will give it a try. Everything is doing my nut right now.

The first episode felt a bit slow but the ML is endearing, the 2ML is mysterious, the ballet bits are lovely and there is a golden retriever.

there is a golden retriever

Every little helps.

HPL finished! A nice ending with all the loose ends tied up! That's what I like! 👍👍👍
But... What the flip was going on with that birthday pressie! Would have given me the heebie jeebies!

BTS have left us! 😭😭😭🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧... They're on their way to 🇫🇷... Cheerio boys! Come back soon! 💜💜💜💜😢😢😢😢💜💜💜😭😭😭

Did they have some time off to enjoy Blighty, Bea, or was it all press junkets and work since Sunday?

Betty - Thanks for pointing me to Angel. It’s very cheering.

And the ballet is lovely.

Angel is fun... Started last night!
Also after HPL felt like proper fluff.... Short fluff... Came across Dokgu Rewind! 😂... Only 4 eps! A bit of fighting... Revenge... We'll see how it pans out! Its got Eun Gi from HPL in! 😂 😂 😂

BTS... They didn't seem to do much here in blighty apart from ghastly BGT... Not sure the British media have cottoned onto them yet... Although there was a very good piece in the telegraph... The most sensible serious article I've read so far!... Not just whittling on about teenage girls and a 1 direction replacement or obsessing about their prettiness... It was a little more in depth and serious!... There wasn't any radio or TV as far as I know! America is a little into them! 😂

My guess is that mysterious 2ML could be from the other side, but don’t spoil me if there’s already been a reveal.

My guess is that they knew each other in childhood, like in Black