KDrama Addicts Anonymous (#7)

[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 (non subscription, possibly dodgy) and AmazonPrime.

The previous thread is linked below, but our ‘Addicts Recommend’ list is cumulative so includes recommendations and favourites from all of the previous threads:

Thread 6

Shows marked with asterisk(s) are more uniformly loved or admired. 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 best approximate & ask if you need guidance, eg about suitability 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)*

Historical/Period drama (“sageuk”)
Crowned Clown (Viki)
Mr Sunshine (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)
Radio Romance (Netflix)
Romance is the Bonus Book (Netflix)**
She Was Pretty (Dramabus/Netflix)*
The Beauty Inside (Viki/Netflix)
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 themes
Because This Is My First Life (Viki)*
Chicago Typewriter (Viki)*
Descendants of the Sun (Viki/Netflix)
Fight For My Way (Viki/Drama bus)*
Just Between Lovers (Viki)**
My Strange Hero (Viki)
One Spring Night (Netflix)
Red Carpet - film (Netflix, very adult content)
Search: WWW (Viki)*
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)
The Last Empress (Viki)

Not Korean but just try it
Regulars occasionally branch out into Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese drama. The Chinese & Taiwanese stuff is much more variable quality-wise, so we’ve noted anything decent here:

Love O2O (Viki - Chinese)
Morning Call (Netflix - Japanese)

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 fangirling. If you’re still reading, please say hi.)

We are generally fans of all things Korean, so equally happy to talk about Korean food/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 dense 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 or an obvious shortening. Some of the regular favourite actors & actresses have been abbreviated too for speed/efficiency, eg Lee Jong-Suk (LJS), Park Min Young (PMY), Ji Chang Wook (JCW) and his hotness Kim Jae Wook (HH KJW). 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…

ML in WWW is rather gentle and well-mannered (he does housework! Phwoarrr) paired with a ballsy, badass FL.

I will only believe they really do housework when there isn't a whopping great cylinder vacuum involved

When there's a Henry hoover stuck on a corner of a door frame I'll accept it as housework.

I've never seen Prison Playbook, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, or Absolute Boyfriend. I don't even know why because they're all on my watch list. Good gosh, tell me which i should watch first?

Weightlifting! It's soooo lovely and sweet! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Prison Playbook, definitely. Stick with it for the first episode or two, because it becomes a whole lot more nuanced and interesting as the story unfolds. Suffice it to say, its not your usual prison drama.

I was really enjoying Emperor of The Owned Mask... But you know what I'm like.. I want a super happy ending... Basically all the good guys get their happy ending... I read it was a good ending... But with a few tears... I'm afraid I did a bit of skippity do dahing.... And now I don't want to watch anymore! 😭😭😭😭... And it's got great robot /strange hero guy Yoo Seung Ho and Angel with the lovely hair! Kim Myung Soo...

I really am a bad kdrama watcher! 😭😩

Bea you're so bad! But I get it 'cos I've been known to do the same. I started Emperor but got distracted & couldn't work out who was who...not sure if I should go back to it after what you've said.

Hello if you're in the mood to get absorbed into characters go for Prison Playbook, if you're after a fun feel good time watch Weightlifting Fairy. Both very good just different.

Ep 2 of WWW... Giggling girlishly! 😂 🤗😄

I've just seen the writer of Prison Playbook has written a new drama for this year called Doctor Playbook apparently its going to explore 'humanism'. Colour me intrigued.

Interesting, hello. It was well written so I’m curious to see what comes next.

Apparently they've offered the lead role to Jo Jung Suk

Yeah, I second that for Jo Jung Suk but Yoo Yeon Seok (Dong-Mae in Mr Sunshine) has been offered a role. Surely he’d be a better bet as ML.

just caught up on Hotel Del Luna, it was good. nothing outstanding, just good.

I think im falling in a little rut again, I've watched a couple episodes of loads of different things and nothings stuck. I've tried both Prison Playbook and Weightlifting Fairy, any other recommendations would be appreciated!

I’d give Prison Playbook another go, I thought it was good at first but by ep 4 I was hooked and loving it and the characters, especially when the demon captain arrives 😉 Jung Hae In ripped & doing press-ups 😀

I'll persist and see if the press ups do anything for me then. I think this heat is just killing my ability to focus and maybe that is what has got me into a funk

The heat is motivation sapping. Feels like we need a bloody good thunderstorm to reset things here. 😩 I went shopping earlier with DS1 for summer clothes. He was bounding along in a long sleeved top and full length trousers whilst I trailed behind him quietly melting in a sleeveless top and cropped trousers.

I had to go shopping today. Worst decision ever. We're attending a funeral on Friday and needed new clothes so couldn't avoid it. Between sweating and crying I've probably lost 2 stone.

I might try rewatch an old funny drama to pick up my mood. Plus because I've seen it, it doesn't matter if I miss bits, does it?

We're attending a funeral on Friday and needed new clothes so couldn't avoid it. Between sweating and crying I've probably lost 2 stone.

Hello - sorry to hear about the funeral and how affected you are. Yes, rewatching something gentle and uplifting sounds like the perfect tonic.

I’ve started Level Up. So far so good, although I’m in a overheated hormonal grump and may change my views at will. I’m quite enjoying Sung Hoon in awkward dork mode.

Sound silly but I made it this far in life without anyone I know dying. So to have my Nan go from relatively healthy to no longer with us in 3 weeks has scared me. Everything seems a bit more fragile now.

And to pick the mood back up on this lighthearted thread. I pulled out the big guns. I watched the last episode of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. It'll always bring a smile to my face. It was so well written and the comedy was simple but fresh.

I can never figure out Sung Hoon's. Do I find it beautiful or odd? It seems to switch every time I look at it.

Sung Hoon’s interesting. He’s clearly very handsome and ticks my tall/racehorse boxes, but I feel he’s lacking something in the charisma department. I don’t think he’d be good company in the pub, if you know what I mean. Whereas I feel KJW would be excellent company, handsome or not.

A question about Level Up. When FL is eating the honey-dipped snack on a stick at the end of ep 1, did you think it was a really big tteokbokki rice cake (without chilli sauce)? That’s what it looks like to me. Feels all kinds of wrong for some reason.

Also, the amount of double-dipping in that shared honey would make DS2 retch. 😆

looks like garaetteok to me. just really long tteokbokki but I get what you mean about the double dipping, I know research says double dipping doesn't add significantly more bacteria but still, don't do it, it's icky.