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…

Uh-huh it’s sport in our house, if I’m kdrama ing on my laptop they have free rein to watch all the football, formula 1, cycling & golf they like 🤣😎

Likewise interminable YouTube videos in our house. DS2’s niche interests aren’t quite paint drying and redneck shooting range footage, but they have the same effect on my blood pressure. The only blessing is that Stampy fell out of fashion quite a few years ago.

It's gaming here! The amount of money we've got wrapped up in vintage consoles and games is eye-watering.

Welcome thegirlwiththeatabstrap... A fan of Belle and Sebastian me thinks! (one of my fave songs along with "fox in the snow" and "we rule the school"... "get me away from here I'm dying".... I digress!
now you've got viki you are now completely lost! 😂😂😂

Welcome welcome! Aigoo! It's getting much busier on this thread now!

Boatyard... My add to recs for new thread (if you can fit in... And if there is consensus)
Historical... The Crowned Clown (V)
Fantasy... Hotel Del Luna (V)
Angst / thriller... Come and Hug Me (non boobage drama fast)
Fab... Search WWW

I haven't watched a drama for over 24hours! 😭😭😭😭😱😱😱😱

My lot basically leave the telly room by 7pm!!

Especially during term time so I can watch till I get a 🍊👢(peachy boot!... A kick up the arse as its way too late... For those new to the thread!!)... We usually have to administer to ourselves as no one else is on the thread at 2am! 😱🙄😁😳😳😳😳

Bea - you are really spoiling me with your recommendations with 4 pages to go. So, Hotel del Luna - does it go on the fluffy or dark fantasy list? I’m leaning towards dark because of the serial killer. Come & Hug Me - dark thriller? I already had WWW as grown up romance and Crowned Clown in the sageuk/historical category.

Anything else, folks?

Ooh, Orange Marmalade? Which category?

Hello all

Just finished Something in the rain

I have found a fellow K Drama addict today ( my Vietnamese manicurist!) she has recommended Goblin BUT it's not on Netflix?

Just dipping into 'let's eat' whilst waiting for family to turn up for weekend

I think it's a matter of when not if I take out a subscription to Vikki ...

Aesops - Do it do it do it!!! There’s so much good stuff and the subtitling doesn’t gloss over the relational terms/honorifics which helps it all make sense.

Ahhhh! Typed a reply and it disappeared. Gosh darn. New Before We Get Married is out! Hopefully the subs are quick.

My Strange Hero is definitely a resounding yes for me. I know its definitely on the list but I think im in love with Kang Bok Soo and I wanted you all to know. Hotel del Luna is a deserving of a spot on the recommendations. I'd put with dark fantasy because there's a lot of death and icky with a healthy dose of serial killer.

Yeah, I gave it a bit of thought and realised all the squelchy corpses in Hotel del Luna shift it firmly into the ‘dark’ category.

Oooo-er am tempted to watch BWGM sans subs....
Agree with all suggestions for recommendation list updates, and with only one ep to go do we add BWGM?

Yes Bea I love Belle and Sebastian - Stars of Track and Field and Judy and the Dream of Horses are my favourites.
DH needs a better hobby! He is going out tomorrow so I've got free rein over the TV.

I'm really hoping BWGM ends on a high. Is there a guilty pleasure trashy tv category for it to go in? If so, maybe?

Ré Orange Marmalade, should we add it to zombies & make it Zombies & Vampires or just stick zombies & vampires into the supernatural dark category?

Agree with all suggestions for recommendation list updates, and with only one ep to go do we add BWGM?

I tend to think of the recommendations as a way in for folk who are new to kdrama. My view is that our ‘front stall’ should be about quality, as newbies may only try one thing & we want to show them how good kdrama can be. BWGM is firmly in the guilty pleasures/trashy category & might turn people off if its their first try - if you recall, the first few episodes were pretty shaky and borderline grim (the sex party/handcuffing). However, we should definitely debate having a trashy list. I’m trying to remember how I described it last time we talked about BWGM.

Xposted with hello.

Ré Orange Marmalade, should we add it to zombies & make it Zombies & Vampires or just stick zombies & vampires into the supernatural dark category?

I pondered this very issue earlier but didn’t settle on an answer.

I like the sound of a guilty pleasure trashy tv category but I actually don't think it's that trashy , just a bit wrist-grabby. At least the ML & FL are showing signs of character development.
I am also hoping BWGM ends on a high note but I have a baaaad feeling about it.

haha cross-post about BWGM!!

OK after much though (and wine) I reckon zombies & vampires should go in to supernatural with a -zombies type warning, but Orange Marmalade can go in to the supernatural light section.

And if we have a trashy/guilty pleasure bit then maybe Last Empress can go in that, & SWDBS in supernatural light as we don't have many in the uncategorisable section. Although I'm fond of that section for some reason.

Oh yes, Last Empress is much better characterised as guilty pleasure. I think maybe Strong Girl gets to keep her own special category in perpetuity. I haven’t yet come across anything else like it.

I'm just trying to think of what else you'd put on the guilty pleasure list. All I've got is dramas that aired years ago and make me cringe thinking about them, Flower Boy Next Door anyone? Boys Over Flowers maybe? All cringe worth but I'm not entirely sure pleasure was involved watching them.

I wondered about Devilish Joy but the ending is a downer.

Sassy Go Go Go?