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…

Hello!... No no no! I can't go down another rabbit hole! Bts take up all my fangirling!... Twitter... Weverse... YouTube... Vlive... I do not have anymore time!... It's exhausting!

Thank god the comeback is over!.. Leading upto the Festa (the celebration /birthday of their debut) stuff was dropping every day!... Sometimes twice! Argh! I'm supposed to be adulting! 😂 😂 😂... So I'm going to resist!... My ears and eyes (and heart 💜) are with Bangtan! 😂😂😂😂😂... Plus Dh will divorce me and kids will throw their hands up in dispair if I add another South Korean export into my life! 😱😱😱😂😂😂😭

Bettys
Absolute Boyfriend... SPOILERS

Yes it was mjw with umbrella (in my world) as the HUGE hint in the car points towards it!... But annoyed as it looked like she was going with him... What the flip was all that stuff about being recognised in Korea before US! I applauded her for that!... It would have been different if she had said... "yes! I'd love to come with you... For a break and to see the world... But no strings attached.. I like you but I'm still mourning... So I'll stay here..."... Thus when she goes with him.. It would have been... "I'm ready to go with you now... I've said my goodbyes..."... And that stupid Beef hint... Rubbish! Pah!!...
But... The revelation was! What do we think of assistant make over!? Who'd have thought a change in hair colour and cut could change a face soooo much... As a long haired blonde... Gawky geek... Short dark hair... Hmmmm! 😍😂

Saturday afternoon... All quiet here.. Sitting on sofa... Contemplating evenings watch...

Still enjoying ×Watcher!* I really like Seo Kang Joon... I think he's very engaging... Watched 3 eps so far

hotel Del Luna ... Yep still watching! Waiting for it to really kick in! Very much enjoying... I think IU is so ooooo beautiful! Jungkook (bts) has always said she's his ideal!... And jk and Yeo Jin Goo are good friends...!... It makes me giggle (doesn't take much! 😂 😂)

rookie Historian ... Still worth watching

I've got soooo many others to catch up on... WWW being the main one!

Phew! As you can tell I really am having a lazy sat afternoon! 😂 😂

Saltysow!.... I'm hungry now!! 😭😭😭😭

Bettys... I'm only BTS Kpop queen on these threads!... Armys are all in uproar on twitter at the moment!... There's been discussions about whether bts popularity is at the expense of success of other Kpop groups... Obvs.. Armys are riled up... It doesn't take much to be honest! 😂

Bea I feel you with the live for BTS. I remember staying awake to watch their debut stage. I was a hardcore fan for a while until armys started getting kind of toxic. Now I cheer from the sidelines and wish them well. My bias group will always be Super Junior. I started following them in 2008 and I'm still somehow here. They've all completed military service now too so here's hoping for a comeback.

Waiting to watch Hotel del Luna when Mr Hello goes out for the afternoon. I think he's had enough of watching dramas today, he can't take another fantasy series.

Wowser Hello! You truly are Sunbaenin Hello!.... Armys are are passionate and lovely but can be crackers!... I think they need to relax and take a step back now and again!... Hoping my comment will never be found by army! I could get court martialled and be dishonourabley discharged! 😳😳😳😳😬💜

sunbaenim...!

... And... despair... From previous comment! I hate typos! Don't want you to think I can't spell!! 😱

Agust D just came on through Spotify. It's a sign Bea Spotify knows I'm thinking about how great bts are. I still can't hear that song without giggling though.

A to the G to the U to the STD??...

and going on about his "Tongue Technology" ?!? Min Yoongi! I'm calling your mother!! 😳

Surely they could slip it in to a drama as an advert for sexual health clinics? I mean it's crying out for it

😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😱

Ep 8 of Before We Get Married is up with 100% subs. Are we still doing this? I don’t want to waste an hour of my life if there’s going to be no vicious dissection afterwards.

I watched it this morning. Oooh you'll be fuming with 321 by the end of it, bloody cad. I'm starting to see the merits in a handsy one

I’ve started to notice that some Mandarin words sound similar to Korean, so I’ve looked them up on google translate. I wondered if they are Mandarin loanwords in Korean. The spelling’s not quite the same but they sound similar when spoken. E.g.:

Ganbei = cheers = geonbae
Péngyou = friend = chingu

The aigoo exclamation is similar too, though sounds more like aiyoo.

Korean is rooted in mandarin. It was originally written in traditional Chinese too but then they realised the sounds of the characters didn't match the Korean pronunciation so Sejeong the Great commissioned the creation of hangul to closer match the sounds of the Korean language. Its also why its one of the easiest writing systems to learn because it was based on the language and sounds and not the other way round.

I’m away this weekend so watched BWGM sans subs last night and am also fuming with 321 - it didn’t need translation!

Am feelisng peckish now have seen saltysows food pic

I’ve just got to boardroom row with the tech team and Jessica kicking their butts. The tech team gossip guy is beautifully proportioned, even if he is a scurrilous gossip.

Oh yes, SaltySow’s dinner looked amazing.

I bought pork and kimchee gyoza-style dumplings in the freezer section of our nearest Chinese supermarket earlier today. I can’t wait to crack them open.

My Taishanese aigoo equivalent is... Eye-yaa!... Said with gusto! I use it now and again when an English "flippin!. Nora!" doesn't seem to fit as well! 😂😂😂... Or if I'm just feeling old and creaky! 😂

What is Taishanese made up of, Bea? Taiwanese, Cantonese and a bit of ???

Daebak and fighting! said Korean-style have crept into mine and DS2’s chit-chat. He’s not watched much kdrama but picked up ‘salanghae’ quickly and is as pleased as punch with himself.

We regularly has language bingo in our house. One of us forgets a word in English and who knows what language it'll come out in. It drives our extended family barmy, sadly most of them didn't pick up the love of languages.

All explained here... Boatyard! 😬
Taishanese

Ah, I was barking up completely the wrong tree there. Thanks Bea.

I love Han Kefei bitching about schlepping through the rice paddies in her skyscraper stilettos. I also love her warning about how grumpy they both are: “She ate dynamite and I swallowed a grenade!”