MsLatte’s Daebak Cybercafé (kdrama #8)

[boatyardblues]

A quiet corner of MN for serious addicts of Kdrama, or the Kdrama-curious. (MsLatte is a Her Private Life reference.) Most of our viewing is drawn from Netflix and Viki, with a sprinkling of Dramabus (non subscription, maybe dodgy) and AmazonPrime.

The previous thread is here, but our ‘Addicts Recommend’ list below is cumulative so includes recommendations and favourites from all previous threads.

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. supernatural, romance and a thriller; crime series with fantasy elements. 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 moments. 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
Come and Hug Me (Dramafast)
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)
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/zombies/vampires/fantasy/sci-fi - lighter & fluffier
Goblin (Viki)*
I am not a Robot (Netflix)
Legend of the Blue Sea (Viki/Netflix)
% Orange Marmalade (Netflix)
While You Were Sleeping (Viki)*

Supernatural/zombies/vampires/fantasy/sci-fi - darker/more grown up themes
Black (Netflix)*
Hotel del Luna (Viki)*
Kingdom (Netflix)*
The Guest (Dramafast)
Train to Busan - film (Amazon Prime)
W (Viki & Netflix)*

Guilty Pleasures (for the joy, not the quality)
Hwarang (Viki/Netflix)
The Last Empress (Viki)
Sassy Go Go (Netflix)

Mad as a box of frogs/uncategorisable
Strong Girl Bong Soon (Netflix)

Not Korean but just try it

We 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 with links to Korea who pop in from time to time to provide the context for some of the more baffling cultural references. (Although we may 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 cookery, language, film and music when the mood takes us.

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)
🥾🍑 (boot, peach) = kick up the arse to go to bed

We also abbreviate titles if they’re long, but usually only after using the full title & acronym together or an obvious abbreviation. Some favourite actors & actresses have been abbreviated for speed/efficiency, eg Lee Jong-Suk (LJS), Park Min Young (PMY), Ji Chang Wook (Ji Chang Wook) 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…

😂 😂 😂 🕘 Bettys

Whoops! Don't know how 🕘 got in there!

Now I've finished a couple dramas, I'm open to recommendations. Tell me your favourites that I might not have watched please!

Are there in the thread header that you haven’t seen?

I gave up on Legend of the Blue Sea about 15 minutes in for some reason, and I haven't watched Crowned Clown so they might be options. Which of the two is better?

Crowned Clown for heartstring-tugging, Legend for the LOLs/silly.

Betty - I’m 2 mins into episode 5 of Grateful Family. Daegu!

A couple that aren't listed in the thread header...

The Great Seducer I was reminded of this when watching the trailers for My Country which I am so looking forward to (Woo Do Hwan and Jang Hyuk with long hair & swords yes please). Woo Do Hwan is the ML in a Liaisons Dangereuses type high school story.

Manhole Kim Jaejoung keeps going back in time down a manhole to try and stop his first love from marrying the wrong guy

Room Number 9 Racehorse legs Kim Young Kwang plays a doctor whose girlfriend body swaps with a killer in prison.

None of the 3 above are perfect, but they are quite entertaining

Go for Crowned Clown it is beautiful!

boatyard I know!!! So that's why she went to the dark side

I start to worry about that holiday itinerary I linked to before, as the tour included an overnight stay in Daegu. How bad can it be?

Pretty bad obviously 😩 No one ever seems to want to go there 🤣🤣

Daegu is beautiful! And the accent there is so distinct and like music to the ears. It's not as distinct as jeju, which is considered its own language to some but its just so lovely.

Oh my word! The stepmother and the violinist. What a sadistic cow. 😮 (Grateful Family, obvs.)

hello... Both are fun and entertaining... But crowned clown pips it for me! Its just sooooo beautifully done!... I think its in my top 5 as I just think it was great all round! A real treasure😍😍😍😍

True , I haven’t seen as bonkers a mother since Tje LAst empress

KLAXON!
www.soompi.com/article/1350584wpp/KIM-YOUNG-KWANG-AND-LEE-SUN-BIN-RADIATE-POSITIVE-ENERGY-DURING-SCRIPT-READING-FOR-SPY-FILM
Racehorse Is out of the paddock!!

Oooh Bea that does looks good!

The article about Gong Hyo Jin’s new film made me smile.

www.soompi.com/article/1350514wpp/gong-hyo-jin-and-kim-rae-won-talk-about-working-together-again-after-16-years

The stepmother in Graceful Family is horrible, but so is her husband. What got me is the other woman he slept with. Surely she can do better?

The second son is the equivalent of JR in Dallas. I want to boo pantomime-style whenever he’s in a scene with his poor wife.

OK, Watcher ep 13 and the fight with the thugs in the deserted lawyer’s office... I’m struggling to work out where lady lawyer’s ex-husband is coming from. What’s it all about? I’ve clearly missed something crucial due to all that nodding off, because I’m so confused right now....

The fight choreography in Watcher is excellent but gut-wrenching because blows and wounds land. 😞

Boatyard... I really liked Watcher... But I fell asleep... A lot! During it and had to rewind!... Thus I found it quite hard to follow! 😂😂😂... But I just went with it!
Yes! The fight scenes are great!love Seo Kang Joon! 😍

Has anyone else noticed the ML in Graceful Family becoming slightly more dashing as the show progresses? I have noticed his hair styling is getting ‘younger’ and hipper, plus I think that the suits are becoming progressively more tailored but so, so subtly.

Also, seeing as the aged chairman’s awful son seems to shag everything that moves, I’m wondering if Director Han has a secret chaebol bloodline child stowed away somewhere too.