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…

Top quality BWGM monologuing there, Hello. 😄👌 Keep it up. I’m off to make some sarnies, but may follow shortly - although Behind Your Smile has me in its tractor beam at the mo & I’m struggling to pull away.

Im 50% of the way through and unfortunately there's no slaps yet. Plenty of them are deserved though

Ooh. I could kill for a good sandwich. I don't eat them often so never buy the stuff. What culinary delight are you feasting on boatyard

FL is wearing a jumper with a blaser, surely she's roasting? Or is sweaty mess a fashion trend?

I have finished Beautiful Gong Shim it was good except SPOILER ALERT why did they have to send ML away to the US for a year? They just found him again after 26 years! Couldn't he have done any extra training he needed in Korea? And why did he not contact FL all year then expect to waltz back in as if nothing happened? At least she gave him a good kick.

Dawei and Kefei having a little morning english session. I've never woke up and decided to speak Mandarin to DP for fun. Is it a thing for bilingual people?

some of this has got to borderline criminal! at least they're painting stalking and sexual assault as bad unlike that japanese high school movie I watched.

I’m about 25 min in & frustrated by the lack of subs when Kefei was giving 321 an earful.

Sandwich was a fresh Ssinsbury’s multigrain roll with Lurpak, smelly Camembert and Geeta’s premium mango chutney, with a small bunch of red grapes on the side. Delish.

I'm getting sandwich jealousy. I might pop to tesco and buy some sandwich stuff.

Realistic kissing! Not awkward lips touching. Kehuan has an A+ body. They're definitely comfortable filming with each other. Oh wow.

Argh. 94% is still to holey for me. I’m off back to Behind Your Smile until they get BWGM to 98%. As before, no spoilers pls.

Kehuan has an A+ body.

I consider this ^ to be a teaser rather than a spoiler.

I will hold off on my terrible monologue until you can return boatyards
Safe to say we'll have lots to talk about once you and bettys have watched it!

I’ve watched it 😉 I am just holding fire u TIL boatyard has!

Agree with what you said though hello 😎

OK. I’ll finish it Swiss-cheese style...

My kdrama watching is limited this weekend due to working late shifts today and tomorrow and people coming round tonight.
I'm loving Cheese in the Trap - gutted to hear it might have a unclear ending. I really really want to imagine she gets together with In Ho. Nobody can tell me otherwise until I've actually watched it myself 😂. Anyway I'm enjoying the visuals 😉

TheGirl the visuals are good but I’m firmly in the Jung Yoo/Park Hae Jin camp much as i appreciate Seo Kang Joon 😆

You could also watch the film version which was done after the drama (but doesn’t have Seo Kang Joon in ) which was more like the webtoon it is based on

I haven't watched any kdrama for almost 3 days!! I'm sooooo behind! 😭😭😭😭😭

Bea oh no, hopefully you'll get a sneaky watch in soon!

I haven't watched any kdrama for almost 3 days!!

Poor, poor Bea. My sympathies.

OK. I’m all done. I loved the scene at the end with the best 4 characters gossiping inappropriately. It was great. BWGM deserves a place on the Guilty Pleasures list without reservation. Also, like Hello says, great to see realistic snogging for a change. I have grudgingly come around to liking Jasper Liu. He does a good twinkly eye and wry smile.

Jasper Liu grows on me the more I see him. It's the dimples. I'm a sucker for some dimples.

Oh! I have totally succumbed to the charms of Jasper Liu after being very sceptical at first and now follow him on IG - he is going to be on a show with Lee Seung-Gi which looks fun! I still think Puff Guo has an undistinguished nose though.

That has to be one of the most realistic 'getting it on finally' scenes in this genre. Very well shot (and no daft pyjamas/knitwear in sight)

In the other dramas I have seen with Jasper Liu he has very much been the boy next door type, but he can definitely do steamy.

I so enjoyed the scene with Limpet where he say 'bye bye'

And I love the dimples too hello

Jasper Lui and Lee Seung-Gi, you say? Well heeeello. Where will this show be screening, Betty? LSG wins Insta for the best selfies IMO. They’re often so good, I strongly suspect they aren’t selfies at all...