MsLatte’s Daebak Cybercafé (kdrama addicts #9)

[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 AmazonPrime and search engine-accessible content available on shady non subscription streaming sites (listed as ‘alt site’ below). The subtitling on alternative sites is variable in quality and the pop-ups can be adult themed...

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, alt site)
Live (Netflix)
Pride & Prejudice (Netflix)*
Prison Playbook (Netflix)*
Suspicious Partner (Netflix)*
Watcher (Viki)*

Historical/Period drama (“sageuk”)
Crowned Clown (Viki)
Mr Sunshine (Netflix)
Rookie Historian (Netflix)

Romance - lighter & fluffier
1% of Something (Viki)
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)*
Morning Call (Netflix - Japanese)
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)**
Melo is my Nature (Viki)/Be Melodramatic (alt sites)**
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
Absolute Boyfriend (Viki)
Are You Human (Netflix)
Goblin (Viki)*
I am not a Robot (Netflix)
Legend of the Blue Sea (Viki/Netflix)
Love O2O (Viki - Chinese)
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)
Before We Get Married (Viki -Taiwanese)
Hwarang (Viki/Netflix)
The Last Empress (Viki)
Sassy Go Go (Netflix)

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

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 (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…

I’m still undecided about whether the lady professor is cut from the same cloth as Hannibal Lechter. She’s making a good show of being odd. Could she be the 80’s murderer’s daughter?

hellos question of the day; if you have multiple dramas on the go, how do you decide which ones you watch next. do you pick the most recently released, the one you're most interested in or just whichever one you see first?

I match my mood. If I’ve had a crap day and need cheering up, froth wins. If I’ve had a better day, I can go grittier. Sometimes beautiful visuals are the order of the day. Vagabond unusually sits in the US tv shiny shit space in my mind, so great when I don’t want to have to think too hard.

Will it make it into everyone's top dramas of 2019 though?

Definitely. Top 5 worthy for me too, though I need to check to see what I’m going to bump.

my third and final guess of tge evening: his missing namesake has been transported back to 1986 and shares his name because he is his son!

There is a reason he shares the same name, but that's not it!

if you have multiple dramas on the go, how do you decide which ones you watch next.

I usually watch in order of release, so Flower Crew & new Tale of Nokdu on Tuesday/Wed, Camellia & Graceful Family on Thurs/Friday and if I really like something I won't wait for Viki subs but watch on dramafast. If I discover a good binger though like Love in the Moonlight then it all goes a bit to cock and out of synch so only my favourites interrupt a good binger.

boatyard your second guess was closest

There is a reason he shares the same name, but that's not it!

I suppose I should be grateful that it’s a tough nut to crack. Sign of a decent script, innit?

I just wrote a really long post and then lost it! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Here I go again...

Love in the moonlight finished! Very satisfactory though very 😭😭😭😭at parts some plot holes but basically a good fun drama! Definitely worth it for Chief Kim! 😁😍

bettys.... Tik tok!... Yes I have unfortunately fallen for it and downloaded onto my phone! You know I'll follow BTS to the ends of the earth and if that means adding a ridiculous app to my phone so I can watch more content! So be it... And I could watch the Maknae Line dance the CNS dance for days! It's just mesmerising and soooo funny!... I'm waiting for the Hyung Line to upload there version!... 😍😍
There's something definitely going on in BTS World! (not the game!) they're dropping daily vlogs at the moment (I was watching Suga and Jin fishing this morning!) and there's lots of rumours of a comeback! Never mind this! Which is due soon!

Arggh! their version!

Dramas?
I've got on the go... Vagabond / Hit The Top / Flower Crew
Lined up... Melting Me Softly / Tales of Nokdu / and others!

Will probably go back to Vagabond next (hello answer to how I choose?... Whichever sparks my interest and draws me in) as I feel like I've been in Joseon far too long! Need a break from Hanboks and cries of JOENHA!...

Wow Hello how do you keep up with so many?
I only have Graceful Family , Flower Crew on the go and have just started Vagabond. I'm hoping for some shirt off bits soon to make up for the plane trauma.
I usually go by release order, unless I'm watching something that is complete. Then it just depends how much it sucks me in to a binge or not.

Oops did some extra bold bits there 😂

TheGirl the less than impressive answer to how i watch so much is insomnia. id kill for more sleep but handsome men in dramas will have to do

Insomnia is rubbish but I'm still impressed with your drama commitment 😁

I keep telling myself it's for language learning but my mandarin is no better than it was a year ago. I guess it helps I work from home most days and I can watch Korean dramas without using subtitles much anymore so a lot gets 'watched' while working.

DAMMIT BEA !!!! I’ve downloaded TikTok & had to boil the kettle 3 times as I kept watching chicken noodle soup on a loop!

bettys!... 😁🤭🤭🤭😂😂😂😂😂😂... I'm very good and don't get sucked into it and ONLY watch the bts uploads!!... Still waiting for that Hyung Line!! 4pm UK time is a mare as its midnight over South Korea way and that's when they post the big stuff... If my phone beeps at 4pm!... I know there's something kicking off!! 😭😂😂🤭🤭🤭

Is it my imagination or is Jimin deliberately dancing badly/cheesily so as not to over shine JHope ('cos of course he is the bestest dancer)

bettys!... 🤭😂🤭😂🤭... Think he was just having sooo much fun! And looks very cold! 😂❄️
I follow a professional dancers twitter account where she (assuming she!) breaks down his dancing and marvels at his technique! It's fascinating! And I have never wasted a morning /afternoon /evening mesmerised by Jimin's perfect lines and turnout!... No sireee! Not me!
(... @JiminUncut...(twitter) just in case you wanted to brush up on your contemporary dancing skills!) 😊😍😍

Excellent visuals in My Country, finally some shirtless Woo Do Hwan where he doesn't turn into a swamp monster in the Goryean version of a shower scene.
Only halfway through the first episode though and have just remembered the rest of the makgeolli in the fridge, it'll probably go off if I don't drink it, right?

Best not to waste it, Betty.

So shirtless Woo Do Hwan - first half episode, you say?

Shirtless WDH?! After watching swamp monster, I'm ready for Goryeo showers.

Shirtless Yang Se Jong too ( chef from Temperature of Love )