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…

Boatyard, coincidentally I have just finished eating a smoked tofu Poke bowl for lunch! I'm working in LA this week. Sounds glamorous I know but really isn't
I have appalling jet lag and now want to go back to my hotel room and binge Sec Kim. Sadly cannot.

Managed to find a Korean restaurant nearby so planning on going Thurs eve for BBQ and hopefully sample a few Soju bombs for final night celebrations!

Just rolled in tipsy. I watched the first 10 mins of The Lies Beneath to see who was in the container and get a LMK top-up. I’m saving the rest for tomorrow for my kdrama in pyjamas hang-over stint on the sofa. Now for some dumb D-Day whilst I sober up enough to go to bed.

Well the ending to Black Knight is really crappy 😡 I kept thinking they would turn it around but no.......

Unreasonable and illogical I know, but if Doctors isn’t better I'm going to scrub Kim Rae Won off the Gangnam Leopard list.

You’re giving him fair opportunity, Betty. If he only picks duff projects, that’s on him.

I’m currently battling a KYK ‘hot or not’ dilemma. D-Day is so-so and KYK is not an absolute favourite of mine or on top form in it. I resolve this episode will be my last, but then they feature his lovely legs or his statuesque physique in a scene and my resolve goes out of the window. Most of the rest of the cast look like pygmies next to him, even the hot robotics surgeon. Please send in a rescue team!

The denim shirt is swinging it for me at the mo. If/when he changes his shirt I’m out.

The most interesting thing for me about D Day is how fragmented the hospitals are. There are loads of hospitals, but each one seems to specialise in a few things but doesn’t have basic general stuff or have been downgraded to minor injury units/cottage hospitals. The pregnant women going into labour particularly seem to be getting bounced from hospital to hospital because none of the risk averse (fear of being sued) doctors want to touch them.

Has anyone watched Arthdal Chronicles now it's finished airing? I've just finished and really looking forward to the next season. It's an epic fantasy, gentler than game of thrones but really enjoyable.

Also The Liar and his Lover is really good, think it's new to Netflix. Dd and I are steaming through it. The first episode we thought it was going to turn into high school musical at one point, but thankfully not! Hidden identity K-pop star and wannabe singer meet and love at first sight.

We also tried to learn some BTS dance moves last night, which was fun but exhausting!

Thank you for saving me from my monologue, Ginger.

ㅋㅋㅋ 😁

I get lost with all the acronyms used, and all the shows.

I need a good story line to keep watching though, I don't think a hot bod is enough when the series stretch so long. Do like a nice pair of skinny jeans in racehorse legs though.

ginger I really didn't like The Liar and his Lover but I'm glad you did!

boatyard I completely get what youre saying about D Day, will the denim shirt make it worth it? Probably not but it definitely good while it lasts. The denim shirt obviously, not the drama.

He’s back in the main hospital now where there is running water (how?) and electricity, and he’s so, so grubby I keep thinking he should shower and put some clean scrubs on (for infection control if nothing else) but then....

boatyard As far as I remember he wears the denim shirt for a looong time 😉

Have to confess I didn’t like The Liar & His Lover either although the ML was the best thing in it, and Moorim School. He’s just come out of the army so no doubt will have a new drama soon. Also has Song Kang from Love ALarm

Still cross about Black Knight ending, what a waste of time at 20 episodes to have such a miserable ending 😡😡

Can you PM me the Black Knight ending so I can ditch now, Betty?

I’m watching The Lies Within. Both Lee Min Ki and Yee-Young Lee are brilliant, such subtle performances. It’s building brilliantly.

boatyard you've got mail!

Need to cheer up so am off out to get fresh air then catch up with tea, Fat Rascals and Lee Min Ki

Kim Young Kwang changed into scrubs, but hid his fluffy hair under one of those surgical hats so I’m still watching. (Help!)

Thanks for the PM Betty. I’ll switch to Doctors.

Kim Young Kwang changed into scrubs, but hid his fluffy hair under one of those surgical hats so I’m still watching. (Help!)

It’s all coming back to me now as to why I kept watching D-Day 🤣😉

He also plays a doctor in The Good Doctor In a supporting role, and is rather nice in that too.

FL is a hoot, when KYK is topless & unconscious for sutures: “he’s fitter than I thought, his jawline’s a work of art.. (prods pecs) a six pack too...”

Boatyard I was.😱😱😱 At that part! Can you imagine if it was the other way round... "hmm! Nice boobs! Lovely skin! Good legs too!"... 😱

I just finished the marathon that was Graceful Family episode 16. I really enjoyed the drama and only realised at the end how little screen time the romance took up. I need more of this style drama; all story with a little romance in the back.

Boatyard I was.😱😱😱 At that part! Can you imagine if it was the other way round... "hmm! Nice boobs! Lovely skin! Good legs too!"...

I know! I thought the same, although he does come round at that point and says she better do the sutures or its just sexual harrassment.