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…

Such naughty boys! 💜💜😍

Flower Crew... 15 mins in and it seems to be Hwrang bonkers drama! 😂😂

Argh! Subs are only at 3

Yes!!🤣🤣 Right up our street!

..
Opps!

... Only at 31 %...so I'll wait till all done! Looks silly enough to be fun though! X😂

@bettys I got viki about two weeks ago 🤭. Will check out JWC’s other offerings. I think suspicious partner is on Netflix.
@Bea I have not yet succumbed to YouTube...but probably will in about 20 seconds. I think I need a support group 😦.

I think I might be becoming addicted. I don't seem to be able to have a break between them! Just finished Healer and need to find a new one. I'm also secretly listening to BTS and my 13 year old will disown me if he finds out. Even wondering if anywhere sells kimchi or soju so I can try them out. Do I need help?

This made me laugh so hard DS2 asked what had set me off. Just go with it, Brambly. Lots of people have inexplicable hobbies and interests (watching formula one, anyone?). There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Embrace the crazy. As the OP says: “Pull up a chair, say goodbye to early nights and get stuck in…” Oh, and pop a bottle of makkeoli in your basket with the soju!

Brambly... Don't blame me as you fall deeply into the bts rabbit hole! It goes on and on forever!!.......................

... The support group will always be here... Offering piggy back rides and a glass of soju! 😂😂😂😂... And even more lovely bts clips and drama recs! 😂😂😂😂

Thinking on it, I realise I've never had a piggyback ride. I feel short changed by DP now.

The totally gratuitous massage chair product placement (PPL) scene followed by the tongue in cheek, knowing rosehip drink PPL in ep 14 of Melo is hilarious. 😂 It is subversive genius writing. I am definitely going to have to watch the writer/director’s recent smash film.

Yes the PPL writing was genius 🤣

The open homophobia and discrimination in the restaurant was pretty shocking, though. Now I know why there are so few gay characters in kdrama!

Vietnamese wraps look way too fiddly. 🙄

Yes that was upsetting, it’s obviously still very hard to be gay and out.

Loving the maverick director, who is full of surprises. And let us pause for a moment to admire that man’s build - more carthorse than racehorse, but those broad shoulders!

The Wolmido grub crawl is making me hungry too...

Hi Brambly you have definitely found your support group here!
I just watched those BTS videos while sitting next to my DS age 7. All he had to say was "why are they messing around?" so I don't think he's a fan 😂.
I've got some free time this afternoon so hoping to catch up with Melo.

I'm lucky my DS is 1 so sees bright coloured videos and bubblegum pop and just enjoy himself. His current fascinations are Twice and Pentagon. If you ever need recommendations, I'm here all week.

enjoys* I promise I can spell. Just returning to ask if anyone has seen The Divine Fury? I don't usually watch horror films but I hear its got shirtless Woo Do Hwan in and that might just make me watch it.

I am heartened by your shallow motives, Hello, as I know I’ve found a kindred spirit.

I was thinking earlier, when pondering the homophobia in Melo, that you don’t see racism in kdrama* - but then I realised its probably because its so monocultural. You occasionally get white people in kdrama, usually the same four middle aged blokes on rotation (it’s not just me that’s noticed, surely?). The only time I’ve seen any black people in a kdrama was in the street scenes in Just Between Lovers. If I recall, that was filmed in Busan, which is a major port so typically more mixed (as for British port cities).

• The only overt racism I can recall is Japanese/Korean antipathy in Mr Sunshine and Chicago Typewriter.

There a variety show called Hello Counsellor where people go and air out their concerns and the audience vote on how serious they are. A fair share of the concerns are from people who have been victims of racism in Korea. Mostly black people who have moved to Korea but a few Korean Muslim's who wear hijabs and the stories they tell are horrible.

its got shirtless Woo Do Hwan in

Shirtless Woo Do Hwan is what I’m hoping for in upcoming My Country amongst other things (swords, long hair & flowing robes, Jang Hyuk)

I have searched & failed to find The Divine Fury online

I found it on dramacool but I need to reinstall my adblocker before I attempt to watch it. The question remains is shirtless Woo Do Hwan worth watching a horror film for? Do you watch your favourite actors in dramas and films even if you don't like the genre?

Yes, but I may skippitydoodah. The trailer for Divine Fury is quite dark lighting-wise, so although I don't like horror I may not see that much of it.
The real question for hello is, will you watch even though it has PSJ in? Seeing as you've banned him from t'pub