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 am waking up earlier than usual at the mo after DH has aleady got up, so I’ve been getting my morning fix in bed on my phone.

I am just putting this up here for SAOR.

GrrrrrrJCW coming to a laptop near you soon.......

gosh golly miss molly, that photo is amazing.

I am admiring of JCW’s racehorse legs in that photo, but I think I might bow out an leave him to Bea & Betty. I’m all about Seo Kang Joon at the mo. (Fickle)

I'm still loyal to Ji Soo. Although I think he's going to mandatory military service next year. I hope he gets a drama with a successful romance before then.

Seo Kang Joon or JCW... hmmm! I'm happy with either!... Are you saying we have a general consensus on SKJ..? 😱... Do we all love him?!!.. 🥰😍😍😍

Oh SKJ is definitely top 5 material.

One a side note, The Running Mates: Human Rights is really well done. It's an OCN drama so of course it's thought provoking. The first episode had a sexual assault case and they touched on the topic of victim blaming and slut shaming. Im on episode 2 now but it's looking like another ill keep up with.

Ha Betty's I saw that lovely pic on IG this morning 😍
If I was in the awful position of having to choose between grrJCW and Seo Kang Joon I would pick SKJ like boatyard
Work is rubbish today so decisions like this are v v important 😂

I need to do more reading about SKJ to decide whether to swap out Lee Seung-Gi from my Jeju retreat. As Girl say, when work is hard or boring these important decisions need plenty of thought.

Good research is fundamental to this kind of important decision making.
Looks like we may have two at the centre of our Venn.

Disappointingly SKJ is another dramatics art . He’s so lovely to look at, but I worry about dull conversation. When I was a student I was in a house share with drama students. They were great fun but, with the exception of the one much older mature student that went home to his wife & kids each weekend, not great for thought-provoking or deep conversations. I am generalising horribly, but I met lots of their friend over the two years I shared with them.

Dramatic arts graduate..

Eek just realized how young SKJ is! 😮. Hmm at least grrJCW has had more life experience so maybe better chance of good conversation?

I'd have to call Grr JCW ahjussi once we were acquainted and that might dent his pride so he might not be a great guest on the island with me.

I have the tv to myself, pizza, wine and Camellia & Rookie Historian new eps tonight 💃🕺🍕🍷

I think Betty and I are of a similar vintage and more in ‘Gangnam leopard’* territory than noona territory. All these lovely young racehorses would likely be horrified by our interest.

• Romance is a Bonus Book reference for the newer posters.

Ooh Hello you whippersnapper! If you use the half your age plus seven rule then grrJCW is an acceptable age gap younger than me. SKJ is definitely not (but he's so beautiful!)

Half your age plus seven means I’m allowed to have HH KJW but not SKJ. Boo!

I'm definitely more Gangam Leopard than a Noona 😆

Given the amount of time I spend flopped on the sofa watching kdrama, Gangnam panda would be more accurate than Gangnam leopard. 😆

JCW is in range too.

JCW is on the ahjussi/oppa border because hes the same age as my uncle but only 7 years older than me in Korean age, 8 in international age (lunar new year adjustments). So he'd have to be called 지창욱 배우님. (Mr Actor JCW)

Another Gangnam Leopard here... 😭😱
I'm soooo excited! Didn't realise it was weds!... Sooo cuppa tea! Some dark choc and rookie Historian! Woo hoo!!
Its like turning up for school and then being told there's a gas leak so it's a bonus day off! (used to be a teacher!) 😂👍😂👍😂👍

Melting Me Softly starts in 2 days! Anyone else excited? I saw the press conference and JCW was so giggly. It was lovely.

Gangnam leopanda here too! Who made up that half your age plus 7 rule? Looks like I'm back to HH KJW and Jung Kyung Ho for Jeju Island duties! Although I'm now thinking Ji Sung and his lovely eyes, or Jang Hyuk and his impeccable pecs could be an option.