MsLatte’s Daebak Cybercafé (kdrama addicts #10)

[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)
Graceful Family (Viki) - potboiler!
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)*
Tunnel (Netflix)



Historical/Period drama (“sageuk”)
Crowned Clown (Viki)
Mr Sunshine (Netflix)
Tale of Nokdu (Viki)



Romance - lighter & fluffier
Beating Again (Netflix)
Coffee Prince (Netflix)
Don’t Dare to Dream (Netflix, or as Jealousy Incarnate on Viki)*
Gogh, The Starry Night (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/Netflix)*
Descendants of the Sun (Viki/Netflix)
Doctors (Netflix)
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

Regulars 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 its possible we 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…

Good evening!... And the results are in...
Watched all the way through - 16
Ongoing - 2
Haven't watched yet but mean to - 5
Dropped for various reasons - 6
BTS - videos / run eps / bangtan bombs / bon voyage / streamed concerts /... ALL of them!... 😁😱🤣😂💜💜

I disappeared to work on a spreadsheet and everyone's doing stats and being lovely. I've almost got the list in spreadsheet form, just adding a few little bits. I'm enjoying it far too much 🤭

On the list I've seen 32, currently watching 4. Outside of that list I've finished 16 dramas released this year, and am currently watching 3.

I also really enjoy having this space to share everything from dramas to recipes and more. It's always a nice pick me up to see someone here talking about something they enjoy.

Is it agreed that we can rate unfinished dramas in our disappointing ones? Abyss is a classic case for me. With those leads, it should have been epic but meh!

Definitely, Abyss is on my list too (though I did watch the last episode just to see if it was a happy ending)

hello you're doing sterling work! Are you adding the Chinese language dramas? If they are on Viki or Netflix I think you should.

So are we grading all of them on that list? Or just our top/bottom 5 and the rest are nul points? Maybe the disappointing list should be minus points like QI so if Abyss was the most disappointing it would get -5.

Mind you I remember someone saying on a previous thread that they were enjoying Abyss so it will be good to see everyone's POV and see how the scores level out.

Maybe when we get to the point where THE SCORES ARE IN (sorry diverted to Strictly speak there) we could put it all on a separate thread

AAAAAAAaaaand yet again I am thinking about this when I should be working......

I'll add the few Chinese or Japanese language dramas that have been mentioned on the thread but won't go mad adding all the ones I've watched.

We should accept unfinished disappointments because they're still disappointing! I agree with minus scoring for disappointing dramas because then it can be saved if others liked it! Any that aren't on either list can be 0 points.

I should be finished with it soon, excluding dramas that have yet to air obviously.

I’m going to massively struggle to whittle my five favourites down. I’m already angsting over who gets top spot between Her Private Life, The Lies Within and Melo. 😩 I love them all so much, for different reasons.

Can’t we score all the ones we’ve watched from 10 to -10 and work out an average.

boatyard that could work! If we all show everything we've seen from - 10 to 10 then average it out, it'll be more representative too. I'm happy for either system

Is there an easy way to do that without hello having to copy everything over?

I think we could enter our own data to a googledoc, but you’d need a burner email if you don’t want to reveal your proper one.

if I share the Google sheets and you open it in incognito mode or private browsing it should show you as anonymous. then you can add your scores to your columns?

That should work OK.

Such fun!!

I’m watching Lee Min Ki clips on YouTube. I was looking for an interview, but no matter. The clip of him & BTIMFL FL on the beach in flashback as Park Min Young’s parents in What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim is soooo lovely. I watched WWSK before BTIMFL, so I missed this treat. He’s so lovely with the kids and funny.

Give me a shout if there's any formatting issues too. It changes so much between my phone and laptop, so I never know which ones more representative. I froze the first column so you don't lose which row you're trying to type in but if this annoys anyone, I can unfreeze it!

I've just opened the spreadsheet, I don't know how to view incognito, where would you see my email?
I've already spent a fair few minutes dithering over what score to give BWGM so this could take some time!

boatyard the clip in WWWSK is so sweet! Strange how the older version of PMY's dad is shorter and far less attractive

I think I can only see it when you're actively editing it or by checking 'version history' according to Google. I can't see anything on my phone so I'm not sure?

I’m so cautious about doxxing, I’m not sure about editing the spreadsheet. 😞

You can add your scores here boatyard or message them to me and I'll add them for you! I find data entry soothing so it's no worries.

Thanks Hello. Will do. (I had an odd experience on a previous talkboard so I am much more circumspect these days.)

boatyard I understand it completely. At the end of the day it's all about people feeling comfortable so the invitation to send me ratings instead extends to everyone.

To anyone that does use the survey, rest assured that I am far too lazy to find out anything. I'll be distracted by automatic average functions anyway

It's oddly therapeutic remembering disappointing or infuriating dramas and slamming a big old -10 on them. Well Intended Love I'm looking at you.

I've rated a few of mine and it's making me realise I need to take a break and watch some current dramas before everything mashes into one.