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…

Chicago Typewriter takes a while to get under your skin. The Japanese colonial period scenes are the ones that pack a punch. 2ML in that reminds me of Keanu Reeves - lovely looking but not a terrific actor. The FL is the same one from WWW though, and she’s fab. She has good chemistry with the ML.

I enjoyed BTIMFL so much last night I had to force myself to go to bed after 2 episodes. I could have quite happily continued until the wee small hours. The writing is masterful.

BTIMFL is a thing of beauty! I fully support rewatching.

My plans for today are effectively ruined because they released the last 8 episodes of Arsenal Military Academy and I've loved it so much I dony think I can spread it over two days. So I'm going to have to spend today with it on in the background and see how much I can actually understand. I haven't been this excited by a drama in ages!

There are so many good bits that I’d forgotten, especially how odd and rigid in his thinking Lee Min Ki’s character is at the beginning. The scenes with CEO Ma where LMK announces he won’t be able to stay on to complete the software launch because he needs to go home and feed his cat made me LOL. CEO Ma’s consternation and complete inability to sway LMK’s unbending will is really funny. Let’s face it, we all have one or two colleagues of a similar persuasion, don’t we?

www.allkpop.com/article/2019/11/joo-won-kim-hee-sun-confirmed-as-leads-of-sbs-fantasy-sci-fi-drama-alice

I'm always going to try a Kim Hee Sun drama so I'm looking forward to this. Joo Won will have an 'emotional disorder' which he seems like he'd be good at portraying.

Heavy sci-fi usually puts me off. It's usually never done right and just turns out a bit underwhelming. So maybe the casting is a good thing?

That looks interesting, I liked Joo Won in Good Doctor so will definitely give this go. I guess this is his first drama since military service.

OMG I’ve been listening to SuperClap on a loop and now I’m totally hyper!!! 😱🤣🤣😎

......like a toddler who’s had too much sugar or when my Labrador scoffed a whole pack of chocolate digestives 🐶

I have done the same thing more than once! That song is a good bop, great for dancing around the kitchen to.

I’ll tell DS2 he’s in good company re: Superclap.

I’ve got a whole weekend of nothing planned ahead of me. I can’t wait!

oooh boatyard I'm jealous as anything. What are your drama viewing plans? A glass of wine or a cup of tea? Those are the tough decisions you have to make

I restarted BTIMFL, but also dipped my toe into Touch Your Heart on Viki and The Liar & His Lover on Netflix. Plus the Cdrama with DS2. I’m in restless shuffle mode at the mo. 😩 But on wine, I am certain.

Just pausing Camellia to say how much I like the Neighbourhood Watch (ep 17)
It's perfect with a very large glass of wine

boatyard Just checked & I gave Touch Your Heart a 5 - it's perfectly pleasant but wasn't addictive. I did like the secondary characters though, and the FL is funny

Just checked & I gave Touch Your Heart a 5 - it's perfectly pleasant but wasn't addictive. I did like the secondary characters though, and the FL is funny

Oh bugger. 😞 I need something highly addictive. Is VIP any good?

Haven’t tried VIP yet but it has Jang NAra in

I'm also looking for addictive and struggling to find anything that hits the spot. Especially now Arsenal Military Academy has finished. I'm not ashamed to admit I cried like a baby during the last few episodes. Tough one to get into, but such a well developed story and characters.

I need another Hong Sisters drama! I now also need to go listen to Sweet Dream by Jang Nara or I won't be able to sleep tonight without hearing it in my dreams. Its so damn catchy.

I started watching ‘Bring It On Ghost’ but fell asleep. Good visuals but a bit silly.

I watched it a while ago and skipped from ep 10 to the last episode as had figured it out (plus was watching on dramafast & got fed up of cheesy bad commercials).
Visuals 👍 story okay but not addictive

Got excited when I saw Voice on Netflix but it’s a Thai remake not the original with HH KJW being all scary in the bath

I watched another episode (3) of BTIMFL. I welled up when she’s sitting the bus to go home to Namhae reflecting on how the last 10 years have robbed of her sparkle. Also, I’d forgotten the scene in the sushi restaurant when the director and senior writer try to sweep everything under the carpet and how brave she is. It really is peerless. Also loving Woori cat all over again.

The scene in Put Your Head on my Shoulder where the saleswoman brings out a big display of giant sanitary pads and tries to get him to feel their softness 🤣🤣🤣

Yes, that made me LOL like a loon and DS2 squirm, Betty. I am assuming it was product placement, but the maddest fanny pad PPL yet. We should be keeping a note of the most crackers PPL scenes somewhere. Some of them are nuts.

Of course, I realised earlier this week the fixation in Korean dramas with Korean beef (see Absolute Boyfriend) is the work of their beef industry/marketing board. Once I had this realisation, I felt very silly for not spotting it sooner.

The sanitary pad PPL reminds me of the oh so subtle tampon PPL in Go Go Squid! I do love a good, super duper obvious PPL as I think it's funnier that way. Melo did it perfectly for me

Can any of you answer the question I have about what makes the ML in Put Your Head On My Shoulder so handsome that everyone comments on it in ghe first couple of episodes? He’s tall yes, but seems quite plain to me. Is it his prominent Roman nose? What is the male beauty ideal in China?