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…

Hold the Front Page!... I watched BBC this evening!!... Dark Materials and then War Of the Worlds!.. I'm all discombobulated! That's the most English speaking TV I have watched in a year!!..

We are watching Dark Materials en famille and I second Bea’s declaration.

I am all caught up with The Lies Within. Lots of disparate threads are starting to come together. The preview for next week looks very tense, but exciting.

Yeah, why no Vagabond this weekend? I need a LSG top-up.

We watched Dark Materials too. Interesting that it’s a rare example of a non kdrama several of us are watching... is it the good story? The fantasy element? The characters?

It has cross-generational appeal, plus DH & I read the books pre-kids and have since read them to/with the kids.

Also, I think we on the thread have already noted that several of us like sci-fi and fantasy, so it appeals to our wider tastes.

Dark Materials... We're very excited at the appearance of lovely Lin Manuel Miranda as we love Hamilton in this house and thus... LMM can do Noooo wrong! Plus he's the loveliest person ever!! (definitely would allow him access to the desert island!)... 🏝️👍😍

I felt the same about LMM when he appeared in Brooklyn 99. He is definitely pub worthy, although this pub is going to be a hodge podge of people.

Ugh it was the last 2 episodes of Melting Me Softly this weekend; I will be marking it down even further 😟

And Tale of Nokdu has taken a serious turn, it needs more bare-chested silk robe fan dancing

Ugh it was the last 2 episodes of Melting Me Softly this weekend; I will be marking it down even further

Thanks for taking one for the team, Betty. I won’t even bother starting it.

I've tried to watch Tale of Nokdu at least 5 times today and been disturbed every time. It's like the world doesn't want me to watch it.

Melting had so much potential. Its all right there waiting to be utilised but they ended up treating being frozen for years as a minor inconvenience.

I agree, there could have been some really interesting aspects to it but instead it tried to be wacky but ended up being bad. And such a waste of many talented actors 😩

oh nooooooo!!!!! Melting that bad????? How ! Oh How! could they get it sooooo wrong!!!!! I've still got a few eps to go!!!!!

왜 ?
Why ?
왜 ?
Why ?
왜 ?
Why ?
왜 ?

The last two episodes made me very very grumpy. I get why they did what they did, to make Ma Dong Chan experience what everyone else did, but there wasn't really much thought put into it. As someone said on another forum, it seemed to drag and be rushed at the same time.

SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
And the use of glasses on Ma Dong Chan ppffffftt!!! And giving the newsreader wavy hair!! As if that makes it obvious SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER that time has passed

Bea are you going to add your scores to the chart?
Drama Eurovision needs you!

If you don't want to add them to the spreadsheet just put them in here and I'll add them on for you! We need your votes!

Oh yes! I will!!... Give me a day or two!... What do I have to do??.. I was a little bit out of the loop when you discussed... Do I pick my top 5 and score out of 10?.. Or score all that I have seen this year?... Sorry! 🙄😱🙏🙏

We're doing everything we've watched this year on a scale of -10 for the so bad I can't believe it exists to 10 for so perfect I want more of it to exist.

If you need a link to the spreadsheet, I'll send it through PM or you can PM me all your scores and I'll add them if you don't feel comfortable adding tto the spreadsheet directly. bettys put a list of all the 2019 dramas higher up in the thread if you need it.

Hello - can you PM me the link again? I’ll see if I can browse incognito, because I’m dying to see everyone else’s scores.

Sent! It's getting interesting. I've still got some to add too, I can't make up my mind on scores or it's been so long I've forgot what I think about them

Is blowing in someone's ear when you're pissed and have just thrown up supposed to be sexy? I can't tell from the look on Gu Weiyi's face (PYHOMS ep 19)

Oh so sexy! Clearly the fastest way to get someone to the bedroom.

OMG Betty - ep 19? I’m still on ep 14 with DS2 (kitten misunderstanding).

Evening all

Well I have finished Prison Playbook this weekend. Finally! Have to be brutally honest and say that it was a good story/super characters/amusing/sad and sometimes harrowing. But. It was too long in my opinion. Have given this a lot of thought and I just think I enjoy a more colourful setting with lots more eating and drinking scenes I do realise that makes me sound v shallow.

Camellia I am really enjoying and cannot wait for the final episodes this week.

I haven't watched Vikki for a while, any suggestions on the newer releases please?!

For some reason Viki has released loads of Chinese dramas recently and is a bit slow on the Korean ones. It's not new but I thought Fight for My Way (Fight My Way on Viki) was colourful and quite good if you haven't seen it?