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…

What to watch? What to watch?.... Have I got the enthusiasm to finish Melting???
Should I start something brand new?.... I want something like BTIMFL!!... Set in today times and good funny... Meaningful but not too heavy drama!!.... Or!... I'll start watching BTS Bon Voyage season 2 Hawaii!.... (which I'd love to but I need to ration myself!!) 😂😍💜

Is Encounter any good? Park Bo Gum?

Has anyone watched episode 18 of Camelia? Is that it?!!

Encounter is nice enough but a bit samey and slow. If you haven’t seen The Package (Viki) yet, Betty and I both really enjoyed it - good story with some LOLS and good visuals. Also, a bit saucier than most kdramas - but not as risqué as Hello’s recent caution.

Brambly the last episodes of Camellia are this week

Bea I wasn't that fussed with Encounter inspire of Park Bo Gum

I had a quick look at hello's recent caution - racier (& somewhat seedier) than anything else I've seen on Viki

Ha! I plan to have a look too. Hello’s “definitely don’t watch this, it’s full of dodgy sex” caution has piqued my interest.

Spam reported...

I really should have known that the warning would bring out curiosity in people. I wonder if they aired it on TV though, or if it was a online only show because I couldn't imagine it on the BBC.

Channel 4 maybe?

Just looked up the ML - he was also in Good Morning Call

He was the 2ML if I remember right? He's also been in some other risqué shows. Seen as were talking about it, I think Scum's Wish is one of about 4 dramas I've seen with lesbian relationships in, and in this case, an 18+ scene.

Thanks Bettys - phew! Thought it was a bit odd.

@helloswellow .... just sent my results to you!!!!

I'll add them for you shortly. Thank you!

I've added them and it is starting to get interesting. Some really interested scores.

Hello! I'm back from my work trip. I didn't get a lovely drama filled train journey though as a colleague ended up on the same train and decided to sit with me. I was dying to put my headphones on and watch The Lies Within I'd downloaded. But she was all chatty and it would have looked super rude. 😂

But I did manage to watch some at the hotel and I loved it.

Going to watch some more now!

And I've finally managed to open the spread sheet. I've filled in scores for the ones I've finished and I've got 3 others on the go.

Melting finished.... I'm so ooooo disappointed!... It had all the perfect ingredients!... And?..?.... 😳😖😖😖

I still love you GRR JCW ..but please please please choose a better drama for your next project! Pleeseeee!!

Is there any chance we could have the averaged scores next to the titles in the spreadsheet so save us scrolling back & fore (am viewing mostly on my phone)? Also, it would be good to see a tally of number of votes to date against each show, as there is the odd 9 or 10 which are based on a single vote. However, I agree its really interesting to see where the scores are settling for the ones that lots of us have watched.

Oh glad you've scores to add The Girl, the more of us scoring the more interesting it gets.

Brambly please give your scores for Camellia to hello to add to the list if you haven't already

Bea wasn't Melting just AWFUL!!??? I'll be interested to see what you've given it. I was so peeved I put -10

Aesops if you've got Viki have you tried Her Private Life?

On a plus side, DH & I finished Giri/Haji on BBC iPlayer tonight. Really very good, dark and quite violent but with some laugh out loud moments, and some unexpected twists. Recommend.

I'll make the changes at some point later today! I agree with the scrolling back and forth, I didn't realise how clunky it'd be when I did it on my laptop. I'll also add in a number of votes column. Should it be title, number of votes then average score?

That sounds great Hello. That way we can keep adding new votes/columns at the end if we get new posters. I suppose we could even leave the year open & start adding next year’s shows to a new tab, so we can still score 2019 shows if we get round to watching them next year.

I think I've done it. Just let me know if it needs any more tweeking. I've hid the country of origin column at the moment as it got in the way but if we need it again I'll unhide it.

I like the new layout hello, much easier on the phone 👍