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…

I'm finding the spreadsheet strangely fascinating, and also useful as there are a few on there with high scores that I haven't seen yet.

Is it possible to have the total score in a different colour? Sorry to be giving you so much work hello!

What colour would you like? It's only a two second job so I'll do it while I'm making tea

Oooh that’s the kind of thing I spend ages deliberating over.....red? Or green? I’ll leave it up to you 😉

The scores that are .33333333 recurring make me snigger for some reason

I've done the scores in red and left any without scores in black. It's that easier to read? Flower Crew is the one that gets me, with its 0.33333333 score

i'm sooo behind... where can i see the spreadsheet... curious and intrigued to see how the scores are!!!!

I'll PM you a link Bea

Ta! xxxxxx

Thanks Hello.... wow very very interesting!!! I can't give anything a minus as if it's a minus or seemingly heading that way... i just stop watching!!!!! So if i get to the end of anything it's at least in the + !!!
Ohhh we should do tghi swith all the others we have watched!!!!!

Oooh Psychopath Diary is out now, anyone planning on watching? For some reason I don't see Yoon Shi Yoon doing thriller/suspense well but I might give it a go. I might be surprised.

I've only seen Yoon Shi Yoon in The Best Hit and I found him a bit annoying in that.....but I might give Psychopath Diary a go if he doesn't do that gurning face.

Bea I've been scoring ones I dropped as well as ones I haven't finished. I think it's valid and useful and gives a broader perspective

I've been scoring ones I dropped as well as ones I haven't finished. I think it's valid and useful and gives a broader perspective

Me too. It’s often several (or more ) hours of my life I won’t get back. It seems only right to give others fair warning.

Another finicky request: can we curtail average scores to one or two decimal places?

On it!

On my phone I can only make it so they all have 2 decimal places. I'll try get my laptop out later and make it look nicer but its as close as I'm getting right now.

Also, I miss the country of production. Can we unhide it? Overall, it’s bloody brilliant though. Can we do it as a regular thing, even have a rolling spreadsheet in year? I agree that its helpful to be able to see other high-scoring series that you might have overlooked. Also love seeing the ones that divide opinion. That said, the universal -10 for Well Intentioned Love is hugely gratifying.

Once the format is set, I can easily copy it for new years. It's just fine tuning it first.

Thank you Hello!

^ For getting it set up and accommodating all our requests.

No worries. I've said before I bloody love a good spreadsheet. I also love seeing a universal dislike of Well Intendedo Love, so it's worth it.

I've disappeared down a Japanese Manga adaptation rabbit hole and I've just broken away to say how much I HATE HATE HATE how the men are constantly patting the women on their heads GRRRRR!! AAARGH!!!

Do we need to stage an intervention, Betty? You can step away at any time.

I ....can't...seem...to...stop..watching! The episodes are 25 mins long so they rattle along but I find how the women are portrayed as quite unsettling. Currently watching Coffee & Vanilla with the guy from Scum's Wish and the FL's most important value is that she's 'cute' and malleable. It's making me unreasonably cross (but I've only got 3 more episodes so I might as well finish it)

The 25 minute episodes are dangerous. They trap you so easily, before you know it you've watched 14 episodes and you can't stop watching just in case the FL magically grows a back bone.

and you can't stop watching just in case the FL magically grows a back bone.

Oh my God, this is the hook! (And also why I kept reading the execrable 50 Shades.)

I haven’t read 50 Shades but it would probably make me just as grumpy. From my recent mash-up of viewing I have concluded with wild generalisation that:

Jdramas have FLs that are v submissive

Cdramas have FLs that are tiny and ditsy and are just waiting to be owned by a tall man (Love O2O was an exception)

Kdrama & Tdramas have FLs that are much more feisty and independent women