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…

she'll take off her glasses and straighten her hair and they'll fall magically in love

Works every time!! The yellow could be a drawback she looks like she's got jaundice

bettys... I know!! 😭😭😭😭... It's even worse when you see the clip of Jimin making up his own choreography to it... Opening his heart and stepping in to give hugs with warm cups of tea whilst staring up at the galaxy!... 😭😭😭😭😭😭😍

Me?. Hormonal?... Nah! 😂

I must admit The Lies Within really sold me on LMK. Hes a really versatile actor. I think he'd definitely be an island contender.

Maybe you need to do a Cilla Black blind dates style thing with them both boatyard

I’m liking Betty’s pub meet and greet idea to help me make my mind up.

I agree that he’s versatile, Hello. His comic timing is great too.

Settling down for an evening of viewing. I'm loving LMK in The Lies Within . And it's getting me over my annoyance about Vagabond 😂
That BTS video was lovely Bea 😍

It's Dark Materials for me this evening... I need to find a new drama to start watching!... Maybe should give Nokdu another go?..
thegirl.... Don't get me started!! I'm just a complete BTS fangirl! 😂 😂 😂

Yep, Dark Materials here too - en famille.

I've done a boaty shuffle of my currently watching and what's new on Viki. I'm off to check Netflix before I give up and resort to British tv.

Ooof His Dark Materials is really good! That, Giri/Haji and Spiral (French BBC4) are the only things I've watched tho' on British TV recently.

Currently catching up on The Lies Within in an attempt to escape from a JDrama spiral that has led me willy-nilly to an anime about Yakuza gangsters who turn themselves into a girl idol group.....I blame hello it all started with Scum's Wish

On the subject of LMK I think he is definite pub, possible desert island material as I suspect he has hidden depths

Argh! Really nail-biting cliffhanger to this week’s The Lies Within. I’m not sure I can take much more. It’s a real rollercoaster. Part of me wants FL to have her happy ending. The other part of me wants it to end with a flash forward by 5 years showing her married to LMK, a highly successful & respected politician in her own right & two small children with LMK, kids being the one thing her missing husband kept denying her.

On a shuffle for something lighter now. The first couple of minutes of The Other Miss Oh is quite amusing - a male foley artist in stilettos laying down the sound for a film. Early visuals are promising.

Speaking of guilty pleasures, the Narnia-esque scene in The Other Miss Oh (corrected title) is very enjoyable - end of ep 2/start of ep 3. 🤣

It's on my Netflix list, so I might have to bump it up and watch it today!

I wondered where you were going with the Narnia reference. Tbh I'd prefer Mr Tumnus to Eric.

Goat legs and all bettys?

The central premise of it is funny/compelling, especially poor tortured Eric.

Oh I'll probably watch it the FL is usually v good.

It is well done (so far).

Tbh much as I am thoroughly into The Lies Within I am also need a fluffy break. May also dip into the cdrama hello mentioned.

Hi all

So having watched the end of Camellia (it was lovely) I am now thinking of another series to get sucked into?

Perhaps I will try Another Miss oh?

What's the highest scoring so far?? Apart from BTIMFL and Melo I would live another similar to those 🤞

Agree ending of Camellia was lovely!

Just had a quick look at the scores on the doors and suggestions (on Viki) are:
Her Private Life 9.4
Hotel Del Luna 8.5
Search WWW 8.17
and if you fancy sageuk
The Crowned Clown 9

I've started Another Miss Oh - it's not what I thought it was at all somehow. It's fun so far.

What do we think about a scoreboard for previously aired dramas? Or is that too complicated? Shall we stick to the list at the head of the thread?

We could have a pre-2019 tab & put stuff from the header in there. People can then add back catalogue as they go.

I support a back catalogue. I could add it as a separate tab on the current spreadsheet?

In terms of high scores on the spreadsheet. Kingdom, The Crowned Clown and Romance is a Bonus Book all rate highly.

Thanks Hello I dipped into AMO on train and looks promising, involves food,a last minute called off wedding and office politics all within first 17 mins!

Oh the friend of ML in AMO is the 2ML from Camellia ! And the arsey boss of the restaurant chain is the housekeeper from 30 but 17