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 think we may have lost Bea to BTIMFL for a couple of days.

I'm loving Tunnel ! The ML is definitely racehorse material. The side characters are all excellent and I'm dying to find out what happens. I'm making myself go to bed at the end of this episode 😂

Well done, Girl. I need to go to bed soon too.

I feel asleep watching Flower Crew. It wouldn't bother me but it was barely past 8pm!
I think I've got 2 dramas on my list that end today or tomorrow. I could use that extra time to catch up on other things but realistically I'm going to start You're All Surrounded because I can't remember if I've watched it.

sunday and monday night were major Peachy Boot Kick Nights (... when DH goes away I completely indulge.!!!)..

It was a mixture of BTIMFL (spot on Boatyard!!!) and BTS YouTube Rabbit Hole! thus last night I was completely knackered... fell asleep around 6pm on the sofa and then hauled myself off to bed around 9pm! as my kids say to me.... "Do it if you're bad!"

Yes! I really love BTIMFL ... characters are soooo good and decent and well written.... I love them all and you know that is the huge key for me.... I have to love and care for them all...!!!!!

My parkin adventure has been eventful! I really like the taste but there's something about the texture of it I don't like. It might just be morrisons parkin so it's like a 5/10.

Back to your regular programming.

😆 could be the oats, which make it less cake-like ( or could just be Morrison’s)

I think the only way to find out is to brave making some myself. I'm sure DP will love the experiment as he'd never had it either but has devoured what was left.

I think I'm mostly caught up on my dramas! The Running Mates: Human Rights finishes tomorrow, as does Flower Crew. I'm looking forward to the ending, I hope it'll go out with a bang.

I like how we stray into all sorts on here. I did the spicy ricey recipe from the Caroline Hwang book tonight with added smoked tofu and prawns. I also put extra gochugaru (chilli flakes) in because there wasn’t much kimchi juice in my tub. It was lovely. 👌

I’m nearing the end of ep 10 (i.e. half way) of Surrounded and I’m so confused. The bad guys look like they might be good guys, the good guys are of uncertain virtue and I have no idea how they’ll fill another 10 hours.

I’m not paying much attention to the actual plot, just the interactions between the characters 🍓

I did a Waitrose recipe tonight for sticky pork with ramen 👌

It was more compiling than cooking but I only had 30 mins for a sit down dinner and it worked well

I've got spicy ricey on my list of experiments! I'm trying to convince DP to buy a rice cooker for it but he's weighing up the pros and cons. Apparently the phrase 'spicy ricey' wasn't enough to convince him.

I feel like the excitable toddler on this thread. I try to watch everything at once and keep up, but ultimately I'm just slightly confused and want a snack.

ultimately I'm just slightly confused and want a snack.

🤣🤣 me too!

Have caught up with Tale of Nokdu and dithering over last eps of Flower Crew or Youre All surrounded^.......will prob be the latter as DH & boys will pile in from pub later & interrupt me 😩

Ep 12! BTIMFL!... Sigh! A kiss by the ocean whilst making kimchi! 🤣🤣🤣💜... All I can say is there had better be a happy ending for ALL couples!!

Bea we know what you are like about endings, would we have recommended it otherwise???

OMG eeeeevil stepmom from Graceful Family is eeeevil chaebol daughter in You're All Surrounded - poor woman gets typecasted but she plays it so well/bad

Yikes autocorrect put stepmom instead of stepmum (apologies to midlanders)

Bettys.... Huzzah!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍

Evil daughter in Surrounded! She is bad as a bone! She's got that screeching angry thing to a very fine art!! 😂😂😂😂😭

I agree with Bea She probably got the roles due to the perfect screeching she does. I tried it once and it left my throat hurting for hours.

It's the screeching whilst looking slightly mad and unhinged!! She is sooooo loathsome in Surrounded! Wait till you get to the full on unhinged screeching! 😱😱😱😱

... The amount of times I declared to anyone who was in the room whilst I was watching! "she deserves a proper slapping!!"....

Bea you sound like me! I regularly turn to my DP and say things like 'she needs a right slap' and 'look at them, all they need is their heads banging together'

OK, I have a prediction for surrounded: that LSG is the bastard son of one of handbag lady’s make relatives, probably father - which is why he wants him gone.