Ms Latte’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama Addicts #11)

[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)*
The Lies Within (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

Another Miss Oh (Netflix)*
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: Two Worlds (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:

Before We Get Married (Viki - Taiwanese)
Love O2O (Viki - Chinese)
Morning Call (Netflix - Japanese)
Put Your Head on My Shoulder (Netflix - Chinese)

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 thought the end of ep 6 was brilliant - worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. I am enjoying the fact that they are throwing everything at it. Kdrama at its genre-defying best. 👍

I’m on ep 13 of Alhambra. The rage about the heavy-handed product placement was justified - it’s utterly shameless and without any subtlety whatsoever. It’s making me wistful for the playful PP in Melo.

I skipped to the last episode of Alhambra and am now working my way through from where I was in a carefree just gazing at Hyun Bin sort of way as I couldn't give two hoots about the story.

I skipped to the last episode of Alhambra and am now working my way through from where I was in a carefree just gazing at Hyun Bin sort of way as I couldn't give two hoots about the story

No skipping here, but my approach is the same in all other respects.

A list of big dramas coming in 2020

Itaewon Class is coming to Netflix at the end of January

Hi Bye Mama is by the Go Back Couple writer & director - I will definitely be taking a look. Looney from Prison Playbook gets his first leading man role.

This was on another kdramapal page (best dramas of 2019 - WWW and Melo made the shortlist). Something for us to work towards, eh?

Grrrrrr. The ending of Alhambra was really annoying. But it’s done now, so I can go to bed. I’ll sleep on it before I score because I’m too annoyed just now.

From Soompi:

The tvN drama “Crash Landing on You” starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin will not be airing this week.

The upcoming episodes, which were due to air on January 4 and 5, were cancelled for broadcast by tvN. The temporary hiatus is due to the fact that the drama films as the episodes air. To protect the cast and crew from unsafe filming conditions, the production team decided to postpone the filming schedule.

😱😱😱 Noooooo!!

Jekyll, Hyde, Me it is then...

😱😱😱Noooooo! 🤣🤣 I couldn’t even finish the first episode 😞

I am currently watching Confidential Assignment film on dramafast where HB is fit af as a NK cop trying to catch a NK baddie in Seoul

Keep those HB recommendations coming, Betty. We now have another week to fill.

I think we need a separate spreadsheet for Hyun Bin

Not really! 🤣

Hold that thought Betty. Seeing how diligently some of us are plundering his back catalogue, we could rank them at some point. It’s tricky - Alhambra so under-delivered on its initial promise, but there is an awful lot of HB screen time and in good form. I would score Alhambra a 3 on the story, 6 on execution (it looked expensive) and an 8 on HB content.

Hello Please can you give Alhambra a score of 4 on the spreadsheet.

Are the rest of you editing Dramavision in the googledocs app? If so, can you still do so anonymously?

Confidential Assignment gets an 8. It’s a good solid shoot-‘em-up cop buddy movie. It would normally be a 7 but gets an extra point for Hyun Bin being fit af

boatyard I can't hand-on-heart swear as I'm not that techie, but a couple of times I have been on the spreadsheet to score people popped up in their anonymous guise. One was helloswellow (obv.) and another was anonymouspanettone (I forget the actual name but you get my drift) so I am none the wiser as to their real identities.

I have a weird CLOY crossed-wire at the mo. I’m hoping it will wear off. I put fresh beetroot on to boil during CLOY two Sundays ago & now when I call HB & SYJ’s Swiss footbridge scene to mind, I get “check the beetroot” mental reminder at the same time.

...although I should add if someone is on the spreadsheet at the same time as you, you can see which column they are scoring so you will know their MN name but not RL name iyswim

I can hand on heart swear that you all come up as anonymous animals to me. I can see the bit you're editing as the box is outlined in a colour but it just says as the top 'people using this spreadsheet: me (helloswellow) and anonymous leopard' for example. The only reason my MN name comes up is because it's also my email pseudonym.

I've never seen anyone's information and I've been on there a couple of times with people editing and never seen real info.

Hyun Bin is lovely, isn't he? If wager he's island material. Definitely pub worthy.

I should be tidying & hoovering the house ready for NYE but instead I am having a coffee and thinking 'Hmmmmmm, how has my Pub and/or Girls' Night Out list changed over the last year?

Hyun Bin may well have swept away almost all other island contenders, although HH KJW is still in there (and possibly LSG if he brings his dog)

I'd deffo still have Lee Min Ki on my island with HB 😁

Girl getting greedy there, I see. I agree Lee Min Ki has island companion promise, just on enigma/unknown quantity grounds. I sense he’d be less interested in spending hours doing press-ups than some of the others, which is a bonus in my books.