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 have no idea where the second emoji came from!

Oh no!! I’ve been caught up in the current too! 🤷‍♀️🙋‍♀️🏊‍♀️

Ha ha ha ha! You two! I had to go to bed early last night! Too late a night on nye.... So need to catch up to you two now!
Yes! I don't understand the dislike to Robin! He's obvs so lovely to everyone! Surprised the bodyguards and secretary haven't mutineed and decided to stick with him! 😁😂
It is a little all over the show but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless! 😂 👍And will fill the hole made whilst CLOY has gone awol! 😂

I didn’t finally turn in until just before 2am. 🤯 It did occur to me when it was all tumbleweed on the thread that some of you had work today.

I’ve now got to pack away our online shop and then I’m back to HB in my pjs. 👍

Boatyard! You are well indeed Committed!!!! Kudos!

Or maybe I should be committed...

The amount of cold breath coming out of their mouths is really distracting though

I know! It must have been a bloody perishing shoot. I read on Soompi (I know, I know) that HB recently bought all of the crew on CLOY padded jackets because its so cold where they are filming. Sounds like the conditions are similar to this one.

Clanging continuity error when the kidnapper turns up at the park c. Ep 10. “Put your right hand in your pocket and don’t take it out.” It’s in or out depending whether its the shot from behind or the side & they are cut interchangeably.

It was the end of ep 9

I love spotting continuity errors in dramas. It makes less exciting dramas bearable. I live such a sad dxistance 😂

I'm going to set up the 2020 drama spreadsheet soon and got far too excited for the Romantic Doctor Kim 2 trailer. I had to have a solid 5 minutes and a cup of tea to digest it.

Is dxistance code for living for drama? 🤣🤣 Count me in 👍

Count me in for the spreadsheet for 2020 too, obv it has to have CLOY on along with the rest that started in 2019 (sounds so last year 😆) but are still airing

I should do some work this afternoon but really just to curl up with HJ&M

want to curl up with 😒

exitsance bleeding heck, I couldn't spell if my life depended on it. I'll make sure to copy still airing dramas across with their associated scores too!

I'm supposed to be doing housework but all my motivation disappeared. The only cure I can think of is some dramas!

Yeah, my two weeks off work hasn’t seen the progress on house chores I (foolishly) hoped for. But my plundering of HB’s back catalogue is going really well, so much so that I’ll have finished it soon. 😞

I may have fallen into the HB wormhole too. I watched A Millionaire's First Love yesterday. Floppy hair Hyun Bin is something different. You can definitely tell that film was the mid-2000s though.

I’m back to it after a few hours of doing useful stuff with my boys.

I want to know what hair products the abducted Dr Kang uses in HJM. She’s been help captive for ages but her hair still looks amazing!

I’m only on ep 8 I yet again wondering why the go to bed in woolly jumpers, sweatshirts and track suit bottoms when they have such lovely plumpy duvets.

I'm so ooooo behind you all... EP 4!😭

Ohhhhhhh I knew it was him!!! You’d think Dr Kang would have a rash after having gaffa tape over her mouth after all this time 🤨

She looks amazing considering she had a serious head wound (no bloody manky hair? ), has been tied to a chair for twelvety days, has had no change of clothes and no shower. The captor is still feeding & watering her though, so I hope he brings a bucket in from time to time...

I can't even make it through one day looking half as good, let alone captive. Clearly there's some positives to a Korean beauty regime.

Captor let her out for a meal in his kitchen in this episode, so maybe she has had a shower? 🤷‍♂️ She’s terribly well-behaved as a captive - no screaming when there are other people in the property & she’s not gagged...

I've had to go to stupid work today so my viewing has been limited.
I did make time to follow some HB accounts on Instagram though. One of them says that there are rumours that HB and Son Ye-Jin are getting married after filming CLOY!!!