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…

One of them says that there are rumours that HB and Son Ye-Jin are getting married after filming CLOY!!!

I can’t work out if this is a guerilla marketing campaign to generate buzz, but they would be a fine looking couple.

Ooh sneaky! I'm not sure we could talk about HB any more than we currently do 😂

Yes, there is a degree of social contagion here. If we were to mark out a timeline, Xmas 2019/New Year would definitely be marked up as “Hyun Bin fever struck; threadsters captive. Send help!”

🤣🤣
I need a 🥾🍑!!

Go to bed!

I am in bed having managed to switch JHM off with great willpower, but still a bit too lively to sleep.

Haha bettys I needed a boot last night too. I finally stopped watching Secret Garden at half 2 last night! And now I'm knackered 😴

I hit a new level of drama watching. I downloaded a browser with built in ad block for my phone so I could watch Hyun Bins old films on dramacool without the 9000 pop up ads.
The fever has firmly set in over here. Hyun Bin is very much a new favourite for me.

🤣 He’s so addictive!!!
To think this all started with CLOY 😍

It also shows the lack of good currently airing shows that we're working our way through his extensive back catalogue

Is good kdrama seasonal, in the same way that US film studios hold back good films to ensure they have a shot at an Oscar? When does the judging happen for SK tv awards?

Some of the main awards were last week so you might have a point there! Plus because some of them are filmed as they're released, I doubt people want to be working over Christmas.

Looking at the list of currently airing dramas I found on Dramabeans there are only 2 that I am actively following ( CLOY & Stove League ) and one I am half-heartedly watching ( Psychopath Diary )

Prime-Time Shows This Week
Monday-Tuesday (December 30-31)
Diary of a Prosecutor (JTBC)
Black Dog 5-6 (tvN)
Wednesday-Thursday (January 1-2)
9.9 Billion Won Woman 17-20 (KBS)
People With Flaws 21-24 (MBC)
Psychopath Diary 13-14 (tvN)
Weekend (January 3-5)
Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life 53-56 (KBS)
No Second Chances 37-40 (MBC)
Stove League 6-7 (SBS)
Chocolate 11-12 (JTBC)
Crash Landing on You (tvN)

Also from Dramabeans here is a shot of a sulking HB when he realised he wasn't the only one to get a finger heart

Are you sure that's not a picture of me realising that DP has eaten the last brandy snap? Because it looks identical! 😂

I wish we had brandy snaps in the house. All the good stuff has gone.

I’m in ep 17 of HJM. I only stayed up last night because I thought it finished at ep 16. 🤦‍♀️ What next? Does Secret Garden get going? It’s so dated I’ve struggled to get past ep 2.

Yep, all our good stuff has gone & I can't even finish off the booze - cursed dry January

Currently musing over which HJ&M character I'd take to the desert island, Mr Gu or Robin? Currently Robin though Mr Gu is improving.

I keep want to say 'Cue' like the detective when I restart watching

I’d take Mr Gu and treat him as a project.

Secret Garden does get going although it took me three attempts and was only successful once I'd succumbed to HB and got past the first couple of episodes. After that its rather fun and you can tick off the tropes as you go. I didn't quite get why he liked the FL so much though.

I’d take Mr Gu and treat him as a project.

That's my kind of project

I'm nearly finished Secret Garden. It does get going and definitely fits in lots of classic kdrama bits. HBs character is a total chaebol, obnoxious type as per What's Wrong With Sec Kim? so I did have to grit my teeth and concentrate on the visuals.

I’m up to the final episode of HJM. It’s been OK. Not sure why it was so unloved. It’s more engaging than Alhambra for a start, which was a ratings smash. The whole circus mcguffin is daft though. It barely gets a look in during later episodes.

I'm downloading a few episodes of HJM that I will hopefully get to watch on my breaks on my shifts this weekend. 👍

I agree boatyard I'm just starting ep 14 and it's not that bad. I've certainly preferred it to Alhambra

All done. The main ballad was horribly syruppy, which marred the ending, but otherwise a solid 6 for me. I am not giving extra points for HB, but that was an additional pleasure.

Just dipping my toe in Bride of Habaek.

I’m on ep 16 ..... how can they spin this out to 20 episodes??