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…

Our general rule of thumb initially was to post recommendations that wouldn’t frighten off newbies because we were hoping to win a few new posters round. Now we are established, we are much less reserved. 😆

Thanks all for the warm welcome!

I will definitely check out Korean Odyssey, thanks for the recommendation.

It amuses me that Bride of Habaek is in guilty pleasures, I know I’ll end up watching it again. I really enjoyed it but I blubbed through the last couple of episodes!

How did you all get into watching kdrama? As a woman pushing 40 I’m a little ashamed to admit I found myself enjoying BTS and started poking around in Korean stuff from there.

I was fed up of Netflix pushing grimy US crime series at me which featured an endless stream of brutality and abuse of women/girls. One day I saw One Spring Night trailed in the new releases and tried it out of curiosity. It was so refreshing to see a character led drama that allowed time for relationships and relatively mundane aspects of life to be explored, it piqued my interest. I was also fascinated to have a glimpse of a different society and family dynamics. Then came Mr Sunshine. I also watched Live pretty early on. Anyhow, the Netflix algorithm that had previously ground me down with a relentless diet of misery started serving up sunshine, fantasy, love, laughter, comely oppas and delicious food. I haven’t looked back.

I will add that all the grimy US stuff was making me rather depressed. I’m much more chipper now. 😆

I'm glad My love from a star will have a happy ending. I'll be sure to look for the epilogue on YouTube, thanks.

Hi BoneApple

I got into K-drama from my ds and dd watching lots of anime. Then dd wanted to try a J-drama, then we watched a couple of C-drama. Found K-drama Love is a bonus book which was airing and being promoted quite a bit on Netflix. We barely watch any UK TV now!

Watching my love from a star with dd, and she's just started I hear your voice which I've already seen so I get to watch LJS all over again. Another year before he's out of the army. I still haven't watched all his dramas though.

I'm still not quite used to how they will talk with a mouthful of food. Or have half a scene shot with rice or sauce all over their chin. But I do like how enthusiastic they are about food in K-drama. It's actually hot and tasty and they get stuck in. None of this pretending to eat like uk and us shows.

I like the shows where they show lots of cooking too, like in Oh my ghost.

And the combinations of romance and fantasy, with very beautiful actors and a good amount of bonkers and laughs.

BoneAppleTeaa.... 😱😱😱😱. NEVER!... Be ashamed of liking BTS!! And don't let anyone shame you! They are worthy of all good things! And are just soooo ooo good at everything!!... Says me late 40's! ! 😭😭😭😭

Check out Kim Taehyung in crazy crazy Hwrang (netflix)... It's proper bonkers and once you get into the swing of it... It's good fun!!

I watched Good Morning Call (J drama)... Which led me to the best bonkers drama ever... Strong Girl Bong Soon... Handsome spoilt Chaebol... Feisty quirky cute female... Love triangles... Crazy sound effects... Extra personalities... Lovely romance.. Stupid gangsters... Just epic with a lovely lovely soundtrack...
Found this thread here... Recs and camaraderie with Boatyard and Bettys...
Then... Park Hyung Sik spiral... Led to Park Seo Joon Spiral... Then W Two Worlds (brilliant!)... Toasty Lee Jong Suk spiral... And it goes on and on... With a good sprinkling of BTS along the way.💜💜💜.. Never gone back to normal telly since!
😂😂😂😂😱😱😱

ginger... Oooo! LJS... While You Were Sleeping (viki) is gorgeous!!... With lovely Jae Hae In as bonus 2ML!... and Romance and Fantasy!?... LJS "W Two Worlds" (netflix) is lovely! Gorgeous comic book effects! And the use of colour throughout is divine! 🥰🥰🥰

We seem to have exploded in popularity! Hello new people!

(Maybe all the new people and show recs will get me out of the Hyun Bin Hole!)

I've finished off another two films today. DP thought it was one super long film I'd stretched over 12 hours because he saw HB in both!

I agree with all your list entries boatyard. Thank you for your dedication in keeping it up to date. You're a regular scarecrow! Out-standing in this feild.
😂😂 Don't worry ill see myself out.

I'll have to watch while you were sleeping. Already seen w two worlds twice 😂

Jin is 29 I think? So 40's isn't so far off their age and I think you can appreciate good dancing no matter how old you are... Must watch Hwrang too sometime. 💜 Still can't get over Jimmin's lovely dancing at the recent awards.

Ahhhh! Don't get me started on that Park Jimin! 💜💜💜

That Jimin video is hilarious, Bea. 😆

I've finished off another two films today. DP thought it was one super long film I'd stretched over 12 hours because he saw HB in both!

Which ones? Any good?

I’ve been rewatching ep 6 of CLOY whilst I was doing some late ironing. It was lovely all over again. Very excited for this weekend’s episodes.

That video 😂

I started watching kdrama because I had watched some german/scandi TV shows and realised if I watched with subtitles I had to actually concentrate and not look at my phone at the same time. This meant I couldn't worry about other (stressy) stuff at the same time.
I then saw one of these threads ages ago and watched Strong Woman Bong Soon because of it, and loved it!
I lurked for ages but then the need to chat about dramas and handsome actors was too strong!

TheGirl makes a good point about the subtitles and focus. This has been a selling point for me. Like Girl, I was already watching quite a bit of subtitled television so it wasn’t much of a leap.

Me too, I watched a lot of French & Scandi subtitled stuff and tried Stranger as it had Bae Doona in and never looked back! After the darkness of scandi crime and sameyness of US series it was refreshing to come across such a mishmash of styles and tropes. And even though the tropes crop up again and again, so much so that you can have a drama bingo sheet, they are fun to spot

boatyard Rampant and Fatal Encounter. Both were okay but the latter was definitely better.

I love reading everyone's origin stories! It's interesting how we all came to drama in similar but distinct ways. Do you think that as you become less reliant on subtitles, you'll still enjoy the dramas without checking your phones or multitasking?

Hello I do sometimes check my phone if the drama is dragging a bit. I can't really understand what's happening without them but I'm getting a bit of an idea.
I still love them though. They have much better written characters, and generally less grim story lines than uk/scandi dramas.
And the MLs tend to be super handsome 😍😁

And I like the food and learning about another country.

The visuals are so much better than any US/UK/European series 😍

And I was also fascinated to learn about a completely different culture and language and food

That video! 😂

I was fascinated by the different culture too. That's one of the reasons CLOY is good, yet another culture to learn about. It's interesting to learn about North Korea through a South Korean lense.

It's interesting to learn about North Korea through a South Korean lense.

So much this - I would be fascinated to hear a North Korean’s take on the representations of life in NK. To my mind, the Pyongyang scenes are still pretty showy. But then maybe the elite families really do enjoy similar luxuries to those in the south.

boatyard Asian Boss and The Life of Dave on YouTube have both got videos with North Koreans about North Korea and the culture there. Asian Boss is more documentary style and The Life of Dave is aimed at younger viewers but still very informative

I was interested to see on Stove League that Nam Mingoong’s screen brother took his shoes off as he came into their apartment even though he was in a wheelchair and his feet are not touching the floor. It made me realise what a strongly adhered to cultural norm it is.