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…

Yes! I agree... Nokdu has turned out to be my surprise enjoyment this year!... If only Viki did a Spotify Wrapped equivalent! 😂😂😂😂😱

I'd be embarrassed at the amount of hours I've spent watching viki if they did a Viki wrapped.

What is Spotify wrapped?

It sums up your year of Spotify usage. It tells you stats like minutes listened, most listened to genre, top played albums and songs. Just a run down of your year really.

😱 Gasp! I don’t think I want to know how much time I’ve spent on Viki 🤣

By the way is it me or has Don’t get Tipsy slowed right down? I had to skip the wine bits

Don't Get Tipsy has slowed down. I'm kind of worried about a disappointing ending. I don't want them to leave it hanging just so people will ask for series.

www.allkpop.com/article/2019/12/hit-screenwriters-hong-sisters-to-team-up-with-whats-wrong-with-secretary-kim-pd-for-new-drama

Saw this and thought of this thread! I'm more excited than I probably should be.

Hit screenwriters Hong Jung Eun and Hong Mi Ran, also known as the 'Hong Sisters'

Are they actually sisters, or do they share the same family name?

I saw this too and thought... Wahey!! 😂

I love the Queen’s lilac and pastel mint coloured hanbok in ep 31. The embroidery is exquisite.

boatyard they are actually sisters. Jung Eun is older than Mi Ran.

I also agree on the hanbok. The wardrobe department were astounding.

On my way home on the train from a girls’ night out where after several glasses of Pinot Grigio I tried to explain why I have almost exclusively watched kdrama for the last year....only to be met with bemused and friendly tolerant expressions. I should just give up, shouldn’t I? And keep its glories to myself (and you lot of course)

I get that a lot too, Betty. 🤷‍♂️ Leave ‘em to their dull American series of women being bumped off and grizzled fat-strong men investigating in a half arsed way. We can keep the hubba-hubba oppas, the shower scenes, the lovely costumes and gentle romances to ourselves. And don’t forget the food!

I’ve finished Nokdu. It was lovely. That may be one to revisit when I need cheering up.

I see Lee Dong Wook’s talk show is coming to Viki. The episode with Gong Yoo gets a write-up in Soompi and sounds like it will be worth a watch.

I also admitted my kdrama love to some friends recently. They just seemed puzzled, despite my attempts to explain 🤷

I’ve finished Nokdu. It was lovely. That may be one to revisit when I need cheering up.

Indeed. A bit of bare-chested silken robe fan-dancing by a waterfall will always soothe the soul. The whole thing is lovely though (apart from the baddie's dastardly deeds)

I’m so glad we have this place to come & discuss shows. I sometimes wonder if its contributed to me not watching British telly much anymore, as I might have slackened off my viewing if you weren’t crowdsourcing the gems and warning me off the duds. When you more or less chomp through the good stuff, there’s little incentive to go back to dull, miserable dramas.

Even a lot of the decent stuff I used to watch was a bit bleak. I’m thinking Breaking Bad and Deadwood (the latter I loved), for example.

Loved the Battlestar Galactica reboot, though.

I think the last series I watched avidly was Halt & Catch Fire and some of the Marvel series, GoT and Sense8, but I'm not sure I can be arsed with long winded series that have big gaps between any more. At least with His Dark Materials I've read the books so know what's going to happen.

I love how the scoreboard is fleshing out. Ginger's score are on there now too. There are some consistent big hitters (Search WWW, HPL etc) but also some that only one or two have watched eg Page Turner that deserve a look
I'd still be watching without these threads but sharing the interest increases the fun so much

Oh yes, can you give Nokdu a 9 for me please Hello? Ta.

Morning all
Re explaining K Drama addiction, aside from my neice, few 'younger' colleagues at work and DD2, nearly everyone I have mention this to look at me quite shocked 😯 then ask "why Aesop's?" I find it quite amusing and dare I say feel quite 'trendy'

One of said colleagues came over to my desk the other day with some sheet masks she'd brought back from her home town (Seoul) I thanked her in Korean - my boss nearly fell off his chair 🤣

One of said colleagues came over to my desk the other day with some sheet masks she'd brought back from her home town (Seoul) I thanked her in Korean - my boss nearly fell off his chair

That’s brilliant. What does she make of your addiction, Aesops?

Has anyone watched The Contract on Netflix? If so, is it worth it? I’m giving the first episode a spin but it seems rather heavy on the angsty/stressful kind of melo & I’m not convinced yet the ML/FL will have any chemistry.

Also, when I got round to looking up the FL from Nokdu, it explained why she seems older & more worldly than 20 - she’s been acting a long time & was the Goblin FL in her teens.

These threads definitely help with not wanting to watch normal TV. All the chat about great dramas means there is always loads in my "to watch" list.
I just haven't got time for normal telly 😂. Plus it's mostly not as good.