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…

Ah so it is! Hmmm you gave it a 7, dithering now between that & Arsenal

I'd say give them both a go, but then I'm a fan of them both.

I finished Don't Get Tipsy and I must say it wrapped up really well. I love endings that feel complete, even more so if the side characters stories are wrapped up well too.

Don't Get Tipsy did wrap up very neatly, though I felt sorry for Zeze. The main couples were very sweet.

I’ve been catching up on work today but am looking forwards to some kdrama later. Do I need to take a Jasper Liu detour?

bettys I felt really sorry for Zeze too. He deserved a happier ending.

boatyard it's a fluffy little show that you can finish relatively quickly so might be worth a detour.

boatyard it’s slight but sweet, just not enough Jasper in it. It needs more of him dancing his little pyjama groove

between the shirtless scene and the onesie butt wiggling, you're in for a good time.

I’m giving Beautiful Life, Wonderful Life ago because of Crazy Kang (Yoon Park) but I’m rather taken by Na Young-Hee’s outfit 15 min into ep 2. She’s playing a judge and has excellently stylish workwear. The outfit in ep 2 is half suit jacket, half dress, structured and tailored - it’s more or less open to the waist at the front with a white shirt underneath. It’s the kind of practical, wearable womenswear that I love so much in Korean drama. It’s not sexy, but very professional. It almost makes me wish I could sew, so that I could recreate it in a brighter fabric.

Well, thus far Beautiful Life, Wonderful Life is no barrel of laughs (I’m on ep 3). It took a dark turn rather unexpectedly and that’s playing out just now. Fingers crossed for some much needed levity.

I’m persevering with BLWL but its not remotely cheery and Yoon Park is waaaaay less attractive as a prim mummy’s boy with a centre parting. I’m persevering (ep 5) but it needs to shift up a gear pronto or I’m out.

For such a cheery title, it's all doom and gloom. Well done for persevering, I couldn't. I think I put it on the back burner at a similar point.

I want the soldier ajhussi to come back, but he probably won’t for a bit and then it’ll be for the funeral & that’ll be a car crash too...

Hmmmm interesting about BLWL as it’s on my to watch list, I may avoid.

Love Me If You Dare is interesting; far less fluffy for a mainland Chinese drama as the ML profiles serial killers. FL is not tiny & ditsy for once. Romance is a little slow to get going but think I can see a triangle forming (ep 3)

Sounds like you need a blast of frothy Triad Princess and Jasper's dimples (and onesie butt-wriggling as hello puts it)

I considered watching it last night, but you said there wasn’t enough Jasper. I will now watch it.

I was just describing some recent kdramas to DH. The preference for charcoal in suicides has been a surprising cultural revelation, as in The Lies Within. If someone’s aiming for carbon monoxide poisoning in western dramas they usually resort to a car with hose pipe on the exhaust.

I suppose its because coal briquettes are still used quite frequently over there. It seems like it'd be a horrible way to die though. Not that any of them are nice, but the time you'd wait must be a bit bleak.

I considered watching it last night, but you said there wasn’t enough Jasper.

There’s never enough Jasper 😍

They’ve actually used a stretcher in LMIYD instead of a medical piggyback - what a novelty! 🤣

I've been dragged into a pre holiday declutter and tip run. I was so close to enjoying a day of relaxed chores and dramas.

I’ve been running errands. I’m enjoying RM’s Mono in the car, so thanks for the recommend. 👌

I'm about to do an hour's worth of work, then it's dog walk, decoration sort-out and hunker down for the evening. It is mad bad and blustery weather here

I've been in the kitchen since 8am! I made breakfast for everyone then prepped dinner for tonight... Nigellas chicken casserole thingy...
Then I've baked a shit ton of ginger bread biscuits and mince pies...
Still got a load of rolled and cut bics in the fridge to bake but I've lost the will... I'll deal with them later... Still got to decorate and ice! 😱😭

Actually the thought of a nice dark kitchen... Fairy lights... Kids in bed... Icing bics with RM mono playing sounds very soothing and calm!👍👍😍

Dh nowhere to be seen today as he's languishing in bed... He's sick... Better upstairs! Can't be doing with illness! Why are men sooo pathetic when ill... He knows the drill keep out of sight!

. I'm soooo mean! 😂😂😂

Yes! And I'd promised dd we'd decorate today... It'll have to wait!!

I'm at work all weekend 🙄. Counting down till half 8 tonight when I'll be on the couch alternating between Fellow Citizens and Human Rights. It's good having them both on the go as a binge of either can get a bit much. So I can switch from silly, funny and shiny to gripping, gritty and serious.

My tree is in the box in the hallway begging to be decorated. I am in the kitchen pretending I can't see it. I'm going to do a boaty shuffle and see if anything catches me.