Ms Latte’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama Addicts #12)

[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 [[
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/streamed_tv/3758420-Ms-Latte-s-Daebak-Cybercaf-Kdrama-Addicts-11?topicid=16582&threadid=3758420&pg=1 here]] but our ‘Addicts Recommend’ list below is cumulative so includes recommendations and favourites from all previous threads.


Shows marked with an asterisk 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)
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)
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung (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)
The Secret Life of My Secretary (Viki/Netflix)
Thirty Not Seventeen (Viki) or as Still 17 (Netflix)

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/Netflix)
Chicago Typewriter (Viki/Netflix)
Crash Landing on You (Netflix - still airing)
Descendants of the Sun (Viki/Netflix)
Doctors (Netflix)
Fight For My Way (Viki/Drama bus)*
Go Back Couple (Viki)

Just Between Lovers (Viki)*
Melo is my Nature (Viki)/Be Melodramatic (Dramafast)
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 (Viki & Netflix)*



Guilty Pleasures (for the joy, not the quality)
Bride of Habaek (Netflix)
Hwarang (Viki/Netflix)
The Last Empress (Viki/Netflix)
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)

Thread Regulars’ Top 5 Dramas of 2019 (courtesy of Hello’s kdrama spreadsheet, scores range from +10 if very good to -10 for truly awful)

1. Her Private Life - 9.40 (5 votes)
2. Melo is My Nature - 9.00 (5 votes)

3.= Crash Landing On You, The Crowned Clown, The Lies Within, and The Tale of Nokdu - 8.75 (4 votes)

1. Hotel del Luna - 8.50 (4 votes)

5.= Romance is a Bonus Book, and Search: WWW - 8.17 (6 votes)

The Most Disappointing Dramas of 2019

1. Melting Me Softly -4.17 (3 votes)
2. Abyss -3.33 (3 votes)
3. When The Devil Calls Your Name -2.33 (3 votes)
4. Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency - 0.33 (3 votes)
5. Vagabond 1.25 (4 votes)

Honourable mention for the worst drama of the year goes to Chinese/Mandarin Well Intended Love on Netflix, which scored -10 (2 votes). It beggars belief that Netflix commissioned a second series, but there you go. 🤷‍♂️

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.

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…

How could I forget Watcher - and Seo Kang Joon in the first episode in his motorcycle cop uniform? 😍

And I just want to say how much I love it when lurkers join the thread. Love for Kdrama is definitely a niche interest and the likelihood of meeting a fellow traveller in real life is slim, so don’t be shy. 😄

Hi pagansophie good to have you!! Well spotted by the way, I have added Signal to our spreadsheet (I'm sure hello will be along soon to give you the link). I think it's missed being added to the OP list as I may be the only one that's watched it and those listed tend to have been recommended by a few of us.
And as it's meme day here's another one

Actually it was hello who recommended Signal to me

Also really recommend Life on Mars if you can find it, and Save Me (Netflix) which I've just finished and Come And Hug Me which is coming to Netflix tomorrow.

Also love it when lurkers jump in, I wonder how many readers of these threads are out there

DH has stopped taking the mick quite so much now we have a decent gaggle of regulars on here. I wonder what the collective noun is for kdrama addicts?

Welcome pagansophie!
Basically anything by the company OCN is quite gritty and thrillery... Yes! To the ones mentioned above Kill It...watcher... (available on VIKI a subscription channel)
Also come hug me is coming to netflix soon... That's very dark and angsty!

But worth dipping your toes into the romance dramas! But then again as you'll find with kdramas... You never know what you're getting! One minute it's a comedy... Then it morphs into full blown political thriller!... Then a sprinkle of romance and bam! Someone's dead! 😂 😂 😂

bettys! Crossed recs... Come Hug me!... 👍😂... Oh the angst!! It was fab though! Lovely Park Morgan! 😂 😂

bettys Do you keep track of who recommends things so you know who to blame for not warning you if it goes tits up in the last 15 minutes?

OCN do seem to have the monopoly on hard hitting crime dramas. I believe they also did The Running Mates: Human Rights which is all crime, no romance. It has some interesting topics mixed in as well.

My duolingo is a mess. Currently trying to learn Thai as I got frustrated with my slow progress in Japanese. I'm pretty sure I just look for increasingly difficult writing systems and think 'yeah, why not give that a shot' and then I blink and everything has gone wrong.

Grrr DH wants to lots of social family stuff this weekend. He doesn't agree that I need to watch all the amazing drama 😭😂.
Im now up to date with Dr Kim 2, but I'm waiting for the subs on ep 8 before watching that. Everyone up thread said it was good and I'm loving it. The baddies are soo bad, and I think the main characters have had more character development than the first series.
So this weekend we have
Itaewon Class
CLOY
Stove League
Dr Kim 2
Have I missed anything??

My Secret Terrius, Girl - Mr Sub-in-a-tub in mighty fine form. I have bern waiting for it to move to a legit streaming service without porn pop-ups for ages!

I’ve cracked and watched ep 8 of Dr Kim with patchy subs. It’s a proper tear jerker this week - tissues recommended.

I'll add it to my list boatyard 👍

TheGirl you’ve missed off 2 new premieres, both on Viki
Tell Me What You Saw OCN crime thriller with Jang Hyuk (looking dishy with long hair) as a profiler.

Forest with Park Hae Jin, he who looks like a fine statue, and FL from My Strange Hero

hello I remember you recommended Signal as you said it had better visuals than the Japanese version - that’s the kind of detail I remember 😊

I’m also watching The Game: Towards Zero

Seriously, the streaming services are having a laugh. Drought and then some since November and now it’s monsoon season. When will we sleep?!?!

I feel like I’m going to have write the equivalent of a revision plan, which involve checking the plots and wider cast lists to prioritise properly. One thing I do know for sure is that I will be watching Terrius in my pyjamas on Saturday morning.

Park Hae Jin, he who looks like a fine statue 😁 good description. The characters he plays are always emotionally stunted or mean, he's not one of my favourites.
My list is getting ridiculous!

I'm considering booking a day off work 😂

Also My Holo Love starts on Netflix on 7 Feb with the prim but lovely police officer from Tunnel. (Oh how I loved Tunnel! Best last episode ever!)

I’ve taken a couple of days off during February half term week to spend time with my boys. If I ply them with Dominos pizza, I may get some midweek kdrama cramming in. 💪

Sounds like a plan!

Rugal with Choi Jin Hyuk from Tunnel starts soon but I haven’t seen it streaming anywhere.

I have to keep a list on my desktop of what is airing and when so I can keep up to date.

Not forgetting Parasite on general release in cinemas from 7 Feb, which will involve showering and dressing so we can leave our houses.

I’ve just made a list on my phone so I don’t forget anything. 😄