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…

Aaaah My Mister is by the same writer as Another Miss Oh although it’s darker and I’m not expecting a romance. I’m enjoying it so far in a slow, dry, slice of gloomy life way. Park Morgan is an attractive but nasty loan shark who is preying on IU. ML is rich man from Parasite and one of his brothers is the grey haired con man from Prison Playbook

Speaking of which I am really looking forward to Hospital Playbook

Boatyard
The WTF looks from the sister and the chief programmer when the ML is pretending to be Holo in the offices made me roll up The way the sister grabbed the wine and chugged whilst rolling her eyes so hard she must have sprained them was priceless!

Dr Romantic 2!.... EP 12!.... Seo Woo Jin!! 😱😱😱... We don't even get a preview of next ep to give us a hint??!.... Argggh!!

I know!!! And just when they’ve started getting gooey eyed 😍 with each other 🤣

Mr Sunshine for me please out of Betty’s silver fox line-up, with Mr Korean Odyssey in 2nd place. And yes, the Rat from CLOY is shorter than me and too short to meet my exacting requirements.

Parasite was great, dark as hell in places, but great.

I'm up to date with all the on air things I'm watching. Do I get a prize? 😁🏆.

I really loved the last episode of Dr Kim 2. Yay for Dr Seo and Dr Cha having ethics! ❤️

Yay for Dr Seo and Dr Cha having ethics!
Yes and for Dr Cha finally sticking up for herself with her mother!

Parasite was great, dark as hell in places, but great
It is isn't it? So many funny little touches mixed in with the sordid realities of semi-basement life. And visually great, too.

Wow! Just noticed we are speeding towards thread 13. Time to start reviewing the header post for updates.

We should add Dr Romantic, My Holo Love & Stove League for sure, and maybe Itaewon Class although it’s early days. Is CLOY on there? Should we maybe wait for a drama to finish before adding it?

Parasite... I've been reading many reviews where they mention it's such a mix of genres... Thriller.. Drama... Comedy.. Mystery... Satire... And I'm thinking... "yes!! This is what the kdramas are! such a delightful mish mash"... I'm sooo pleased and smug! 😂 😂 😂

Are we nominating both series of Doctor Romantic or just the second one? I support adding both!

Oooh both! Just think of the glorious binge you could have if you haven't seen them

Interesting article on life as a trainee kpop idol

Yes to both Dr Kim's, and Stove League.
Ive not seen Holo Love.
I think it might be a bit soon for Itaewon Class. It looks good but you never know!

What do people think about My Secret, Terrius?
I have started watching Oh My Venus as I was missing So Ji Sub 😁

bettys... Interesting...!... And a little
.. 😱😱😭

Terrius should definitely be on the list. I wondered if there were any we now wanted to drop because they’ve been overtaken by better ones.

Agree to Terrius

I'm not sure there's any we should drop....maybe Pride & Prejudice as it was a little stodgy and could have done with more Choi Jin Hyuk in knitwear cuddling puppies. I skippity doo-dahed that quite a bit. Think The Guardians is better.

I think if I was a newcomer to kdrama and came across such a long lovely list I would be well pleased

Kdrama continues to surprise me. I'm not sure what I thought My Mister was going to be, but it is proving engrossing in a slow thoughtful way, with good solid yet nuanced performances from everyone (except Jang Ki Yong who so far is just plain nasty)

Would you recommend then, Betty? Your description is intriguing.

Incidentally, I just clicked on Betty’s Kim Young Min link upthread. He’s quite attractive in that link - good headshot. All the dirgy uniforms and bad 80s-like clothing in CLOY is doing him no favours. Still too short for me though.

He’s a bad guy in My Mister

I’m on episode 6, I do recommend it but it’s one of the darker slice of life things I’ve watched. Really well done though, and with enough lighter moments that it doesn’t feel dreary. IU is very good in it.

There’s a bit that was just delightful when a characters puffa jacket gets ripped and poofs out feathers as he walks 🤣 but then violent bits with Park Morgan being aggressive 😱. I’m totally invested in the characters though and hoping for an uplift in their stories

I'm still on Extraordinary You... It's very good with an intriguing storyline!...