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…

Stove League should go on the list, but I’m struggling with the category.

Now catching up on Itaewon Class - for some reason the menu on it went screwy for a couple of days so I couldn’t start the next episode. Anyway, its really good and PSJ is a better actor than I thought.

Not started Itaewon Class yet! Whilst I'm watching others... I'm saving it all up! 😁😁😁

I have finished up My Holo and I really think it should be a contender for top of the list of recommendations for a complete kdrama newbie - short, well made, great cast, most of the requisite tropes (piggyback, black face masks, genre mixing, although could have done with more shower/swimming pool action!). It is also easily accessible on Netflix. Especially with Parasite being so prominent at the moment I think we may have an upsurge of interest

Good thinking Cassini and definitely agree!

Maybe we should have a sub-section for tropes? My Mister has one of the best (& funniest reason) soju bomb lineups I’ve seen.
It’s hard to categorise as a drama (like Stove League) as there’s no major theme like romance or thriller, it’s more about people’s lives & challenges. A bit like Live. I think you’d like it boatyard

I think we also need to add the bingo tropes graphic at the top of each thread! Especially for drinking games

Ah yes, do you have the bingo sheet boatyard? If not I can find it.

Maybe a new category called ‘Life’?

It's a bit 'Slice of Life' like those books you always see on supermarket shelves with strange titles like 'Lucy goes to London' or 'The Story of Us.'

🤣 Ha yes!

A bit like Live. I think you’d like it boatyard

That was my 3rd kdrama after Something in theRain and Mr Sunshine and, yes, I did love it. It also marked the point I pretty much stopped watching English language telly and lost my mind, kdrama-style.

I think a ‘slice of life’ category would work well - I’d move Live & Prison Playbook in there. It might need a ‘universal themes’ tag - family, friendship, love, loss & redemption, something like that.

Man, I am loving My Mister so much. If it keeps up like this and doesn't have a crappy end it'll be in my top 10.

High praise indeed! I have bookmarked it.

bettys... But I don't want to watch lovely Park Morgan being a bad guy! 😭😭

He is unredeemable in this.

However the obligatory hoovering shots have been completed by the ML

Ahn Bo-Hyun is such a scumbag in Itaewon Class, it’s ruining my pleasant memories of him in Her Private Life. Probably in the same way that My Mister is ruining Jang Ki-Yong for Betty.

I really like PSJ in Itaewon Class. He’s playing a great character.

Ahn Bo-Hyun is such a scumbag in Itaewon Class, it’s ruining my pleasant memories of him in Her Private Life
I know! I'm struggling to remember why I liked him!!
PSJ is great in this 👍

I know! I'm struggling to remember why I liked him!!

Same. His hair and suits are so spivvy in Itaewon Class and I think he might be wearing make-up too. So not a good look. 😕

Ooooo.... This looks gripping and gritty!!
Memorist

I'm on family duties for the next couple of days! I might save CLOY until mid week!... If I can hold out till then... So I might dissappear for a couple of days from this thread as don't want to spoil anything for myself! (I'm sure you lot won't but even ooohs and ahhhs will push me over the edge!! 😂 😂)
But then again... I'm very weak willed! 😂

I’m so confused by the blue haired cook in Itaewon. I thought s/he was a woman all along so I’m finding the nightclub scene hard to follow.

She played The FLs best friend in Weightlifting Fairy. - swaaaaag! 😆

Yeah, I looked her up - I read her correctly as female & missed the fact she’s supposed to be playing a bloke. I just thought she was a woman who prefers baggy tops and short hair. Perhaps not being Korean I missed that her character’s name is like ‘Dave’ in English, ie obviously blokey.

I thought exactly the same re blue haired cook!