MsLatte’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #13)

[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 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)
My Secret Terrius (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)**
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)
Romantic Dr Kim - seasons 1&2 (Viki)
Search: WWW (Viki)*
Something in the Rain (Netflix)
The Package (Viki)



Straighter ‘Slice of Life’ dramas on universal themes
Live (Netflix)
Prison Playbook (Netflix)*

Stove League (Viki)

Supernatural/zombies/vampires/fantasy/sci-fi - lighter & fluffier

Goblin (Viki)*

I am not a Robot (Netflix)
Legend of the Blue Sea (Viki/Netflix)
My Holo Love (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)

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/ML is too dense to realise the 2ML/2FL is better)
🥾🍑 (boot, peach) = kick up the arse to go to bed



We also abbreviate titles if they’re long, but usually with an obvious abbreviation. Some favourite actors & actresses have been abbreviated for speed/efficiency, eg Park Min Young (PMY), Kim Jae Wook (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…

Oh yes! Picasso’s funeral in Graceful Family was brilliant. 🤣

Re. Love 020, she calls him that because of his character in the game and his friends call her his wife because their characters are married in the game.

It's tongue in cheek.

Oh that's good to hear TheGirl and boat I'll move Graceful Family to the top of my To Watch List - if only to find out about the funeral!

Ahhh, because of the game - thanks Dontwant. I wondered if it was but must have missed it - it just seemed a bit weird that she'd carry that over into RL. I did know they are married in the game, so at least I haven't been totally oblivious

I never actually finished Graceful Family because I got diverted into something else, but I should go back to it - I wanted everyone to get their just desserts.

I've just watched The Handmaiden on Film 4 - it is definitely NSFW!!

It's quite twisty and dark with a lot of sexual goings-on. I am always surprised when I look up on MDL what else the actors have been in - I did not recognise the FL was the FL from Mr Sunshine and that the pervy uncle was the lovely policeman from Signal.

Sounds good Betty.

I tried watching IGTYWTWIN (we need something easier to type! Weather?) last night on 51% subs because I could wait to see racehorse legs SKJ any more). I thought I was keeping up but then there was a conversation with the Aunt that I didn't get at all 😂😂😂.
I'm going to have to watch it again, but might have to wait till Sunday night 😭
I also watched some videos of BTS being good at a ridiculous range of activities 😳. Super impressed.

It's going to have be Weather for ease! I couldn't wait either and watched it on another source. They had problems with the subs on Viki as the rubber was just copying from another source and infringing copyright rules so they had to start again!
SKJ is adorably gawky in it. It's tagged as a healing drama, and so far so much better than Chocolate

I've been watching the 'ON' MV and apart from V being astonishingly beautiful in it I think I prefer the dance vid. I expect to get a scolding from Bea However I love the track bow, though it took a while. One of my favourite tracks from the album is 'Respect' which is proving to have a bit of a 'Superclap' effect on my mood.

Subber not rubber feckin' autocorrect!

In other news I have rattled through Go Go Squid with a great deal of skipping and it is definitely Safe For Work as opposed to The Handmaiden. However while I ended up really liking the ML so far as to check out what else he's been in, the ghastly cutesy gurning of the FL who's supposed to have a genius IQ really annoyed me.

The subs are really slow on Forest this week too.

Betty isn't Li Xian just so cute. He's in Tiensin Mystery on Netflix, Sword Dynasty, Only side by side with you, Science and sensibility, and Medical exakinar:Dr Quin on Viki. His interviews are so funny, as are the outtakes.

Thanks for the titles monkeywench, all now added to the list! He’s got a great smile, though took about 20 episodes for it to be revealed 🤣

He does nothing but smile and laugh through interviews and has said himself that trying to maintain his expression is hard. There's an interview with the FL and she says that she found the character to be so different to herself that it was fun to play. Li Xian burst out laughing and said that she is such a "bro" off-screen that it was like she was 2 completely different people. She was in another drama where she was a firefighter (forgot the name) and she was a total bad-ass!

Bettys I've been watching the 'ON' MV and apart from V being astonishingly beautiful in it I think I prefer the dance vid. I expect to get a scolding from Bea
No No No! We all have our preferences! as I always say to the kids... Each to their own, Each to their own...
I love both versions as I love the drama and epicness of the 2nd mv... what does it all mean? what does it all mean?
and I love the Kinetic... the dancing!!!! The choreo!!!!!

The girl
I also watched some videos of BTS being good at a ridiculous range of activities 😳. Super impressed.
They're just too good at everything and charming, funny and endearing at the same time! Sigh!...

I've gone back to Still 17 I started it ages ago and lost interest but started it again... and enjoying it... it's not a stay up till 2am Peachy Boot drama but it trips along very nicely and i just twigged both male leads are met again in Dr Kim 2... it tickles me when i figure out these connections!
Also watching Holo and watching Itaewon with dh (he really likes it!)
Looking forward to Race Horse legs in Weather... will wait until a fair few more drop first...

I was watching Well Intended Love 2 as a filler until Itaewon and it’s rather sweet - only on ep 2 & it did make me snigger when FL says she’s had a nightmare that she has leukaemia 😳 Am warming to ML so 🤞he doesn’t turn out to be a knob like in series 1. FL is fun after squid FL

bettys I'm up to ep 5 with 3 more released today and he has yet to be a huge phallus. He has got a bit weird with turning back on a trip away because be missed her.

hello did she have a dog in series 1?

Maybe they’ll do a third series I n a yet another parallel world so it looks more like they planned it that way instead of admitting they cocked up with a horrible storyline in the first series

Ha! Great get-out of a unwelcome invitation line:
‘I’m on my period, I can’t have cold drinks’
😱🤣

‘I’m on my period, I can’t have cold drinks’

🤣😂🤣

Red wine it is, then!

bettys I remember the dog in series 1 but can't remember how it came to exist in the story. Although series 1 barely seems real at this point. Surely it was a thread wide fever dream?

I’m up to ep 7 and wishing I’d waited until all the eps are up as it is skipping along! It feels more like a TW drama somehow. I’m sure something about him is going to be revealed, he has obv been stalking her since the masquerade ball

I am quite enjoying WIL 2 as well, it is a bit schlocky but fun!

I am also watching My Lovely Girl and for the first time have 2ML syndrome , why does the FL love the much older slightly stalkery guy in love with her dead sister who blows hot and cold rather than the 2ML who is nice and straightforward, age appropriate on the cusp of a good career who buys her shoes and takes her to watch the fireworks??? I was even warned by Soompi not to watch it