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…

I agree re the bumpkin chinos and sensible jerkin such a waste of visuals but it does look chuffin' cold, even PMY is in sensible dowdy gear.

I think I am going to save up Weather for a binge watch.

It seems like Forest is a don't bother? I am feeling the same about Lovely Girl but will push through to the end doing the ironing tomorrow 💪🏻

I also had a thought about classifications, I have been spending to much time over on Feminism Chat and now can't watch without thinking about the Betchdale test, most dramas don't pass it, and the related one which Lovely really doesn't pass, bad things happen to female characters to allow emotional grown in the ML. 🚺

Maybe dip in and out of Forest for the visuals. The plot is frustrating and a touch thin, but the forest is soothing and PHJ showcases lots of outfits (and none).

Yep, Bechdel sets a really low bar but its surprising how few things meet it. Weather has already hit it with PMY and her aunt discussing the future of the guest house. Forest meets it because of FL’s interactions with her patients and the sparky forest ranger.

I've always thought the bechdel test is a good pass in kdramas... I apply it to a lot of movies and I'm always gob smacked at how so many don't pass! 😱😳

Forest... Shame it sounds like a don't bother...

I'm thoroughly enjoying Still 17 on netflix... It's quite gentle but moves with pace... Not too crazy and enjoying all the characters... 👍👍

What’s the point of racehorse legs if they’re shrouded in the trouser equivalent of bell tents? this x 100!
Hopefully the weather will start it get better???

I've watched episode one of My Mister today. Its very hard to watch/too sad. Does it get less intense? I'm feeling a bit delicate after a party last night, I don't think it was the right choice for today.
Im going to sooth my hangover with well insulated racehorse legs now.

TheGirl you have to stick with My Mister to get the full heartwarming effect, the first 2-3 episodes are grim but it gets more and more rewarding. Not a good drama if you're feeling delicate though

bettys I think I'll wait till at least midweek before continuing My Mister

If you go back a few pages, you’ll see me having a similar wobble about My Mister. It turned out to be one of the most affirming, humane programmes I’ve seen in a long, long time. The early episodes are hard, but it is so worth it. Maybe step back for a couple of days if you are fragile, but be reassured that it turns a corner and turns into something beautiful.

I gave it 10/10 too.

WTF????? WTACTUALF???🤨🤯
Boatyard had filled me in on it a while back & hello & Cassini warned me too but honestly......what a manipulative jerk

I notice on MDL that the writers of WIL 1 are not credited on WIL2 - no shit Sherlock 🧐

I will be scurrying back to WIL2 now that curiosity is sated, WIL2 is so much nicer ( and no weird subplots involving amnesia, hypnosis & drugs- so far anyway)

We did try to warn you.... The thing that really killed me about WIL1 was that she stayed after finding all that out. Just awful. 😞

I just lol'd rather loudly !!! 🤣🤣🤣
Told you so 😆

Weather is perfection. It’s so gentle and quiet, nerdy SKJ is adorable.

🤞for some decent trousers for SKJ

Indeed.

I can't believe I wasn't here for the dramatic arrival of bettys reaching WIL1s twist. I bloody hated that show. I can't believe Netflix made it and thought it was a good idea. The second series is a completely different company who obviously set a higher bar for romance plots.

I've been trying to finish up old dramas I'm lagging behind on before starting Weather. Hopefully I'm in for a treat when I get there!

I will be joining you in giving it a v poor score on the spread sheet - was just checking the thread header & lowest scored dramas weren’t there, have they fallen off?

Yes, I took the lowest ones off but left the high scorers on. It was house-keeping as I thought we might have some new posters off the back of Parasite & wanted to keep the header reasonably punchy. I can reinstate them...

I think it's quite useful to have the lowest scoring ones for those who don't have access to the scoreboard.

I came across this review of WIL 1 on MDL by ChinguMode whose reviews I usually agree with.

"Like dramas with contract marriages? Think this is the drama for you?

YOU ARE WRONG.
STOP NOW.
DO NOT PRESS PLAY.

This is the strongest warning I can possibly give about a drama.

At the beginning, this drama had a lot of things happening that were ridiculous - and by that I mean silly, overblown makjang. To be honest, for the first few episodes, I kept watching just to see how ridiculous the plot could get.
Unfortunately, it's not the overwhelming list of silly that is the problem here.

List of silly:
Amnesia
Hypnosis
Drugging
Stalking
Cancer scares
Kidnapping.
And more...

The biggest problem with this drama is that it is a shocking apologia for domestic abuse of a particularly subtle and manipulative kind.

Cut it whichever way you want: Xia Lin's husband is almost sociopathic in his possessiveness. He controls her every move, manipulates her, gaslights her, tracks her, stalks her, lies to her, imprisons her. And worst of all, all of this is framed as evidence of his great epic love. It is not. This is not romantic, it is hugely disturbing and hugely wrong.

This is the story of an abused woman who tried to escape her abuser but ends up falling back into the relationship anyway. It would actually work quite well as a warning against men who behave like this; using their wealth and power to control another person. Ling Yi Zhou is the most abusive male lead I've seen in a drama in a long time.

The only acceptable resolution to this scenario would be Xia Lin being strong enough and brave enough to leave this toxic relationship behind and forge her own path in the world without Ling Yi Zhou. Anything else serves as a justification for horrible domestic abuse.

Even after the huge TWIST I admit I kept watching because I wanted to see how the show would handle the revelation. But by the time he was microchipping her with diamonds to track her every move, I realised I was done.

I am not just sorry I watched this - I'm upset that dramas like this exist.

I wish I could give dramas a 0 because if I could, I would."

I agree with everything in that review. It was a horrible ‘drama’.

Voice has just been added to Netflix.

Awww! I've finished Still 17... It was sooo lovely and heartwarming and cute!... A touch of angst but it definitely had a 🐝. Ending! Really well done... Good story with lots of other side stories... Great cast... Lovely characters... A great "found family"... Just lovely!... I'm glad I went back to it...
If you want something warm and gentle and cozy... This is it... 👍👍👍... A solid 8! ❤️❤️