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…

Indeed he did, Girl - though Inthought he looked quite tired and I wonder how many takes there had been. 😄

Pidgin English tonight folks...

But if piggyback + ramyeon was on the cards I’d rather an out of breath SKJ than Mr Gooooooo 😆

So true Betty. The ramyeon definitely reorders priorities.

Yes bettys 👍

The appeal of Weather can basically be boiled down to lingering shots of SKJ pouring coffee and reading and it is still gripping viewing.

Very true. Also was PMY wearing mittens on string?

I do hope she was, it’s about time they made a comeback 🧤

Mittens on a string! 😂😂😂... But it sooo makes sense! 😂

When my boys were tiny, I put their mittens on elastic. Nursery were a bit WTF. It’s strange how things go out of fashion. I guess clothing is much cheaper to replace these days.

I think they were just hung round her neck, not slotted down sleeves in the correct 80s childhood manner.

I love gloves on string! Would I be unreasonable to make myself some so I could take one off to answer the phone without holding it in my mouth or shoving it in my overfilled pockets?

There would be no judgement here, Hello. I can’t speak for the real world though.

Itaewon Class I have a bad feeling about it 😞 Like there’s going to be a big plummet

I hear V from bts is participating in the OST for Itaewon Class. I'm still a bit behind so can't comment on the plummet sensing.

DS wanted to watch My Neighbour Totoro, so I obliged him. I’m not sure how I feel about the cat bus. A bit creeped out, I think. The furry, undulating seats look both comfy and grim in equal measure, especially with all the current focus on wiping down surfaces in public areas.

It was the end of today's episode and the preview for tomorrow. I'm feeling like I can't cope if tomorrows ending is doomy I suspect evil Jangga Corp may have a deep hidden plan (although lets face it WILL have a happy ending)

hello and monkeywench I am loving Tientsin Mystic (Netflix) with the delightful Li Xian who has become a new favourite. I've even watched some interviews of him on Youtube where he is just lovely

Tientsin Mystic is a real surprise, a mad mix between jazzy 30s China and mythical lore with mystery, murder and mad perms.

Boatyard... Awww! Tortoro! My kids loved this! The soundtrack is sooo cute..... I was never sure what was happening... But it's beautifully done! 😂

I’m now watching Signal. DS starting watching but then got creeped out by the serial killer storyline - he can’t get his head around the idea that there are people who commit multiple murders.

I was never sure what was happening... But it's beautifully done!

This sums up so much classic Japanese animé for me. I’ve watched lots of the Studio Ghibli-type stuff with my boys over the years. If you asked me to write a plot synopsis 5 minutes after I’d have no idea.

DD is a huge Ghibli fan, so Netflix is getting abused. Porcco Rosso.is my absolute favourite, mainly because I remember skiving off school with my then boyfriend from another school (pre-mobile so planning required) to go and watch it in a nearly empty cinema.

I have to say, I like that its different. I like to be challenged by what I watch.

My main surprise about Signal is that its not about the case in in the opening episode. I’ve noticed this happens quite a bit in kdrama: what you think is the meaty core plot is actually a springboard or bridge into something completely different, sometimes something completely bonkers different.

Signal is proper good. A bit similar to Tunnel, but dealt with in a different way. Great FL

Yes, she’s great - extremely competent and has no truck with the macho BS of her male colleagues. The time shuffling is actually a good device for looking at women’s changing roles in Korean society. It was similar but played more for laughs in Life on Mars & explored a little in Tunnel. I’ve just remembered FL’s adoptive mother in My Fellow Citizens, a very strong, kickass senior police officer. If you came of age in 60s-80s in a very sexist work environment or culture, you’d need to be formidable to tough it out. It explains women like Eve Pollard, Janet Street-Porter, Anita Roddick etc here in the UK.