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 just found that article too!!!

(This is fun, which is desperately needed in the current circumstances.)

We need the Addicts version of snog, marry or avoid to distract us. I can’t come up with the third one, but how about these two scenarios as a starter?

Self-isolate with
Go on the run with

Self-isolate with
Contract marriage with
2ML

Contract marriage - good call, Betty!

I'm torn between HB in Negotiation style vs HH KJW in HPL

If it was HB in Secret Garden vs HH KJW IN Coffee Prince then itd be hands down Coffee Prince era KJW

There is that too, Betty. They’ve definitely both had misfires and really good roles.

Come to think of it, HH KJW is consistently hot in everything I’ve seen him in. HB has more duds.

I've only seen HH KJW in HPL, so I probably haven't given him my full consideration.

I'd go
Self Isolate with SKJ
Contract Marry Lee Min Ki
Go on the run with Hyun Bin

I give myself the right to reconsider this when it's not half 2 in the morning and I've not had a few gins 😁

SKJs coffee making skills would be very soothing in self-isolation ☕️

I'd go
Self Isolate with SKJ
Contract Marry Lee Min Ki
Go on the run with Hyun Bin

Damn Girl! That is a pretty much perfect line up. I struggled for a bit because I could totally go with yours, but I think mine would be:

Self-isolate: KJW
Marry: SKJ (but LMK is a very good sub)
Go on the run: HB

SKJs coffee making skills would be very soothing in self-isolation

I thought of this too, but see a companionable morning coffee as something I’d enjoy even in my 70s, not just for a few weeks.

Hmm. I think my list is something like;

Self Isolate with Ji Soo (ever the predictable Ji Soo fan)
Contract Marriage with Lee Jun Ki
Run Away with Lee Jae Wook

My only evidence for LJK being a good contract marriage partner is Moon Lovers so maybe not the perfect evidence. My rewatch of Criminal Minds also reminded me how lovely he looks in suits and I'm imagining it'd be a CEO style contract marriage with suits galore.

I'm imagining it'd be a CEO style contract marriage with suits galore.

I like your attention to detail in imagineering the scenario.

Who does the best cleaning 🧹??? That's who I'd pick for isolation 😷

Who does the best cleaning 🧹???

Anyone who was ML in a drama around the time the new Dyson cordless came out in Korea

Park Morgan!

I'm imagining it'd be a CEO style contract marriage with suits galore.

Yes, 'cos in Moon Lovers he married the 2FL and kept IU hanging!

I'd go

Self-isolate: KJW
Marry: HB
Go on the run: Junho

Hmm mmmmmm... This is going to take some serious thinking...

I tried explaining to this to DH earlier as a distraction technique, as he’s getting gloomy about current events. It was painful trying to explain the contract marriage concept - he kind of gets it, but says it is quite culturally specific so I relented & said he could just ‘marry’. Our next hurdle was that since I started watching kdrama he mostly listens to music & hasn’t watched much telly or film lately, so was struggling to think of recent lovelies. We tried narrowing it down to the Marvel universe or Star Wars franchise (as he watches these with the boys) & he’s still struggling, partly because of the paucity of female roles in both franchises. 🤦‍♀️ Reader, we abandoned the game.

There's the new isolation game boatyard Convince significant others that contract marriages make complete sense.

I am in the French Alps on a ski weekend with girlfriends and they have just closed the slopes

We will be playing the game a lot accompanied by wine I suspect today

I said we’d have to resort to ‘would you rather...?’ if isolate/marry/run away was too difficult. I think he was being too literal, which also didn’t help. I suggested Scarlet Johansen or Zoe Saldana for ‘runaway’ as they both seem handy with weapons & can do roundhouse kicks. He said it was just their characters. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Bae Doona would be a good run away pick if he was following kdrama.

Thank goodness I have you lot to play with instead.