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…

Agree with your new suggestions esp. My Mister*
How about Signal? Thriller
100 Days My Prince? Sageuk
The Fiery Priest? Comedy

Forest (strapline: It’s not just the forest that’s wooden)

HAhahahahah!! And yes, PHJ seems very corporate, like he's the product. Forest has really been a disappointment.

....
Extraordinary You (fantasy)?)

I agree with all these recommendations! Especially Extraordinary You and My Mister

Is Extraordinary You a) Korean and b) fluffy or dark?

I agree with the recs for the new thread.
Am I the only one watching Tell me what you saw ? I thought it was fab to begin with but it just seems to be wall to wall strangling and not as much of the psychological tension?

Extraordinary You is Korean and somewhere between fluffy & dark.....but more fluffy. Actually both the 2ML & 3ML are in Weather!

TheGirl I’ve also been watching Tell Me What You Saw but have paused it for the moment as was getting a little repetitive

Thanks Betty.

Any Chinese/Taiwanese/Japanese additions for the ‘other’ category?

Go go Squid Chinese Viki romance fluffy

Tientsin Mystic Chinese Netflix supernatural dark

Instead of Tipsy Why Not Get Drunk Chinese Viki fluffy romance

Maybe we should have a contract marriage section 😆 After all who doesn’t love a good contract marriage 🤷‍♀️

All added, thanks. I think the ‘contract marriage’ detail would be better on the spreadsheet. We will eventually top out the OP character limit, particularly at current viewing rates 😄, so we should probably keep it tight. Also, once you start splitting into sub-genres, where do you stop?

True, I am currently really enjoying webdramas which is a whole other sub-genre 😆

Just checking in!
I watched a web drama the other day, I think it was called my best mistake. What is the webdrana thing all about?

Hey Cassini that’s the one I’ve been watching today! They are quite moreish as the story skips along very quickly

What fresh hell is this? Web dramas? How will we ever keep up?

Is there a web drama platform we should be name checking in the OP?

They're on YouTube mostly, some are on VLive.
They're great for when you want a quick fix, or can't concentrate much due to RL stuff

For example: web dramas

bettys any chance you have a machine that gives me more than 24hrs a day to watch? Lol the web dramas are a nice palette cleanser.

I love web dramas for those quick little gaps where youve got enough time to make a cup of tea and drink it but not enough to sit down and actually enjoy it. They're perfect for watching on your phone in the kitchen while hiding away from everyone else, not that I ever do that of course.

Right, last orders! I’ll start creating the new thread now.

hello do you think my lot might get suspicious about the number of times I need to make a cuppa? I find the web dramas really take the sting out of having to cook (on the rare occasion that I do. I didn't spend years training my lot so that I only have to cook 1-2 times a week 😂) or clean the bathrooms ( the instructions on the spray bottles definitely say leave to soak 😝).

New thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/streamed_tv/3856255-MsLatte-s-Daebak-Cybercaf-Kdrama-addicts-14-Special-welcome-to-any-MNers-stuck-at-home-who-need-escapist-boxset-recommendations?watched=1