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…

frogs... Dramabeans is my best friend! 👌🤗.....!
Along with a little help from bettys! 😂 😂 And this thread! 😂 😂 😂

... Or the skippitydoodah button! 😂😂😂

morejumpingfrogs Well Intended Love take 2 is very much the triumph of hope over experience.

They've also got a forced living together situation as well but they're definitely not using it well. It's like a beloved piece of art is in flames, I can't stop watching but it physically hurts to see it.

It's a shame, because when I read the synopsis of both versions, I thought they would be proper guilty pleasure gems - such a waste

sorry but I have to post this.... New BTS song is flippin' epic!!!!

On a more positive note, which ones do you recommend? And please spill the beans on those upcoming ones!

Atm I only have I'll Go To You When The Weather Is Nice and The King Eternal Monarch on my upcoming list. There are a lot more already aired on my watch list to catch up on as well, but I'm always looking for more to add

Am on t’bus without headphones so just watched that BTS clip sans sound - amazing!!! Even with just the visuals!!!💜💜

Has anyone watched CDrama Please Love Me ? Sounds like a new contract drama, though not on Viki or Netflix

Coming soon to Viki there is:

A Piece of Your Mind - Jung Hae In

Meow, The Secret Boy - yer man L with lovely hair

My Secret Hotel - Namgoon Min

Marriage Not Dating - I actually requested this on Netflix. Contract dating yay! Need to rewatch

A Witch's Romance - PSJ in a Noona romance

Emergency Couple - At last! Mighty Fine CJH been waiting ages to see this one!

Meow!... With Lovely Hair Myung Soo!...🥰🥰🥰 Thanks for the heads up bettys...!

If I’m thread head girl, Bea is Arbiter of Endings and Hello is spreadsheet queen, Betty has to be the K-Finder General. All hail your resource investigator superpower!

For contract relationships in 2020, there is My Husband in Law which is a Thai drama and Girlfriend, Midsummer Fall of Hearts, Falling in Love with You During the Contract Period and We Started Dating from Marriage which are Chinese dramas.

For other recommendations in the contract/fake relationship genre:
The Beauty Inside, Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, Lie to Me, Mary Stayed Out All Night, Wonderful Life, Master's Sun and Because This Is My First Life for Korean dramas. For Mandarin dramas there's always My Amazing Boyfriend, Go Go Squid!, Accidentally in Love and Legend of Fu Yao. There's more but I have to stop myself before I end up rewatching them all.

Plus that weird Japanese one me and bettys watched with Dori Sakurada and that girl who both pretended their partner was someone else. Is that classed as a fake relationship drama?

Thank you hello and bettys for those to add to my list

I think I started My Amazing Boyfriend, iirc it's a bit like Love From a Star as he's an alien/immortal - I seem to recall they both looked so young! I must check how far I got with it.

Ah, more hours to be lost to subtitled dramas

morejumpingfrogs and he can only heal her with blood from his tongue. what a catch!

Lol I quite fancy changing my name to K-Finder General!

hello I am not sure how to categorise Scum's Wish with Dori Sakurada other than rather unsettling

hello I'd forgotten that! I do remember he had to kiss her to heal her and she wasn't impressed Really, it's all bonkers when you see it written down, isn't it?!

Oooo! Arbiter of Endings!... 🤣🤣🤣💜❤️💜

I'm just in a BTS Rabbit hole at the moment! Comeback day! I'm equally finding it exciting and horrifying how engrossed I am with it! Dh finds it very endearing and funny but slightly perplexing! 🤣🤣🤣... I'll take that! 😂

bettys unsettling and mildly stomach turning. Finding Dori was worth it though. He always does easy to watch projects although he seems to be taking a break.

Dh finds it very endearing and funny but slightly perplexing! 🤣🤣🤣... I'll take that! 😂 - sounds like a keeper!! just like him in HPL

and he can only heal her with blood from his tongue. what a catch! hahahahaha and people wonder what it is I like about dramas

Forgot to mention that new to Netflix is Hyena - about lawyers, swishy zombie killing Ju Ji Hoon from Kingdom and ace FL from Signal. Has potential to be good but I'm going to let it get a head up of steam before I give it a go.

I love Black Swan so much, but I don’t like that new track. 😕

I’m getting better at recognising them now, though I still have trouble with Jimin, Jungkook and Jin - especially if they change their hair or there are looky-likey outfits.

Omg! The new one is fab! I'm just imagining how crazy it's going to be live... If I get a ticket! 😱😭😭😭... Jimin? Jk and Jin are soooo different! 😂 😂 😂 Though I get you... If you don't spend a rather long time watching videos... It can be tricky at first! 😂 The choreography is just insane!... I love it and the album is sooo good! But then again I'm biased! 😂🤣😂🤣

Watched first three eps of Itaewon... It's sooo good! PSJ! 👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌

PSJ is indeed excellent in Itaewon Class. I have joined Betty in rooting for the sociopath, who increasingly comes across as a woman who gives no fucks rather than a true sociopath.

I linked to this thread in this one: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3829092-Parasite-film-suitability-for-nearly-14-yo I liked the post in that thread about lots of undergrads learning Korean independently because of kdrama.

CLOY made the BBC news 😄www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-51526625