MsLatte’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #14): Special welcome to any MNers stuck at home who need escapist boxset recommendations

[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)
The Fiery Priest (Netflix)

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)*
Signal (Netflix)*
Suspicious Partner (Netflix)*
The Lies Within (Netflix)*
Tunnel (Netflix)*

Historical/Period drama (“sageuk”)
100 Days My Prince (Viki)
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)*
Where Stars Land (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)
I’ll Go To You When The Weather is Nice (Viki - currently airing)

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)
My Mister (Viki)**
Prison Playbook (Netflix)*

Stove League (Viki)

Supernatural/zombies/vampires/fantasy/sci-fi - lighter & fluffier

Extraordinary You (Netflix)
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: Two Worlds (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)
Go Go Squid (Viki - Chinese)
Instead of Tipsy Why Not Get Drunk (Viki, Chinese)
Love O2O (Viki - Chinese)
Morning Call (Netflix - Japanese)
Put Your Head on My Shoulder (Netflix - Chinese)
Tientsin Mystic (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…

Phew at last! I feel like I have just ran a marathon! Hunting this thread down was no joke let me tell ya Thanks for the lead though @boatyardblues. 8 months to the day you gave me the lead and here I am Hi everyone another kdrama, jdrama lover here...currently watching are you human and enjoying it for SKJ...not disappointed yet Happy to be here and I'm bookmarking this page

Welcome Lotta! This is so cheering. I love it when the thread gets a new member. We have plenty of warmth and humour to go around. I’ve got to ask, though: what form did your marathon take? Reading the previous threads or watching the list in the OP?

It annoys me sooo much that I can't get Kokowa even with a VPN cos my Viki is a UK subscription. I already abuse my sister's Amazon JP for Kindle content and she gets access to my Prime video in exchange, but since she has my Netflix login as well, I'll need to find something else that she can supply in exchange.😁

Hi Lotta! There's a lot of love for SKJ on this thread, are you watching Weather on Viki?

Ep 2 of Rugal slightly less violent but not sure I'm going to stick with it

I just found Lotta’s PM, which jogged my memory. I PMed Lotta to tell her about this thread last June when she expressed appreciation for His Hotness KJW on another thread.

Lotta - were playing a topical variant on snog, marry, avoid a few pages ago. Who would your oppa picks be for: 1) self-isolate with, 2) marry (with or without the contract marriage element, depending on preference) and 3) go on the run with?

Maybe I'm not in the mood for sad & wistful, quite frankly the only way the story is going to move along is if she doesn't come out of that hut.

I had to search back through 4 pages to find this comment, Betty, but I completely agree. I’m also annoyed by HutLadyLove - how could anyone who lived in Norway in their teens think that was suitable attire for a romp in the forest? An amazing amount of daylight too. Perhaps she’s not the full shilling.

Possible Spoiler Guesses

My guess is that somehow HutLadyLove's husband was involved in JHI's mother's death and when she found out it caused an estrangement & depression and she went to Norway to say sorry. I just hope JHI isn't going to be moping around the whole time.

Me too Betty. It’s a bit dreary at the mo, but JHI and FL (from WSL) have the potential to be fantastic together.

Welcome Lotta we love SKJ here!!
I've fitted in quite a few eps of W today. It's really cheered me up. Lovely, cheeky Toasty and actual proper snogging where they both look like they are enjoying themselves 😁😉

DS1 was grumbling about the amount of snogging in ep 7. I explained it is important for the plot & would get back to normal shortly.

Ha I think it was ep 7 that I just watched 😂

Hello Lotta 👋🏻 come in a find a spot on the sofa and have your tipple of choice 🍷🥃🍸🍹🍺🍶

I am now rewatching Love 020 for third time because I can't take anything even slightly stressful after home schooling!

Hope everyone else is ok and remember we will give you an alibi or a patio when your nearest and dearest interrupt for the millionth time 😉

Hi Lotta I'm also interested to hear your self-Isolate, marry, go on the run with choices. Maybe there will be some new contenders!

I'm struggling not to rewatch my old favourites right now (looking at you Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo) and focus on whittling down my ever growing plan to watch list. I think the nice, familiar comfort of old series is a big draw in these confusing times. Plus Lee Joon Gi and his weird ears are enough to make anyone's heart feel a bit lighter.

hello I would get lost in Moon Lovers too if I only have a reliable source, but I can’t face the dire adverts on others streams.

Did you see pixie eared Lee Joon Gi is coming to Viki with Flower of Evil? Possible as a baddie? 🤫

A moment of pedant rage in Hyena

bettys I'm so excited for his portrayal of a psychopath living with a detective. I think he'll be good at switching between perfect dad/husband and murderer. If his thug acting in Lawless Lawyer is anything to go by, he'll also be great at the physical side of things.

YY his fight scenes are good! And he is very good at playing dual natured roles eg Wang So He was too thin in Lawless Lawyer though

Basking in the afterglow of some So Ji Sub ogling in My Secret Terrius. Managed to get episode 1 watched while "supervising " DD's PowerPoint creation efforts beside me. Now just need people (DH) to let me watch in peace. Even DS has realised that I don't want to play Uno/Dominoes/Poker. Nobody mention Monopoly!! I hid the box!

DP has reserved the TV for gaming after DS is asleep. So, I've been relegated to the kitchen to watch dramas on my laptop. Oh no, whatever shall I do in the room of food and cold drinks. It's such a shame, but it's my burden to bare.

(I'm tempted to make a little cheese and fruit platter as I haven't eaten dinner yet today. Other suggestions are appreciated)

If you are having cheese, surely wine must follow?

Currently watching Enders Game with DS2 (rightly asserting his right some pre-bed parent TV hang-out time) for the umpteenth time. No W with DS1 tonight...

hello you hero! Sacrificing yourself in such a terrible place. I appreciate all your efforts at this time. Thankfully the offspring have buffered off, but DH is doing "the sigh" A.K.A "talk to me and I'll pretend to listen"

boatyard Wine would be a perfect accompaniment. Unfortunately, we have none in. We do have a variety of spirits or champagne. Maybe I'll have to put on my fancy housecoat (or dressing gown depending on your locality) and enjoys the champers.

Champagne it is then!

I have no tonic or pink grapefruit juice or I would be cracking the yuzu gin. I may resort to the bottle of vodka in the freezer since DH has some Pepsi in.

I've decided that what I'm wearing is lounge wear, not fluffy Primark pjs 😂

Monkey - what brand is your yuzu gin? I have a birthday coming up. It sounds like the kind of thing I could get delivered to my house...