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…

I always thought it was called horsetail. Learned something new

Horsetail, ponytail - I’m not really sure it matters, as you knew exactly what I was talking about. 🤷‍♂️

My favourite dinner is grilled mackerel with grated lobak (japanese radish) and soy sauce, miso soup, rice and the cabbage and carrot kimchi that my dad makes. Every year he makes a point of sending me photos during mackerel season.🤔

Now that it's bamboo shoot season he has been out in the forest behind his house foraging and telling me all about what he was planning to cook. Now I'm getting hungry...

Is your Dad in Japan, Monkey? Fresh bamboo shoots sound tasty. As does your mackerel dish.

We caught fresh mackerel on a sea fishing trip in Cornwall once and cooked it (gutted, dipped in egg wash, rolled in fine oatmeal & panfried) as soon as we got back to land. I was amazed to find it didn’t make the house smell at all, not even a tiny bit. DH and I used to buy mackerel regularly when we first lived together, but stinking out the house every time we grilled it put me off buying it. I now understand the Japanese love of sushi. When fish is that fresh, it has such a delicate flavour and amazing texture. We caught whiting on the same trip & that was delicious too.

Mmmm fresh mackerel! We caught mackerel and shrimps while sailing in the Scillies when DS was little, happy days!

boaty he is. He lives in Tokyo out towards the mountains. Between his allotment and foraging, he says he's fine for food if he can't get to the supermarket.

Now that it's bamboo shoot season he has been out in the forest behind his house foraging and telling me all about what he was planning to cook. Now I'm getting hungry...

Me too!

Sigh......I want to like Rugal but I just don't. It doesn't fit my mood at all. Also struggling with Hyena

Waiting for Hospital Playlist and Miaow but really would like a fluffy binge-watch. How is Lovely Horribly shaping up boaty?
Anyone seen The King's Avatar?
I've started Ever Night which is beautifully shot but I keep wandering off in the mystical bits and losing the plot

How is Lovely Horribly shaping up boaty?

I think it has significant potential. The ML’s star has been at its zenith for some time after a shaky childhood. He’s a feted celebrity/star with all the trappings & sycophantic hangers-on that go with it. The FL has had one disaster after another and is at very low ebb, breaking point almost. Their fortunes have just reversed (c ep 4/5) and the ML’s downfall is very entertaining. FL really, really needs to tie her hair back soon, as the Cousin It fringe is annoying me. It seems decent production wise & I feel engaged with the characters. It will be interesting to see how the writers square the impossible circle of their tied fates, especially as their paths become more entangled.

bettys I've watched The King's Avatar. It's an easy watch and you can skip some of the gaming bits without affecting the story too much. I'm watching fluff even though I really want to watch other stuff. My mind is just not in the right place for anything else.

I'm watching fluff even though I really want to watch other stuff. My mind is just not in the right place for anything else.

I feel the same.

I love the ML in Kings Avatar and I love gaming and shows about gaming but as fan service to the web show it came from the leads have had their voices dubbed by the original web actors and it grates like nails on a chalk board.

Oh poo I like the ML too, he's the one from Love O2O isn't he? Hate dubs, but will still give it a go.

I am flitting around all sorts of dramas just can't seem to settle. I'd like another one like You're My Pet (jdrama) it really suited my current flibbertygibbet brain want a sweet drama brain

Bettys...Ever Night has the makings of a good drama... but yes the mystical bits can get tiresome... i've started to skip bits now which is bad because that means I'm losing patience....and could just probably skip through to the main human story...... the fight scenes are really really good though!!!! Epic!

I'm waiting for the Memorist... I',m really enjoying that and Miaw and Weather are good though not completely gripping me...

Hospital Playbook: “Study to become a groom in Korea!” 😆

The game of ‘Mafia’ in HP is also unexpectedly hilarious. Prof Ahn’s mother is so competitive. 😆

Oh I was just coming on to say how much the mafia game cheered me up!!! I love that the parents are such fun

Catching up on Weather at the mo. The make-up artists deserve huge credit for doing PMY’s mother after the beating. It is horribly realistic.

I got so excited today thinking that the last 2 eps of Hyena had dropped. Then I realised it's Fri 🤔

I need something to get sucked into, pref light and frothy that will use up my time for the next 4 days. Any recommendations? I even started looking at Warm and Cosy purely due to the title.

DD's forced me to watch Tiger King all last night. Just wow. Reminds me why I love K Dramas above Americana for sure.

Aesops have you seen all the ones in the light 'n' fluffy romance list in the header?
From that list I would recommend as perfect for a BH weekend, (if you haven't already seen them) Radio Romance, Gogh: The Starry Night and Thirty not 17
Plus my recent fave You're My Pet (Jdrama Viki)

Hi Bettys I gave up on Radio Romance ages ago, but if you recommend I can try again as not sure I even finished the first ep.
Now I realise of course, it takes me 3 eps to get hooked!

Warm and cosy is a lovely fluffy watch. Radio Romance is a bit of a slow starter and there is the odd weepy moment but overall the relationship progress is realistic. Currently watching I can't hug you (c-web drama on Viki) which is a vampire/human romance but no fangs involved, more feeding off energy. The world owes me a first love/Lucky's first love is pure fluff c-drama on Viki. Having a bit of a C-drama phase

Radio Romance is a sneaky one, starts off very so-so but just develops a really nice feel to it. Plus all the radio stuff and stories are sweet.

Ooooh and The Package is also perfect for a Bank Holiday weekend! Filmed in France and has proper snogging & is quite funny. Also Choi Woo Sik and Crazy Kang from Radio Romance, it's another one that starts slow but kind of gets you gradually.

Weghtlifting fairy Kim Bok Joo is a good fluff watch and the Bongbong/Minmin relationship in Strong girl Bong Soon just makes me smile.

I did enjoy Weightlifting Fairy v much. Strong Girl was just too 'out there' for me.

Will dive in and see what the day's viewing brings. I've been up since 6 and finished
Cleaning
Exercising
Cooking

Need a diversion!