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…

ginger I'd say the majority is informal/반말. Some genres of music natural fall towards using formal language but there's no hard and fast rule. Akdong Musician(AKMU) have a track record of using both formal and informal within their songs.

I like watching people drop honourifics as it sounds more homely and friendly. There's something nice about knowing exactly where you stand with a person.

bettys... I hope you danced along and joined in with the fan chants! 😂

No.....but I did squeal when JKa shirt rode up

Watching the 4th mister really reinforced how close the tie between them & Army is 😊

Muster!!!

girl... Happy cancelled party night! Xx

Thanks Bea I might have drank a bit too much gin to compensate for the cancelled party 🤢

The BTS thing sounds amazing! I can't believe you watched it all!

I've managed to watch Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade with DS but that's all I've done.

I'm going to watch Eternal Monarch now, if I can stay awake.

Just finished Hyena. It went a tiny bit cheesy at the end, but I enjoyed it. Just desserts were served and fences mended, so all good. That plaid suit and the orange soled shoes though? Oh my eyes!

Oh yes, my Hyena score for the spreadsheet = 8, if you don’t mind updating Hello.

I try to watch Kingdom, I really do, but zombies. I thought it might fill a (slight) Ju Ji-Hoon withdrawal, but Bae Doona is about to ignore warnings and head into the Frozen Valley. It’s definitely too close to bedtime to pursue it now. I’m watching webtoon-style in 5-10 min bitesize chunks. Still, at least I know why the queen’s maids keep getting fed to the king now... (bathtime scene)

boatyard Updated! I've also added Eternal Monarch to the spreadsheet in anticipation of the scores.

I'm the same with Kingdom, small chunks around dinner time as not to leave me scaring myself at night.

Thanks Hello.

I watched the end of ep 19 of Emergency Couple, thinking “I’m so nearly there I might as well finish it..” Ep 20 seemed kinda unhurried for a finale so I checked & discovered there are 21 episodes. 😩 I may skippedy doo da.

Go for it boaty! You won’t miss anything if you just watch the last episode.

You can safely miss ep 20 if required!

I watched Eternal Monarch last night. I was very confused for a bit (or still hungover 🤷‍♀️) as I thought it was time travelling and couldn't work out what was happening with the dates. But they spelled out the parallel worlds in EP 2 for me. The stern security guard from WSL looks v nice in this.

I like that there are more subtle cues, like Chinese still being the official language in Corea (as in Joseon era shows).

Haha my hungover self didn't manage to pick up on anything subtle! I did think they sounded different but thought it was a time travel thing and it was Joseon formal court language.
I did manage to take part in our family weekly Zoom quiz yesterday, and got a question about South Korean politics right!!

TheGirl that's quite a high brow family quiz if it includes Korean politics. What was the question?

Ours are more like 'What route did the first bus powered by human waste take?' and you'd be right in thinking it's the number 2.

The question was in the category of "This week's news that isn't Coronavirus" and was "This week there have been elections in South Korea and the first one of what was elected to the National Assembly?"

My cousin who makes the quizzes is an actual genius so he's always trying to dumb it down for the rest of us

I feel like I'd be the weakest link in your family quiz. Unless you have a round on useless facts, maths, or psychology; in which case I might stand a fighting chance.

I asked for a kdrama round but was voted down by the rest of the family 😊

I feel like I can confidently say I would smash a drama themed quiz round.

You definitely would!

I feel stoopid, but what were the SK elections for? (Too tired & grumpy to google, soz.)

www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3277/

I think it's their general election. But one of the new Assembly people is in a category that has never been elected before. You could guess it I think