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…

Bea bit worried about the grimace at the end...or was it a smile?

Thought I was being odd but I have found my people.

Oh yes I have a quite extensive OST Spotify playlist

I am thoroughly enjoying King. Another cracking episode and - whisper it - Lee Min Ho is growing on me. I love that he was jealous about being left out of the “obelisk ice cream” sharing. It’s sobfunny that his guard/friend is hot AF scowling in a (NB: black) suit, but looks shocking in the social worker get up and dodgy hair.

brambly... Smile! 😂 😂

How do we crowd source a spotify playlist? Is a thing? I feel like with zoom & house party I am learning a whole bunch of new stuff in lockdown

I enjoyed Eternal Monarch today but am worried that I am feeling sorry for LMH and gravitating towards him For a moment I thought there was going to be a new handsome man in the mix when the new rookie detective arrived...but it turned out to be the guy with the great voice from WWwithSK

Lee Min Ho is growing on me.

OMG me too!!!!

his guard/friend is hot AF scowling in a (NB: black) suit oh I second this! WDH rocks the bodyguard look! But think he is rather sweet in his social worker gear too.

I felt unreasonably upset when LMH said 'there was a third person' after the fight and was so hurt the obelisk ice cream wasn't shared.

And I like the horse (and I'm not a horsey person)

Monarch is becoming my must-watch of the week

Bettys -i think you can have collaborative playlists on Spotify which other people can add to

I love the scene in ep 15 of Weather when all the women in the town know about Lee Jae-Wook’s character’s date, that Eun Sil is leaving, the time of the bus etc. It’s hilarious, but he has no private life.

Yikes! Time to hunt is not for the faint hearted! It's grim and gory!... I'm not sure if I want to continue! 😱😱😱😱😭

I've akways liked Lee Min Ho!... 😂😁

Lee Min Ho seems less cocky and a bit, well, nicer in this. I know he’s being filmed in soft focus with favourable lighting, but he seems somehow softer and less angular and mean. Maybe his military service did him some good.

Posting to say I agree with everyone who said PMY was really unlikeable in ep 15 of Weather, especially because SKJ continues to be lovely to her even when she doesn’t deserve it. Team SKJ! Hoping now ep 16 is satisfactory. 😏

OK, a satisfactory ending but that role did not play to PMK’s strengths at all. That whole family seemed closed and stunted, though you had a glimpse of different times when the grandmother was still alive. Sometimes there are family members like that who hold things together. 🤷‍♂️ I am prepared to score this kindly because I liked the atmosphere and pace as a whole, the glimpses of small town life, the rhythm of the seasons, of love and friendship and community, a great supporting cast and, last but not least, a very likeable, gentle SKJ in good knitwear. He seems to exude loveliness. I hope he’s decent IRL too. So [klaxon Hello] it’s an 8 from me.

I added your score boatyard, and marked mine down from an 8 to a 7 as I felt PMY let the side down.

Brambly - started going through my OST playlist last night & rediscovered some favourites (Can You Hear My Heart - Epik High) but couldn't work out how to share without revealing my own details.

Are we putting Hyena on the list? If so, which category?

Would Hyena go in slice of life? Or do we need a legal/law category? I gave it a 6 as it was well done but I skipped a huge amount.

hello I enjoy your little comments on the spreadsheet

I’ve just resumed Kingdom with Bae Doona heading into the Frozen Valley ;or whatever it is called) - they’ve just found the manacles...

Waaaaaaaaaaah! 😱 (Kingdom)

I finally finished S1 of Kingdom. So glad I waited until S2 was up! What a cliffhanger for S1. It’s so good though & I thought the cinematography of that final ep in season 1 was amazing - the misty wetlands at sunrise etc 👌

I've just watched ep 3 of Monarch totally agree with comments upthread about the body guard. I liked the fight scene and the FL being cheeky with the gangsters.

Bettys - Yeah I think the lack of anonymity on Spotify is the problem. I’ll add recommendations to my list though. I have a lot of CLOY on mine.

I can’t remember how to access the spreadsheet but know I’ve done it before a while back.

Brambly - I've done a test & it's not entirely anonymous - I even just tried adding myself as another user with no back history on our family plan & that didn't work either. So sadly I don't think a collaborative playlist is going to work, unless anyone else has a bright idea or is more tech savvy than me.

Ep 4 of Monarch was a little slow until the end and with that finish I want the next episode NOW!!!!!

Oh why didn't I wait until they were all up

Brambly I sent you a link to the spreadsheet in a PM before, but I can do it again if you need me too! We need all your scores!

I'm having to ration The King. I feel spoiled with too much WDH in good roles. I don't want it to go in the blink of an eye because next thing I know he'll be back to a one-demensional, wooden, shite for brains.

Oooo! Born Again up on viki... With Park Morgan... Looks like another angst fest! 👍😁
I know I need to finish off weather and meow... But would much rather watch Memorist... King and Born again... That's bad when I feel like I need to finish them... I'm liking weather purely for lovely SKJ and the lovely book club and aunt and editor (hope they get happy ending...).... 😫