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…

Only issue I'm having with Rugal is that the bad guys are called Argos. I'm imagining them in red uniforms asking you if you'd like an email receipt. He's set out on a mission to destroy Argos and I'm slightly concerned that he might get Sainsburys too.

Hahahahaha!

He's set out on a mission to destroy Argos

🤣🤣

We need to sort out some clippers stat then, as we had a serious conversation about what DH and the boys will do if barbers stay shut for months. I suggested getting some clippers from Argos (so last week, with everything now shut) but DH said he’d shave his off if it all gets too much. I will just dig out some hair bands & tie mine back until normality resumes.

I've already resorted to the mum-bun and my glasses instead of contacts. I don't think I've ever been so comfortable while watching dramas.

I’m still in my pyjamas. 🤷‍♂️

There's been some competitive one-upmanship daily descriptions of lockdowns on one of my WhatsApp groups with people detailing their activities. When I say I spend as long as possible in my pyjamas drinking tea & watching shiny kdrama there is a resounding silence in response. The WhatsApp equivalent of a threadkiller

He's set out on a mission to destroy Argos
😂😂😂
He'll just have to wait for his number to be called up! 😂

I was up at 5am getting my Brioche Dough ready to rise in the tin... So it would be ready to bake for breakfast! 😂 😂 😂

He'll just have to wait for his number to be called up! 😂

Aaahahahaha 🤣🤣

Please tell me the FL gets more likeable, she is loathsome atm (ep 2)

Sorry, Hyena

I'm still in my pajamas too! We have some competitive parenting from a few people on DSs class WhatsApp. It's just confirming the people that I thought were idiots 😂

I've just caught up on Weather. Lucky, lucky PMY 😊 it's interesting to get to know more of the back story.

Bettys she does get a little better as her history starts to unfold. However the fact that she has not one but two handsome men falling for her just beggars belief.😂

The clothes
That hairstyle
Stupid 'soap on a rope' mobile phone

Her sunglasses are fab though!

Two handsome men?????
Pah! Who's the other one then? At the moment I've only seen handsome Joo Ji Hoon & his side-kick - also his side-kick in Kingdom . Loved their little boogie in the car

However the fact that she has not one but two handsome men falling for her just beggars belief.

I disagree. There are so many simpering women in kdrama and, in the workplace they spend all their time deferring frantically to authority, that a spunky, hard-nosed woman who plays hard to get would definitely raise the dander of a certain kind of man. The fact that she eschews muted, polite fashion is just one more way she thumbs her nose at authority. Hell, there are men who pay for dominatrixes to spank them and for women to pee on them. I can totally see why she would be attractive to attractive, powerful men, particularly the ones who have tame young beauties throwing themselves at them non-stop.

Stupid 'soap on a rope' mobile phone

I like that it’s a Chanel style rope

Well Boatyard if it all goes pear shaped with DH. I can take solace that there are men 20 yrs younger than I am who will be grateful to date a middle aged woman with an attitude😉
I'll not mention to DH though as he may not be as supportive of my trip to Seoul ( whenever I bloody get there)

Disclaimer: we have been happy together for 30yrs so not likely, especially if he continues the Saturday Night Take Away😊

Taking the positives from this, IRL Kim Hye Soo is 49 and Joo Ji Hoon is 37 so all good for the more mature noona aspirations

....still won't be copying the dress style though

Taking the positives from this, IRL Kim Hye Soo is 49 and Joo Ji Hoon is 37 so all good for the more mature noona aspirations

Spot on Betty - and I love the phrase ‘mature noona aspirations.’ 👌

Now watching Mallory Towers with DD after forcing her to watch Imaginary Cat and Heartstrings 😂 I suppose I can watch something English for a change (sigh)

I've had to mute the extended family WhatsApp as it's all about who can find new and interesting ways to one up each other.

How often do we really get to enjoy time doing nothing? There's no pressure from anyone to do anything either because everyone knows you're not supposed to be jogging 5km followed by 5 hours teaching your children the names of local wildlife in the original Latin while learning Mongolian throat singing. So I'm going to sit in my comfy clothes, with my mum bun and my drink and shout at my TV when FLs make silly decisions.

hello having conquered the laundry by enforcing PJ wearing unless going to shops and only one person going to the shop, I feel that I have done enough to be left to watch my dramas in peace. I even threw food in the general vicinity of the other occupants, so you can imagine my outrage at DHs suggestion that we watch something together because he's bored 🤬

how very dare he monkeywench I hope you told him where he stands!

I've told him to pick something. I might be sitting beside him but based on how long it takes him to choose I'll be able to get a couple of episodes before I might need to engage. The problem is that he's all out of sorts (but not bored enough to tackle all the jobs on the whiteboard of doom) and DD isn't humouring him since facetime with her friends is more fun. He seems to have forgotten that she's a young teen with a social life. I dread any of the kids moving out because he's really going to struggle with letting them go.

On the plus side, the neighbour has a jackhammer and has been digging up the concrete in his backyard. Thank god he's done for the day!

I could do with recommendations for fluffy romances like The world owes me a first love (Lucky's first love) to curb any homicidal urges. Crime drama is really not where I should be atm 😂

So I'm going to sit in my comfy clothes, with my mum bun and my drink and shout at my TV when FLs make silly decisions.

If we ever set up a nursing home for aged disreputable noonas*, I think we’d be compatible roommates, Hello.

• Viki subscription, posters of oppas and constant kdrama in the resident’s lounge and kimchi stew for lunch on Wednesdays stipulated in the contract.