MsLatte’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #15): Tiring of your usual telly during lockdown? Want to be transported somewhere else? Try our escapist boxset recommendations

[boatyardblues]

A quiet corner of MN for serious addicts of Kdrama, or the K-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. 

We also dip into Japanese, Taiwanese & Chinese drama as & when. 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)

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
Hospital Playlist (Netflix)
Itaewon Class (Netflix)
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. Quite a few of us are learning Korean, Japanese and/or Mandarin (some more diligently than others admittedly), so we swap tips and links to language resources. Basically, anything topical goes.


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…

감사합니다. Checking in

쌍! (hope I've got that right)

Just plonking onto the sofa with a glass of wine 🍷

... To look fwd to... EP 3 and 4 King...

Finished Weather... That fizzled... Like a damp squib!... 😕😏😏

Will finish Meow...

Will start Born Again!

Thread 15!!!!... Flippin eck! 😂 😱

bettys did you mean 짱~ or are you a big fan of twins? 😂

안영 진구들! Bea is right! Thread 15?! I think I joined at 7/8 when boatyard first dived into Before We Get Married. It's gone so fast.

hello I was trying to write Jang or 👍 which cropped up in my Drops vocabulary .... that’ll teach me 😂

bettys 짱 is one of my favourite words to say! I say it to DP all the time. Does drops include slang terms then? That seems like a good way to get people speaking more like a native and less like a robot.

Drops is a bit random, jang is in the kpop section! But it’s fun in 5 minute bursts though I have also learned a fair few useless words

안영! 한곡어 keypad finally working properly on my phone. I had to reset my keyboards after switching to the swipe board for Japanese, my Korean is still not good enough for that lol

I've not got a Korean keyboard yet but I'm v pleased with myself being able to read what you wrote 🤣.

안녕하세오
I am enjoying the eternal monarch. Is mioew any good? Is it really a man cat or is there a twist.

I’ve been enjoying Miaow It’s lovely fluffy nonsense with 2 handsome MLs 🤷‍♀️

I've attached a friend's review of it which I found hilarious but I can't say I 100% agree. It's fun if you can completely ignore the absurdity of it but it's important to know you won't be alone if you don't like it.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (another one I've learned, please tell me it's hahahahah!)

I found that review very funny, and not entirely wrong. If you engage your brain it is well dodgy and suddenly the can't commit 2ML looks like the better option by far

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ is hahaha! I love Welcome when my brain is too tired to pay any attention to a story because its so bizarre that even if you miss something, it doesn't matter.

Ahh, it's Welcome in Korean but Meow in English but they are the same show. I promise I've not lost the plot and made up a new cat based show.

I’m not proud of it, but I’ve finished My Secret Romance. A 5 for the scoresheet please, Hello.*

• I seem to be one of those people who is using lockdown to watch brain-rotting telly, slack off on the ironing and eat Doritos in my pyjamas. I am not reading War and Peace, alphabetising my spice rack or doing of e improving things we’re supposed to be doing with “more time” on our hands.

Lol same here. DH says that moving from my side of the bed to the deck and back again doesn't count as actual movement 😒🤔😂 My bluetooth earphones are getting well used and DS is concerned about pressure sores. Brain-rotting fluff is exactly what is needed anyway.

Oooo! The king was good! Thoroughly enjoying this one! Looking fwd to next week! 👍

There’s so much stuff that needs sorting out around the house. I said to DH that we should sort out the loft (major clear out needed). He is a neat freak and usually instigator of tat purges. He said there was no point because the tip & charity shops are closed. 🤷‍♂️ At which point, I decided to let go of plans and embrace the kdrama.

I started 100 Days My Prince for shallow reasons (2ML in Secret Romance). It scored OK on the spreadsheet and seems well done so far. I was feeling the need for a bit of sageuk. Am I right in thinking there are fewer wobbly-setted sageuk duds? Seems that way. Makes me think the faff of dressing up and all those extras raises the bar for getting a sageuk project into production.

I really enjoyed 100 Days My Prince
Oho! (That’ll make sense in a bit)

I decided to let go of plans and embrace the kdrama
.......but that is the plan 😆

Bea scored it favourably which means I shouldn’t get angry with the ending.

I just finished watching the Dramabeans women’s reaction video. It’s uncanny - it’s like they were reading from the thread. Those two can come to fantasy pub meet. They look like a hoot.

but that is the plan

Oh yeah.....