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…

Of course I’ve just looked up Zi Tao & I would be surprised too! I was quite shocked when I saw on (I think) Another Miss Oh that Eric Nam has hairy feet

My Dad was really hairy, DH is so-so but OMG, DS (14) takes after my Dad. He hit puberty and his legs went simian overnight. He’s hairier than DH. It was quite a shock the first time I saw him in shorts after his voice broke.

Random WDH thought- did anyone notice him saying ‘Winter is Coming’ ? 😂

bettys... I did!

Oh how I chuckled!!!

Anyone spot this? 🤣 www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/18/south-korean-football-team-apologises-for-using-sex-dolls-to-fill-stands

Oh you rascal boaty I posted a link upthread you just don’t read my posts!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

boatyard the notes on the drama titles are synopsis of the drama, so people can decide if it's their thing. we also have a few bits of personal commentary on our scores. bettys does a good job at commenting if a drama is a remake or similar to a western show/film.

bettys would a nice green do for a web drama? or purple?

Ooooh green please hello, purple is for anything BTS related 💜

Sorry Betty - I thought I’d seen it on a different thread. Shoot me now!

bettys what do you think of the summaries? do they make it too busy?

im just thinking it'd be useful for anyone who's not heard about the drama/film to get a quick synopsis instead of remembering to google it later but if they're cluttering it up, ill clear them. no issues either way.

I think the summaries are good, they give an unbiased description/synopsis - saves heading over to MDL 😆 Some of my notes are biased to say the least!!!

Only joking *boatyard^ 😎

I've added boatyards note to Forest, it felt too good to not be immortalised on the spreadsheet somewhere.

I love reading your notes bettys They give me a smile when I looking to see what I should look at next.

I didn't know you could add notes! 😂 How?

Bea click on your score box, then Click Insert from top menu, then scroll down to Note. Once you’ve typed your note you should get the black corner thingy

It’s like reading little mini reviews in an MN voice, if that makes sense

I have taken the plunge and signed up for googledocs so I can read the notes. The ones I read were all very sensible. I thought they’d either be gushing or rude about the clunkers. I suppose we could add notes with our own scores. We have a lot of shows under our collective belts.

I really enjoy reading other peoples notes/comments on these threads so it’d be great if notes were added to your own score. It adds flavour!! And may explain why you’ve given a high or low score

Just dipping into Oh My Baby on Viki. It’s worth watching the first few minutes to see Jang Nara’s method of dealing with the flasher.

Jang Nara’s great at the snappy lines: (to her younger female colleagues) “Shall I tell you something scary? I’m your future.”

I managed to watch some Crowned Clown on my night shift last night. I got half way through the episode where the King comes back to the palace! Im trying to make myself go to sleep instead of watching more! 😴. It's so tense. Im very impressed with the levels of evilness from the king, in contrast to the clown.

boatyard I always get the urge to be rude, but then worry that the vision of me as a polite, well rounded drama viewer will be ruined.

In reality, I'm sure you all think of me as a crazy person who yells things at her laptop while drinking tea. You'd also be 100% right 😂

In reality, I'm sure you all think of me as a crazy person who yells things at her laptop while drinking tea. You'd also be 100% right

Damn, I had you pegged as a cocktail drinker.

We now have a couple of reds in the 2020 spreadsheet, Forest and Born Again. The ratings for Born Again have gone up slightly, so although I dropped it after one episode I may wait till it's finished then binge.

Still watching Gank Your Heart intermittently.