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…

King Speculation Spoiler!!!!

So on the Soompi King forum it has been suggested that the scars come when your counterpart dies from unnatural causes, and the scar is where that wound was. Which is why Sin Jae doesn't have a scar

Boaty I'm glad you got your delayed presents, I had a couple of Jinzu gin and tonics yesterday 😋 delicious!
I'm about to watch the latest King episodes now.

I started The Untamed but didn’t get past the title sequence which was soooooooo long! I’ll have another go later.

What I really want is something like The Package right now

I watched two episodes of Love O2O last night when I couldn’t be bothered to go to bed. I feel as I did at the start of Go Go Squid - too much gaming, not enough RL interaction and constant fawning over the ‘genius’ male students when the women are just as bright and capable. 🙄 I’m not sure I can do it to myself all over again. I’d need to watch WWW straight after to reset my ‘sod the patriarchy’ thermostat.

boaty the gaming gets less, and the nice thing about Love O2O is how supportive ML is with FL

I've just watched the first episode of Entourage (boobage site ) and am throwing up a cautious guilty pleasure signal. It's SKJ in all his racehorse legs glory as a rookie actor and his gang of male friends, and is based on the American series of the same name. The first 5 minutes had the most post-pixellated private parts I've seen since the shower scene in K2.
There are some insights into the drama industry. I chortled at the scene where Lee Kwang Soo is auditioning for a part and has to work his butt off for it (literally)

Oooh the ending on the latest episode of King 😲.
bettys Entourage sounds like something I need to see 😁😁😁

Love020 definitely gets better but I loved that it's the ML chasing after the FL rather than the other way around. Actually, even though the girls fawn over the boys, the ML has to work hard to get the FL out of the game environment and he is very supportive of her (even though she's of the Kristen Stewart school of facial expressions).

bettys that scene in The K2 is just 😳😍 but DS kept on worrying that someone might sprain something as they slid on the soap 🤣🤣🤣 I have converted him with The Fiery Priest and The K2 although he was low hanging fruit since he loves anime and manga.

I keep forgetting to post a query here on behalf of DS. I was describing Talk to Me in Korean’s podcast to DS yesterday & he said it would be great if there was something similar in Japanese for beginners. Can anyone here help?

👏👏 well done monkeywench ! I really enjoyed The Fiery Priest 👍

I’ve dipped into Traveller 2 for a change of scene. I’m only about 30 min in (and need to get up soon), but its easy viewing. I rather like that it isn’t slick and choreographed. The 3 actors get unexpectedly mobbed by Argentinian fans at Buenos Aires airport so have to hastily abandon plans to change their currency and buy SIM cards in the airport, which then means they can’t use the maps on their phones to find their hotel & the google translation of the directions to their hotel (more Air bnb than hotel) isn’t clear. They struggle with the locks in the building... The whole thing so far has been quite charming. They don’t know each other well (or at all with the youngest), so their getting to know you conversations are quite entertaining. It’s also interesting seeing their reactions to BA.

I'm on episode 3 of Entourage. It's very frothy with some dizzying camerawork but relieved to see that there are no baggy corduroys in sight and SKJ sports skinny black jeans

Where is Entourage? In boobage streamingland or on a legit service?

So far the extreme couples challenge in Love O2O seems to involve the FL being trapped in a dark dungeon (passive) and ML doing all the challenges and riddle solving (active). Team work it ain’t! Disappointingly biased too.

I watched most of the first episode of Entourage last night on the dodgy streaming site. There were a few pop up things from "Olga" asking to show me some pictures but it wasn't that bad. So I tried to go back on it this morning and it won't play 😭

boatyard it’s on boobage streaming land but as TheGirl says it’s not too bad if you can ignore Olga.
TheGirl I find it will usually play if it reload the whole page and reclick the episode link. Are you on a cool site?

I am bettys, I'll try again. SKJ does look lovely 😍. There could have been a few less pixels in that bath house scene.

Bathhouse scene, you say?...

Yes boaty it's nearly as good as the beginning of Oh My Venus for lifting your spirits 😁.
I still couldn't get the rest of ep 1 to play so I've moved on to 2. It made me v glad I don't work in the film industry and have to go to a pool party 😂. Although I'd tough it out in a kaftan if SKJ was there.

Shame Girl I guess you missed Lee Kwang Soo's bum audition then!
It's definitely a guilty pleasure, it's pure froth but quite good fun and I like spotting the cameos
I haven't seen the American original but it reminds me a little of Call My Agent

Aww yep, I didn't see that 😢😂

I had a busy day yesterday, so limited viewing time. I am still watching O2O, though I’m not sure why. These campus-based techy love stories are quite formulaic and a serious lack of passion, but it is vaguely interesting from the cultural insight POV. Had to chuckle when the room mates plumped for dinner at “the new French restaurant”, then pulled up at Pizza Express. The PPL is ever-present, although marginally less glaring than in King. 🙄 I find the girls’ preoccupation with not eating too much in front of men fascinating, but probably explains why they are all wafer-thin. From that POV, FL in King wolfing down fried chicken with pints and swaggering around wrestling criminal to the ground probably contravenes all sorts of femininity strictures and makes her totally unsuitable queen material.

I finished The Crowned Clown today. I'm was v impressed with Yeo Jin Goo's acting. I can't believe someone so cute and cheery looking can become so evil.
And I think the Queen and the Brothel manager deserve prizes for being the most unrelentingly nice characters in a drama.
I could do without watching someone throw up blood due to poisoning for a bit now though... And would like one of the Queens or Dowagers outfits but I imagine they must cost a bomb.

Boaty I hope the FL in King keeps her swagger, I was worried she was going a bit drippy a couple of episodes ago.

I'm light-heartedly watching Entourage. It's perfect summer viewing. There's not much substance to it but I am just enjoying the pretty SKJ & his racehorse legs people. I do find the behaviour of the people in the entertainment industry interesting though.

Plus I am enjoying the OST open.spotify.com/playlist/32qBWfxBlILMioRjDmzC9C?si=5iV7-re3RrWLeBfQsShCSA