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…

No King tomorrow 😱😱 Have to wait until Saturday 😫

@bettys

And I've just caught up with Oh My Baby and I think I've worked out why the photographer's previous relationship broke up.

I have a theory too...

Aaaand I’m all caught up, which only confirms my theory. (I wasn’t up all night watching kdrama with my 3am post - perils of copious red wine and a comfy sofa. 😩)

Hahaha! I think I know how it's going to end as well, possible bitter-sweet.

Message me your theory Betty.

I shouldn't have started watching Sweet Munchies (Viki) on a day when I am trying to do 16:8. I'm 6 minutes in and craving clams & hard liquor.
Oh now I want noodles with prawns delicately arranged on top
I was only planning to watch 10 mins as Where Your Eyes Linger isn't subbed yet

Sounds promising. Definitely don’t watch Traveller 2 if you like a juicy steak or decent cheesecake.

Messaged you boatyard

Cross-message I see we have similar theories

I was trying to explain how funny it was watching a travel documentary about somewhere unfamiliar made by Koreans to DH and my kids last night. We all approach travel with our own cultural baggage, so its interesting to see the things that they focus in on - making the familiar strange. There’s a lot of chat about the ‘imported‘ European architectural style in Buenos Aires which is totally unexceptional to most Europeans. They seem to like the informality and friendliness of the people and energy in the city. The obsession with food - and specifically the quality & quantity of meat - has been the main thing so far. It’s hilarious.

I'd be the worst person on a travel show. I'd just be talking about how beautiful everything is. They'd never get a camera shot without hearing me talking about how beautiful the world is in the background.

I took a little break from Korean dramas and ended up watching a Thai drama 3 will be Free. I know Thai dramas aren't usually the thing on this thread but it had the mafia, gun fights, gender reassignment conversations, polyamory, first loves and found families. It was a big wow. I just needed to tell someone how mental it was, good mental though.

Now I'm going to dive into Hospital Playlist. I've already got my tissues ready!

Oh bettys and boaty, I haven't started Oh My Baby yet, but you have piqued my curiosity. I have now made a wild guess based on no knowledge .

Struggling to find something to watch over the weekend. I want something fun with romance. Can't seem to find anything on spreadsheet that I haven't seen.
Does this mean I am running out of romance Kdrama to watch .
I may have to start watching shows that are weekly.
Oh, my first world problems.

Struggling to find something to watch over the weekend. I want something fun with romance.

I think you answered your own question in your previous message - definitely start Oh My Baby.

For a gentle romance, The Package on Viki is short & fulfilling (c 12 eps). The FL is living in France and has gone native, so there’s a lot more sex than your average kdrama.

boaty you're right, will have to do that.
Really enjoyed the ^Package*, great as travel show as well.

Sweet Munchies is shaping up to be a cross between Personal Taste and Let's Eat - I can just imagine the pitch at the meeting.

Jung Il-Woo is a chef who desperately needs money, so pretends to be gay to go on a tv show. Slightly different love triangle as he is caught between the FL & 2ML.

fifi My Shy Boss aka Introverted Boss (average score of 7 on the spreadsheet) is coming to Netflix on Monday, along with Revolutionary Love. I suggest Before We Get Married (Taiwanese) on Viki if you haven't seen it for a glorious weekend binge. Otherwise join us in the delights of on-air shows, and use the weekend to get started on the ones we are currently watching. Or get stuck into the addictive short-so-I-can-do-one-more-episode world of web dramas.

For those of you who haven't succumbed to Viki, our top scoring spreadsheet drama My Mister is landing on Netflix on 10th June

My Mister is no frothy romance but it is a very rewarding watch.

I second Before We Get Married just so you can join in the guilty pressure club! Plus it's a great binge, not romantic but definitely something.

the guilty pressure club!

Is that where we make addicts watch our favourite dramas?

I think it is romantic...in a way.....certainly some lusting after going on

eh wot? Am I seeing things? Where did hello's post go??

I sound proper mad now

Weird....posts are disappearing....comment below was about Before We Get Married & commenting on hello's vanished post

They’re back! Must be my laptop 🤔

MN is having problems. Some hilarity on other threads where quotes are being pulled from completely different conversations.

I feel duty bound to point out there are some very dodgy scenes near the beginning of BWGM, the FTSE score sex party being the worst, but it improves after a shaky start and is great fun by the end. Definitely a guilty pleasure though.