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…

WDH throwing some serious shade in the uniformed scenes this evening’s King. Poor LMH being out-handsomed by his trusty guard. LMH was a touch too Village People in white for my liking.

Anybody have ever watched Chicago Typewriter drama? If you have watched, will you recommend it? Bcs i have read the review on YT , and the review is very good. I have watched 3 episode and its so boring i get so sleepy. Please if you have watched this drama, tell me wdyt about this drama.

Do i nedd to continue to watch it? It is worth it?

@brambly

Maybe you can try to wTch moon lovers at kissasian.la

LMH was a touch too Village People in white for my liking

Hi jenifca I loved Chicago Typewriter although it is a little slow to get going. Once the historical past life story cranks up it is gripping. I found it very atmospheric & moving.

I second Betty’s appraisal of Chicago Typewriter. It takes ages to get going, but it’s great once it does. The leads have decent chemistry too.

Thanks @jenifca will take a look

Extra Curricular looks good on netflix! Got Geun Soo (Jang second son) from Itaewon Class in... Lining it up on my list! 👍👍👍

Anyone else finding this week’s Hospital Playlist slow (and boring)? I’ve got another 30 mins but I’m finding it such hard work. 😴

Little bit. Did like that the shyster maternity intern has been marked now.

Are we seeing early signs of Mummy’s boy obgyn falling for green eyeshadow intern?

I'm quite enjoying Hospital Playlist but do agree it was was a bit slow.

I usually enjoy it, but this week dragged IMO. Perhaps because it was more about the interns and residents than the main characters.

I enjoyed Chicago Typewriter, with caveats. The pacing is not great so I skipped through a fair bit at the beginning (A lot of k-drama has way to much setup so when I am getting terminally bored of a show in the beginning I check episode 10 about 3/4 through, and if that part grabs me I will go back and watch the show.)

IMO the historical plot was much better than the modern plot including ALL the characters - which means I got a bit antsy sitting through the modern sections. The chemistry between the 1ML and FML was unusually good though -- he was a GREAT kisser (always disappointing when they are basically beautiful drawings clearly unused to operating a human body). It's definitely worth watching and don't feel bad about skipping through the early sections.

The chemistry between the 1ML and FML was unusually good though -- he was a GREAT kisser (always disappointing when they are basically beautiful drawings clearly unused to operating a human body).

Agree with this 100%. The doorway kiss is memorably passionate and convincing.

The 2ML reminds me a lot of Keanu Reeves, good looking but lowers the IQ of every scene he’s in by about 30 points. I’ve seen him in about 3 kdramas and its the same every time.

I can't disagree. He is beautiful though! And his little waistcoat was very charming.

Anyone seen Extracurricular yet? Tempted to start it but that might mean that I get nothing done today whatsoever if it's any good......

Finally got round to watching Her Private Life and omg can Kim Jae Wook kiss! Lived PMY as FL as well, they seemed to have good chemistry and the way he looks at her is swoon 😍 Really enjoyed it 😁

I might try finishing Murphy's Law (Taiwanese on Netflix). Just you and Refresh Man were enjoyable. Also in the middle of Fall in Love with Me, so I might use FFW because there are so many episodes. I'm enjoying them, just not invested.

The reviews for Extracurricular seem great. Apparently KDH has really stepped up his bad guy persona and is getting rave reviews about the improvements since Itawon Class. It's definitely on the list!

Has anyone watched My Golden Life? I don't know whether to invest in 52 episodes or stick to finishing off others.

Yes Kim Jae Woo's kissing is top tier! Although it might actually secretly be Park Min Young, right? Has she ever done a bad kiss scene? Or indeed a bad anything? She's an absolute queen.

Or indeed a bad anything? She's an absolute queen.

The general feeling on here is she was such a cold fish in I’ll go to you when the weather is nice that she put a downer on the whole things. Otherwise high scores were revised downwards because of PMY’s performance. Not a sentence I ever thought I’d have to type on these threads. 😕

Oh no! :(

I haven't seen it yet - should I skip? I can hardly believe PMY has dun rong!

It’s still worth watching. SKJ is lovely and the supporting cast and their stories are very engaging. Overall, the good outweighs the bad by a long chalk, but PMY plays the wounded bird role more like a dormant serial killer with no emotional affect. It’s most peculiar.