MsLatte’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #16): Serving up guaranteed corona-free escapism throughout lockdown to lurkers, passers-by and regulars.

[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 AmazonPrime. There are also platforms streaming content illegally if you go looking, but we don’t promote them.

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, no major site yet)
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 (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/Netflix)*
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 (other sites)
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/Netflix from June)
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 (no mainstream platform yet)
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 decent quality
Regulars also 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 Scoring Dramas of 2019
(courtesy of Hello’s kdrama spreadsheet, which are updated by/for thread regulars)

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…

fifi part two

Watcher on Viki with delicious Race Horse legs Seo Kang Joon if you're in the mood for a little dark and gritty! It's by OCN!!!! of course it is!!!

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap

fifi - I was taken by surprise by The Handmaiden; I was expecting sex but not dark, dark s&m. And at the beginning it's all normal, then wham! Straight into someones arse being beaten, and it just gets more extreme. I was v surprised after 12 months of solid kdrama 😳

Hopefully there was someone there applying ointment and a plaster, while slowly blowing on the sore spot

Hopefully there was someone there applying ointment and a plaster, while slowly blowing on the sore spot

Spot on there fifi. 🤣

Is there a reason people in dramas blow on wounds? Is it just a distraction for people? I can't see any medical benefit in the practice. It's cute but my brain screams every time I see it.

Your breath is cooler if you blow through pursed lips, so it can distract from the sting.

II thought it was to make the ointment dry quicker?

Distraction IS a medical benefit. Blowing on, tapping, or rubbing the site of injury is effective pain control. It's mild neural confusion, like tiger balm or a tens machine - just loading the nerves with other information to knock off some of the pain signals. Er, that might be a bad explanation but neural confusion is a real thing.

Do you think the mods ever drop in and wonder how we get from puppies to lesbian s&m in under 20 posts 🤣🤣🤣

cassini I reckon they see the thread title and just slowly back away and leave us well alone 😂 We're like a little self governing community where nothing bad is happening even though it looks chaotic

Do you think the mods ever drop in and wonder how we get from puppies to lesbian s&m in under 20 posts

God I love these threads !!!

And we did it ... without going off topic 😆

😂😂😂 I love these threads.

PS fifi I think Watcher is one of my favourite dramas ever, so watch that.

PPS no ointment and blowing in The Handmaiden 😂

The dancing scene is about half way through episode 3

I have just rewatched that bit with a foolish smile on my face 😂

bettys There's an actor in a Chinese historical drama I'm watching right now who majored in ballet; watching his fight scenes gives me giddy smiles every single time. Are we weak for men who are graceful and dance?!

Are we weak for men who are graceful and dance?!

I think we are hello! Who is it & in what by the way? Just for research purposes.....with episode numbers and time codes......

hello... God yes!

Bea don't start me on a rabbit hole!

In other news, I'm in two minds about JCW's new project Backstreet Rookie. I was talking to some other drama watching friends about it and it turns out the show itself is just a bit controversial. I'll try copy some info from that other conversation and then hopefully we can have a good old chat about it.

Backstreet Rookie is based off an adult webtoon which features a predatory relationship (the female lead is a minor when she kisses the male lead who is 30! and the male lead continues to fantasise about her)

In the drama adaptation, they’ve aged the male lead down but he’s still an adult willing to be kissed by a minor who’s in a school uniform! She also comes to work for him after a 2 year time gap so that’s another power imbalance at work. It’s a clear case of predatory behaviour. They also filmed a karaoke room scene involving a group of high schoolers very inappropriately.

The argument is made that this drama is plain and simple, romanticising predatory behaviour. I think he certainly seems to be picking bad projects since he's returned from the army. I don't think I'll be continuing with it personally, but I'd love to hear other opinions.

Well that wasn’t mentioned on Soompi!!

I did wonder at the age difference in RL...but the ML character is made out to be dorky and the FL sassy in what I’ve seen so far (on Soompi) could they have altered the dynamic?

Haven’t seen the actual show yet, but am thinking JCW May have picked another turkey 😫

hello you have other drama watching friends????😱😱

are you jealous bettys? 😂😂

Why would we need other drama watching friends? 🤷‍♂️ (I am a bit jealous, even though I struggle to keep with all the recommendations on this thread.)

I suppose it depends on the age difference since the age of consent is 16 and you're considered to be a legal adult at 19 (international age).

If you work on the basis that the webtoon had 10 years between the characters and they reduced the gap in the drama, plus they cast him as more dorky and naive and she's more street smart, then I can't see why it wouldn't work. Depends entirely on what age they have her meet him at 16/17 with max 8 year gap ick, 18/19 then closer to legally adult so possible.

Tbf, there's 8 years between me and DH and I met him when I was 19 (plus he was more like an overgrown teenager) so it doesn't feel odd. The one that I found really hard to wrap my head around was the age gap in I Hear Your Voice . ML was still in high school and FL was already working as a lawyer 🤔 That would have been a minimum of 10 years between them since she would have had at least 3-4 years of Uni and a least a few years of experience to be able to stand in court.

I think I'll make up my mind once there's a few more episodes to watch.

Based on what I've found, they have him as 29 and she's 22 in the drama, so if they met 2-3 years before then she would have been only just a minor, so that's a different kettle of fish. My sister's friend has already watched the first episode and says that she found it ok, pretty tame. Jealous that she gets to watch Kdrama earlier because she's 9hrs ahead

Well Intended Love's Xu Kaicheng has a ballet background too

monkeywench thank you for the additional viewpoint. I really don't know what to think on it all. Maybe I'm becoming more accepting of letting even mildly problematic dramas go because there's so much to watch. You'll have to let me know what it turns out like, maybe it won't be another turkey at all.

cassini it seems aot of cdrama actors do. if you're interested I was talking about Luo Yunxi. He was in Ashes of Love and, And The Winner is Love so you've probably already seen his work. He's so expressive, even with his microexpressions.