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…

... and they've been around for aaaages... there's history!!!! a lot of it!!!!

www.orojeju.com/en-gb

The outside is awful, very 1970's concrete style
I love the idea of a private beach. I am all about sea views. There are lots more. Happy to have people hunt for me

oooooo Fifi that's lovely!!!!!!!! I want to go!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come along Bea, planning for September.

[grin!]

I have bookmarked that fifi I like it v much there is even a gazebo with sea view perfect for impromptu BBQ & soju. Who's bringing the watermelon?

Oppa

www.facebook.com/145881188919465/posts/1553519021489001/

I found this travel type blog post about an ogamul guesthouse and my sister and I are now planning a trip once travel restrictions are eased, probably next year. It's the kind of thing my dad would enjoy, so we're hoping to have a family trip. I want to go to Busan after seeing the artist village as well.

Ooh Hotel Del Luna is going to be available on Netflix 😁

@fifilacklustre

Oppa

Hahahaha. Of course.

Oh monkeywench I want to go there as well. My list is getting ever longer!

Ooh that looks perfect fifi!

I want to stay in the historic guest house too, preferably sharing with Jang Dong-Yoon in full widow get-up.

Wonder if there are any waterfalls nearby for fan dancing practice.....I rather like him in ninja mode too

Woo Do Hwan to go into military service from July. It will be a while before we see any shows from him
www.soompi.com/article/1408772wpp/woo-do-hwan-announces-military-enlistment-with-handwritten-letter

Noooooooooo!!! 😭😭😭

Damming that new drama sounded good too! 😡

Damming??? Dammit!!

Just as he was getting properly noticed! Noooo! Why don't they do what PSJ did and just get it over and done with early on! 😱😭😭😭
... Obvs! I have no idea to the personal lives situations! I'm just pouting! 😂

I watched 'It's OK...' and while I will totally watch it week to week, I do have a slight concern that the aesthetic is getting too Netflixy. What do you all think?

It's beautifully made, don't get me wrong. The music is (imo sorry) miles better than usual, with excellent, creative scoring and interstitials. The graphics are top notch - no dodgy 3d models with poor quality textures - really beautifully made. And the kdrama set pieces, like the meet-cute, freeze endings, the cherry blossom symbolism - it's all there. But somehow it didn't quite FEEL like a kdrama. It felt way more like a Netflix standard show. I know it's produced by Studio Dragon and they make basically everything that is Good but I'm wondering how much this one was produced for export. It seems to have a different sensibility, something different in form, to what I look for in kdrama.

Just sitting down to start a new series. Was thinking either It's OK or Oh my baby

I really should revisit the 8/10 and above on spreadsheet as there are quite a few that I either didn't give enough time to develop (Radio Romance) or turned off by the lead actress (she was pretty) ...
I'm at that stage now where it's uncomfortable not to have an addictive KDrama to look forward to at the end of the day

Has anyone watched any K Vloggers?
I started watching a few to get a taste of 'real life' in Korea. They all copy each other so much!

Muted colours ✅
Yoghurt breakfast ✅
Rolled omelette ✅ I'm after a square pan
Bullet journals ✅

These girls are eating at least 4K calories a day and are tiny!

kojolo some interesting points there.....I really don't like the creeping Netflixism of dramas, especially with open seasons & cliffhangers
However I think It's Ok has those extremely high production values because it's Studio Dragon, everything they do just looks lush! I felt Triad Princess was a good example of Netflix watering down drama, Taiwanese in that case. Jasper Liu was wasted in it & it sort of went nowhere with a wafer-thin plot.

Aesops where a drama is 8 or above you should probably give them a second go, sometimes you just have to plough on through the first few eps to become addicted. But I do know what you mean, I feel restless if I don't have a good quality 16 episode binge-watch on the go!

I am currently rather enjoying Hello's recommendation of The Tiger & the Rose (Viki CDrama) It is rather charming & tongue in cheek as the heroine tries to switch the story around to rescue her screenplay. I always start these dramas thinking the ML is a bit meh, but by the end I'm thinking 'what a charming young man' (although not a patch on Li Xian obvs!)

Open seasons are the worst!! I love kdrama for the ENDINGS. Especially the happy endings but above all, for properly constructed, satisfying narratives that COMPLETE. I really stick with 16 episode shows as they seem to be the most reliable in this way.

The unsatisfying, open-ended, trailing off, poorly thought out nature of US media has totally driven me away from it. It doesn't matter how flashy it is. It's not a proper story, and since I discovered that tv existed that WAS a proper story, I've happily forsaken US tv entirely.

I will be sad if kdrama blands itself into airspace. I might have to read books!

bettys I don't think there's anyone who could put a patch on Li Xian (& Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan but I put them in my idol/musician categories) in the CDrama world. He's just something special. I need another tsundre role from him soon.

I just saw WDHs letter on Instagram and the government don't half pick their timings. His career was just about to take off properly. If he comes back and his first ML role is a big, fat turkey, I'll be so disappointed.

The unsatisfying, open-ended, trailing off, poorly thought out nature of US media has totally driven me away from it.

Absolutely!! I stopped watching all that when I discovered kdrama, though to be fair I had gradually been concentrating on foreign language drama anyway. It’s been 2 years now and I am struggling to remember the last thing I watched that was US made - apart from GoT which I’d had to finish

Airspace is an interesting concept. I skimmed that article ( have had lotsh of rosé) and it reminds me of The Accidental Tourist There will always be people who are more comfortable with the familiar no matter where they may be in the world.

WRT to WDH & his enlistment...😭😭😭 the only thing is he has gone on a very very high note but what a bugger he must be gutted