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…

Surprisingly I did! Mostly planning for tomorrow, when I will really have to crack on! 💪Monday deadline 😤

bettys!!... You're a kdrama animal! I can't believe you can get through all these dramas sooo quickly! You are truly dedicated!! 😂 😂

Late nights mostly! Housework & cooking are very low down on my agenda, plus in this house a LOT of sport gets watched so I can legit be watching something else on my laptop 🤷🏻‍♀️

At the moment I’m doing a month’s free YouTube trial so I am trying to pack in all the stuff on that I want to watch. Right....WORK today....after a bit of Intense Love on Youtube with a cup of tea

Excellent multitasking bettys.

The end of Mystic was really sweet 😍

Twogether lands on Netflix today. I am looking forwards to watching. Based on Jasper Liu’s social media presence, I’m hoping for daft and entertaining. If they take themselves too seriously and are poseurs, I’ll be hugely disappointed.

I've just watched the ending of Mystic, I really enjoyed this show. I'm surprised that I liked it so much considering it had Hwang Jung Eum in it. I liked it more than King, I was invested more in the characters, and what happened to them. it's all fine having great production, beautiful sets, and designs, but if the show doesn't have a heart, it's doesn't capture me the same way. I completely agree with kojolo in what she was saying about Netflixing' Kdrama shows.
I am now open to watching Hwang Jung Eum up and coming show .

I agree to a certain extent about the Netflixing of shows, but I think that it also allows for content that might not be as widely accepted in Korea to be made because of the international audience. So far enjoying Backstreet Rookie and wondering if it would have been less controversial if it had been a Netflix original. I also think that The World of the Married was such a big hit that anything coming after it was going to get flack, especially if you were coming straight off the back of that.

I watched 20 mins of Twogether before I started work. It definitely made me laugh! So far they seem non-poserish but it's early days. They are speaking a mixture of Korean, Chinese and English which looks like quite hard work. I was wondering if they genuinely don't know where they are going?

Good points about content monkeywench - by the same token Where Your Eyes Linger ie BL subject matter is a Viki Original, and also made with an international audience in mind.
I didn’t watchWorld of the Married as I didn’t like Dr Foster which it was based on, but I gather it was quite daring for SK

I completely agree with kojolo in what she was saying about Netflixing' Kdrama shows.

I also agree to a point, though I think the more accessible (to western eyes) Netflix productions lure new viewers in (I am one - Mr Sunshine).

I just laughed at Jasper’s silk PJs in Twogether.

I like Jasper’s sunny demeanor.

The bit with them in their borrowed wellies in the muddy cave is unexpectedly hilarious.

I really enjoyed the ending of Mystic and I think I will watch it again!

The end of Mystic is understatedly moving, he turns up and says 'I'm here'

Not sure if anyone is awake - heat and insomnia keeping me awake. And the worst of it is I've nothing to watch!!

Did you start Madame Antoine fifi?

Yes bettys, got to episode 12 and gave up. I was just getting fed up with the constant to and fro story of the whole secret experiment. Plus ML/FL not really doing it for me.

I fell asleep on the sofa re-watching Nokdu, so at least I am consistent. Off to bed now.

My initial observation about Twogether

... is that it could do with stepping up the pace a notch.

I've not managed to watch the last two eps of mystic yet! 😭😭😭But sounds like a good ending!... Trying to skim read thread so I don't read too much! 😂

I've watched a bit more Twogether. Lee Seung-gi seems a bit more adventurous than Jasper. Although Jasper's pajamas are definitely nicer 😂. I think I might see if DS will watch it with me, its v family friendly.
Hope you're all OK and not been washed away by torrential rain?

I’ve been working 😱😱 so not watched Twogether or Its OK yet 😭😭

🤣🤣😆at FLs reaction to MLs shirtlessness in Its Ok