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…

Don't shun me for not watching dramas! I'll return to normal scheduling soon.

No shunning here, so no need to apologise. I'm sorry to hear about your family bereavement, Hello. 💐 I hope you are getting plenty of support in real life. Grieving is a strange old process and sometimes a different kind of escapism is needed from familiar routines. Take care.

Sorry to hear about your family bereavement hello, hope you’re doing ok

Hope youre OK hello, or as OK as you can be 🌸

Sorry to read about your bereavement hello 💐 Hope you and your family have plenty of RL support, but we'll all be here for you when you're ready.

hellos watching Disney movies may be just what you need right now

Oh! Hello! Didn't spot your message!
.. Love to you all! Watch whatever you want! 😘😊👍

Omo!! Marriage Not Dating is exactly the escapist trash I've been looking for over the last couple of weeks. I love that the ML’s parents are Yoo Yeon-Seok’s mum from Hospital Playlist and her friend/sometime squeeze. 👌

Ah and the grandmother is LMH’s lovely court lady from King. 👍

On a roll...

ML’s bachelor pad looks like they used the same set as his penthouse in My Shy Boss and I swear to God the French restaurant is the handbag shop in My Secret Terrius.

boatyard are you sure you're not a detective in real life? I'd never realise half of these things. Or maybe I'm just blind 😂

Thank you for all the well wishes. The current situation makes everything difficult but we have to continue onwards. Maybe I should rewatch Marriage, Not Dating, escapist trash is needed!

twitter.com/elliotsang/status/1280296903331151877?s=20

This thread is funny!!!!

😂😂😂 DS isn't old enough for twitter yet but he would definitely be on that thread

Laughing at the comment about how BTS is more impressive than their children. DS has an account but I hope he never sees that thread. He would clog the thing just to take the pics out of me. He is the type of child who followed Trump on it just for the meme value. He was chatting with me yesterday and wondering how the man has time to tweet as often as he does, then ended with a sigh and said he supposed that was his full time job. The sarcasm is strong 😂

I was having a very vivid dream last night where I was in hospital waiting for ankle surgery (waiting in RL too) and the patients and doctor's were a mash up of DOTS, Hospital Playlist and Dr. Romantic. I would have quite enjoyed that hospital stay but DH had to spoil it by talking to me, which woke me up. Wondering if it's grounds for divorce 🤔

I’ve decided that if I’m going to be stuck working from home for ages, I should have some fun putting together an oppa desk calendar with one of the online sites & ordering it in to brighten up my workspace. Nokdu with blossom should be April or May.

Oooh I can help you with that boaty (and thus avoid getting on with admin-y stuff)
How about this for December?? (I may have cut PMY out of the picture)

Monkeywench that's my kind of hospital! All those oppa doctors would take your mind off your aches & pains

I think I am going to join you all in a rewatch of Marriage Not Dating

I'm not complaining, I'm grateful to have a job, but is it bad that my heart sank when I got an email saying that the job that I got just before lock down is due to start next week?? At least the nursing was optional in that I picked when I wanted to be available. My drama viewing time 😱😣😭

Oh monkeywench, I'm sorry for your troubles! Your viewing time - just no. It's shocking how real life gets in the way sometimes - just not right. 😭

Glad you have a new job though

fifi only people here understand how terrible RL encroachment on oppa time is 😁 Anyway, it's not drama watching, it's immersive language learning. 😉 At the rate I'm going I'll be fluent in Mandarin, Korean and Cantonese 😂😂

Oh monkey I feel for you! You need to keep up with your immersive language learning somehow 😉

I'm on episode 9 of Marriage, Not Dating, and up pops the red lighthouse

@fifilacklustre

I'm on episode 9 of Marriage, Not Dating, and up pops the red lighthouse

I’m assuming you’re talking about a real lighthouse? 😉

Haha, sadly yes. Oppa is still fully covered

If it was a jdrama, well...

Sorry to hear about your new job eating into drama watching Monkey. It's just not on 😁.
I finished Oh My Baby tonight. I liked the subject matter but I wasn't that drawn into the characters. The Dr bloke was horrible.
I need something else to start now, I've only got It's Okay to wait for.
Shall I join in with Marriage Not Dating too?

Do it Girl!