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…

Yes do it Girl I’m really enjoying it second time around
Plus I agree with your take on Oh My Baby, by the end I didn’t like any of the characters except for Eutteum and the ex chief editor who turned up in the last episode at the caff with her baby minus make-up but multi tasking with laptop & beer👍 I think the writer lost the edge and didn’t quite know where to go with it

I just lolled at the absolute bunfight at ML’s ancestral rites dinner. I’m enjoying this so much.

Continuity error in the post bunfight restaurant kitchen scene. The wine bottle has refilled by magic when she falls asleep on the table. 😆

I wish mine did that!!!
Can’t help thinking that the wooden bath doesn’t look very comfy

Hahaha. FL now cradling a pan full of soup and fresh off the hob with her bare arm. Tut tut. 🤣

Sorry to hear of your family bereavement Hello.

I've not been very chatty here lately but still mostly keeping up with the thread. I found a friend to convert and watched Mr Sunshine with her, via messages.

Now I'm watching Nokdu with dd and starting mystic pop up bar which look like they will be fun.

Any egg roll tips? I tried one but it was a bit dry and broke up. Maybe temperature was too high.

Also using Duolingo after seeing it recommended here. I paid for lingodeer earlier this year but keep forgetting to use that.

ginger I add a couple of tablespoons of water or milk to make the egg mix runnier and make sure the pan is well oiled. Thicker first layer and start to roll before the egg sets completely. Make sure to wipe the pan with oil between each layer and don't make the subsequent layers too thin. Lift the end of the roll and make sure the egg mix has covered the whole pan so that the roll end sticks. Again, start to roll before the egg is completely set or it will be dry. My dad always finishes his off by tipping out onto tinfoil and tightly wrapping it so that the residual heat will set the eggs and the compression keeps it together. He said that my granny used to do that with hers, but I have a suspicion that with 4 kids it was more to stop them from eating it before she had a chance to share it out 😁

Thanks monkey. I'll have to give it another try sometime soon.

I’ve got to the chicken & ginseng soup episode. That pan is totally bloody ridiculous.

I'm up to the end of ancestral rites bun fight episode 😂. Impressive drinking from the FL, she's been totally leathered every episode so far.

I'm at the beach episode where the red lighthouse pops up

I'd forgotten how bloody annoying the clingy ex is

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that. Just the right level of light, silly fluffiness for me at the moment, and boun of the lovely "Yeon Woo Yin. And a scene that I was excited for, and promised in Introverted Boss^
But what now???

Jeong Jinwoon at the beach. 🎉 The flower boy look does nothing for me, but those abs are impressive.

Oh God, I need to go to bed!

boaty I agree the abs are impressive but prefer Yeon Woo Jin's appearance
I am loving the scrap in the handbag department! This is one of the few dramas that I've watched second time around with no skipping!

I prefer Yeon Woo Jin in this too.

Is that our first message removed that wasn't an accidental double post?

I've been dipping in and out of loads of dramas with no luck. Also doing the same with Disney films. Nothing seems to be sticking but I'll keep trying!

Nothing seems to be sticking but I'll keep trying!

You’ve had a big life event, Hello. That puts a different complexion on the mundane every day stuff.

The message removed was a spam one that was in every thread with a dodgy link 😖

Red lighthouse! 🎉 I find the concrete ‘jacks’ they pile up around lighthouses and harbour walls in SK both brutishly ugly and strangely pleasing. Does anyone else feel the same?

Screaming, hair-pulling fight in the handbag shop now. 🤣 This is like one long kdrama bingo card. It’s hitting all the tropes full-on. Love it! Decent soju bomb line up in this episode too. 👍

twitter.com/fatimafarha_/status/1281463105097269248?s=09
Kim soohyun is so funny and lively! 😂😂

My Marriage viewing was disrupted by DHs request to watch Solo before Disney+ finishes. What a load of rubbish it was! As boaty said, Donald Glover is the only good thing in it. Alden Ehrenreich who plays Han Solo was really not fanciable and is only 5'9. I mean it's pretty hard going being compared to Harrison Ford but still. Or is my judgement clouded by my preference for tall men?

I did manage a bit of Marriage but it was the part where she needs the toilet and it was making me feel so anxious/cringy that I had to fast forward it 😣

I did manage a bit of Marriage but it was the part where she needs the toilet and it was making me feel so anxious/cringy that I had to fast forward it

That bit annoyed me. Dodgy seafood runs cannot be held in. It stretched all credibility. 🙄