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…

Yep and when they can't be held in its not a tiny cute little poo, more a flood 😂

Humph I think you'll find TheGirl that it was me that said Donald Glover was the best thing about Solo!!

I have finished Marriage for the second time, the pace slows down in the last few eps but I do like the MIL arc.

I've watched the first 2 eps of Was It Love on Netflix. Itseems like a slow start but has potential, I rather like the characters so far.

Oops sorry bettys!!!

Here's a picture of young Harrison Ford by way of an apology 😁

Hahahaha you’re forgiven! 😂☺️

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap

Yep and when they can't be held in its not a tiny cute little poo, more a flood 😂

Yes, I couldn’t work out why it wasn’t running down her legs given the tiny shorts. /TMI

Hello, so sorry for your loss^ try something from when you were younger perhaps? When I was grieving my DM's death a couple of years ago, I found comfort in my childhood favourites that were gentle and not too stimulating. The Railway Children/Jane Austin and DM's favourite shows from the 70's including Duchess of Duke St.^ it's a process

Night in alone so starting Was it love?

Ye gads, the Italics are back to front on my last post 😳

Netflix keeps pushing the UK Top Ten Watched on me - I have no interest in any of them ( ok pre kdrama I may have watched Warrior Nun as it sounds Buffy-esque) Just - no. I am more excited about a potential new age-appropriate Oppa in Was it Love

Aesops will be interested to know what you make of Was It Love I’m wishing it was all up so I could binge 😡

Italics are a bugger aren’t they?

Woo-hoo monologuing with red wine 🍷
Friday night, nothing on, gah need a new frivolous binge watch

@bettys

Netflix keeps pushing the UK Top Ten Watched on me - I have no interest in any of them ( ok pre kdrama I may have watched Warrior Nun as it sounds Buffy-esque) Just - no. I am more excited about a potential new age-appropriate Oppa in Was it Love

DH read some reviews that said it was very good, in the Buffy tradition. If anyone does watch, can you feed back about what’s tipped it to a 15. DS2 (12) is mortified by anything involving kissing, plus sensitive to psychological tension/frights. If its just sword fighting etc, it’s like Marvel.

Betty's anything with Kim Mi-Kyung I know will be good!

Kim Mi-Kyung is ace she needs another Healer type role instead of just being someone’s mum 😂

I'm quite looking forward to Was it Love and To All The Guys Who Loved Me. I'm definitely a binger, so I'm going to have to sit on my hands.

Okay......so some weird past lives stuff going on in To All The Guys Who Loved Me which I wasn't expecting....

Oooo so rather unexpectedly enjoyed To All The Guys Who Loved Me (Viki) ep 1 in spite of shouty YA! Hwang Jung Eum - gave it a go as I thought she was good in Mystic Pop-Up Bar & have come to the (shallow) conclusion that I liked her hair in Mystic but not in this.
Am still on the obvs

I finished The Way We Love (Taiwan, Viki) and if you thought that PP was excessive in King then you would be shocked 😲 At some points it was like a drama built around adverts for everything from luxury cars to gut motility aids 😂 Nothing says I care for you like digestive aids 😉 Pretty enjoyable if you could ignore the PP.

Spent months indoors without any injury, met a friend for coffee at a fishing lodge type place and was eaten alive by bugs 😣 I'm so itchy!! Didn't twig so the poor cats were getting the blame for fleas until DH pointed out that I was fine before that.

My poor black cat has a very swollen mucky ear that seems to have popped up in the 2 hours I was out of the house and the vet isn't open until Monday... Rang them for advice and they have him booked in first thing to get an abscess drained and antibiotics for an ear infection. Bugger couldn't have done it while the vet was still open today🤔 On the plus side, at least the vet didn't think it was an emergency, although we have strict instructions to call if it burns or he's off his food etc. Said cat is quite happily being held hostage cared for by DD.

Ha it seems to have suddenly become midge season!! Loads where I am at the moment they seem to suddenly descend ....At least your cat seems to be comfy in spite of poorly ear.

Does The Way We Love have any Before We Get Married style scenes to compensate for the PP?

Not so much, but the story is pretty sweet and it's set in publishing land, which is my thing. I've always been a bookworm and have often said that if I could go back to when I was 16 I would have seriously pursued a career to do with books. I don't have the patience for editing, but I would happily proofread.

Then again, I did also say I wanted to be a farmer and have a B&B on a farm...😂

Well! I'm almost at the end of The Package and it's lovely how all the storylines are coming together... I'm really enjoying it and bracing myself for some sad endings... 😭😢
Also enjoying I Land on viki... It's horribly fascinating! I'm intrigued...
And of course waiting for next eps of Its Okay!
Hope you've gone to bed bettysand still not on the 🍷🍷😂🥂

No more but on ep 2 of To All The Guys so time for a 🥾🍑

@bettys

Ha it seems to have suddenly become midge season!! Loads where I am at the moment they seem to suddenly descend ....At least your cat seems to be comfy in spite of poorly ear.

Does The Way We Love have any Before We Get Married style scenes to compensate for the PP?

My GP friend told me about the time her (now adult) son was all out of sorts and crying etc so she dosed him up with calpol but didn’t realise he had a serious ear infection until she saw the pus on his pillow next morning. 🤢 Once the tympanic membrane bursts (bad) and its free-draining, its much more comfortable. Your poor cat.

I fell asleep on the sofa again last night. 🤷‍♂️

I've just watched It's okay it had some beautiful crying and Gang Tae can cut hair beautifully too!
DH has football to watch this evening so I'm hoping to watch a few more episodes of Marriage 😊