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, there are gritty kdramas but somehow they always have a glimmer of hope. Chernobyl is all nope. Obviously the subject matter is bleak, but there’s almost no light in this.

I did think Chernobyl was good, Emily Watson & Jared Harris are class acts. But it’s not a drama to make you have a rosy glow on life.
I say that after having a slightly tiddly bop in the kitchen to my kdrama OST playlist

.....sorry that was a bit random there....you don't really need to know that I have a bop-tastic kdrama playlist that is ideal for loading the dishwasher to...(currently featuring Sumin & Baekhyun)
Currently watching Goduri's Restaurant web drama on Youtube as recommended by the link Bea posted a couple of days ago and thoroughly enjoying it

Just picked up Was It Love again after falling asleep art way through ep 1 earlier in the week. Is it just me, or Son Ho Joon (mr Go Back Couple) look like he’s got an aging portrait in his attic? Also, is it wrong of me to find the gangster investor fit AF?

Pls to ignore all the typos above. Ta.

Actually, it’s more likely to be a good plastic surgeon, this being a kdrama...

boaty I refer you to my earlier posts on Was It Love.....I am rooting for the gangster he is deffo fit af

Help! Send the 🥾🍑 extraction team. Was It Love is totes binge-worthy and so many attractive men, it’s really cheered me up.

I hope your in bed now boaty I'm allowed to still be up cos I'm working 😂😭.
I've watched 2 and a bit episodes of All the Guys in the last few days. ML and 2ML are lovely but I'm having to skip a bit because Hwang Jung Eum flapping about the ML being possibly gay is quite cringy. She's just v ott. I'm still going to watch it though, for the visuals.
Also Was it Love hot af gangsters? I'm in. 😂

The gangster really shouldn’t be sympathetic as a character. More than once he’s seen wiping blood off his hands and meting out violence, but somehow he is rather likeable and observant of details that others have overlooked. It’s interesting to have such a morally ambiguous/repellent character who so compelling. Also, fit AF and a pleasure to watch. 👍

The sauna in ep 4 of Was It Love looks modern and very pleasant. A day or evening excursion for the Seoul leg of our fantasy kdrama trip? I want to crack boiled eggs on my head and gossip.

Yes a bath house gossip break!

There is obv a back story with the gangster. He has such sadness when he looks at his son and worries about him but can’t talk to him.
Plus I’m sure at one point we saw him watching a film that had FL acting in it - maybe a student film - & he recognised her when they first met at the office.

I just had a thought about the enigmatic bar owner. Could she be the woman in the gangster’s flashbacks? I need to pay more attention to the woman’s voice in the next flashback.

Oh there's an idea!! I thought it was him relating FL's situation to a previous love interest so it could be her

It was something about her mannerisms and the hints at her being a tough nut, but also very privately wealthy whilst living a humble lifestyle. There’s a mismatch there which is unexplained.

Nooooooooooo! I wrongly assumed the whole series of Was It Love had dropped and was looking forwards to an epic binge, but it’s still bloody airing. 😡 I can only say that it is hugely enjoyable and I’m cross not to be able to blast through it in one go.

Something has been playing on my mind since I watched Married Not Dating: the concept of a fusion kimchi and four cheese pancake. So I did something about it today... Friends, I bring you the kimchi and cheddar pancake... It was lush!

lol great minds!!!! I experimented after watching too & it works well👌

Also wish could binge watch Was It Love am enjoying it v much, more than To all The Guys

Am catching up with Backstreet Rookie and the nicest thing about it so far is the relationship between the FL and JCWs mum (village ahjumma from CLOy & Camellia) Something about the show doesn’t quite click, I’m on ep 8 & it still hasn’t found its feet not sure why I’m watching, prob misguided loyalty

I'm enjoying Clean With A Passion For Now, somewhat against my will. Lots of fun in the staging, camerawork, visual gags, and I love the FL.

Kimcheese anything is bloody lovely. I have had quite a few meals of kimcheese ramen lately due to its speedy nature. I must say every single time I eat it, I want to relive my student days where I didn't care about eating healthily 😂

Checking back in to ask a question. Is there any actors/actresses who's ages really surprised you? I keep thinking these actors are really young and then they turn out to be 38 and its got me wondering if I need to book in with a plastic surgeon.

Also wish could binge watch Was It Love am enjoying it v much, more than To all The Guys

Seconded. I like the “who’s the daddy?” aspect. I genuinely have no idea and wouldn’t even hazard a guess at this stage.

Something about the show doesn’t quite click, I’m on ep 8 & it still hasn’t found its feet not sure why I’m watching, prob misguided loyalty

I’ve got say, seeing as I swerved Warmed Over Leftovers or whatever it was called, I have no desire to watch anything with JCW in it at the mo. His Insta feed is meh. He keeps picking weird/bad projects. Has his moment passed?

Checking back in to ask a question. Is there any actors/actresses who's ages really surprised you? I keep thinking these actors are really young and then they turn out to be 38 and its got me wondering if I need to book in with a plastic surgeon.

I’m surprised there is a 9 year gap between Mr Go Back Couple and the almost broken Hollywood actor guy (3ML?) in Was It Love. He’s in really good nick, though his face isn’t all that mobile when he smiles. 😉

Is there any actors/actresses who's ages really surprised you?

Yes! There is a tendency to put actors/actresses in their 30s into school clothes for flash backs but some carry it off better than others...(sorry PMY I think Weather might have been your last time in school uniform)

Young looking actors that spring to mind
Lovely Eyes Junho - 30!!
Dori Sakurada - 28
Baekhyun - 28 (looked about 16 in Moon Lovers but was 24)

Prob more but I am fast disappearing down a 2PM MV rabbit hole ...

I have no desire to watch anything with JCW in it at the mo. His Insta feed is meh. He keeps picking weird/bad projects. Has his moment passed?

I fear so. He does NOT pick good dramas right now. All the characters in Backstreet Rookie are horrible, except for the FL and JCW's mum. Even his character is a dweeb. I may drop it until it's all up & then just watch the last ep.

FL was also fab in Moon Embracing The Sun & Love In The Moonlight and she's in Clean With Passion For Now which I keep meaning to watch although I'm not that keen on the ML.

Oh and an actress who I think looks YEARS younger than her age is Kim Hye Soo ( Signal, Hyena ) - she's 49