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…

fifi I hadn’t noticed that about Sung Hoon but I’m glad you’ve reminded me to watch that film.

I just think the FL is an odd casting choice in My Shy Boss but I guess they were very much going for the kid sister look

I love Sung Hoon's voice😍 He sounds so sweet when he's talking to his dog and he comes across as being quite shy on I Live Alone. My sister went to one of his fan meets in Japan and she said that he was really lovely and really made an effort to speak to as many fans as possible. The bigger didn't even tell me until later. I'm considering disowning her lol

She goes to quite a lot of fan events with her best friend who follows Super Junior and EXO, mainly because she gets to tag along as a travel buddy. She's definitely more of an actor fan than a music fan, but we have scarily similar taste 😂

monkey at you sister and her friend. I can't believe how lucky they are. Maybe I should travel around and make meeting Korean actors my life goal . I'm sure my family would be extremely supportive .

@bettys

Got to share this clip from James Corden about how ARMY & kpop fans have donated to BLM & flooded twitter with kpop to drown hate messages 😆

Ahhh! Those good good boys! 😂... And amazing ARMY! 💜

bettys that is amazing....well done to all of them. I loved the clip

Maybe we should do a road trip! Go round all the fan meets! 😂 😂 😂 😂

I'm in .

Me too! I guess it helps that they live in Japan so can travel frequently. I joke that her friend is like the friendly neighbourhood stalker, but she hasn't crossed into saeseng territory. TBF, her friend works her job around sports and music fixtures and is known to the baseball team that she follows as a superfan, so she tends to get priority access and my sister just tags along lol

🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️ Me me!! I’ll come!

known to the baseball team that she follows as a superfan, so she tends to get priority access and my sister just tags along

so jealous

It would be way more fun doing SK with you guys than DH & DS. We all know a few phrases, we could tour filming locations and go to that mega historic film set for a fan tour. The Train to Busan would feature & then a hop over to Jeju Island for some R&R before flying home. If we play our cards right, we could schedule our trip around a BTS concert & some fan meets. 👍

OMG boaty my ideal trip!!! Including lashings of somaek & fried chicken & Grade A BBQ beef!
You should be the tour operator

I wonder how much it would cost pp to commission a bespoke tour. 😉

Small group tour, that should have said.

My dream trip!! We can sit in a pojangmacha drinking soju and eating snacks. Only problem is we need several Oppa's to be there to give us piggy back rides at the end of the evening .
I bagsie PSJ

Oooh piggy-back rides.....Hyun Bin?? HH KJW?? (might have to fight boatyard off)

Ohh I need to book a place on this tour!!!!

I read about BTS and Army and BLM, but I hadn't seen that video. ❤️.

Ive finished my night shifts so I'm having a Ginzu gin and watching Revolutionary Love. The gurning has almost completely stopped now and I'm enjoying learning about employment rights 😂. Siwon has got amazing control of his facial features. He just needs to calm down 😂

My Shy Boss... EP 16... Bubble bath?!... I wasn't expecting that! 😂😂😂

Oh bea I think I might just skip ahead

Right, finally finished my paperwork & I’ll br settling down to My Shy Boss.

Given the impact of lockdown on my cake & gin consumption, I think only a man mountain like Ahn Bo Hyun or CJH would have a chance of carrying me home. I am no dainty laydee, but I’d gladly stump up the cash to share a cab with Hyun Bin.

We just need a harem style space where all the oppas come and tend to us. No need to move lol

I think the mooted pub gathering was a marriage-preserving variant of this idea, Monkey.

What happens in Seoul...

Boatyard I'd need to book a sturdy oppa too 😂😂😂