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…

Aside from the trailing legs tripping me up, I’d have more chance of carrying LJS home than him me.

Lee Jae-yoon (evil big brother in Revolutionary Love) looks like he can lift heavy stuff so we can add him to the list

@Dontwanttobeyourmonkeywench

What happens in Seoul...

,....and Busan, Jeju, Gyeongju .....

I am torn. I love a velvet suit* and the shy boss wears it well, but does also look like he’s dressed for an awards dinner.

• DH wore a velvet jacket at our wedding. He said he spent the whole day with people stroking his arm & found it quite disconcerting. 😆

There are lots of 'rent an Oppa' websites we can use. Given the size of me - I will definitely need to change Oppa's every 10 feet

There are lots of 'rent an Oppa' websites we can use.
I'm googling now

OMG there are!!!

AmI going to have to scrub my history if I also search, or are they of the cup of tea and a chat variety?

I'm going to start an Oppa terramundi

I just got ridiculously excited at the see more oppas button

It's seems like cup of tea type stuff

@boatyardblues

AmI going to have to scrub my history if I also search, or are they of the cup of tea and a chat variety?

boaty I have laughed so loud at that. They are the garden variety, never fear

They all look very nice and wholesome.

They are probably all engineering students from the local universities making their way through college by earning a little oppa change on the side.

Well in the interest of helping the poor students we should rent lots .

Or out of work actors and failed idol trainees. Either way, it would be a public good to help out.

We should set up an Oppa charity

Going on what I’ve seen in kdrama, single mums need our support the most.

If you're interested, Asian Boss did a series on single parents in Korea. The one about single dads was really sad because of the way family law works there. The child is on the mother's family register unless the parents are married, so if the child remains with the father, they can't be registered as citizens meaning they don't get access to healthcare etc. Eye opener and worth watching

Dr Prisoner is coming to Netflix next Monday !!

It's actually one I requested they were obviously paying attention

I've got to the end of Revolutionary Love bettys did you?? I want to check what you thought of the ending 😁

The Girl It was ok I guess, though I did have a case of SLS with regards to the romance aspect. I think he deserved better. I don't think they knew what to do with the FL really, but at least they didn't go for a time jump scenario!
What did you think?

My Shy Boss was a nice silly funny drama with a good dose of angst... Just sit back watch and enjoy! Good stuff..!... Now what?
Might give queen for 7 days a go... Same male lead!.. Yeon woo jin.. I really liked him... bettys you mentioned he was a fave of yours... What should I watch?...

Ooooh now I really thought Queen for 7 Days was good - PMY as well as Yeon Woo Jin- but it’s not a 🐝 friendly ending strictly speaking so bear that in mind! History and all that!

You will really like Marriage Not Dating which is coming to Viki next month. It gets 🧁and 🐝

I Wanna Hear Your SOng on Viki starts well but comes a bit unstuck but is also 🧁🐝 It has cracking classical music in it

Yeon Woo Jin is also in Judge v Judge & Divorce Lawyer in Love (Viki) but I skippedydoodahed both

If you wants loooads of angst but 🐝 then you can’t go wrong with My Mister

On last episode of My Shy Boss, I persevered, only because of Yeon Woo JIn, and the promise of the bubble bath scene .