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…

Anyone else watched King yet???

Yes just finished King

fifi I loved Where Your Eyes Linger. It was a completely 🐝 friendly ending.

Settling into King as we speak, will there be two 🐝 in one day?

I want to know what everyone thinks of the last episode!
But should prob wait a while.....suffice it to say there were some bits I really liked and some bits were 🤨

If I can turf DS2 out of the living room, I’ll watch King shortly. Otherwise it will be later this eve. Pls no spoilers yet. 🙏

I like the ending...was about 90% what I predicted so feeling smug

I liked about 90%of the end but 10% was a bit meh

I've just finished Possessed - more deaths than Midsomer Murders. Got a bit disheartening after a while.

I’m all finished with King. The best thing about the last 20 mins was WDH all dashing in our world & seeing Kim Kyung-Nam stepping into the car in equally dashing form. Either one of them could carry a kdrama as ML and I would tune in. Also, seeing Jangmi duking out out with those gangsters in his fitted t-shirt and animal print overshirt made me feel we should have seen more of him in his summer clothes or at the gym. I am warmer towards LMH post-King, but I still find his performance dull and one dimensional. He’s the kdrama ML acting equivalent of a handsome guy who’s a crap shag because he thinks his looks are enough to carry the day & puts minimal effort into it. No, LMH - being smooth and debonaire does not make for an interesting performance. It makes for a 16 hour Gold Blend advert!

No, LMH - being smooth and debonaire does not make for an interesting performance. It makes for a 16 hour Gold Blend advert!

I haven't seen the last episode of King due to a slightly boozy zoom chat (you can probably judge the amount of drink based on the time of this post!) but this is a v good description of LMH 😁

I enjoyed! But same as bettys... 90 % good ending... Just about a 🐝!... I loved getting there... Lots of good stuff a fair few plot holes... But good enough! 👍👍

Boatyard’s description of LMH did make me snigger but I do like him more after King than I did before, I think there was a touch of self- deprecation in there. I did feel a bit flat about the ending for LeeGon & Tae Eul though.
Just LOVED the endings for WDH (& Na-Ri!) and KKN. Plus the neat little tie-ups for the Prime Minister & her aide, and Luna. Still unclear about YoYo boy. Where did he come from? Where did he go?

Now how long are we going to have to wait for WDH in this?

LMH is a cardboard cut out stand in for a ML. I don't understand how he gets so many roles in good dramas.

I would like KKN as a ML pls! I thought this in the (bad) airport show that I dropped on account of boredom. He's so sadly beautiful, I love it.

Still unclear about YoYo boy. Where did he come from? Where did he go?

I’m so glad you said this. I rewound that section twice, wondering what I’d missed, and I’m still none the wiser.

That potential WDH project sounds great. Let’s hope he signs up for it.

I think I’ve understood that the magic flute stopped time in the between worlds zone when it was broken, but when it became whole again time moved so the bullet came out of the gun & the plant started growing, and also YoYo boy was seen older in various scenarios & worlds. I think he was just a random deus ex machina to ease up some plot difficulties.

Yoyo boy was the spirit of the magic flute I think.

jokolo ooooh hadn’t thought of that!😯

That's why he stayed as a boy until the flute was healed and then grew to a man when time restarted in the flute dimension/wood between worlds and why there's only one of him (he says quite specifically that "there's only of me" in the warehouse scene when Tae Eul is abducted).

...And I figured the yoyo he's playing with was the red thread of fate:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_thread_of_fate

The red thread of fate/fortune pops up in a lot of mythology. It's in the Bible (twins, good fortune) and in the Vedas (marriage, binding of two) as well.

jokolo that makes sense! it did give me a minute of head scratching.

I am now anticipating WDHs next project! What other shows are coming up to replace King? I know Flowers of Evil starts soon. Does Ji Chang Wooks next work start soon as well?

hello ^Backstreet Rookie* started on the 12th June, so yesterday, but I haven't found anywhere to watch it (yet!!)

Dammit that should've Grrrr JCW's new drama Backstreet Rookie

Ppfffft can't type today.

Tried to start watching My Sassy Girl last night but kept falling asleep ..... may have to rewatch bits of Save Me or dig out Mad Dog from somewhere as not really in the mood fort sageuk

Buggrit my intel was wrong. Having fruitlessly searched for Backstreet Rookie it is actually starting on 19th June, and will be on Fridays & Saturdays.

So I took a lunchtime look at My Sassy Girl and it is obv from the Hwarang school of sageuk.