MsLatte’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #17): I need suits and dimples and questionable morals

[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 as they are peppered with pop-ups of “Olga” and friends offering a good time, which gets in the way of the drama.

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/Netflix)
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/Netflix)*

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)*
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/Netflix)*
Kingdom (Netflix)*

Mystic Pop-up Bar (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…

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap

I'm up early this morning 😴 but just wanted to quickly say how much I love the Gangster in WIL 😍😍😍😍. I watched the latest two eps last night. I wonder if he will end up with the bar keeper after she heard his heartfelt apology??

I loved the gangster in the two most recent episodes. I wondered if the bar owner befriended FL because she knew Dong-Chan’s mother and found the likeness comforting, perhaps even a sibling. It’s good that Dong-Chan can get back to crushing on Ha-Nee now. I also thought the gangster and bar lady choosing the same hospital gift was a nice touch - similar tastes?

I just finished Into the Ring (with Olga & the girls, Viki subs are soooo slow). It was lovely. Recommended. 👍

Have given it an 8 on the spreadsheet.

This is useful: beacon.by/90-day-korean/korean-drama-phrases

Betty - I’m making some headway now with Stranger S1 and am up to ep 9. Earlier in the week when I kept falling asleep, I vaguely recall a scene where the dodgy senior prosecutor and his cronies were having Si-Mok’s brain injury described to them, but I have no idea which episode it was in and nodded off as the doctor was talking them through his scans. Can you give me a potted summary? I just passed the scene where he’s having noodles in the street bar with Bae Doo Na and smiled, which suggested she was either able to reach him or perhaps he was recovering & starting to experience more emotional affect. I really like both their characters in this, even though he’s so blank.

boatyard my recap of Stranger S1 has been seriously hampered by a busy week resulting in less drama-watching than usual

I haven't got up to the episode you're thinking of, but from memory (and it is explained at the the beginning of ep 1), Si-Mok was hyper-sensitive to sound as a child as his brain was highly developed, so he would react violently to noise and become overly distressed. He was given a partial lobotomy, but as this was located at the part of his brain that deals with emotion, it resulted in also making him unable to feel emotions.

I managed to catch up with Was It Love, and agree with a pp that gangster is destined for bar-owner. Finished Into The Ring and thought the relationship between ML & FL was just lovely. Watched film #Alive which was a very capable zombie flick. Am dithering over starting Once Again in all its 100 episode glory as have another busy week ahead.......what could possibly go wrong?

Thanks Betty. I’ve just got to the surprise/Shanghaied meal at the senior prosecutor’s home where the wife is asking loads of personal questions and no-one in the team would sit before Si-Mok as they were taking their lead from him. It’s so awkward and uncomfortable I’m cringing for them. Bae Doona has just dropped her “I like pretty women too” line.

Oh man, it just got really frosty - and tricky.

I've followed fifi down the rabbit hole of Once Again - I've only watched one episode but it moves along quite fast and (so far) is light and fun. Just checked the writer's other work and she did Familiar Wife, Weightlifting Fairy and Oh My Ghostess so it's looking promising!

Working nicely as a counterpoint to Stranger

[quote boatyardblues]This is useful: beacon.by/90-day-korean/korean-drama-phrases[/quote]
That's a great link, gamsahabnida @boatyardblues

Back to nodding off this evening, damn it!

@bettys

I've followed fifi down the rabbit hole of Once Again - I've only watched one episode but it moves along quite fast and (so far) is light and fun. Just checked the writer's other work and she did Familiar Wife, Weightlifting Fairy and Oh My Ghostess so it's looking promising!

Working nicely as a counterpoint to Stranger

So glad you're watching bettys, I'm on episode 76 . It still moving along nicely, apart from the main storyline which takes a while. The actors are good, the relationship between the brothers is funny and sweet. It's refreshing to see a drama where the adult males are being more respectful and reflective of their actions. I wonder if it's because it's a weekend drama so they need to be a bit more careful in the portrayal of relationships. I have certainly noticed a shift in the writing of the last few shows I've watched - MUF,, 2Oth Century Boy and Girl, and this one. There's still some fab Kdrama moments in this though; complete over the top ajumma's, misunderstandings, secret trysts, plus some of the outfits that poor Dan Hee has to wear are disgustingly awful . I've had, laugh out loud moments and bit teary moments. I am really enjoying it, it' a very heartwarming show.

I don't think I can do 100 episodes! 😱. I didn't go back to My Golden Life after those that got through it on the thread said it wasn't great. The thought of all those hours and then a soggy end!

I might have watched the Dynamite MV a few times this weekend 😁 it's totally stuck in my head now. I love the 70s style outfits.

TheGirl it's only 50 episodes reeeeeally...

And the MLs are much nicer than the oily one in My Golden Life. I'm enjoying it so far though feeling a little sad for the young boy (who is a great actor!)

The girl, yes you can, please come and join us in the rabbit hole . Currently, there are only 86 episodes, and it will still be at least 4 weeks until the finale, so that gives you plenty of time to catch up.
I have to say, I've not found them at all boring, and they have gone very quickly, it helps they are 1/2 hr episodes, and ML is lovely,

^The girl, yes you can, please come and join us in the rabbit hole . Currently, there are only 86 episodes, and it will still be at least 4 weeks until the finale, so that gives you plenty of time to catch up.
I have to say, I've not found them at all boring, and they have gone very quickly, it helps they are 1/2 hr episodes, and ML is lovely,^

I'm going in too 🐑!
Started Its Ok and finding it dark and slow (only on ep 4) I need light/easy and fluffy and really enjoyed the couple I watched

I am sniggering at the epilogue to episode 10 of Once Again which shows the parents in flashback, very tongue in cheek!

The epilogues are very funny. I'm up to episode 83, it gets better and better.

Ha you convinced me! I just watched 4 episodes of Once Again. By the time the ex's car got "fuck off" sprayed on it I was hooked 😂
It doesn't have a soggy middle/end fifi???

thegirl... I've been Bangtanning /streaming all weekend! And then they drop the New B-side mv today!..
It's soooo joyous and funny!

Finally finished Marriage not dating... It was fun but it took its time getting to the end!
Now I need something new to watch... Might give train or flower of evil a go... 😎😱

Still watching I-Land... Bts were absolutely hilarious in ep 8! Their giving advice session was honest but ever so funny! 😂

www.soompi.com/article/1421178wpp/watch-jung-yu-mi-and-nam-joo-hyuk-team-up-to-catch-ghosts-in-quirky-teaser-for-new-fantasy-series

Looks fun!!

The girl, I haven't felt like that at all, there are episodes that maybe concentrate on a certain storyline, but it quickly moves on. There are some really good Kdrama moments like the car. Glad you have joined us.
Yah Aesops, it does light and fluffy with some angst. This is a completely different feel from It's Ok, which I loved.
I've nearly caught up on all episodes!!

That new show looks fun Bea!

What is I-land and where do I watch it? Dd and I were trying to decide if it's just the MV that's different on the B side? She thought it was going to be different music at first. J-hope always makes me smile, well they all do but he's got a lovely humour. I preferred V's hair when it was dark.... Sad change. It's nice how they release so much content, DD will be thrilled to see Jimin has a sing with me version now too, when she wakes up.

Thanks for the kdrama phrases link too Boatyard, quite a lot there I don't know.

ginger I-Land is on Viki but you can see the BTS bit on Youtube

I prefer the B side MV for DYNamiTE

Thanks betty's