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…

That should have been Reply 1994.

So the woman on the bed who asked if gangster wanted to be friends.... she had a tattoo on her neck. Rival gang? Mother of his son?

He was great in Coffee Friends where he set up a café with his BFF Yoo Yeon Seok

Son Ho Jun that is. He was also rather attractive in Mrs Cop. And I thought he was clever that in Terrius he was supposed to be a villain but you ended up liking him.

Gangster has removed tattoo scarring in the same place on his neck. I wonder if she was in the same gang but couldn’t escape for some reason, so she asked him to take the boy when he fled. In the scene in his basement near the start he was talking to the rival gangster in another language. I assumed it was Japanese and wondered if he’s ex-Yakuza.

I’m listening to We Are The Night’s Vertigo album via our TV on Apple Music and DS2 changed DH’s settings so the lyrics show (karaoke style in time with the music). It’s quite fast so hard to follow, but some of the songs are slower so I’m picking out odd words from the Hangul and having penny drop moments. “Oh, so that’s what that word looks like written down!” As a learning tool, it might be worth a try for some of you with more practice/book learning under your belts.

Top tip boaty’s ds ! And a new band for me to look in to.
Lyric translations are great, I was looking up BTS ones and FINALLY found out that ‘ bogo shippa’ (sp) means ‘I miss you’

bettys!.... I could have told you that!! ☺️... Ahhh! Spring Day!!... It's... 🥰💜😍.. But also.. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I’ve started watching Mrs Cop. Let’s just say that between SKJ and Son Ho Jun in the SK equivalent of the CHiPS uniform, SKJ rocked and won by a country mile whereas SHJ looks like he’s wearing his older brother’s school uniform. 😂 Still, he’s appeared at last (ep 3) so I can retire to bed shortly.

I skipped a lot of Mrs Cop

There’s not enough Son Ho Joon, for sure. Viki says ‘main cast’ but I’m just starting ep 5 and he’s been on screen for about 8 mins in total so far. 😡

In other news, my rice cooker is steaming up a big batch of sushi rice so DS and I can make kimbap for lunch.

Catching up on ep 5 of To all the Guys and don’t know whether I’m more appalled at shorty Hwang Jung Eums shoutiness or the use of double denim 😱

Plus the whole faux sibling falling in love with noona was already done in Kill Me Heal Me - again with Ms Shouty

SHOUTY not shorty

I think the problem with To All The Guys (apart from suspension of disbelief that they would be fighting over Ms Shouty) is that the past lives stuff & meddling Bitch from previous life is far more interesting than the present day tussle for FLs affections

Agree bettys I'm mainly watching now to find out about the past lives.

Been super stressed with work for some time now and desperate to switch off
I'm having a day to myself and going to spend it with an absorbing K Drama. Just on ep 2 of My Golden Life it's very good so far.

RL is really infringing on my drama time 😒 I think I'm going to line up some frothy web dramas so that I can dip in and out. Recommendations please!

Webdramas - there may be some I’ve forgotten, the quality varies as does my scoring so may be best to double check any comments I may have put on the spreadsheet 😉

XX👍👍👍
The Boy Next Door 👍👍👍
Ending Again👍
Big Mistake 👍
Wish woosh 2
One Fine Week 👍
No Time For Love
Failing In Love
Kiss Scene in Yeonnamdong
Have a Nice Dessert
Gaduri Restaurant 👍👍
How To Hate You
Romance Talking 👍
Real: Time: Love S1&2 👍👍

Hi there,
I'm still watching Memories of the Alhambra and really enjoying it. I'm up to about episode 10, quite a sad episode. I found it a bit slow to start, and FL seemed a bit drippy, but I've really got into it now. And that music has got into my head..
I think I'll restart CLOY when I've finished this.

I think I'll restart CLOY when I've finished this.

And why not?

Hi all
Sorry to stick my nose into your lovely thread - I rarely go on mumsnet these days - but my crazy ARMY daughter is begging me to spread the message!

Any BTS fans in here? The fans are trying to get the beautiful Jin's song 'moon' up the charts. If you haven't bought it on itunes, it only costs 99p! Ordinarily I wouldn't bother, but he is my favourite lol.

music.apple.com/gb/album/moon/1499290546?i=1499290875

OK, apologies for the intrusion, I'm disappearing off now to make my 돼지고기찌개 !

Hi @headache898 you are very welcome to stick your nose in and stick around!
There are BTS fans on here....I already have Moon ... I'm sure Bea will pop up at some point!
Plus if you have a good recipe for 돼지고기찌개 do share it with us!

짱!!

@bettys Oh it's recipe from Maangchi! I'm sure you've all seen her stuff :)
I will let you know how it goes.

Already on Ep 8 of My Golden Life it's fab 💕

Ooooh Aesops have you found a hidden gem??? I may just scamper after you!

In my search for suits, dimples and questionable morals I came across Dark Blue & Moonlight (TW BL Viki) which has 2 out of 3 (no dimples ) . Plenty of pearl-clutching steamy scenes 😱 but an unsatisfactory ending right in the last few minutes