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…

Worried now about the finale Brambly

I’m about 3/4 of way though, paused to shoo DS2 to bed. It’s not exactly rocking my world at the mo.

Through...

Betty - I forgot to say how much I enjoyed the unusual segue in the rooftop scene near the end of Giri/Haji. It was so unexpected but strangely great.

We've just come back early from camping due to it pissing it down for too long 😂.
I'm sitting amongst lots of drying camping things about to watch the finale of WIL so I'll tell you in an hour Brambly

Betty - I forgot to say how much I enjoyed the unusual segue in the rooftop scene near the end of Giri/Haji. It was so unexpected but strangely great

I loved that scene. So surreal but so moving.

Also the campsite had no WiFi or phone signal and I nearly lost my 139 day Duolingo streak 😱😱😱. That was my actual face when I realised I hadn't done it when I was in signal range earlier in the day and had also drank wine so couldn't drive down the road. Luckily there was actually a tiny bit of WiFi if you leant up against the farmhouse wall so disaster was averted

Also the campsite had no WiFi or phone signal and I nearly lost my 139 day Duolingo streak 😱😱😱. That was my actual face when I realised I hadn't done it when I was in signal range earlier in the day and had also drank wine so couldn't drive down the road. Luckily there was actually a tiny bit of WiFi if you leant up against the farmhouse wall so disaster was averted

All the reasons why I WON'T go camping. EVER!!!

By the way boaty I just have to give a shout out to the white truck of doom Ford Fiesta in Giri/Haji

Shout out also for the gold mark 1 VW Golf on Giri/Haji, which made me misty eyed for my youth.

I may have to stay up to discuss WIL with those who are watching this evening. It just didn’t really make sense.

OK I've watched WIL it was v strange, why did Dae-o have to go off? What happened to the old director/FLs ex boss that nicked the bank book and got beaten up? Why were there only 8 people at the party? If the wedding at the end was who I thought it was, why did everyone look the same?? It wasn't really the ending I was hoping for.

ML's noble idiocy departure directly contradicted his promise to his daughter and deprived her of another two years of having a father...and if I were the FL I would have been a bit pissed off to by him going off to cleanse his soul rather than making up for lost time.

Also agree with everything you said ArabStrap.

Agree Re noble idiocy too!!

Yeah, it didn’t work for me either. Perhaps the stupid last episode was related to the week’s delay. Do you think someone got ill and there was a hasty rewrite or something?

Matrimonial Chaos on the other hand is shaping up brilliantly. Bae Doona’s slow eruption and her grief and frustration in ep 8 had me in tears. She’s such a great actress. Don’t be fooled by the kooky first episode, this one really starts to pack a punch.

Well what a damp squib!! Of all the endings I dislike the most noble idiocy/time gaps are the worst!! I only liked the last 30 seconds

Agree with you both Brambly & Girl V pissed off that evil Ms Song managed to bugger things up re the film but still that shouldn't have made Oh Dae-oh go away, what a numpty. Liked his swept back hair though

Oh interesting about Matrimonial Chaos boaty, I watched the first episode when it came out but it didn't grab me, and it has been on the back burner ever since. Will def give it a retry now.

And now I want to go out drinking and go to a noraebang with Bae Doona and Lee El!!! These two should definitely be on the thread ladies’ night list.

Disappointed, underwhelmed, confused, bored! Sloppy writing, poor acting at the end from ML. Where was the emotion, why would you go off like that, why does he look younger and younger
I feel cheated, only the last bit was good. My husband wondered why I was shouting at t.v .

It was boring wasn't it? I found myself skipping bits. I quite liked the gangster bits (obvs) that hinted at his future possibilities and loved his relationship with his son but otherwise it was very meh. I wonder if it was affected by Covid & filming hiccups.....even so it was a sloppy resolution and I think they only tacked on the last 30 mins to make everyone feel a bit better.
I have marked it down from its interim 7 to a 6 on the spreadsheet purely because of the ending.

Betty - I take it back. Son Seok-Gu is starting to retread his grumpy, oddball director persona in Matrimonial Chaos. I’m up to ep 12 and there’s a funny scene of him drinking cocktails with ML, trying to persuade him to go camping together. He’s totally milking the louche weirdo vibe and it suits him so well. You will really enjoy this.

I think they only tacked on the last 30 mins to make everyone feel a bit better.

That should've read the last 30 seconds, not minutes. The last 30 minutes just made a mockery of all the hard work that had gone in before.

boaty I don't know if it's Son Seok Gu or his grumpy director persona that I like so much, but Matrimonial Chaos is NEXT!! I am nearly up to air date on Once Again

Ant not one but two Nam Ju Hyuk dramas coming to Netflix. Start-Up and The School Nurse Files

looking forward to School Nurse Files... almost feel like it's going to be like Buffy!!!!

Bea -. almost feel like it's going to be like Buffy!!!! I really hope so . I'm so looking forward to this one, fingers crossed it lives up to expectation.