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…

I've been waiting for a good one from Nam Ju Hyuk since Weightlifting Fairy!!!!

What was that all about then?

Matrimonial Chaos is reminding me of Melo in places. It’s great - poignant, funny, absurd, life-affirming, sad.

Do You Like Brahms??... Viki! Going to be my new drama watch!! 👍😁

Gah! But it's on Air! Grrr! Don't want to get sucked in and then have to wait! 😡😡😡

I'm feeling very Sunday night/back to school ish 😕 DS is back to school tomorrow and I'm back at work after a few days off 😑. Obviously the correct way to cope with this is by binging Once Again interspersed with Dynamite MV, right??

Obviously the correct way to cope with this is by binging Once Again interspersed with Dynamite MV, right??

It is definitely one way to hold reality at bay. 👍

Light it up!!... 😁😂👍💜

It's just so chirpy Bea! 😂

the girl...

Very swaggy 😁. I just paused ep 19 of Once Again to watch it. The Aunt realising she fancied the Butcher and imaging him kissing her is making me laugh

Swaaaaasssg!!😍

Obviously the correct way to cope with this is by binging Once Again interspersed with Dynamite MV, right??

Absolutely the correct way. I am on ep 91 of Once Again and interspersing with Dynamite and Baekhyun MVs.

It's definitely working 👍

Gah I am up to date now with Once Again and have to wait for the next eps

I see what you mean fifi about Ga Hee's 'romance'
And as you say, there may be trouble ahead for Na Hee. If I'd only waited a couple of weeks I could have binged the whole lot!

Oh bettys I feel your pain. I kept thinking 'stop' to myself so I could binge to the end, but I couldn't, it's too good. I'm hoping that Na Hee will be okay and it's not what I think it could be!

I have no plans this weekend apart from a little shopping to appease the teenager, and the rest of the time is mine to watch shows, search up flights to Seoul, and look at the Kdramaland site. Bliss

I’m up to ep 22 of Matrimonial Chaos (yep, not much decluttering happening on my days off) and it continues to delight. Good ensemble cast.

Brahms is not as fun as i thought it was going to be... a little slice of life and everyone seems to be quite irritating so far... (only 1 ep in so far though!)
FL character needs to get a grip.. a little too meek and mild at the moment (but I'm sure this is intentional ... lots of room for character growth!) and it's love triangles galore... Kim Min Jae (lovely Nurse from Dr Romantic! ) ... his character is the nicest so far ...

Train is still very good but that's really slow watching as I'm watching with DH and he can't watch 2 eps a night!!! Definitely worth a look if you're in an OCN mood!!!
Definitely will do for now whilst I'm not absolutely hooked on a binger,...

This is bit of a change of subject but kdrama influenced....and I'm too shy to go on the S&B board!
I wear scarves a lot, the big wrap around ones, but have noticed in dramas that dinky little scarves knotted at the throat seem to be in now. Ref: the MIL in Once Again's polka dotted scarf Da Hee bought her. Also this pic of Jimin in (yet another) Dynamite MV
Seems quite 70's to me, but obv don't wish to be a fashion dinosaur.

OK I'll get me coat......

I would love to be able to wear a scarf like that bettys, very chic, but my neck is too small and thick .
I have a couple of friends who always wear scarves like the one in the picture. They always look good, and well put together - they are in their late 40s, early '50s though, so may not suit your age bracket.

Don't forget the scarf when getting your coat

I'd love to be able to pull off a scarf like that! It'd give vibes of riding in an open top car with perfect set curls. In reality I'd be driving to asda with my messy bun but a girl can dream!

hello I have a messy bun, I'm going to give it a go! Might debut it later today on the way to the pub (sadly not in a sports car, on foot with DDog)

fifi with a DS heading into his 3rd year at university I am in the upper age bracket you mention

Thoroughly enjoying Matrimonial Chaos

Where are you up to, Betty? I’ve been out most of the day, so no further on than this morning.