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…

There is a Viki twitter update saying they have issues.

And mine is now working

Thanks Brambly...mine's still not working yet will try another browser

Mine is now broken again :(

Mine’s working, but not properly. MUF clicked through to a profile but no episodes. 😕 Having to make do with All the Guys...

A belated thumbs up for including the LP bar on our fantasy kdrama tour, by the way. Perhaps we need a ‘points of interest’ tab on the kdrama spreadsheet to capture interesting locations/attractions so that when we do finally make it to SK, we have a handy reference guide for excursions. It would need to reference the drama and episode.

Caught up with WIL now. I liked the scene in the hospital with the girl and the writer. I felt their relationship was portrayed a bit different from the encounters with the other could-be dads. It was more parental, a bit more relaxed, and natural together. Or am I looking too much into it?
I too like the gangster . Still not feeling the love for the actor, he is my least favourite contender.
Nothing to watch now!

I need a binge watch for the weekend. So any suggestions welcome.
Looking forward to the finale of it's Ok, I'm hoping that the evil mother gets her comeuppance, and nothing happens to anyone else!

How about a shared Google map to bookmark places?

I have caught up with To All The Guys and am finding it a little tedious somehow.

Is Hwang Jung Eum bearable in this betty? I didn't want to start it as I wondered if it was a bit like WIL, and because of her.

fifi in a word, no.

She's not as shouty as usual but I find it unbelievable that those two men would both be in love with her, except perhaps in the Joseon era which suits her best. As a story it could be alright, I find the past lives interesting, especially the C20 ones. It's a shame, but Mystic appears to have been a one-off bearable role for her IMO.

The director of Mystic deserves kudos just for keeping in her check . It might be my western taste that doesn't take to her, she seems to get so many good parts and spoils the drama for me.

Did anyone finish Backstreet Rookie, I can't see it on the spreadsheet. I wondered if it could be a binge-watch.

I lost interest in Backstreet Rookie, but it's the last one tomorrow so I may well pick it up again to binge

Hello! I went on holiday and didn't get to watch any kdrama or even read this thread. I'm back in WiFi range now though so just going to catch up on this thread and then It's Okay

@boatyardblues

I ended up rolling the florets in some deadly hot sriracha mayo, then a second dip/roll in seasoned breadcrumbs and baking the breaded florets at 180c in a well-oiled oven tray for about 30 min. (Most of my cooking is by eye/guesswork.) The breadcrumbs were seasoned with S&P, smoked paprika and garlic. Hit! The kids said they enjoyed it & would gladly have it again. Conversely, we all agreed my homemade chicken satay wasn’t worth the calories. 🤷‍♂️

I'm going to try this :) did you buy the mayo, or can I make it with ordinary mayo and hot sauce?

Well I'm stuck on what to watch again. I finished Memories of The Alhambra and I loved it. Am I alone here?

I also enjoyed my Holo Love, so maybe I should look for more along those lines. My favourite remains Signal, so maybe another crime drama for me.
I've tried CLOY for the 2nd time and I just can't get into it.

I'm on day 241 of duolingo Korean and I still can't recognise much more than "hello" ("annyeonghaseyo"). I worked out it's going to take me 4 years to finish at the rate I'm going!

Well done on your epic Duolingo sprint, Sophie - impressive! I found Duolingo like that monkeys & typewriters thing - it’s just so random. Have a look at Lingodeer’s free Korean content to compare - it seems to break it down much better and explain the underlying grammatical structure.

We had sriracha mayo in the fridge, but my friend (who told me that hack) said she just mixes any old spices or chilli/curry paste into the mayo. As a basic approach, I think you can customise using whatever you have to hand. Just my kind of recipe!

I really like the ML and FL’s characters in MUF. I’m up to ep 10 and I enjoyed her setting a boundary for the 2ML’s clingy ex and not getting drawn into the drama. I’m enjoying her lining up her beers & embracing the lone drinking after a shit day. I really like ML’s gentle affability and good listening skills.

I'm on day 241 of duolingo Korean and I still can't recognise much more than "hello"

I recommend Drops for vocabulary, It's an easy way in to recognising spoken Korean

If you like crime sophie have you watched Voice?

I'm impressed with your Duolingo streak Sophie. I'm up to 115 days. 😁.
Im looking forward to the finale of It's Okay this weekend. I hope they all go off in a campervan on an adventure together.

Kim Mi-Kyung is the Mum in It's Okay and Was it Love and every other kdrama 😂. Was it someone on this thread that said she needs another not Mum role like the character in Healer? She must be fed up of playing Mother's. I bet she loved the opportunity to bollock the Movie Star in WIL

@bettys Thanks for the recommendation for Voice. I had a quick look at the overview on netflix, and looks my kind of thing. I'll also have a look at drops to help with the language learning.

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap after a while it becomes a point of honour not to miss a day on duolingo, doesn't it! Although I have used my streak freeze a couple of times. I'm keeping going just because I want to finish now. Not sure how much I've learned, but must be something.
Those who loved CLOY, how did you find the first few episodes? I'm wondering whether just to skip a few and start further in. I'm finding the army stuff hard to watch.

There’s some important backstory/context dotted in and about the first few episodes of CLOY - often quite subtle - so its worth sticking with it Sophie. It is a little slow, but it lays all the foundations and sets up the relationships between various characters so pays off.

Anyone else questioning FL’s choice of work friend in MUF? She’s a classic frenemy, especially the weekend girl’s get together stitch-up. What a bitch! I agree with whoever said the 2ML is surprisingly likeable and attractive too. A great show so far! After a wifi blackout this morning 😱 I’m busy catching up with a cool beer in hand. 👍

Just starting MUF ep 7 no beer, but as compensation have bowl of ice cream 🥵
Not watched any all week and DH out for night with DD's so I've got no interruptions.