MsLattés Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #18): Our piggyback taxi service has been suspended whilst we are socially distancing

[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)*
Stranger - 2 seasons (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)
It’s OK Not To Be OK (Netflix)

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 Handmaid (film, Netflix - content warning: explicit sexual content)
The Package (Viki)



Straighter ‘Slice of Life’ dramas on universal themes
Hospital Playlist (Netflix)
Into The Ring (Viki)
Itaewon Class (Netflix)
Live (Netflix)
My Mister (Viki/Netflix)*
My Unfamiliar Family (Viki)*
Prison Playbook (Netflix)*

Once Again (Viki)
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)
My Secret Romance (Viki)
The Last Empress (Viki/Netflix)
Sassy Go Go (Netflix)



Mad as a box of frogs/uncategorisable

Strong Girl Bong Soon (Netflix)
School Nurse Files (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)
Find Yourself (Netflix - Chinese)
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…

Thank you, that is good news. Oppa! happy sigh

I second Oh My Ghost it's v cute with 2 great FLs. It gets a score of 6.79 on the spreadsheet but it's a solid 7 really

Solid 7 is definitely higher than I rate myself so that works. Excellent. Thanks - will line it up for after my weekend with Where Stars Land 🥰

With reference to Where Stars Land...who knew that the management of stanchions could be so involving?

Ah Where Stars Land - I enjoyed it but was rather more interested in the security guards’ romance 😂
Plus SLS with Lovely Calming Rowoon....

Early days for me but female security guard is definitely super cool.

Oh yes, the security guard SFL and her lovely male sidekick (cop friend in King: The Eternal Monarch) were my favourite thing about Where Stars Land.

Hello Rowdry... oh yes! SGBS is one of my most favourite kdramas... the utter bonkersness of it and i love love love the relationship between Min Hyuk and Bong Soon... they were soo funny! It was one of my very early kdramas and I rememebr thinking whilst watching it.... this is soooo different!. and thus never looked back! Welcome to the chat!!!

Still on Find Yourself... given up on Brahms at the moment as it just seems dreary and ROY has also slipped away.. will prob pick back up but might wait till it comepletely finishes and I think I've given up on School Nurse... I feel like I'm not very enticed by anything at the moment... there's nothing really sparky at the moment... so will just slowly and dteadily get through Find Yourself... although I am getting fed uo ... 40 off eps??? what the flippitydoodah is that all about?????

given up on Brahms at the moment as it just seems dreary

Same here

I'm definitely feeling a bit fed up with Find Yourself I just don't love it enough to give another 20 plus hours. But boaty loved it so don't want to miss out on something good?
I'm deffo enjoying Zombie the most of my current watches.
Hi Rowdry I love SWBS too, It was my first kdrama! I love lots of your other faves too 😊.
I keep getting distracted from dramas with BTS stuff 😂. Theres just so much to watch 🤷‍♀️

Hi Rowdy 👋** what a great time to join this thread before winter kicks in, you can line up lots of fab dramas to see you through the long nights! The beginning of the thread and spreadsheet is my go to for recommendations in addition to fellow posters commentary that are always well predicted!

On ep 7 of My Mister, Lee-Sun kyun may be my next K-Crush 😍 I'm finding the story so far quite sad yet addictive. Will catch up on Doh Doh over the weekend.

I really like DoDoSolSol too! And LJW is unbelievably adorable in it! Even Go Ara isn't THAT annoying in it. Love the hairdresser, it's the same actress who played Jennifer in Still 17.

Excited to find this thread- I've literally just started down the k-drama rabbit hole and now I've got so many possible things to watch!
So far I've watched weightlifting fairy and just finishing Korean odyssey on Netflix and started kangchi. Watched a few Chinese dramas as well- oh my general, the heiress and maiden Holmes. Haven't finished any but they're all very easy and relaxing watching!

Welcome Hydrogensonata!

Wow! The cold weather and nights drawing in has drawn a few of you in to MsLatté’s. Which is all good... We all know what a niche interest this is and how hard it is to find like-minded souls in real life, so welcome one and all!

Hi Rowdy & Hydrogensonata !
As boaty says well done for finding us, this is a somewhat niche interest & usually one that no one else gets so welcome!! Join in with the chat.

Of the currently airing shows I think Do Do Sol Sol is my favourite, mainly for LJW obvs but am also enjoying Korea Knightly's performance, the music, Mimi's outfits and the cast of characters - have enjoyed 'Jennifer's' roles ever since Still !7. In fact I think 'I Want You' by Satie may have been used in that drama too, it gets used a lot in kdrama!

However I am waiting with great anticipation for Search which starts this weekend and is on Viki soon. Jang Dong Yoon handling dogs instead of fans, and Yoon Park looking sardonic. Mystery, moody filming and mayhem in the DMZ! can't wait!

Oh here, @bettys Search looks really good!! Ordered a FireStick there (Roku does not support Viki so got sent back immediately) so will be able to watch on big screen! Looks like my iPhone wouldn't do it justice 😂

Thanks for the warm welcome! What is Viki? Is it a streaming service like Netflix? Although there are more than enough K dramas on Netflix to keep me going forever! I already waste far too much time on them! Does anyone what the same ones over again? They're like a comfortable blanket, I know what's going to happen, so no stress.

I will look out for search @bettys I love a bit of DMZ action

Thanks for the welcome! @fedupwithbriiiiick I was wondering how to watch things from Viki not on my phone as I've just got a roku so maybe a firestick is the way to go!

Viki is a reputable streaming service which focuses on subtitled content from South Korea, Taiwan, Mainland China & Japan

There are a lot of dramas that don't make it to Netflix, or take a year or so, and the subbing is done by volunteers & is often a lot better (if a little slow to catch up on airing episodes)

You can often find dramas through other sources but obvs we don't recommend that at all. Nope. Never. That would be bad

@Rowdythree

Thanks for the warm welcome! What is Viki? Is it a streaming service like Netflix? Although there are more than enough K dramas on Netflix to keep me going forever! I already waste far too much time on them! Does anyone what the same ones over again? They're like a comfortable blanket, I know what's going to happen, so no stress.

I will look out for search @bettys I love a bit of DMZ action

Viki is indeed a streaming service, basic sub is about £2.50 per month, enhanced is c£4-5. It is worth paying for the enhanced sub, as you get their own productions & they are usually very good. Unlike Netflix, all the subtitles are done by volunteer teams (we have a couple on the thread), which is sometimes frustrating if a team is slow getting ‘on air’ stuff subbed. The flip side is that their subs are more faithful - you get the relational terms like noona, sunbae and hyung where the professional translators on Netflix use proper names, so more flavour of the dynamics. The volunteer subbers also put translator notes (TN) sometimes to explain cultural points or references. Apparently this is a complete no-no in professional subtitling, but so helpful for cultural noobs. There is lots of content from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand and some from the Philippines. It is great value.

Betty was quicker.

Oh yes, the Viki subbers also indicate when someone shifts between formal and informal Korean grammar which can indicate growing intimacy with familiars or massive disrespect or overt rudeness with elders/seniors/bosses etc. I like that too.

Fab! That sounds great! Is anyone learning Korean? I've been learning on and off for 2 years almost, I'd love to find fellow learners. We were supposed to visit Korea this year, but covid put paid to that. I find it all fascinating!

Yeah but your explanation is better boaty

It really annoys me on Netflix when the subbers use the characters name instead of 'noona' or 'hyung' as it ruins the sense of relationship between them and how they view each other. Plus I love the explanations of idioms & folklore on Viki, I often pause to read them properly for the added context.

Speaking of added context check out the teaser 2 for Search

No floaty robes and fans here