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…

Yep. All of that with knobs on. I love that middle aged women and their friendships given proper screen time too. The domestic given equal weight to the melo.

Right. Getting stuck into Flower of Evil. 👍

Didn't quite finish goblin- it got to a happy bit so I'm saving the ending for next Sunday when I've got the whole day to myself and planning on spending the afternoon finishing it!
Watched Zombie detective all week which I really liked- a bit of light relief!

You can tell it's written by women because whenever they go off to save the world they first organise childcare, as natural as breathing.

I wanted to watch Love is Sweet fifi so I watched what I thought was a trailer for it on YouTube and ended up watching 12 minutes of highlights, with him being harsh to her (but obviously completely sweet on her) and her brushing him off equally harshly. I did the same thing with A Love so Beautiful with the stoic cousin from Go Go Squid, I obviously don't learn

Is Love is Sweet worth a go anyway would you say? A boss employee fluffy romance would really work for me right now.

I'm currently watching Mystic Pop Up Bar on Netflix , I usually love that fantasy element but it's just not grabbing me. And her lipstick is way too harsh a colour on her, very off putting.

I finished Record of Youth this afternoon, what a depressing waste of a drama. I didn't care a single jot for what happened to ML or FL. The only saving grace was that the side characters had nice endings. I nearly shed a tear at the Grandads award speech. But that didn't make up for the rest of it.

This evening I'll be joining Fedup starting Flower of Evil 👍

@morejumpingfrogs

I wanted to watch Love is Sweet fifi so I watched what I thought was a trailer for it on YouTube and ended up watching 12 minutes of highlights, with him being harsh to her (but obviously completely sweet on her) and her brushing him off equally harshly. I did the same thing with A Love so Beautiful with the stoic cousin from Go Go Squid, I obviously don't learn

Is Love is Sweet worth a go anyway would you say? A boss employee fluffy romance would really work for me right now.

I liked it and it passed my weekend. ML annoyed me at the beginning but as it went on his character changed, It was fun and fluffy, and they don't hold back on the kissing [winkt]. it's overlong and definitely didn't need the last 6 episodes as it introduced a by-plot which wasn't needed and you can skip through them. The ML + FL looked like they were having fun together doing the show. SL is Riley Wang who was ML in First Romance, and I preferred him in that. SFL annoyed me a but on the whole, it was enjoyable.

Is anyone watching More than Friends, have nothing on my watch list? Not in the mood for Flower of Evil, at the moment.

Thanks fifi I'll have a look at that then - and thanks for the warning about the last six episodes

@fifilacklustre

Is anyone watching More than Friends, have nothing on my watch list? Not in the mood for Flower of Evil, at the moment.

Me! I’m enjoying it. The ML starts out as a cocky jerk, but is (mid-way) realising the true cost of his arrogance. The FL is gloriously brisk and brutally honest. She says the things you always wish a character would say. Her 2 BFFs are lovely and their stories are great too, all with slightly different challenges. 2ML is likeable, though a touch too good to be true. It would be great to see him lose his rag as he’s so damned reasonable. There’s a lot to enjoy. 👍

Thanks boaty I will start that. I started Skate into Love C-drama but it's just not hitting the mark.
I am looking forward to the next episode of DDSSLLS - how sad my life is

Does anyone know of a legit source for watching anime online? DS1 is getting seriously into it and currently I prefer not to ask him where he finds them A subscription would make a good Xmas pressie for him. He got a Netflix subscription last Xmas - which I'll admit I've enjoyed the benefits of too

frogs... Crunchyroll!

frigs... You can get a 14day premium free trial... And see if its what you're looking for... Dd thoroughly enjoys it...!

Ooops... frogs...!

I am looking forward to the next episode of DDSSLLS - how sad my life is

Oh me too fifi! I have tried Flower of Evil and it has the potential to be v v good but all I can cope with right now is shiny fluff!
I am ambling through Attention Love with the occasional ffwrd as it is slow paced but am enjoying Riley Wang in cheeky mode.
I am tempted by More Than Friends as there is a good wodge already up. Can't wait for the weds/thurs double bonanza of DDSSLLS & Nine Tailed

Looking forward to when the subs are done for Birthcare Centre, it looks like a right laugh.

Good article Polkettle. Interesting how many of the writers are women. I certainly love the depth and focus on character and emotions, the focus on storytelling and significant details rather than action and shock. Makes me reflect on how I prefer books by female writers for the same reason.

Frogs I second crunchyroll. My son has it and loves all the anime.

I'm watching A bride for Habaek at the moment. I nearly stopped in episode two because everything felt so forced and a bit farce like, it was annoying me. But... Something kept me going and now I've got that need to keep watching more. I'm sure the rooftop bath scene was nothing to do with it.

Fed up birthcare centre looks fun!

Also I really think I need to watch tale of the nine-tailed.

Birthcare Centre is my first noob experience of being caught out by subtitles. Merrily put it on to watch yesterday only to squeak "What happened?" five minutes in as they disappeared.

Bre and ginger thanks for the recommendation! I knew someone here would know Off to check out the free trial

I'm onto episode 5 of More Than Friends, and I am all for the 2ML, ML is not showing enough contrition at the moment

I all caught up fifi and he’s still banging on about how pretty he is, though a little more contrite. FL should bin him off altogether and ride off into the sunset with (non existent) 3ML in my opinion.

So narcissistic - I think 2ML is more handsome. I'm concerned about FL couple friends and hope it doesn't all go pear-shaped. Will spend another late night catching up