MsLattés Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #19): Our noona days may be behind us but the ajummas of darkness will unleash their inner Gangnam leopards as the festive season approaches

[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/Netflix)
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)
Misaeng (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)
Kiss Goblin (Viki, webdrama)
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)*
King: The Eternal Monarch (Netflix)
Kingdom (Netflix)*

Mystic Pop-up Bar (Netflix)
The Guest (Netflix)
Train to Busan - film (Amazon Prime)

W: Two Worlds (Viki & Netflix)*
Zombie Detective (Viki)


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)
Lost Romance (Viki - Taiwanese)
Love O2O (Viki - Chinese)
Morning Call (Netflix - Japanese)
Put Your Head on My Shoulder (Netflix - Chinese)
The Romance of Tiger & Rose (Viki, 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…

Watching www:search and the bit where Brian comes back 💕
Definitely one of my fave bits so far! The music is fab as well- several tracks added to my running playlist for serious motivation

I loved WWW: Search, especially the bit where Tami gives her BIL’s car the full treatment.

Maybe not BIL, but you know what I mean.

I loved WWW: Search, especially the bit where Tami gives her BIL’s car the full treatment That bit was v v satisfying boaty
I've just got to the bit in Reply 1988 where they are stuck in the tiny alley😳😂

@Rowdythree The hair is a disaster but he loves her anyway so it MUST be fate.

@Andante57

Andante57 ré favourite scenes in CLOY I love the bicycling bit, the stranded train, when he sees her with a NK hairdo, when she sees him with SK clothes, him opening the door for everyone in SK & being a bit vain about it going viral, the award scene with the squad, just about any scene with Kim Jung Hyun oooh so many!

Yes those were all lovely scenes, bettys.
However, there’s one bit which I don’t understand and that’s when Captin Ri wakes up in hospital after the operation to remove the bullet, sees SeRi, and is furious with her and shouts at her for causing trouble.
Why did he do that?

Well it's in two parts, really, IMO. Up until that moment he could still pretend they weren't in love. He could tell himself that it was only his own heart he was breaking and she could go back to SK and he could keep all his promises. So that's all over when he wakes up and she's still there. But the other piece is actually what he says: He had geared himself up to be killed or arrested (and risked his men as well) and told himself it would all be worth it as she would get out. But then she doesn't go. He's done all that and she... doesn't get on the plane. She doesn't tell him why, remember. Some of his men are really boys, and he's responsible for them.

I might also have shouted! He doesn't realise he would have died without her transfusion at that point. The nurse tells him in the next scene. That's when he goes out and finds her and says sorry and kisses her in the rain. It's their first real kiss. Up until that moment neither of them had admitted anything. (EPISODE 7)

Excellent @jojomolo you put it better than I could!

Jojo thank you for an excellent explanation - it now makes sense.
SPOILERS COMING UP.

Poor Dan - I thought that scene when she comes back from Russia and turns up at his house without warning is powerful and brilliantly done.
Capt Ri comes into view and Dan smiles at him and then suddenly Se Ri appears and her smile fades. Then when he drives Dan back and he keeps looking in the car mirror and at dinner with the parents he looks so gloomy as does Dan.
Also it was unusual scene as it caught Capt Ri on the hop - I don’t think there’s another scene in the series when he’s caught out like that.

I love Dan so much! She's one of my favourite characters in all of kdrama. I love her journey - she is really liberated by the whole escapade in such an interesting way.

@boatyardblues yes the bit with car is ace! So many good bits though- I like the bit where she buys the earrings the next day, Brian's amazing re entry, the whole actor fan/love interest, the ending with the car and actually the relationship between the husband and Song Ga-kyeong was really heartbreaking but also lovely in a strange way. I don't think there was anything I didn't like really although I think Tami could have spent a touch less time being all pensive about love but I liked the way her character changed but still had the same core if that makes sense and that everything wasn't all neatly wrapped up

Finished Reply 1988

I didn't think I was going to, but I sobbed big cathartic tears in the last episode.The wedding & shoes moment was bad enough but the last 5 minutes just had me, & I was gone. Awweee ....

Just to be clear, it is a 🐝 friendly ending & I’m even happy with the choice FL made. It just got to me on so many levels...remembering the 80s...being young and having crushes...being a parent & watching them fly the nest... 😭happy but wistful maybe..

Oh and Park Yer Bum very good and lovely in this, which makes me think something went a bit awry in Record of Youth as he was much more attractive and had more spark even though he playing someone a bit derpy.

@bettys I'd lend you a hanky but I don't think mine has dried out yet. So so lovely. Did you manage to not look up the husband?
Park yer Bum's gleaming teeth remained a distraction but he has moves... Really loved all the menopause stuff towards the end as well - dealt with so movingly.

@polkettle I confess I did look up the husband, but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the plot development.
I never finished Reply 1994 as I also looked up the spoiler for that one and was disappointed with the ending, but anyway just didn’t like it somehow. I did spot Go Ara’s guest role in 1988 ( and Hospital Playlist)

@bettys I was glad I looked it up because then I could settle into spotting the clues manipulating me different ways and appreciate the journey more. I missed Go Ara in Reply. But then I have terrible face blindness anyway so not good at that game.

I have been trying to track down the film Little Forest for ages after a friend recommended it. There’s currently a full version with subtitles on YouTube: m.youtube.com/watch?v=xyTZKiqn08M I’m only about 15 min in but I’m already loving it. I will definitely be searching out dough soup. There seems to be a lot of cooking, so I’m busy making mental notes. 😄

I should also have said that it has a gentle pace and lovely scenery. It reminds me of A Piece of your Mind or I’ll Go To You etc etc.

I've finished Start Up, not sure if anyone else was watching. The love story bit where both MLs pretended to be someone else (not a spoiler, it's shown straight away - it's just the FL doesn't know) seems to be glossed over by the second half of the series. And the FL was only upset for about one episode 🤔. Apart from that being slightly annoying, I really liked it. I loved the sibling rivalry and the IT geeks are super cute. Nam Joo Hyuk is lovely and there is a running joke about the FL only liking him because of his big hands 😂.

@boatyardblues thanks for the link, I've also wanted to watch that as it has Ryu Joon Yeol from Reply 1988 in.

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap Sounds like Start-Up might be worthy of a binge watch then!

I started True Beauty - wasn't going to had planned to wait & binge but needed summat fluffy. Haven't finished the first episode yet but so far it's ok, if similar to Gangnam Beauty

She’s made makgeolli. It looks fun! So many delicious recipes and meals. This is basically a cookery film with scenery and a slow-burn romance on the side.

The rice seedling sowing machine was fascinating. I’m enjoying the agriculture stuff and the beautiful wildlife footage.

Little Forest was wonderful. My friend that recommended it watched it on a flight back from a business trip to Seoul. She said she went right back to the beginning and watched it again as soon as she finished it the first time. I totally understand now I’ve watched it.

This looks like dough soup - the spicy kimchi version down the page: www.maangchi.com/recipe/sujebi

Thanks so much @boatyardblues Little Forest exactly the medicine my day needed. So comforting. Is it too late to put persimmon drier on my Christmas list?

I thought I’d found the whole Extreme Job on YouTube too. It claims to be, but its Part-Time Spy with Nam Goong Min. I’ve ditched because it’s not Extreme Job and the quality is meh, but NGM is fly in it.

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap... I'm on the first ep of Start Up... It's lovely so far!! Looking forward to the rest of it!!