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…

Kitten you say? Hmmm....could be a fun binge keep us posted!

I am watching Devil Punisher which is a cheesy Taiwan drama with bad special effects (when the Exorcism King clicks his fingers to freeze time everyone has to stand very still 🤣🤣)

Grrr JCWs new starts today on Netflix but is only 30 mins long blimmin’ Netflix 😡

@bettys sounds fun - top class special effects
I couldn't get into hotel del Luna last night so started on true beauty which is suiting my mood much better!

Oh poor 2ML who thinks he's the 1ML so is confessing bless him. Now he's going to discover he's the 2ML. This is SO bingeable.

@polkettle I have FOMO now!

😁 it's not ...yknow...the highest quality but it is EXACTLY what I need on the 22nd December in Tier 4. Feisty FL with a heart of gold, arrogant chaebol heir ML with a tragic childhood trauma, a doppelganger, a lucky bracelet, a bridal curse, a ghost... happy sigh

Jung Hae In as 2ML? Definitely worth a look. 👍

Jung Hae In?? And a kitten?? Ooof it’s sounding better & better !

Getting stuck into Uncanny Counter next. On ep.3 and very enjoyable so far!

Jung Hae-In with blonde bangs. Omo! 😱

Look, if you're worried whether or not your cursed bride can survive your wedding night, is it a good idea to conduct that wedding night under a bedspread of highly flammable silver lamé with matching billowing silver lamé curtains surrounded by lit candles? Honestly 🙄 This binge has got a bit saggy in the middle but buckling in for what promises to be an incident filled final 8 hours. Hoping the kitten returns.

@polkettle you're convincing me to give it a watch!

Pol, I’m only up to ep 6 (stolen fugly ring) but I know the lamé curtains & bedspread you mean, as the villa featured in the previous episode. I thought it was an interesting decor choice, but all the bedrooms (bar FL’s) look like they were styled by a porn set designer. 🤷‍♀️ There are so many dodgy aspects to the plotting and acting. I can’t get over FL leaving her beloved grandmother to convalesce at home without help and barely a phone call to check in.

Quite transfixed by the silver sculpture in evil doppelganger house too. Don't worry about granny. She'll get a goodbye steak dinner and new coat in due course and that should be enough to keep her happy for another 4 episodes. It's all gone a bit tense in the battle of the scheming overacting mothers so I'm taking a break to bake a 2020 festive gingerbread bunker.

No spoilers but someone in hospital's vital signs have gone into such critical overdrive that they've made the heart monitor emit plumes of actual smoke 😱🤣

You're not tempting me with this one @polkettle 😂

No. I have regrets but I'm too far in to turn back now. Must. See. It. Through... COME BACK KITTEN!

The kittens never come back 😩
That’s how they lure you in

Ep 3 of Run On is up. 🎉

Ep 3 of Run On is worth it for the balcony clothes. Omo! What an outfit. The dialogue is great - snappy, dry humour. 👍

That's me finished with work for a while so I can't wait to get stuck in to Run on, love struck in the city and whatever else takes my fancy!

Oh @bettys you are wise 😔 2 and half hours left and so much more shonky melodrama and so much less kitten than I thought I'd signed up for.

Watching where stars land- 4 episodes in and it's good but I'm not sure I like the 30 minute episodes
@polkettle is it all a bit days of our lives?

Yeah. In retrospect that wasn't the best use of 20 hours of my life. When Binges Go Bad. Cute went to full blown bonkersland melo and while cute came back a bit, not nearly enough snog to accompany. Not to mention no closure at ALL for Coco the kitten storyline. Did enjoy hero's Showaddywaddy coat in final episode.

Oh no Pol. I’m round about the 7 episodes mark. Was that the ‘jump ship’ klaxon you just sounded? If I need closure how close to the end can I safely skip to? Where’s the wedding? I need to see the silver lamé bedding getting the full work out.

I am really liking Run On. Why does the next episode have to be Christmas Eve when we have to do family things? Grr.