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…

@boatyardblues

Is there anyone in the thread who isn’t in tier 4? If you’re Tier 1, no need to say - there aren’t many people on the Isles of Scilly & you’d be immediately identifiable to any other MNers there. 😄

Just watched today’s Run On. It is my new favourite show. I absolutely love the FL and ML, even more so when they are together. I also like the FL’s housemate, the female CEO and the half-baked artist.

I'm not in a Tiered area at all! Although we are in lockdown.

Thanks for the good review Boaty, Find me in your memory is going on the watch list!

@boatyardblues

Is there anyone in the thread who isn’t in tier 4? If you’re Tier 1, no need to say - there aren’t many people on the Isles of Scilly & you’d be immediately identifiable to any other MNers there. 😄

Just watched today’s Run On. It is my new favourite show. I absolutely love the FL and ML, even more so when they are together. I also like the FL’s housemate, the female CEO and the half-baked artist.

🙋‍♀️My area has just moved up to 3, I'm amazed we started in tier 2 for so long!

I've been watching Where Stars Land on Viki. Its a nice little programme with a good cast. It has the chap out of Signal as the ML, set at Incheon Airport. It's only 30 minute episodes and kind of reminds me of an after lunch or tea time show 😁

Omo! I forgot there was a new episode of Run on today! Yes

The ML in Run On is prettier than my usual favourites (the idol training/cosmetology showing probs) but is really, really attractive in this. It’s his character’s temperament as much as anything. He and FL have great chemistry though.

Finished! I really liked Some Day or One Day - would score an 8+ . Can't say too much about ending but will say I found it satisfying and surprisingly coherent in itself, plus there's a sweet 5 minute "bonus" epilogue. Given trying to look at the plot full on was like staring at the sun - no mean feat to bring it in. A tender/sad/sweet twisty romance. Sort of a YA novel feel to it.

Thanks for the report @polkettle , I will definitely make a point of watching if the ending is satisfactory

It's a page turner show rather than a phwoar and aw show if that makes sense and ending fits with that.

I have finished Itaewon Class, it was just OK. I wouldn’t recommend to others.

Find me in your memory (FMIYM) seems to be popular these days. Where can I watch it?

It’s on Netflix Jin.

I've watched all the available episodes of Mr Queen in the last couple of days. I properly lol'd at some of the physical comedy. I preferred that to the palace politics.

I can never follow the palace politics in sageuks as I can never remember who’s who! But am really enjoying Mr Queen. Normally the concubine would turn out to be an evil wench & king would fall in love with his wife....but that would be tricky in this instance...

I'm starting FMIYM this morning. Struggling with My father is strange. The whole show seems strange? Jung So-Min even cannot tempt me past ep 1.
On a different note I made a delicious Kimchi Fried Rice last night and DD1 and I have started to learn the dance moves to 'Dynamite' The K effect is back in the Aesop household 🤣

Learning BTS routines sounds like an effective home-based lockdown workout. 👍

It's getting me off the sofa and rest of the family highly amused Boatyard!

The shop I usually buy my kimchi from is closed until next week. We are out of kimchi. 😱 I will try the Chinese supermarket later, as they sometimes have the half size 250g pouches. I saw pots of posh kimchi in Co-op last week but £4.50 for about 200g. My weekly kimchi stew recipe calls for 500g. I need to find another supplier, or I am back to making my own. The assistant in my regular shop said there had been supply problems with the bagged kimchi pre-Christmas. I wish I’d bought more when I was last in there.

@boatyardblues please share the stew recipe. Which brand of kimchi do you use.

Any other tried & tested easy recipes? These days I do fancy tabletop bbq.

In dramas they do mention ‘beef’ a lot e.g ‘buy me a beef’ or ‘I will treat you to a beef’ etc etc. Is it just the translation or there is some cultural thing?

Hi Jin - will do so in a bit.

The ET scene in the supermarket in ep 6 of Run On made me laugh out loud. 😂

Saving Run On until have finished FMIYM. Still enjoying it, the sister's romance is so sweet!

@JinBhoot I think the beef thing is because its the most expensive meat, so it's more of a treat.

I have started watching FMIYM & My Mister.

Current mood is definitely for FMIYM, will put My Mister on hold for now.

FMIYM: I think doctor is better then the main lead. I am on ep5, what if doc is stalker

Jin - My Mister is definitely worth the journey and the payoff is immense, but it’s hard going at the outset. Absolutely one you need to be in the mood for.

@JinBhoot My Mister is in my top 5 EVER but you have to clear space for it you cannot drop or pause it is immersive you need to watch in one go to get the payoff

When I say in one go I mean not literally non-stop but not interspersed with other dramas.

Am tempted to continue with FMIYM after NYE celebrations am enjoying it so much after all not doin' much tomorrow

Happy new year fellow Addicts!

And don’t let the door hit your arse on the way out 2020!

Happy New Year's my lovely fellow addicts! You have really cheered me up through this crappy year 😘