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…

New manager Kim requesting a foot massage? What. A. Dick! Plus, eeeeeew. (Misaeng) He’s such a hateful character.

@FedUpWithBriiiiick I'm in NI too. Clusterfuck is indeed the correct term. Swear the traffic on the M2 is just the same as before, not a hint of anyone staying home and the past weekend was a disgrace around the coast.
Really enjoying Jerry Yan's voice. I'm definitely more of an auditory person and have always lived low, growly voices. I really want to hear more of Mr World Wide Handsome singing in the lower range. I love his speaking voice. Saw the LMH and Lee Seungi insta video hinting at a collab. Loved that LMH mum interrupted the call and he was all "I'm on a call!" 😂

Loved that LMH mum interrupted the call and he was all "I'm on a call!"

I saw that too - hilarious!!

Sorry to hear about the test situation for your DS FedUp - it's all so worrying for everyone, all of education is one mighty screw-up. My DS is at university with finals coming up and heaven only knows how his work and exams are going to be affected.

Just had a teary moment in Misaeng - how can selling socks & pants be turned into something so poignant?

I am looking forwards today’s new Run On episode. It also feels good to be nearly half way through this week. It’s been a bumpy landing after my nocturnal holiday viewing.

@boatyardblues

I am looking forwards today’s new Run On episode. It also feels good to be nearly half way through this week. It’s been a bumpy landing after my nocturnal holiday viewing.

Yes! I am really enjoying it too. Not too challenging, good ML and FL, but still amusing and quirky enough to keep me watching!

When you've started on a Taiwanese drama pre-dawn on day 2 you know this lockdown is a toughie. Sympathy to all.
In brighter news the dog is back with a post all to itself on Insta.

See, I immediately had to check out His Floofiness! D'you think HH KJW reads our posts?

Very much looking forward to new ep of True Beauty after a 2-week gap, and also Run On.

I'm at a point with Misaeng where I am desperate for our newbies to have a better time, I am hating user textile team boss & misogynistic resource man Mr Ma so much (rest of resource team are slowly coming around)

I know, they're such a bunch of nerdy poppets @bettys

Ooh Cha Seung Won is going to be in That Night with Kim Soo Hyun! CSW is one of my age appropriate choices and I've enjoyed his work, so looking forward to this.

finished Find Me In Your Memory
It was really good and I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning middle part off it but it began to get tiresome at the end... not enough comeuppance for the bad guys... slightly ineffective best friend (who was very nice but I'm not sure why he was there)... and really dragged with the together... not together... together... not together... I began to get bored and wanted ti to be over... and like i said not enough punishment for baddies.... though i did enjoy it... prob 3 eps too long..
Good main characters though and good surrounding characters...

Looking forward to catching up with Uncanny Counters and True Beauty!!!

@bea There was a point in episode 15 where the ML said "If that's what you really want" and the answer clearly should have been "No I don't but this drama still has another hour to run so that's what's got to happen"
I have tripped -oops- into Before We Get Married and it is debauched and amoral and troubling in all sorts of ways and oh dear me I am here for it 😁.

@Bea yes it was a drag and this dr friend, his only role was to leak confidential information

@polkettle “drama has another hour to run” AHAHAHAHA spot on.

I have tripped -oops- into Before We Get Married and it is debauched and amoral and troubling in all sorts of ways and oh dear me I am here for it 😁.

I enjoyed Before We Get Married far too much

Dimples...
Plus I REALLY want a phone booth karaoke cubicle on my local high street. Could just nip in for a quick cathartic bellow between Sainsbury's and the post office.

Pol- The early episodes were weirdly sexualised and not in a good way. Urgh. The NASDAQ sex party still bothers me. It does improve. It was hotly debated at the time, though Betty was a lost cause from the get-go.

It’s the dimples 🤷🏻‍♀️

(Not that I think the behaviour was ok, there was still a fair amount of 😱 and 🤔)

When your settings for raunch have been recalibrated by Korean drama it is all quite unexpected.
Although it may appear I can rationalise totally unacceptable behaviour when dimples are involved, obviously I'm only continuing to watch to increase my critical and cultural understanding of Taiwan.
So far I'm worried by the sex party but also by the amount of time they spend sawing at tiny pieces of steak in expensive restaurants that never make it to their mouths.

Although it may appear I can rationalise totally unacceptable behaviour when dimples are involved, obviously I'm only continuing to watch to increase my critical and cultural understanding of Taiwan.

Oh absolutely! 🤣 Though I will say that when they were talking about increased tensions between China and Taiwan on the news recently, I was thinking: I know the capital is Taipei, Mandarin (aka modern standard Chinese) is spoken alongside several other languages, I can find it on a map and I know what the terrain is like, I know it has historic trading links with Portugal and ?Spain, it still has a vibrant street food culture and tiny karaoke booths - all because Tdrama made me curious and I read up about it to find out more. There’s more I have forgotten, but my knowledge of the region is definitely growing.

Finished off start up last night- it was ok but I think I was comparing it to search:www for some reason and it definitely didn't stack up, could've done without the love triangle and I ended up feeling sorry for the 2ml- it was never convincing she liked him. Ended up fast forwarding quite a bit.
Caught up on run on which I'm loving and can't wait for the next episode of run on/true beauty - both just what I need at the moment! Just not sure what to watch around them?

Mr Queen!! Mr Queen!!! Am I the only person watching this? Although that is airing as well so not bingeable.

@bettys is it good? Maybe it can tide me over between episodes of run on and true beauty?

I'm watching Mr Queen but not watched eps 7 and 8 yet bettys

@Hydrogensonata it’s my current can’t-wait-for-the-subtitles-to-watch favourite

I am watching the unfolding chaos in Washington DC on BBC News channel. 😮 I caught up with Run On, but I’m now gripped by real life events.

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap oooooh episode 8 is a corker! Shin Hye Sun playing CJH in a woman's body where the woman's feelings are creeping in is just so funny