MsLattés Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #20): With Hyun Bin off the market, the ajummas off darkness begin researching his ‘oppa fabulous’ replacement in earnest

[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)
Some Day or On Day (Viki, Taiwanese)
The Romance of Tiger & Rose (Viki, Chinese)
Tientsin Mystic (Netflix, Chinese)

Thread Regulars’ Top Scoring Dramas of 2020
(courtesy of Hello’s kdrama spreadsheet, updated by/for thread regulars. Marks out of 10.)

1 - Parasite - 9.05 (10 Votes)
2 - It's Okay To Not Be Okay - 8.88 (9 Votes)
3 - The Uncanny Counter - 8.50 (4 Votes)
4 - Once Again - 8.40 (5 Votes)
5 - Hospital Playlist - 8.21 (7 Votes)

2019’s top scoring dramas:

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
🥾🍑 (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…

I'm watching Misaeng now, I've been saving it. Although Netflix confused me tonight by calling it Incomplete Life on the home screen. And then back to Misaeng when I clicked on it. I know they are the same but translated, but why is Netflix switching them around?

It’s the translation of Misaeng. Apparently it is a baduk (go game) term.

I know some of you are disappointed but I’m enjoying Run On. I really like both couples. I think 2ML would be good for 2FL. He’s so sunny and warm-hearted, but no pushover. She and ML seem to have had dogs’ lives with their awful chaebol families. I like how Oh Mi-Joo and Siwan’s character are such a positive force in each other’s lives. I can’t wait for the Assemblyman to blow a gasket when everyone tells him to jog on. His wife is on the cusp of telling him to fuck off, for sure.

I can’t wait for the Assemblyman to blow a gasket when everyone tells him to jog on. His wife is on the cusp of telling him to fuck off, for sure yes yes yes, I can't wait for this! Im still really enjoying it 😁

@boatyardblues I think run on has definitely got better as it's gone on- I feel less like I'm missing something in every scene. It's very slow paced and relaxing to watch

I'm looking forward to the wife finally having enough, the horrible brother getting his comeuppance as well and that woo-shik gets to run again.

Thanks, Mr Queen it is! Would be good to make use of my Viki subscription as well. Is it due to finish next week?

Unbelievable ending with True Beauty today. Quite a risky move considering there’s only two episodes to go!

Oh my god, the stress levels at the beginning of ep 13 of Misaeng 😱. Will the unconventional sales pitch come off??????

It shows what a brilliant series it is that I care about used car imports from Jordan

Indeed, Girl. It’s so good! I can’t believe it took me so long to watch it. (Thank you Pol!)

Yes thanks Pol! Love sales team 3 so much, I'm nearly crying 😭😂

Just got to the bit that one of you (Pol?) had mentioned as Kang Na-Neul fan service 😉😍

I started True Beauty last night, but then fell asleep. I can tell I’m not going about it right, but when the FL was teetering on the rooftop ledge at the beginning I looked at her in profile and thought: “ugly??? She has an amazing figure. This transformation is going to be a breeze!” I then puzzled over why that lad would carry her umpteen floors down the stairs when her eyes were the problem, not her legs... 🤷‍♀️

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap 😁 and I know! You can't believe you are actually sweating because someone has changed the company approved order of slides in a PowerPoint. Delighted others have enjoyed as much as me (in return for all the things that I have enjoyed as discovered by others)

Not proud of how transfixed I am by When We Write Love Story and how convinced I'm becoming that the actor pairs are genuinely developing feelings for each other. Mesmerised by its format. 20 minutes each morning in the darkness gives me the will to get up and punch down another January day.

We are basically a growing hive of foraging bees, coming back to the hive with directions for the other bees to where the good flowerboys can be found.

Pol where are you up to? I keep meaning to get back to it then get locked in to another fluffy CDrama....although Way Back Into Love is less than gripping it has to be said

I'm on episode 4 (they're long). I'd say it starts to become comprehensible in episode 2 although as you said - the bonkerness of episode 1 has its own pleasures.

We are basically a growing hive of foraging bees, coming back to the hive with directions for the other bees to where the good flowerboys can be found

Yes absolutely! It's great that as our numbers have grown, we get more wide and varied input. Misaeng is a perfect example of an overlooked gem. And it's such fun to watch and comment together.

[quote polkettle]@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap 😁 and I know! You can't believe you are actually sweating because someone has changed the company approved order of slides in a PowerPoint. Delighted others have enjoyed as much as me (in return for all the things that I have enjoyed as discovered by others)[/quote]
Some companies are very precious about approved PowerPoint. I have now learned, never ask permission, do it and then deal with consequences. If you ask then you are doomed

I watched Misaeng & My Mister at the same time. At the time I was fully engrossed in office environment.
Slippers in office seems to be very common, I haven’t seen female staff with slippers though.
After pandamic I will suggest mandatory slippers at work, I am sure pajamas will be pushing it too far 😂 #PerksOfWorkingFromHome

@kseason - just caught up with true beauty and I'd agree it's a risky move but I can't wait for the next two episodes to find out how it ends!
Might have to start misaeng as it's been so highly recommend @jinbhoot I'd agree - always better to seek forgiveness than ask permission is one of my work mottos.
Along with "not my circus, not my monkeys" although I tend to keep that one to myself
Stayed up ridiculously late last night and finished oh my ghost- ended up fast forwarding quite a bit of it and I thought the start was better than the last few episodes

@hydrogensonata Yes, it's taken the predictability out of the ending - can't wait to see what happens next! I really hope it doesn't go the Startup way, am still miserable thinking about the 2ML.

I actually loved Oh My Ghost! I went in with zero expectations and thought the FL was too meek at first, but the romancing at the end was quite bold for a Kdrama. I did fast forward quite a bit too.

Carrot soup paired with mulled wine is a bold brunch menu but wouldn't be my order. (catching up on Mr Queen)

Aagh True Beauty I just want to end the series at their date at the beach before it goes wrong! I love the teacher and older sister relationship, so funny when he woke up to them all eating breakfast around him 😂

@Hydrogensonata I think I will start Misaeng too, I'll be your watch buddy 👀 I've got yesterday's Run on too watch this afternoon to. We've got birthdays in the those today, so I don't feel I can sneak off to watch it yet, there's copious amounts of lego to build

*in the house

@Rowdythree yes! That bit and when he does the dramatic "let's break up" bit I found the brother standing up for her/being worried quite sweet - he's still incredibly irritating!
@kseason i felt heartbroken for the 2ml in start up and likewise in DDTD - I need happy endings at the moment! I think it was the last 2 or 3 episodes of oh my ghost I fast forwarded quite a bit of. I liked the romancing but the death mystery/mum and shaman parts didn't grab me particularly

@Rowdythree the beach scene was one of the most heartwarming, romantic scenes I've seen. The ML is now firmly in my top 3 Kdrama boyfriends list - he still can't shake off the ML from WFKBJ though!

@Hydrogensonata one of the reasons I started watching Kdramas was for the ghosts, afterlife shenanigans and shamans. Hollywood ghosts are too scary, but Kdrama ghosts are hilarious! My first kdrama was Hi Bye Mama and then ended up watching all the ghost dramas!

@Kseason it was a really heartwarming scene. I think both actors have done amazingly, I've really enjoyed the way their relationship has blossomed over the series. I love both the guys in True Beauty, both are now in my top 3!

I've not seen any ghostly K dramas, I do love the fortune tellers though