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…

Dashes not dishes 🙄

😂 bettys I can also do "Take off your belt" presumably to fashion a tourniquet following a terrible accident with a white truck of doom.

😂😂😂

I’m not caught up on MrQueen this week, but I remain confused by the princess/CJH bodyswap thing. Is the princess starting to revert or is CJH just giving in to horniness in his dealings with the king? It was suggested her memories are returning. Will there come a point when CJH is pulled back to his chef body?

I’m not caught up on MrQueen this week, but I remain confused by the princess/CJH bodyswap thing. Is the princess starting to revert or is CJH just giving in to horniness in his dealings with the king? It was suggested her memories are returning. Will there come a point when CJH is pulled back to his chef body?

It's open to interpretation really but I think POSSIBLE SPOILERS in the episode (14?) So Yong/Bong Hwan commune in the lake and swap memories that up until that point, memories & feelings of both identities have been moving back & forth, but then So Yong gives up and sinks/dies, leaving Bong Hwan in control but feeling and remembering and empathising with So Yong. Hence the sexual identity dilemma .

As to whether he will be pulled back into his chef's body, the original CDrama Go Princess Go had 2 or 3 different endings

It is an interesting development for kdrama if they have Bong Hwan admitting he is attracted to/has feelings for the king and overcoming macho heterosexual stereotypes. After all he did admit that it didn't make him feel dirty, obvs because it meant more than his flings in his chef days

I cracked and watched 73% of episode 15.
I'd be surprised if he didn't return to his chef's body as there's a problem to solve in that world too. And in the meantime I like the way they've played it so that two souls get to share a body but both have their candy...

What is everyone watching? Maybe get ideas.

@fifilacklustre Apart from the on-airs I'm just following you on CDrama!

Still waiting for subs for MLH so can binge, I'm nearly at the end of Way Back Into Love. After that it's either mY lOVE hYPNOTIC which you recommended, is it costume drama? Somehow wasn't expecting that. Or I might try and track down Go Princess Go to compare with Mr Queen.

I’m enjoying dumpling wars on True Beauty. Good detail on folding technique too. Now I want to make dumplings.

Fidgety. Watching Lovestruck in the City but limiting myself to one a day to eke it out as still screening, Mr Queen but waiting on subs, When We Write Love Story but also in daily chunks to eke out and because it's nonsense best nibbled on, My Mister (which will eventually banish all others I'm sure but only 1 episode in) and Lost Romance for some rainy weekend distraction Taiwanese trash fun. Very obsessed with baddy lady's tiny diamante studded coffee cup with tiny diamante studded dome lid in the last.

Thanks all.
Finished My Love Hypnotic - would give it a 6.5, it has more plot holes than a fishing net, and draggy, but there are entertaining, funny parts - sleepwalking, obvious body double for ML, the wedding dance. Lots of innuendos and outright talk of sex, plus lots of skinship, the most I've seen in a Cdrama, even beats Love is Sweet
Keep looking at Olga for subs to be done, also searched YouTube and Facebook, but not subbed on there either.

@polkettle I loved Lost Romance, once you get into it, and past how eeeeevil the sister is, it is very very bingeable . Think it's my favourite Taiwan drama after BWGM

I agree re Lost Romance, my second favourite Tdrama after Someday or One Day. I now think I may re-watch

Took me an episode or so to get into it but now hooting at all the shirts falling off all over the place. Marvellous ☺️. #TeamUnnecssaryAbsNotButtocks

DH has been obsessed with Taiwanese/ Singaporean cooking after watching Street Food Asia but I don’t think they had a Korean episode. We now have a great food partnership - I tell him names of dishes I see on Kdramas and he buys the ingredients and makes them for dinner He made dakgangjeong and kalguksu yesterday and he’s bought the steam baskets to make dumplings next. I need to show him that episode of quality war of the dumplings @boatyardblues!

I’m also #TeamUnnecessaryAbsNotButtocks 💪

@Kseason does your DH do deliveries?

I think it was ep 10 of True Beauty, Kseason, and about 3/4 through the episode. Your husband sounds amazing. Forget deliveries, can you send him round for a lesson (subject to COVID restrictions)?

And another upvote for #TeamUnnecessaryAbsNotButtocks.

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap

My Duolingo lesson today is making me snigger.

thegirl I'm filing this away in my brain... Just in case 😂

I've spent the weekend watching My ID is Gangnam Beauty (basically for Cha Eun Woo) When it first came out I don't fancy it as I thought it would be really shallow. But it's similar to True Beauty in that it questions the Beauty Standards in SK and the judgment and discrimination women face about their appearance. It's not as good as True Beauty, it doesn't have the comedic aspect to it, but I thought it was a good watch.

I quite liked Gangnam Beauty for the same reasons, ie addressing attitudes towards appearance. Cha Eun Woo has better chemistry with FL in True Beauty Though, & his acting is better 😁

Definitely, the characters are very similar in both shows, but his acting is much better in True Beauty

Is anyone watching To my star on Viki? It's really good, the episodes are only 15 minutes long and it shows the developing relationship between an actor and a chef. It's unusual in that the episodes are so short, but they manage to pack a lot into them

Pausing my visit chez Olga to snort out loud at Court Lady Choi’s vehement denial that she has read the saucy books that bear a startling resemblance to recent dramas 🤣🤣🤣