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…

DH has agreed to watch Space Sweepers with me this evening, though says he can’t guarantee he’ll stay awake for all of it. 😆

It’s got Richard Armitage in it!!! Who I will always think of as Guy of Gisborne 😂

Thanks bea - True Beauty it is.
bettys I've been waiting to see if ^18 Again* goes onto Netflix - I can only put up with Olga's pop ups for so long, some have been particularly

fifi it’s in Viki!!

Where bettys? I can't see it.

It just says that it's not available in my region.

Dammit it says that on mine too!!! I'm sure it was available when it was airing 'cos I thought about starting it then didn't ....maybe I'm imagining things....

[quote Hydrogensonata]@FedUpWithBriiiiick yep the end of run on was ok but I kept waiting for something to happen- it felt like it was building up but then just nothing. In particular why did the random director turn up? I felt like that might go somewhere but nope.

The only bit I couldn't figure out is at the end where they do the bits with all the characters- there's on after the brother who's an idol and before Siwan with his Dad there was a bit with 2 blokes and a woman- I can't for the life of work out who they were?!
@Rowdythree I'd agree- he does have a lovely restful voice and presence[/quote]
I think the two blokes and the woman might have been the actress that Siwan was linked with at the beginning of the series... Maybe with her agent or something 🤷‍♀️ it was all a bit strange. It seems everyone had a happy ending though! I know what you mean about waiting for something to happen... I was waiting for a proposal or something 😂

Dammit indeed
Can't remember who's has been watching To my Star but just to say that YouTube has subbed episodes,7,8, and 9, taking too long on Viki. It is very good, it just pips WMEL for me.

It was me Fifi thanks for the heads up! It does take ages on viki for the subs to be done

Between Grrr and Marcus Chang I'm having the heart squishiest, swooniest day (although now returning to the distinctly unsquishy but equally compelling My Mister)
How's Space Sweepers @TheGirlWithTheArabStrap ? Might persuade the DH to that if it's fun.

fifi what’s WMEL?

Space Sweepers was pretty fun. Kim Tae Ri was a very badass captain. I'm out of practice with films though, they have to cram such a lot of character development into 2 hours. The non Korean actors were a bit cheesy too. Apart from Richard Armitage who was v v evil 😂
But it was a good space romp and the ending was satisfactory esp the robot.
I wish it was a series, I would definitely love it 🤣

Excellent. We're going in.

bettys I have no idea , as I mean WhereYour Eyes Linger

@fifilacklustre

bettys I have no idea , as I mean WhereYour Eyes Linger

Added to my watch list fifi 👍

bettys I have no idea, as I mean WhereYour Eyes Linger

Added to my Watch list too!

But it was a good space romp and the ending was satisfactory esp the robot. I wish it was a series, I would definitely love it

Yes yes I agree with this! I liked all the little typical kdrama details - did she really kiss the French guy? - the fart machine jokes (normally don't like poo humour but it was funny)- and oh Guy of Gisborne must have had a whale of a time hamming it up while filming & eating yummy Korean food

@Rowdythree

Ah yes!! I think you've got it ré the Run On scene in the garage with the woman and two men...still pretty bloody cryptic tho', like a lot of it I still
think I've missed something

And just before I end my monologuing and disappear in CDrama fluff I have just watched Resident Alien with DH which I really enjoyed - first US series in a long time but then it does have the fabulous Alan Tudyk in it

What a lot of jolly space nonsense.
Could have done with a few more women I think. The Factory seemed entirely inhabited by men. No wonder they all fancied Captain Kang.

@fifilacklustre I've just seen on Viki that a To my Star movie is coming soon... Will it be all the short episodes compiled into a movie or extra bits I wonder 🤔

Guy of Gisborne must have had a whale of a time hamming it up while filming & eating yummy Korean food absolutely ☺️

@polkettle "a lot of jolly space nonsense" should have been the tagline!

The lack of female characters was quite jarring when comparing to dramas, although I think I also fancy Captain Kang.

I think I want to be Captain Kang. Or the robot unni, she had some moves.

And there’s no way that guy was actually French