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 still haven’t watched Fight My Way. I got a little further on attempt 3, but its never grabbed me. What can I say? 🤷‍♀️

Having to rewatch the middle of Science & Sensibility, as I fell asleep on the sofa last night. Loving the “convenience store” misunderstanding. 😆

Ah, now I really enjoyed the team presentation at the end of Science & Sensibility. The film itself jumps about a bit, someone has clipped out 5 min chunks at random, but I liked the ending. Very creative work by the writers and production designers etc.

As if someone...

Fight for my Way favourite PSJ show, I love it, in my top 10, and one of my favourite drama couples.
I've never watched DOTS and have no inclination.

Just pausing ep 2 of My Little Happiness to have a small moment of appreciation for the random graffiti on the door next to the cafe including the etched words ESTIMATED VALUE.

I finished Love In Time and was trying to see if Dontwanttobeyourmonkeywench's You Are So Sweet is on IQ (must be on Olga) and came across Love Is Sweet instead - who thinks up these titles? Very hard to keep tabs on what you've watched.

bettys Love is Sweet^ is favourite romantic Cdrama, I loved the chemistry between leads. It took me a while to warm up to ML. There are flaws and it's overlong, but still liked it.

bettys Love is Sweet is favourite romantic Cdrama, I loved the chemistry between leads. It took me a while to warm up to ML. There are flaws and it's overlong, but still liked it

Thanks fifi, I will stick with it then, I'm 20 mins in & quite enjoying it so far. Hurrah! That means there are 3 series I have on the go with IQ, it's feeling worth it already! I'm finding the watch at 2x speed useful for some bits too

Cute baby giggles from Lee Jae Won’s baby (Mr Queen’s chum in charge of rifles) on IG - just irresistible!
www.instagram.com/p/CLWeCWuMp_z/?igshid=16ksyykkpbvhy

I never meant to post this as I hadn't finished the post! Trying to do too many things at once!

It's one of my favourite Chinese contemporary romances, I liked the ML from watching Ashes to Love where he was in the SML role. A fun, playful, bickering type relationship from main leads. The secondary couple is okay, it's not Riley Wang's best performance.

I've realised I overuse the word favourite, just going to look at a thesaurus

bettys what else on IQ do you have on your list? I'm skipping through Poisoned Love, it's okay, only 6 episodes to go.
Missing Mr Queen .

Oh, that baby is beyond cute, looks so happy. I'm surprised at Lee Jae Won’s age - 34, he looks a lot older compared to the babyfaced (botoxed) Korean and Chinese actors

fifi on IQ I am currently watching:
Love Is Sweet
She Would Never Know
Royal Secret Agent

On my list is:
Backstreet Rookie (giving JCW another chance)
The Spies Who Loved Me
Hush
Dinner Mate

I would welcome any suggestions for cdrama on IQ

@polkettle what’s your feedback on Lovestruck in the city?

JCW looks different from Suspicious Partner & Healer. I wonder if it’s age, makeup or surgery?
I don’t like FL but will tolerate her for JCW 😆 I am barely tolerating her in Fight for my way.

@boatyardblues

I still haven’t watched Fight My Way. I got a little further on attempt 3, but its never grabbed me. What can I say? 🤷‍♀️

I am also watching it as a filler ... 2-3 episodes and then I move on to next series. FL & 2nd couple is annoying Actually they all are - you can’t watch more then 1.5 episodes in one go. I am still watching it to see FL & ML achieve their goals.

@JinBhoot I loved it but it is clearly an absolutely Marmite show 😁And I slightly suspect from the shows I know you've liked/not liked it's maybe not going to be one for you. It's a series of snapshots of relationships at 30 - centred around the central one. Some people find it angsty but I found it more funny and although there are sadnesses. I liked the writing. It's quite arch and occasionally too oblique/experimental but also satisfying amounts of hot JCW snogging...

@bettys

fifi on IQ I am currently watching: Love Is Sweet She Would Never Know Royal Secret Agent

On my list is:
Backstreet Rookie (giving JCW another chance)
The Spies Who Loved Me
Hush
Dinner Mate

I would welcome any suggestions for cdrama on IQ

My list is similar to you, also Heroic Husband. Need to go through everything more thoroughly.

I've watched Dinner Mate and it was fine, I think I gave it a 7 on the spreadsheet. Watchable and main leads are good together.

Stay away from Poisoned Love I found it dire!
I didn't care that much for Lucky's First Love, but someone else here liked it, I can't remember who.

If you've not seen Go Ahead you could watch that. It's very similar to a Kdrama in regard to childhood trauma and impact. The acting is very good, especially Steven Zang, the child actors play their parts very well. There are some sweet and funny moments in it as well as heartbreaking ones. I spent a lot of time feeling angry towards one of the characters. The dads are so lovely and have a great relationship.

Needing a change of style and pace so going to find a good Jdrama to watch.

Needing a change of style and pace so going to find a good Jdrama to watch.

Have you watched You're My Pet JDrama on Viki? I really liked it

I find jdrama sometimes has a somewhat...err...quirky approach to relationships. And sometimes slightly disturbing eg Scum's Wish, Love & Fortune. Certainly gives a change of tone

Betty - Let’s not beat around the bush. Jdramas have more sex. A lot more.

@boatyardblues

Betty - Let’s not beat around the bush. Jdramas have more sex. A lot more.

"beat around the bush....!".... 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭 Sorry! Feeling juvenile! 🤭🤭🤭

I need more Kim Jung Hyun in my life right now. I think its going to have to be School 2017 next. Just because

... reasons.

What, eh, boaty which ones . I seem to have missed them! I tend to go for quirky/romantic Jdramas.

Seen My Pet and it was good. Some of the ones I've enjoyed - Love Lasts Forever, Full Time Wife Escapist and, From 5-9. Also seen a few on Viki but only if they have high ratings.
Maybe need to start looking for the ones that are a bit racier

Monkey has the lowdown as she subtitled a particularly fruity one recently.