MsLattés Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #21): With our ranks swelling due to pandemic ennui, the Ajummas of Darkness are building an ARMY 😉 of Addicts.

[boatyardblues]

A quiet corner of MN for serious addicts of Kdrama, or the K-curious. 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 Queen (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)*
Run On (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)
True Beauty (Viki)
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)/Hot Stove League (Netflix)

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)
Peninsula - film, Train to Busan sequel (Amazon Prime, iMovies)

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)
My Little Happiness (Viki, Chinese)
Put Your Head on My Shoulder (Netflix, Chinese)
Some Day or One Day (Viki, Taiwanese)
The Romance of Tiger & Rose (Viki, Chinese)
Tientsin Mystic (Netflix, Chinese)

Thread Regulars’ Top Scoring Dramas of 2020 (updated for thread #21)
Courtesy of Hello’s kdrama spreadsheet, updated by/for thread regulars. Marks out of 10.

1 - Mr Queen - 9.4 (5 votes)
2 - Parasite - 9.05 (10 Votes)
3 - It's Okay To Not Be Okay - 8.88 (9 Votes)
4 - The Uncanny Counter - 8.50 (4 Votes)
5 - Once Again - 8.42 (6 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 explained or 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…

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap

Ep 9 Sisyphus is a bit hard to watch. I was hiding under a blanket for some of the bombing and aftermath. I managed a laugh at the end though; when the fire alarm at the hospital went off and everyone ran out screaming instead of muttering "FFS has someone made toast again??" or maybe SK smoke detectors are more advanced than NHS ones 😂

😆😂😆 I used to work in a large teaching hospital and it was always the fecking toast. If there’d ever been an actual fire I’d have ignored the alarm until there were flames licking at my door. It was almost a daily occurrence.

@polkettle

The ginornous post apocalyptic Seoul skyline wedding present and Sisyphus portrait Boaty 😁 Asia Mart definitely looks more fun as an employer but I suspect better health insurance and employment benefits from The Control Bureau for the average ambitious good-looking man who can guarantee not to ever shoot straight or land a punch.

Asia Mart means Sung Dong-il as your boss (spit). I’d rather make the tea and do the filing over at sexist G man outfit the Control Bureau. Recruiting some women might improve their efficacy. As Pol says, they’re useless at rounding up their quarry.

Hi can I join in here? Newly obsessed, started with Hotel del Luna, then watched CLOY and now on Sisyphus. Have loved them all, listening to HDL soundtrack and IU songs and am doing Duolingo, memrise and drops to learn a bit of the language. DH doesn't know what to make of this new obsession.

Just watched most recent Sisyphus tonight, it was great. I do have a question though. Is the war just a Korean event do we know? It is implied that it is? In that case would the rest of the world really leave the survivors living in the rubble? Maybe they would I suppose... or maybe I'm overthinking things...?!

Does anyone know what song was playing in ep 8 when she was in the theme park in the future?

Hello @hawthornknitter hop on, more the merrier

Welcome @hawthornknitter! It is lovely to have so many new posters. I’m interested to know what made you watch your first kdrama. I’ve heard a few people joke about the pandemic/lockdown going on for so long they’ve watched everything on Netflix. That’s usually my cue to mention a couple of mainstream, quality kdramas. 😄

Anyone seen this?

mydramalist.com/profile/kdramarecs/lists

Actually it was the thread on here where it was talking about shows without violence against women. Ironically I didn't actually watch that much Netflix before, now I've been sucked in and am not altogether sure that's a good thing!!

Ah, that’s interesting Hawthorn. Yes, I also like how much space kdramas give to female characters and their friendships and kinship relationships. Someone posted an article recently about the high % of South Korean screenwriters that are female, something like 90%. It shows.

Basically kdrama has no trouble meeting the Bechdel test.

Welcome Hawthorn

Hi hawthorn !! 👋 I’ve been looking for that track too had no luck with Shazam or googling 😡

twoseven thanks for the link, I do love a good list!

There were a couple of contract marriage series I’d missed in the lists twoseven posted. That’s my weekend viewing sorted. 👍

pol I have followed you on to You Are My Hero but prob wasn't a good decision to watch ep 8 while having breakfast - I wasn't expecting them to dissect a brain over dinner

There are some similarities with DOTS and D-Day but it is trotting along very amiably as CDramas tend to....no cute pets though & am hoping for a co-habitation set-up as plucky neurosurgeon needs a roommate

Thanks for all the welcomes!!

Yes Bettys, no luck with Shazam here either, maybe it's a new song for the OST but it sounds so familiar

You know you're not in Kansas when raw brain on a lettuce leaf is on the menu Betty's Amiable trot is spot on - such warm and cosy brave rescuin' from the bunch of sweeties. Just done ep 9 and there are some interior decor treats plus look out for SWAT officer light bedtime reading 😉

Good to know there are treats in store polkettle ! She has just moved in to her new extremely macho apartment 😂

By the way I agree with your assessment of art in Sisyphus - just because it’s the apocalypse there’s no excuse for bad art 🤨

I love the "mystery landlord" 's display of Action Men.

Welcome @hawthornknitter!

Good to see new faces! @boatyardblues you'll be doing new threads every week at this rate!

Yes, the Action Men!! Plus Chief Shao's secret stash of chilled delights

🤣 Also hooted at that.

Welcome @hawthornknitter
I've not quite finished Camellia but ended up starting second twenties which is absolute fluff- not sure if anyone's watched it but housewife with horrible cheating husband goes to uni at the same time as her son and turns out her old friend is a lecturer - very light and feel good- husband is both horrible and pathetic and watching the FL becoming more confident and her relationship with the son/students is lovely and fun. Basically it's very little thought needed! @boatyardblues interesting about so many writers being female- although second twenties is very light I can't imagine a similar story being produced in the UK/America - the way in which it focuses on the FL and her relationships and put her solely at the centre- it's hard to explain exactly what it is.

@JinBhoot I think that was the bit that puts me off rewatching DDTD - I felt so bad for the 2ml although I thought it ended the right way he just broke my heart (similar to love with flaws but more extreme)

Good to see new faces! @boatyardblues you'll be doing new threads every week at this rate!

The more the merrier. I keep a very loose tally and we are over 40 posters now. Not everyone posts as regularly as some of us 😂 but it’s good to know you are out there. 👋 The recent arrivals over the last 12 months or so have finally convinced DH this is not an entirely niche enterprise. I make a point of telling him whenever someone new joins the thread. Unless there’s still only a handful of us & you all socks with your own distinctive posting styles and interests 😉, I’d say there’s growing interest in k/c/jdrama. This thread bobbing up all the time on Active and in the TV folder may tempt a few more in.

@bettys

Yes, the Action Men!! Plus Chief Shao's secret stash of chilled delights

Who the hell stores canned SPAM in their fridge?

Maybe it's easier to slice???

Anyway he seems to prefer it to desperate keen neurosurgeon's proffered homemade cookies, organic breakfasts & porridge

Man food innit. Two slices fried and he's good to go for another hard day at the brain surgery coal face.