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…

I'll keep an eye out. They don't really seem to do beach reads in China...

Horse could be the work of the painter from her private life?
Or possibly not as it does actually look like a horse!
Finished pinocchio last night- really enjoyed it although I wish they'd shown what happened between yoo-rae and the captain. Now watching the secret Life of my secretary staying out of the rain!

Can we all just take a moment this morning to appreciate Lovely Horse on wall of chief head honcho boss of major investment bank office

I am always astonished at the bad art in dramas

She also seems to have a Cinderella boxset

I have finished Love Is Sweet and went straight back to episode21 the beginning for a wee recap.

I feel there aren't enough ex-ballet dancer MLs, they are obvs very tactile comfortable with physical contact

I particularly like juxtaposition of Lovely Pink Horse with Manly Charging Bull Bronze sculpture. Yin and Yang of Boss Office decoration.
Yes, went to bed at end of episode 19 yesterday thinking "Come on... Get on with it!" and delighted that from episode 20 this morning those saucepots have absolutely obeyed my request 🥰
Talking of ballet dancers, I don't know if earlier threads have discussed which delightful Oppas might (cough) prefer an Oppa of their own (if any poor idol was ever allowed to date anyone at all in their nightmarish lives) but I do wonder if those dramas where FL seems particularly at ease with physical contact is sometimes because her co-star feels a very...safe option...

It’s a grey area pol....very grey.....

However I think Bai Lu is the Park Min Young of Cdrama, she seems to have great chemistry with all her leads....and having disappeared down a YouTube rabbit hole of bts Luo Yunxi clips today their chemistry seems pretty convincing on and off screen

Grey or not I'm delighted to watch him/her/both of them together obviously. Lovely cheekbones and a cheeky twinkle... Pair of absolute minxes.

Pair of absolute minxes - They are delightful!

However on the subject of whether a FL likes being embraced or not by ML, I remember being struck by a particularly awkward looking embrace in The Time We Were Not In Love where FL stood there like a plank while the ML went at it - awkward.

The final episode of Lovestruck (which is a bit of an irrelevant add on to main story in other respects) deals with this topic...
Another one of my sudden, not altogether helpful moments of revelation - he is young Chinese Nigel Havers!

Another one of my sudden, not altogether helpful moments of revelation - he is young Chinese Nigel Havers!

OMG YES!!!!!

He lives near me I saw him once years ago (NH not Luo Yunxi)

😁 Shame it's that way round although I'm sure Nige is a lovely man.
Also...baddy is Chinese David Walliams.
I'll stop now - obviously they're ALSO all people in their own right

Anyone else started Vincenzo yet? I'm only about 15 minutes in.

Watching Sisyphus - it’s intriguing so far in a sci-fi timey-wimey way

Trying very hard not to watch snippets of S2 of Penthouse since I'm planning to restart S1 on Monday😱 It all just seems so gloriously devious and I was only 1 episode in when I stopped because I wanted to binge. (Only patient when waiting for whole series to drop 🤣)

The irony of getting Norton/Macafee pop ups when watching with Olga...

Amazing how the jeans FL borrows from young lad in Sisyphus fit her exactly even though he is taller & broader than her

@bettys

Amazing how the jeans FL borrows from young lad in Sisyphus fit her exactly even though he is taller & broader than her

Kdrama clothes are magic like that. Except when they need to be comedy misfitting, when the magic fails. 😄

DS2 has been caning our Disney+ subscription today. We’ve had Star Wars franchise (Force Awakens), Rocketeer and now Pirates of the Caribbean, plus a 10 min blast of Marvel Age of Ultron. Not even a sniff of kdrama. 😫

Finished Her private life
It was a fun to watch, I smiled pretty much throughout.
I can be fan girl of Shi-an, he is kind, loves his family & knows about art.
It’s almost 10/10 - unnecessary complicated childhood trauma story.

The final episode of Lovestruck (which is a bit of an irrelevant add on to main story in other respects) deals with this topic

It got me thinking too & I wonder what goes BTS when cast is filming such scenes.

Just watched a screener of Minari (perk of DH job) Think it's "out" next month and tipped for awards. Recommend - although sort of film where you watch wondering exactly which of the possible calamities is going to happen when so not an entirely stress-free watch. Beautifully shot and acted. Also a good one for practising language skills as fairly straightforward and slow paced.

I started watching Princess Hours on Viki out of idle curiosity after it was mentioned on that 25 best kdrama list. It’s pretty dated and a bit stilted. I’ve spent the first half hour thinking: “I know that guy. He looks really familiar. Where do I know him from?” It’s only Ju Ji-Hoon, the prince in Kingdom! But 14 years ago, so young. There may be a few other surprises like this. Jury’s still out on whether it is watchable, lots of screaming school girls in the first episode & he’s kind of old school grabby-domineering as schoolboy prince.

I quite like Song Jong Ki as a morally ambiguous lawyer, and it was fun that chauffeur was his crew mate in Space Sweepers , but it's a bit uneven in tone.

@bettys

I quite like Song Jong Ki as a morally ambiguous lawyer, and it was fun that chauffeur was his crew mate in Space Sweepers , but it's a bit uneven in tone.

I thought the shift in tone was weird too. Bit unsettling at the start. See where it goes.

I'm really loving My Love from a Star! Why did I not watch it before?! 🤦‍♀️ Got to episode 16 expecting it to be the last one and I still have 5 more episodes to go! What a great surprise for a Sunday morning!