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…

Eurgh that's a badly subbed/edited version I linked to, must be a better one out there......

Is there good snogging to be gained from Wuxia World Betty's? Is there increased cultural understanding and critical appreciation to be gained from Wuxia World Bettys?
Enjoying the cosmetics office team in She Would Never Know .Think they'd get on very well with the Gangnam leopards.

@boatyardblues

I went to watch Kill Me, Heal Me on Netflix off the back of the 25 must-see kdramas to see it is no longer there. 🙄

I did the same the other day Boaty, very disappointed. It was there not long ago, I'm sure!

Is there good snogging to be gained from Wuxia World Betty's?

In a word, no 😡 Lots of sweet & meaningful gazes but statue kissing —not what I was expecting from Luo Yunxi— however it is very soothing to watch in a white floaty robe way.

Oh I might have answered the wrong question there oh well

I am more than happy for more learned & cultured Wuxia addicts out there to put me on the right path.

Think they'd get on very well with the Gangnam leopards.

I want to be a Gangnam Leopard too 🙋🏻‍♀️

😁 Oh that is disappointing entirely irrelevant to my true interest in expanding my cultural horizons.

Ooo! Anyone watching River Where the Moon Rises.(viki) .. With FL from Nokdu and 2ML ji Soo from sgbs...?
I've just watched ep 1 and its a serious quality one! It's looking to be gooood!
Worth a watch if you want a little grit.. Historical (but not Joseon... Earlier! So it's more grimey and less "chawwwwneeerrrrr!" 😱😂
👍👍👍From me so far!... Am staying up till 2am tonight! BTS on MTV Unplugged!... I know I can catch up tomorrow!.
. And it's on at 7pm tomorrow for mtv UK... But there's something delicious and delightful watching it when the rest of the world is! 😂😂💜🌍... They're doing a cover of Coldplay Fix You! 😱😱😱😱🥰🥰🥰😭😭😭😭😭😭🤯🤯🤯🤯

@bettys

Think they'd get on very well with the Gangnam leopards.

I want to be a Gangnam Leopard too 🙋🏻‍♀️

C’mon Betty! Surely you know you are already.

Hats off to you for your ARMY dedication Bea.

I will try Ji Soo’s new series tomorrow. 👍

I’m currently watching The Guest for the usual shallow reasons. It’s not great bedtime viewing, but KJW in all black priest dress-up is too good to pass up. Netflix disappearing things I had bookmarked is also making me twitchy.

Ha ha more likely to be wearing DS's old jeans & wellies than leopardskin & a mini skirt but one can but dream

I’ll say this, its not every day you see a sewage farm used as a drama location. Well done The Guest for keeping it real.

Bea - I'm watching MTV tonight too! I've organised my break and warned my night shift colleagues 😁🎉😂

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap... 👍💜
So far...
Setlist
Life Goes on
Dynamite
Telepathy
Fix You
Excited! 😁👍💜💜

River Moon.... It is very good in terms of production! Its my first proper serious one in ages!!... No cartoon bubbles!... No comic strip graphics... No Nolan sisters ost... No crazy antics!... No body swapping... No Supernatural powers... It's like a proper grown up drama! 🤯😱😁

Ahhh I missed the first song because my MTV pass thingy wouldn't work!!! I ended up watching a stream of a Spanish version!
Was still great though!!!
I'll watch again later tonight 😊💜💜💜

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap... And anyone else!... All performances here!...

💜😭😍💜😭😍💜😭😍💜😭😍

Aww just watched the Fix You cover! Tae and Jungkook's voices sounded amazing! They all looked so sad though!

I love that their glittery earpieces are colour matched to their glittery microphones.

😍💜😍💜

I have started My love from the star.
I have no idea which subject exactly is he teaching? Philosophy?

Who knows but he's just lovely!!!

Enjoy! As I've stated often... Love From Another Star is one of my absolute faves...😍such a perfect mix of everything!!!! x

Thanks for the videos Bea. I did manage to see them last night in the end. One of my colleagues was very invested in me seeing it and was trying to get the MTV website to work. They said it was nice to see me so happy! 😂😂😂

I got a bit over excited and showed them photos of my BTS dolls 😂.

@TheGirlWithTheArabStrap Completely understandable.. it's not to want to spread the joy! 😍🥰💜

"It's hard to not want to spread the joy!"... argh!