MsLattés Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #22): As pandemic restrictions ease the Ajummas of Darkness and ARMY recruits are on spring manoeuvres, camping under the cherry blossom

[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)*
Lovestruck in the City (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)
To My Star [BL] (Viki)
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)
You Make Me Dance [BL] (Viki)


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…

Up to date on Sisyphus and feel we have jumped more sharks than Free Willy on a pogo stick but somehow it's all still extremely good fun. Tempted to start listing my questions but that would take us straight through to a new thread.
Why are subs still stuck on 54% for YAMH is my main question of the evening though? shakes fist at sky

I’ve enjoyed some of the wonky subbing on ep 28 of YAMH. It is definitely variable in quality but I find some of the errors rather endearing. The episode numbers and the 1, 2, 3 counting in taekwondo (I seem to have parallel Mandarin subs) have got me interested in Chinese numbers, as they are not using Arabic numbers. I’m pottering off to do some research....

Here we go: www.woodwardlanguages.com/lesson/numbers-1-to-10-in-chinese/

This is going to be an approximation but I noticed that episode 21 looked like

= + -

And 22 like

= + =

It’s amazing how quickly our brains recognise patterns.

wahey!!! ep29 100% ep 30 83%.... YAMH!!!!

Up to date on HTB30. There are 15 episodes according to MDL so not long for FL1 to decide director is a much better option. Biatch gf is not going to go away & you have to wonder what kind of character ML is to go out with a nutter like her, basically just 'cos she went after him & he just went along with it (has MN red flags all over this kind of behaviour)

Loving the cuteness between FL2 & floppy haired cutie. FL3 not getting much of a look-in but am sure there's going to be a twist with her story.

Oh Mi Ka - you absolute saucepot temptress in your neck to below the knee mint green with overcoat and white socks combo.

Honestly the romance is dryer than the Sahara desert in YAMH. Episode 29 was pretty dull...

Come on Captain Sexy! Heat it up!

@polkettle

Oh Mi Ka - you absolute saucepot temptress in your neck to below the knee mint green with overcoat and white socks combo.

Oh my god just saw this in ep 30 hahahhaha

I am working. Honestly...

LOOK AT HIS MUSCLES, MI KA! LOOK AT THEM!!

How can she not just jump him? Honestly.....🙄

She kissed his cheek first in episode 21, the brazen strumpet. It's his turn to put the Westlife on low, sweep the Lego from the table and make a move.

😂

Meanwhile Sandra Ma's other incarnation in Love Me if you Dare totally swayed by a top notch hotel suite with a violinist, steak, fireworks and a liberal sprinkling of rose petals. Billowing white curtain, oblique shot of misty rooftop spire thrusting up outside and job done. Efficient.

Fickle 🤷🏻‍♀️

We’ve just finished Deutschland 89 - the episodes seemed very short compared to K dramas.
Anyway, it’s entertaining enough though not as good as Deutschland 83 and there were several excellent actors from the previous two series who didn’t feature in this one.

Supper now and then back to Korea and Descendants of the Sun.

Supper now and then back to Korea and Descendants of the Sun.

The morning training run was the high point of DOTS.

@bettys I've caught up on HTB30 too. To be honest I'm not loving it but I want to finish it off- I agree she needs to stop moping and tell the assistant manager to push off.
Now to make a start on catching up on YAMH- can't wait to see the mint green/socks combo

Loving everyone's comments in YAMH! How could she resist his body when he was pumping iron right in front of her! Very smooth Xing Kelei! It needs to move up a notch now, I'm getting a bit bored of it! They'll all be in their dotage before any sparks fly! I was glad 👠 told 🥔 she hated him! Ffs man.... And when the other fella serenaded her in the bar 🤦‍♀️ really mate, you never stood a chance!

Back to Sisyphus for DH and I tonight, only on episode 5, it's entertaining enough though

I had to rewatch last Thursday’s Sisyphus because when I fired up tonight’s I was “eh?” I realised I’d slept through the latter half of the previous episode. I know it’s all gone very meta, but I’m enjoying it so much. It’s full throttle, full commitment high quality timey-wimey tosh.

At this point I’m mainly watching Oh Master for the #houseporn having been transfixed by the locking detail of FLs slidey bedroom door.

However ML from HTB30 has just turned up & possible reason for why mum wants Han Bi Soo to move in so more strands are threading in to the story

It’s full throttle, full commitment high quality timey-wimey tosh good description boaty😂 my brain couldn't keep up with the changing time line stuff, or possibly it just does not make sense??? Lots of fun anyway

Caught up on YAMH- what a minx in that green number - she does love a white ankle sock. I feel like her and Xiao Xia are the two extremes of fashion - it's either neck-knee mint green and ankle socks or hot pants and thigh high boots.
Someone needs to give Shu Wenbo some lessons in food hygiene and possibly a chat about the birds and the bees, probably with simple pictures - bless him

The TL I'm really struggling with in Sisyphus (as opposed to being swept happily along in the current in a life ring going "wtf? Ah who cares- punch that Control Bureau dude!") is the brother's. Thought he crashed into the plane at the beginning which I'd assumed lethal but he's also wandering the timey wimey continuum?

(haven't watched 13'yet which may make Everything Clear)