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…

I think that might have been me way back at the start of our live watching 🥔🥔🥔which is now one of my most recent suggested emojis 🤣

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Ep 38! YAMH!!
Mi Ka has BOSOMS!! 😱😱😱😱😱😱😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😱😱😱😳

SPOILER ALERT BEA!! 😂😂😂

Awww. Clever Mr Sim getting Eun-ho to ferry Chae-Rok around. 😁

@Bea

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 Ep 38! YAMH!! Mi Ka has BOSOMS!! 😱😱😱😱😱😱😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😱😱😱😳

🤣 Another SHOCKER - white and rosé wine available in party drink selection. But then what can you expect from the sort of avant garde couple who have a copy of Wallpaper magazine where Westlife should be?

Another SHOCKER - white and rosé wine available in party drink selection. But then what can you expect from the sort of avant garde couple who have a copy of Wallpaper magazine where Westlife should be?

I spotted that!! 😂😂

Ohhh I can't wait to see bosoms and non-red wine! Forget the SWAT missions and emergency surgery, this is the most exciting thing so far!!

Weaning myself off YAMH (sob) with Surgeons which is enjoyable medical nonsense of medical nonsense is your bag. Featuring (in a field of - let's face it , with honourable exception of HP- strong contenders) least convincing surgery yet where they rummage with random forceps in the same rectangle of blood stained rags every time.

Hello everyone. You were SO RIGHT about strong girl bong soon. Finished it today, sob, and they were just such a lovely couple! And now I'm back to working out what to watch next - I'm thinking one spring night, or my love from the star, or goblin, or hotel del luna, or fight my way, or itaewon class. Arghh I can't decide! DH is exasperated.

@LarryUnderwood

Hello everyone. You were SO RIGHT about strong girl bong soon. Finished it today, sob, and they were just such a lovely couple! And now I'm back to working out what to watch next - I'm thinking one spring night, or my love from the star, or goblin, or hotel del luna, or fight my way, or itaewon class. Arghh I can't decide! DH is exasperated.

GOBLIN!!!

Yes Goblin is wonderful and so is Hotel del Luna.
We are two thirds through Descendants of the Sun which is so fabulous and romantic.

It’s strange because like loads of people, I’ve watched plenty of tv series over the years - Breaking Bad, The Affair, The Wire, Queens Gambit to name a few - largely because dh enjoyed them. But apart from Le Bureau and Deutschland 83 I never got really into them and didn’t really care if we finished them or not.
Then I discovered K drama and for the first time I understood how people got really invested in series.
I don’t know why this is - I know in K drama the actors are so handsome and the actresses beautiful, the acting is brilliant, the sound tracks excellent but one could say that about loads of Western ones too.
Maybe they are just particularly clever, witty and original .

I think it’s because they have heart, Andante. You end up rooting for the characters and caring about them. Even the awful ones are usually revealed to be damaged or flawed and have some redeeming characteristic.

I also like genre mash-ups. They keep you on your toes.

Boatyard yes that’s exactly it - a very good way of describing them.

whispers it's because they're written by women...

Polkettle you may be onto something there!

Being written by women makes a big difference I feel.

The Blade and the Brocade finished today. I was getting fed up with it after episode 35, when it seemed there was no one nice left apart from fl and ml, and the final episode did a disappointing cut to black at a crucial moment and then time jumps with a mysteriously appearing and disappearing moustache. Overall: beautiful interiors, interesting to learn a bit about this Chinese Era, romance quite good but too stretched out, and annoying with inconsistent punishments (murderer gets sent away to a farm but a lesser deed leads to imprisonment and execution) and tense situations too quickly resolved. There were times when it seemed well plotted and clever though, so just a bit inconsistent I guess.

@LarryUnderwood

Hello everyone. You were SO RIGHT about strong girl bong soon. Finished it today, sob, and they were just such a lovely couple! And now I'm back to working out what to watch next - I'm thinking one spring night, or my love from the star, or goblin, or hotel del luna, or fight my way, or itaewon class. Arghh I can't decide! DH is exasperated.

So glad you enjoyed SGBS Larry Goblin is on my list to start soon!

I'm up to date with YAMH! Only 2 episodes to go! 😭 What am I going to replace it with?

gingerbiscuit thanks for your review on Blade and Brocade the thing that stands out most for me is the disappearing moustache! I'm tempted to watch it for this alone 😂

Hello, just wanted to check in and say how much I'm enjoying Sisyphus. I'm up to Episode 12 and am a little concerned it might jump the shark though! I do love a good sci-fi so I hope it ends well!

Does anyone happen to know when Vincenzo will be complete? I was hoping to binge that next but have realised it's 20 episodes.

Adored Reply 1988 (despite goay noise) and It's Ok to not be Ok so I'm very grateful for the pinned post and your recommendations!

Watched the latest HTB30- still finding it very frustrating- just start to get into an episode and it ends!
Watching oh my baby around episodes of YAMH- started out a very light hearted comedy but it's got a lot to say on fertility and motherhood as well as being good fun- the MLs voice is lovely as well?

I just came to post about HTB30 @Hydrogensonata! I found this episode particularly frustrating and confusing! What was going on when the director guy was looking up her work in a book, had some time passed by then or what? And why didn't the first love tell his ex gf to do one when she turned up at the company dinner! Argh, so many questions I want answers to 😩😩

... 2 more eps of YAMH!... 👍
Navilleria is beautiful and lovely!
Vincenzo is fabulous! It's epic! And absolutely crackers! Bravo bravo!!

@LarryUnderwood... Sgbs is excellent!... I'd go for Love From a Star next! Deffo!!

Just as a heads up, chums, I saw on Reddit that next two eps of Vincenzo will be delayed. www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/mm0iwo/tvns_vincenzo_to_delay_release_of_episode_17_and/

I'm disappointed in myself. I've been off work for 3 days and only managed to keep up with Navillera. I've got loads of YAMH to watch.. I need to get a grip if I want to keep calling myself a drama addict 😂😂😂