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…

And I'm now on episode 4 of My love from the star. But I have so many questions already . Why does he shower in a towel, it makes no sense?

You’re not the first to have asked this question. I doubt you’ll be the last.

We’re

It was Mrs Sim that leaked my eyes.

Well you were so right about Healer being all the Grrrr and all the swoooon (what took me so long?): Especially when JCW pulls back the curtain to reveal his extensive rack of hanging knitwear. Phwoar.

Especially when JCW pulls back the curtain to reveal his extensive rack of hanging knitwear. Phwoar.

This made me snort. 😂 But yeah, phwoar. God I love the stylish Korean woollens. 💪

I think the Navillera finale is going to involve some ugly cryface and plenty of snot, but I anticipate it being hugely cathartic and life-affirming.

I am watching Sell Your Haunted House and agree that Jang Nara is badass.

LarryUnderwood yes the shower scene was odd but keep going as it’s adorable in the end.
I know some of it is very frustrating especially when Min Joon is horrible to her.

I vote Navillera in to the list. It's a stone cold classic in the My Mister tradition. Can only go one way...

And yes to YAMH in the other list 👍

Also enjoying Sell Your Haunted House, I liked the poltergeist mum stopping Jang Nara from buying yet another pair of black boots from the shopping channel

Wrt to the header for the next thread, now we are watching quite a wide range of other dramas should we change the non-Korean title? eg Non-Korean Recommendations or You May Also Like.....(which is what seems to pop up on my shopping pages)

I am saving up the recent episodes of Navillera for the weekend when I won’t get interrupted. In the meantime I am watching Begin Again Cdrama chez Olga with finger firmly on the skip button. It has yer man from Instead of Tipsy Just Get SLOshed (sic) and some superb examples of bizarre unidentifiable clothing but isn’t a patch on Love Is Sweet or YAMH 🙁

Oops didn’t mean to post the same pic twice!

Definitely think both Navillera & Sisyphus should go on the list

Is Sisyphus fluffy/light or darker?

I think Sisyphus may belong in the Mad as a Box of Frogs category... But otherwise more thriller than anything else?
Excellent Chinese garmentage.

As I'm currently watching Sisyphus, I think it should definitely be in the Mad as a box of frogs category... We just got to the timey wimey talc episode 🤣🤣

Would Sisyphus go in the sci-fi darker bit?

Just finished My Love From the Star and also wondered about the towel!! Why not just shoot waist up? Also wish Min-Jun wasn't so mean in some of the later episodes! I loved it though.

More hot fashion tips from Begin Again - recycle your old cassettes as earrings I started it as it's a contract marriage. FL is a CEO who wants a baby & has managed to get handsome doctor ML to agree to the marriage due to family debt but didn't let on about the baby bit so is doing her damnedest to try & get him to shag but he is a gentleman so I'm guessing at least another 10 episodes before they kiss. It has its moments but it's actually not worth all the Olga pop-ups

Oooh poppet drill master from YAMH has a new drama starting on Viki - Octagenarians and the 90s which sounds like a heartwarming drama about an old people’s home

@bettys

Oooh poppet drill master from YAMH has a new drama starting on Viki - Octagenarians and the 90s which sounds like a heartwarming drama about an old people’s home

Trailer looks interesting ... 2nd ML from YAMH would have been better. This one is very petite and my brain doesn’t register him as a grown up

I've just finished cheese in the Trap, you were all right about the ending, it didn't bother me too much though, I still really enjoyed the series. The character Lee Seung Kyoung played was so irritating!😠 She really is beautiful though

What should I start next 🤔

@Rowdythree would you recommend it? I loved her in Weightlifting Fairy!

Yes I definitely recommend it Sakura, she was brilliant in Weightlifting Fairy wasn't she! I cringed and laughed in equal measure watching that show 😂There are a few of the same actors in Cheese too.

Stupid work, decorating and a job application have meant I've not watched any dramas for days 😭😭😭.

But just wanted to say definitely yes to Navillera and Sisyphus going on the recs list.

@polkettle see JCW is deffo grr in Healer (but not in anything else 😂)

Thanks @Rowdythree!

ahhhhh!!!! Grrrrrr JCW!!!! What happenned to you!!! Please come back and reclaim your Grrr Status and Your Fine fine knitwear collection!!!!

Look he may not have been Grrrr but his knitwear selection at least was beyond reproach in Lovestruck in the City. I found him (cough) quite warming...

I loved JCW in Suspicious Partners the best... Nothing I've seen him in since has lived up to that