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 am enjoying She Is The One in a ‘It’s Thursday aka the start of the weekend so I’ve had wine’ kind of way. I’m amused by the filming-during-Covid nightclub in ep 2 which is supposed to be wild but just features some dodgy dancing. Also sniggered when 2 obvs loose women approached ML & asked for a drink only to be told ‘Earn some money and buy your own’
Absolutely 😂

It’s page 39/40 (if you are not set to one continuous thread), the weekend hooch is chilling in the fridge and thread #23 is warming in the oven. This the last orders call for additions or amendment to the watch list.

I’m going to ignore the timey-wimey talc and put Sisyphus under dark sci-fi. We can argue it out for reclassification in the next thread if there’s a dispute. Without poo wine, gangsters or superstrength I’m calling it as not bonkers enough to join Strong Girl Bong Soon on the Mad As A Box of Frogs list.

Should I add #Alive to the zombie category? I’m still watching it from behind a cushion in 10 minute bursts, so haven’t finished it yet. I left the zombie fireman climbing the rope half way up to the balcony after hitting menumenumenu in panic the other night. 😱

Yes #Alive should go in zombies 🧟‍♀️

Boaty Fair enough about Sisyphus, it is a pretty dark series.

#Alive, definitely in the zombies category!

Who is dimples on IG???????

@LarryUnderwood Jasper Liu

Well that just brightened up my Friday! 👌

I'm not saying I have just ordered a life size cardboard cutout Hyun Bin as a Covid safe guest for a significant birthday approaching but I'm not saying I haven't either...

@polkettle

I'm not saying I have just ordered a life size cardboard cutout Hyun Bin as a Covid safe guest for a significant birthday approaching but I'm not saying I haven't either...

Amazing Pol you legend!! And happy big birthday. Do let us know the date so we can all bust into a round of 🎶 saeng-il chukahamnida 🎶

😁 Still a few weeks off but hoping Bin will make me seaweed soup. He's wearing a suit which is a shame because ideally I'd like him living with me in uniform.

Betty - what did you make of ep 10 of OH Master? I’m trying to work out how White Suit Man storyline will resolve itself as it is so odd. It’s like another shower has broken in and is squatting inside this one. Are we going to have a ‘Bobby Ewing stepping out of the shower’ moment where it is revealed to have been a fugue state and part of his writing process? The ‘sleep in my bed tonight’ reveal had me lolling, mind - props to the writers. 🤣

@polkettle

😁 Still a few weeks off but hoping Bin will make me seaweed soup. He's wearing a suit which is a shame because ideally I'd like him living with me in uniform.

Where on Earth did you find such a thing? Also, do you have non-family guests in attendance. Will they be shocked to learn of your kdrama proclivities?

My SIL sent me a BTS cookbook for my birthday as a joke present. The recipes look pretty decent so I was very pleased with it. I’m going to try Suga’s beef bulgogi recipe soon.

@polkettle

I'm not saying I have just ordered a life size cardboard cutout Hyun Bin as a Covid safe guest for a significant birthday approaching but I'm not saying I haven't either...

This is amazing! Please share a picture of the dashing Hyun Bin in a party hat! 🥳

I'm really enjoying Goblin! I loved it when they went to Quebec. The age gap between the ML and FL is a bit though. Gong Yoo is bloody gorgeous in it, he has great fashion and beautiful wool coats! 😍

Boaty - I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled a Life on Mars style he was in a coma all along style reveal 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have watched quite a few K dramas now and have noticed few things in pretty much most of the dramas.

1. arm stretches .... somebody is always doing arm stretches ... recently I have tried to do the same but it’s not as relaxing as I have imagined.

2. funeral - 90% of the dramas I have watched there is always a funeral.
   In south Asian dramas there is always a wedding. It’s interesting.

3. I haven’t come across any pregnant character (unless patient in medical dramas) ... May be it’s the type of dramas I am watching.

Oh wow, @polkettle that's amazing 🤩 My DH got me a notebook with Hyun Bin on but I clearly need the life size version!

I've started Start-Up this week. The first episode was so very sad. I think I cried about 5 times!

@bettys

Boaty - I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled a Life on Mars style he was in a coma all along style reveal 🤷🏻‍♀️

Oh my God, I think you might have it Betty. That would definitely work and would fit with the 49 days thing. The absences could be increasing consciousness lifting him out of the fugue.

Mr Lixian in Peaky Blinders might actually make me watch it 🤭

The Chinese series A Love for Separation has been recommended to me as a more authentic take on the parent-adult child dynamic in mainland Chinese culture. It’s on both YouTube and on drama cool, both subbed.

Where on Earth did you find such a thing? Also, do you have non-family guests in attendance. Will they be shocked to learn of your kdrama proclivities?
It's safe to say anyone attending my Government Approved party will have been subjected to my KDrama indoctrination programme over last year. A few with actual success! I've asked people to come dressed with a nod to whatever has helped them through lockdown. That would be a quilted wild swimming robe with Hyun Bin's face on in my case but cardboard Bin'll do it. Looking forward to hanging around the house with him and already wondering if I can dress him in chunky knits.

@polkettle I foresee a whole range of Bunty style cut-out outfits for your Bin (showing my age maybe there)

Already plotting exactly that Bettys. Poor Binny evil cackle

Please can we have one posted with Bin in a frock and feather boa.

It’s a kdrama Build-a-Bin 🤣
I want jazz Bin with record player accessories & 😎