MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #25): We may not always agree (on shows, oppa preference, wonky fashion) but we are never disagreeable…

[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)
Doom At Your Service (Viki)
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)*
Mad For Each Other (Netflix)
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)*
Move to Heaven (Netflix)
My Mister (Viki/Netflix)*
My Unfamiliar Family (Viki)*
Navillera (Netflix)*
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
#Alive (Netflix)
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)
Sisyphus (Netflix)
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 ‘You May Also Like’
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)
You Are My Hero (Viki, 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. 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 bum 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!

@Jisungismylife Turns out I'm very flippant when it comes to my pretty lead men

Fickle…..I have also been very fickle 🤷🏻‍♀️ and have learned to accept it as a part of the addiction.

I'm considering it bettys 😉

Thanks for the MV boaty - description of It has a Prisoner-meets-Boys to Men vibe with a Monty Python twist is bang on….I was sort of going with until the final Gilliam-esque shot

Missed off a bit….
Should’ve said going with the flow

That MV is from 2001. Interesting to see kpop from 20yrs ago

[quote bettys]@Jisungismylife Turns out I'm very flippant when it comes to my pretty lead men

Fickle…..I have also been very fickle 🤷🏻‍♀️ and have learned to accept it as a part of the addiction.[/quote]
Fickle - that's the word! Knew flippant wasn't quite right!!!😂😂

Is fickle not this thread’s watchword? I’m all about Song Kang at the mo and he is definitely outside of our half your age + 7 sort-of-rule. He was great to watch in Navillera but he has Kim Jae Wook’s ability to sell the sexy scenes in Nevertheless. 🔥🔥🔥

Despite spilt coffee guy being a sweetie I am still🤞for Unni loves Unni. They've both cast their fair share of longing glances at each other.
And bang in to Mr Beanie. This show has good Saturday night treats.

Just watched Nevertheless, Im filled with anticipation of things going a bit wrong. But who could resist the charms of Song Kang?? Even though you think he's shagging lots of other people 😂. I love all the side characters. I want Unni loves Unni!!

Why are there so many orphans in kdrama? (Seo In Guk in Reply 1997)

It's definitely a reoccurring theme boaty

I'll have to catch up on Nevertheless tomorrow- I wish they'd do more than one episode a week though!
Today I've been watching lovely horribly which popped up on Netflix- it's a bit all over the place but it's got Song Ji Hyo in it who I love and possibly the 2ml least likely to ever win the girl

Is it just for extra sympathy? Rather than a terrible death rate of parents in their 30s? 🤣

Today I've been watching lovely horribly which popped up on Netflix- it's a bit all over the place but it's got Song Ji Hyo in it who I love and possibly the 2ml least likely to ever win the girl

I started it but was not keen on the ML. It turned out the actor been the subject of a particularly horrible scandal, rape allegations or similar, so I jumped ship.

@boatyardblues

Today I've been watching lovely horribly which popped up on Netflix- it's a bit all over the place but it's got Song Ji Hyo in it who I love and possibly the 2ml least likely to ever win the girl

I started it but was not keen on the ML. It turned out the actor been the subject of a particularly horrible scandal, rape allegations or similar, so I jumped ship.

I wasn't impressed by the ML but after a quick Google and I think I'll jump ship on that one.

@boatyardblues perhaps the abundance of orphans is linked to all the truck of dooms?

Omo, I've just finished the Youth of May, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's watched this. It was soo good, but soo sad 😭 just cried my eyes out to the last episode. Anyway, if anyone wants a really well produced, really well acted romantic tear jerker, this is the one for you!

Off to read Yumi's Cells for cheeriness before sleep

I was scoffing at amount of orphans and orphanages in Korea and ended up googling it and it turned out it IS a bit of a thing. Or at least abandoned children is - through stigma attached to adoption and abortion laws. I'll see if I can find article.
Btw I don't think we are fickle so much as welcoming and inclusive in our Oppa interests.

thegroundtruthproject.org/korean-orphans-languish-system-tradition-new-laws-make-adoption-difficult/

@boatyardblues I agree about the number of orphans. Thanks for sharing the article @polkettle Will read! I know single motherhood used to be extremely taboo which led to a lot of children being adopted. Hopefully that's much less of a trend now.

I've also not watched a single drama where there wasn't childhood trauma and/or a dead parent 

I have 7 episodes of Itaewon Class left and am not sure I can do it. It would be the first drama I've dropped... I cannot stand Yi-Seo though.

Oh my goodness, that was a very sad read. I didn't realise the stigma of single motherhood and being an orphan was ongoing. Heartbreaking.

[quote polkettle]thegroundtruthproject.org/korean-orphans-languish-system-tradition-new-laws-make-adoption-difficult/[/quote]
Thanks for sharing this Pol! Very interesting! I honestly thought the number of orphan stories and orphanage visits by the wealthy were just dramatic licence! But after reading the article and I can see that's what it must actually be like! Also the stigma of being an orphan has been shown in several dramas, but again I didn't think much of it. 😔

Sakura that's how I felt about Itaewon Class. I loved the energy of the first few episodes but just lost the will to care from about ep 9/10. I did continue it, but I can't say I enjoyed the rest! I just hate to not finish things when I've invested so much time on it 😂

I didn’t finish Itaewon Class even though PSJ was lovely in it. I loathed the female lead and was meh about most of the other characters. It also turned me off Ahn Bo whotsisnane permanently.

Thanks for sharing the article Pol, I didn't realise the difficulties around single motherhood and adoption. It's so sad.

I’m watching Reply 1997 and liking Seo In Guk in this very much. The ML/FL dynamic is great and his mounting frustration/angst (vs her obliviousness) is very entertaining.

The one annoying thing about the Reply series is that the FL is always academically rubbish and gets by on being ditsy, socially astute or personable, whereas the ML is always gifted, hardworking and/or celebrated for his achievements.

@sakura06 I get what you mean... Itaewon was sooo good at the beginning The father son relationships... It was sooo interesting... But I didn't really care a jot about the 2 FL... PSJ was soooo good... But the last couple of eps were truly "meh"... 😉😉😉😉