MsLatté’s Daebak Cybercafé (Kdrama addicts #28): The Lord gives and He takes away. Lee Jong Suk & Park Hyung Sik return from the army; Seo Kang Joon departs.

[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. 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 Name (Netflix)
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/Netflix)*
Mr Queen (Viki)*
Mr Sunshine (Netflix)
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung (Netflix)
Tale of Nokdu (Viki/Netflix)*
The King’s Affection (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)
Hometown Cha Cha Cha (Viki)*
Love from a Star (Netflix)*
Lovestruck in the City (Netflix)
Monthly Magazine Home (Viki)
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)/Couple on the Backtrack (Netflix)
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, Netflix)*

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)*
Hospital Playlist 2 (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)
Racket Boys (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)
Ashin of the North (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/Netflix)


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)*

AVOID, AVOID, AVOID aka “the shit list” 💩

Melting Me Softly
The Birth of a Beauty
Well-Intentioned Love season 1 (S2 is fine)

Thread Regulars’ Top Scoring Dramas of 2020
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). 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 getting serious FOMO for Happiness!^
^
I have already stalled with SEARCH WWW, its not bad really but not grabbing me. This happened with Racket Boys, She Was Pretty and a few more. Life is too short and there are too many other K Dramas to view to waste 9+ more hours
🙄

Making a Kimchi Stew with Spicy Pork Stir Fry tonight. Weather has gone frosty and freezing here so craving Hot and Spicy food.

All the scheming identikit wispy beard men in sageuk do make me glaze over. More Fotherington Thomas Rowoon skipping in the flowers please.

Enjoy your strew Aesops we went out for korean food yesterday and I had a bubbling hot soybean paste stew, so delicious and warming 😋 did burn my tongue sightly though 😬

DH and I still have ep4 of happiness to watch, but we've only watched ep 1 of Chimera, so we will probably watch that tonight. Going to stick a soothing episode of Coffee on after dinner

Pausing The Kings Affection ep 12 halfway through to say WHY is (redacted) behaving like that to (redacted) when they could TOTALLY just (redacted). Honestly eyeroll.

@polkettle

All the scheming identikit wispy beard men in sageuk do make me glaze over. More Fotherington Thomas Rowoon skipping in the flowers please.

So much this, though the age appropriate oppa king is also floating my boat.

DH and I still have ep4 of happiness to watch, but we've only watched ep 1 of Chimera, so we will probably watch that tonight. Going to stick a soothing episode of Coffee on after dinner

What?!? I admire your restraint, but why??? Ep 4 of Happiness is perfection. I bet you’re one of those people that still has Christmas chocolate left in February. Am I right?

😂 No, absolutely not! Christmas chocolates only last for the day. The reason is, we had to watch episode 3 twice due to us both falling asleep, so we haven't had time to watch episode 4 yet

OK, that makes more sense. I’d be prioritising that for my wakeful hours if it was me.

Okay much less eyerolly by end of episode and have forgiven (redacted) But honestly Rowoon...you're a bit dense lovey.

Anyone know/seen anything about Work Later, Drink Now? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workk^Later,r,DrinkNoww

Looks right up my straße.

I loved Melo- the scene later on where they're talking about how to get PPL into a drama and act it out is great- it's all very knowing!
I've succumbed to the sexy monk shenanigans of 5-9 and storing up jirisan, happiness and now we're breaking up for later in the month when I'm not quite so ridiculously busy!
I also have this thread to blame/thanks for my discovery of webtoons- started with Yumis cells and then went down the rabbit hole....

Kings Affection has been sooo frustrating! But last ep it was getting gooood!... I love Kim Ga On too! With his luvley tousled hair! 🥰🥰🥰

Jirisan... I can't get over The Potato Bomb!! 😁😂😂😂

Well, finally some majestic lady lumps to advance the plot! Is this going to turn out like Liberace, where everyone knew but chose not to point out the bleeding obvious?

@Bea

Jirisan... I can't get over The Potato Bomb!! 😁😂😂😂

Have you got the one in the snake trap yet? Dear lord!

I’d quite like a potato bomb for my Kettle chips stash. I’m lucky if a get a look in at all with foraging bear cubs in the house.

Yep! Watching snake trap ep now!... It's mad!

This video also talks about popularity in Korean language twitter.com/quicktake/status/1460555219222343684?s=21

@Bea

Yep! Watching snake trap ep now!... It's mad!

It was. I know who I would have got a lift back to base with!

@boatyardblues... i kept shouting!!!!....CHUCK IT!!!!!!!.... 😲😫

😂 I did NOT understand the potato bomb. So it's really really really explosive but you can also keep a few on your workshop shelf as a souvenir next to your boxes of nails? And (haven't looked this up) but I so want it to be a bomb made of potato rather than because it looks like a potato.
If potato boy in Nevertheless had had a few potato bombs in the mix on the bus it would have livened things up no end.

On The King's Affection - "Ooh those pesky Confucian scholars!" not a phrase I've thrown at the telly before.

I pointed out the very genteel Confucian protest to DH.

@Hydrogensonata I also have this thread to blame/thanks for my discovery of webtoons- started with Yumis cells and then went down the rabbit hole

Yes it starts so easily….then you realise you have 3 webtoon apps on your phone AND know the Olga toon equivalent for when you’ve used up all your coins and need to fast pass 😫

Those with strong constitutions and have enlisted in the Bangtan ARMY! ...💜💜💜💜💜💜

Report for duty!!! Monday 22nd Nov 1am - 4am... American Music Awards... BTS live on stage at the Awards (not video link!!!) 😱... not One!!! But TWO performances 😲😲😍😍... Butter Remix with Megan Thee Stallion and the My Universe with Coldplay... plus they're up for a handful of awards Artist of The Year being one of them!!! - it will be their first performance in front of a LIVE audience since covid hit!!!😱😲😭😭😭😭😭 Have no idea how i'm going to watch it... it'll be available somewhere... soooo excited!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!! 😂💜😂💜