PART ONE.

(I only noticed that there's already a review of this drama, but this is what I think of the drama, so read on.)

The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (커피프린스 1호점, or Coffee Prince) is a South Korean drama that aired on July 2, 2007 in South Korea. It aired every Monday and Tuesday. It stars popular actress Yoon Eun Hye from Goong, Gong Yoo from One Fine Day and Lee Sun Gyun from White Tower and Chae Jung Ahn. The drama contains vaguely homosexual elements, although these are disputable given the theme of the plot.

Due to the show's popularity, MBC had announced extension of the show by one episode. MBC also aired a special on August 28, 2007. Gong Yoo watched the special with 1000 fans from all over Asia.

CAST
# Gong Yoo as Choi Han Kyul (Oh my baby boo! I started to like him here)
# Yoon Eun Hye Go Eun Chan (She's incredibly talented!)
# Lee Sun Gyun as Choi Han Seong (Cute and talented ahjusshi..)
# Chae Jung Ahn as Han Yoo Joo

SUPPORTING CAST
Coffee Shop Members
* Kim Chang Wan as Mr. Hong
* Kim Dong Wook as Jin Ha Rim
* Kim Jae Wook as Noh Sun Gi
* Lee Uhn as Hwang Min Yeop

Han Kyul's Family
* Kim Young Oak as Han Kyul's Grandmother
* Kim Ja Wook as Han Kyul's Mother
* Choi Il Hwa as Han Kyul's Father

Eun Chan's Family
* Park Won Sook as Eun Chan's Mother
* Han Ye In as Eun Chan's Sister
* Lee Han Wie as Meat Shop Owner (Friend of Eun Chan)

SYNOPSIS
Choi Han Kyul, played by Gong Yoo, is the cocky son of a rich family who runs a coffee franchise. He doesn't believe in love and certainly doesn't want to get married despite his family's requests. On the other hand, Go Eun Chan, played by Yoon Eun Hye, is a 24-year old tomboyish female who gets mistaken as a guy quite often. She takes up every job possible - waitress, delivery man, etc - and has the responsibility of taking care of her mother and younger sister. Eun Chan accidentally meets Han Kyul twice, once on a delivery and once during a robbery. During the robbery, Eun Chan's delivery motorcycle ends up being destroyed. Han Kyul, not knowing that Eun Chan is actually a girl, decides to hire Eun Chan as a false "lover" in exchange for money so that he can escape the blind dates arranged by his grandmother. Meanwhile, Han Kyul's cousin, Choi Han Seong, is an established music producer and his ex-girlfriend Han Yoo Joo, who Han Kyul secretly loved for nine years, is a famous artist who studied in New York. The two were lovers for about 8 years but their relationship ended when Yoo Joo broke up with Han Seong. Two years after they separated their paths cross again when Yoo Joo returned to Seoul.

After getting an ultimatum from his grandmother, Han Kyul takes over their newly bought coffee shop, which was later named Coffee Prince, to prove his ability, both to his grandmother and Yoo Joo. In order to attract female customers, he only hires good looking male employees. In a struggle with money, Eun Chan, whom Han Kyul has already mistaken as a boy, hides her gender identity to get a job at Coffee Prince. Soon the feelings start to spark between Eun Chan and Han Kyul. Despite not knowing Eun Chan was a girl, Han Kyul starts to question his sexuality and decided to see a psychiatrist.

CREDITS TO http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_1st_Sho...fee_Prince

OKAY, THIS IS WHERE I SPEAK.

Totally GOOD!

I'd give ten thumbs up for it, if I DO have ten thumbs. The reason? Simple.

You have Gong Yoo as the poised Choi Sajangnim (boss/manager). He looks good in it, the role AND the clothes. His facial expressions are totally cute, especially during the times he was stuck in his ‘homosexuality’ dilemma. Small feat, considering us viewers know fully well that Go Eun Channie is INDEED a girl, but yeah, the sajangnim doesn’t. Anyway, I totally love his wardrobe in this one, slick and stylish. Although nearing the end, he wears this totally un-cool shirt red/pink with white polka dots. Arghhh!!! But overall he fits in the role perfectly. He has the perfect facial expressions; when he grins, he grins like how a normal guy grins. When he gets angry at Eun Channie, he gets angry properly. And I noticed that he gets angry at the poor girl/guy (LOL) VERY VERY much. I mean, there’s bound to be many incidents that made him angry to her all the way. And I don’t think it’s repetitive; as most dramas were bound to be, since the way he gets angry is very different for every time, but in this drama, maybe I ogle too much at Gong Yoo.

But NO!

Choi Sajangnim is the man to be loved, he cries easily in this drama; check out the part nearing the end – sorry I can’t remember which episode, it’s been a week since I watched it off Mysoju – where he cries in his car when Eun Channie went to Italy to further her studies as a barista, as per agreement with Choi Halmoni. He refused to go send her off at the airport; instead she lugs her BIG BIG BIG luggage alone to her awaiting plane, while he cried like a baby. Ahh… I felt the urge to put my hands around him and soothe his feelings then, and according to the Specials Episode, he cried in reality; it was like something erupted in him and he HAD to cry. But I better stop talking about Choi Sajangnim, feel free to tell me I need to add more details about this guy. HOT guy. LOL. I can go on and on and on about him in this drama.

Reason number 2; you have Go Eun Channie. She’s shabby, fitting the role of the Taekwondo master by day and delivery girl by free time. She delivers milk, food, anything; she does it willingly and without complaining, she’s the ‘man of the house’ as her father died leaving the family without a stable income. She left her studies, because as she puts it, “I’m stupid anyway.” But personally I don’t think she is, since she eventually went to train as a barista anyway. So the moral of story is: don’t think you’re stupid, you’re not. You just need to find something you like, and GO FOR IT!!

Anyway, Eun Channie is someone you just HAVE to love; she has the guts to stand up for herself and her family. She eats a LOT, and she’s damn thrifty. Imagine a girl picking up a piece of meat that fell off the table and insisting that it can still be consumed, after being grilled. Ahh… wait, let me say she is damn thrifty when it comes to food, since like I say, she eats really well. In the beginning, she had the famous eating bet with Hwang Min Yeop, who’s stupid and naïve, but also nice and loyal - revealed as the drama progressed – he becomes one of the Princes at the coffee shop. The guy is dead gone on Eun Channie’s little sister, player Eun Sae. In the episode, he didn’t know that Eun Chan is a GIRL; as the little brat of a sister Eun Sae calls her unni ‘Oppa’, making the poor guy think that Eun Chan is a guy, and to settle the disagreement both have to eat 5 bowls of mee (I think?) and the winner gets Eun Sae. Of course you get to see cunning side of the sister; Eun Sae whips out ridiculous and gross food to mention while the guy is fighting for his true love. In the end of the bet, the guy puked. So Eun Sae wins again. Aiyohh..

I admire Eun Chan, so I’ll tell more of her. She’s very level-headed, and she’s not afraid to raise her voice at the boss, especially when she’s right. She is also not shy of displaying her affections, and she’s friendly. That is how she got to know Han Sung Ahjusshi personally. In the beginning, she developed a crush on the hot and cute Ahjusshi - does the pair go well? – since he’s a brother/father figure to her. He’s smart, understanding and caring. To think of it, he displays more affections and outmost care for Eun Channie comparing to what he displayed towards Han Yoo Joo, his on and off girlfriend of 9 years (!!) and the woman Choi Sajangnim loved (silently) for 9 years (!!). God, what I’d give to have 2 guys so loyal, even one guy will be hard to find. But later after she found out that Ahjusshi has his eye on someone, for NINE YEARS, she realized that she’s no match for the lucky woman. She steps out, and splurges her affection on the Sajangnim.

Next, you have the cute Han Sung Ahjusshi. He’s what a woman wants; at least I know I’d love a guy like him. Smart, cute, matured, loyal, caring.. I can find thousands of adjectives to describe his good sides. He has a bad side; erm.. I can’t find any yet. I’ll tell you when I found one. He’s not a perfect angel though, he had suffered when Yoo Joo Unni left him for another guy without any warning, and so he’s not ready for a new love affair. But he has the unspoken affection for Eun Channie, an affection that brings out the best in him.

The climax of his relationship with Eun Chan was when he suddenly kissed her out of nowhere. That was the period he really wavered on his love for Yoo Joo Unni. And the unni knows too; she demanded him to choose between two. But when he asked for time, she won’t give any – the unni - , she took a really drastic decision of going back to New York as she couldn’t forgive him. This is the period his loyalty is really tested; he broke off any contact with Eun Chan, to give himself time to mull it over. But yeah, in the end, he chose Yoo Joo Unni. Otherwise the Sajangnim will be left dateless, hello? But yeah, Han Sung Ahjusshi is the guy to model over if you’re a guy; he’s 99% perfect, personality-wise.

As for Yoo Joo Unni, personally I don't really like her. It's obvious that she's toying with both heroes' feelings, she played around with Sajangnim; something so obvious when Choi Halmoni was admitted into hospital. She knew that she's betrothed to Han Sung Ahjusshi, she demands for his full attention - after all the stuff she inflicted upon him, stupid girl..grrrr - and still play around with the Sajangnim. I pitied the poor guy who was with Eun Channie when he saw the Unni and Sajangnim together, so cozy-like, so close. Eun Channie? To say her heart's shattered at the sight of the two together would hurt her feelings; she was CRUSHED, literally when she saw the whole thing. That was how she played with the Sajangnim.

As for the Ahjusshi... She was most cruel and unmerciful towards him. But I guess when you really love someone, you become more and more selfish towards them. She demanded for full attention after she broke his heart. Leaving someone without any notice after cheating on him for a year prior of you ditching him is cruel enough. But to come back after two years and wanting him to take you back is very...unspeakable. But I know, I know, Ahjusshi loves her very much, even if I'm him, I'd still take her back.

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PART TWO.

Now I'm going to comment on the supporting casts.

THE PRINCES.
AAAHHHHHH!!!!!! They are every girl's wildest dream! No Sun Ki, Jin Ha Rim, Hwang Min Yeop, Mr Hong.. Although I may not add Mr Hong as a good-looking guy, but onse he donned the Prince's attire, he looks cute and I won't mind introducing him as someone I knew. LOL.

No Sun Ki has a painful past, and he remains one of the Princes that supported the Eun Chan x Sajangnim relationship. His girl is one that is evasive, always gone in one blink. During the later episodes, we get to see him transform from a cold guy to a caring guy, something incomprehensible when you see his cold face. He barely has any mixture of emotions! But he cooks for his girl and her kid, something quite uncommon nowadays in cold guys. And to think, when Eun Chan's back from Italy, he's the one that hugged her first! Now, that is what I call transformation and changes. ^_^

Jin Ha Rim is a guy, quite pervie in my opinion. I mean, the first thing he said to Eun Chan was to comment on the girl's physical appearance; no, not how she dresses, but how she looks. If I might recall, he commented on her cheekbones, her complexion. Now, if he's saying that to a girl, I don't care. But saying those kinds of stuff to a 'guy', that REALLY gives me the creep. But I'm quite excited to see him in this drama since I watched him daily in 'Unstoppable Marriage' as the stingy 3rd son, Wang Sambaek. His character in the sitcom in hilarious and he ramains hilarious in Coffee Prince! He's damn pervert, he's cute and demanding - in the sweet way - towards Eun Chan. He even had a nickname for Eun Chan --> My Chan! I think this drama is another huge steeping stone for him to go far, he's downright hilarious when he's pulling pranks on Sajangnim, he's downright angry when he at last found out that Eun Chan is a girl. Oh, by the way, can I give a spoiler? Jin Ha Rim was the one to let the cat out of the bag, he was the one who went and told Sajangnim that Eun Chan's a girl. And messing up the situation more than it needs to be. Aiyohhh.. But he's cute, so I forgive him. LOL.

Next, Hwang Min Yeop. He's a guy that is strong as Hercules, but as dumb and straight as anyone can be. He was accepted by accident as a Prince, he was picking a fight with Eun Chan when he did all the hard work at the renovation of Coffee Prince at the beginning. The Sajangnim agreed when Ha Rim commented of his Herculean strength, and thus he was offered a job on spot. Later, he becomes the first to know that Eun Chan's a girl; he was waiting for Eun Sae to come out of the women's public bath when the two sisters came out together. But since he's quite slow, he dim-wittedly told Mr Hong - who already knows though - and then told No Sun Ki when he learned of Sun Ki's search for his evasive girlfriend. But stupid and dumb he might be, he helped Eun Chan in any tasks that requires great strength after knowing her gender, he insisted that guys should do all the hard work. I think I like him; so I think his love story with Eun Sae is indeed satisfactory, although how the girl treats him is truly cruel, in a way. Eun Sae is indeed someone you should NEVER imitate - in terms of actions and thinkings - in real life. Come on, spare the guy a little bit of sympathy! But I like how loyal he is to Eun Sae, she's his first and hopefully last love; eventhough when she has her eyes on Sun Ki.

I'm at loss at how to describe Mr Hong, but all I can say is he understands how love works; he keeps on chuckling and stuff when he sees the petty arguments Eun Chan and Sajangnim got into. He says, " They're in a love war." And he's hopeless in terms of hygiene, he wipes his feet - toes and all! - and then scratches his butt, and then wipes his face with the same cloth, and the wipes his teeth with it. EWWWWWWW! But he's a nice guy, and I like him.

I'll stop commenting about the casts, I won't be able to stop if I do go on. I hope what I already wrote is sufficient for the casts.

As for the plot, I think it's totally new. Not the 'love rectangle' thing, but how each character is exposed with each other. How Eun Chan meets Sajangnim for the first time while on her food delivery - girls, get ready to ogle, Gong Yoo is in his towels..ONLY... - , how Eun Chan stumbles into Sajangnim and Yoo Joo Unni thus earning himself a job with the impossible Sjangnim as his 'boyfriend', how Eun Chan meets up with Ahjusshi, who is one of her subscribers of delivery; she goes to his house every day. In simple words, the focus of the story is Eun Chan.

Later, when Eun Chan is out on a date with the Ahjusshi for the first time, she's dressed in this totally beautiful wine/cream-coloured gown with sequins and watch how she accidentally falls into Ahjusshi's arms; it's ACCIDENTAL! Yoon Eun Hye did a good job wobbling in the high heels; she sure fooled me.

I kept on waiting to see how Sajangnim would find out about Eun Channie's gender, but I was sadly kept waiting - not that I did not have fun waiting for - until episode 8 (I believe) when Ha Rim opened his big yap of a mouth. In the between, see how Sajangnim couldn't keep his focus in one place, thus making him grab Eun Chan to the upper storey of the shop and asking; nay, demanding for a hug. LOL. Sweet.

What else, eh?

I'd have to think first of what to add. But what I can say is that this drama is worth your time and money; I'd watch it at Mysoju - and I thank dear God for making me pick this drama as the first drama I watched off Mysoju - continuously in 3 days. I'd lay around in my room in the dark, waiting for the buffering to complete until 3am. I know I'm crazy. LOL. So, for the excellent work the casts shown in this drama, I'd already ordered my copy of this drama. NoW I'd have the opportunity of watching it on telly, instead of the small-screen computer. YES!

As for the ratings, I'd give them 97.9 percent. It's not perfect, but it's near-perfect. I mean, how much k-drama I've seen that maintained a happy-go-lucky atmosphere, yet have the same aching longing? This is the first drama I've seen that kept me anticipating each scenes, some feat since I watched 'Sassy Girl Chun Hyang' with 30 percent less anticipation. Maybe it's because 'Sassy Girl' have many sad moments?

Anyway, it's totally worth every dime, every second.

I love this drama. I am now an official Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun Hye fan. I'll be looking out for Gong Yoo when he's out of his military service term. And I'll see if 'One Fine Day' is worth my time too; it's aired on local channel but dubbed in Mandarin. It sounds bad in Mandarin..ughhh...., but based on what I'd seen - lots of Gong Yoo crying- but yeah, maybe I'll give it a try. Gong Yoo's in it! LOL.

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Here are some pictures, taken from various fans at Multiply. Thank you all!!!!

I forgot to add that I LOVE YOON EUN HYE'S HAIR! It rocks!! I soo love her short hair. I might think about cutting my hair short too. Although I'm not sure my face suits that kind of style; but yeah. LOL.


PS: I am not usually romantic by nature, but I love the last picture. It just have an in-depth feeling; like how Eun Chan and Sajangnim's romance is a real-life reality. I know it's not. But won't it be nice if it happens to someone?

Dear God, I love this drama.

wow, that's a long review, awesome! i love this drama, yea YEH's short hair is awesome. it's sad gong yoo's going to the military =( hope they'll work together again

Yep. You read all the way? Wow. I admire and salute your bravery. LOL. Well, basically it's what I thought of the drama; so KAWAII! I tend to write a lot about my thoughts once I get down to business. LOL. Yep, I love her hair but I heard she's growing out her hair again. Yeah well. Yoo is going to be off this 14th right? That's basically TOMORROW! O M G!!!!

I saw this recently. Some of the characters are funny.

I agree. It was hilarious, all of the characters are. You see each character with their humorous side, even when they're angry I laughed like crazy because of how funny their face expression was. I love this one. I wish there's more k-drama light in terms of plot and stuff like this, instead of dying, and crying stuff I usually see. PLUS GOOD-LOOKING GUYS. LOL. I'm a girl, so sue me..

i watched this drama about 2 months ago. i'm happy i did it introduced me to gong yoo i loved his acting and also wanted to watch it at first because of eun chan, who i saw in goong.despite what anyone says i think she acts well and she proved it coffee prince!

I agree. And I'm thankful to Soompi for introducing me with Mysoju. That's the place I watched CP. I mean, Gong Yoo is very talented as I find in this drama, and to think this is one of his projects that achieved big success, when he's nearing the title 'veteran' in this career. He's like 10 years already in the industry.

i think i have encountered already a review from 4jpz about coffee prince review its just that yours is too long. anyway, thank you for this.

I want to download Gong yoo's movie and drama series. I really really like the guy. Thanks for the help.

Have a Nice life

OMG Amazing review! I confess that I skimmed it due to lack of time, but you were DEAD ON, I felt like we had the same feelings for the drama. Well, I'm a guy so i can't say that, but I'm in LOVE with Yoon Eun Hye, her acting was SOOOOO superb! Did you watch the special? Psh. I bet you did, anyways she cried in the special while they were out eating with the cast and she couldn't stop crying because she said she didn't want to leave Go Eun Chan, she felt like her character had become a part of her. Oh, so touching. That is so much passion in itself, and it just goes to show the passion that went in to make such an awesome drama. I just wish it got more credit. And I'm CRAVING a sequel that WON'T mess it up. But, just add on to the many flavors of coffee this drama has brought into my life.