Coffee Prince / 커피 프린스 1호점 [Keopipeurinseu 1 Hojeom] (2007)
[17 episodes, approx. 1 hour each]
Director: Lee Yoon-Jung
Assistant Director: Jang Joon-Ho
Writers: Lee Jung-A, Jang Hyun-Joo
Cast: Gong Yoo, Yoon Eun-Hye, Lee Sun-Kyun, Chae Jung-An
I vaguely recall trying to watch this many years ago but for whatever reason I didn’t get very far. As this is a highly praised series, I thought I would try to watch it again to see why it’s so popular. I was surprised to see that it was 17 episodes instead of the more common 16 episodes.
This drama is about a mid 20s woman, Eun-chan (Yoon Eun-hye) who looks like a boy and definitely has tomboy mannerisms. She works to support her mom and younger sister. She ends up meeting a rich man, Han-kyul (Gong Yoo) who is about to turn 30, who’s all play and no work. He has never had a proper job and has mostly just sponged off his grandmother’s wealth. Fed up with his behavior, she makes him take over a run-down, dilapidated cafe and challenges him to renovate it and triple its profits in three months. The cafe is named “Coffee Prince” and he decides that only men will be hired. Eun-chan is hired by Han-jyul who thinks she is a boy. They develop feelings for each other which makes Han-kyul question his sexuality.
Here’s another poor girl, rich guy coupling where both are a bit immature or lack knowledge of relationships. It’s a common trope that I am not a big fan of. But the gender bending at least adds a different aspect to it. While the main couple is kind of unrealistic, the second couple counterbalances this as it pairs 30 something year old ex-lovers, Han-sung (Lee Sun-kyun) and Yoo-joo (Chae Jung-an) in a more realistic relationship. They decide to start new again after having broken up a couple of years. They provide a good contrast to the main couple.
The series is quite amusing at times and that is mainly due to Eun-chan who is a a very likeable character. Han Kyul is not as big of a jerk as his archetype typically is, which is nice for a change. While he definitely bullies Eun-chan around, it’s often more in a playful way and she is more than up to the task of pushing back against him. The times when he is flat out mean are usually times when he is hiding his true feelings. I didn’t think the development of their attraction towards each other was very convincing. In fact, I couldn’t really tell why they were even attracted to each other. Story-wise I think this could have been done better. But what makes up for this in spades are the actors who have tons of chemistry with each other. It’s just really joyful seeing them bickering and jousting with each other. It gets better when they became a couple. Unlike most series, the show doesn’t end when they become a couple and you get a good number of episodes with them displaying a lot of physical affection including kissing and “skinship”. They have some conflicts but no more aggravating misunderstandings.
The series makes a half-hearted attempt at creating a love square as Han Kyul is shown to have held a long-term interest in Yoo-joo and Han-sung also happens to meet Eun-chan and becomes interested in her. I wasn’t very convinced by Han-sung’s romantic interest in Eun-chan. His plot with Yoo-joo would’ve worked out the same if she only thought he was interested in Eun-chan. Han-kyul’s initial interest in Yoo-joo amounts to very little other than causing a single moment of misunderstanding that is pretty mild.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable romance drama that’s worth watching. I wasn’t super attached to most of the characters but all the actors were good. Eun-chan was the main attraction as she was very fun to watch no matter who she was interacting with. She also has her own goals and isn’t only focused on romance. I only enjoyed Han-kyul for his interactions with Eun-chan and not so much for his character on its own. It’s hard to believe a guy who’s never had a proper job can suddenly become good at managing a coffee shop and turn it around in only 3 months. Yoo-joo was interesting in an enigmatic way as someone who knows she has bad habits with using men to make other men jealous and tries to stop in order to be in a good relationship with Han-sung. When she sees her own manipulative tactics used on her she feels what it’s like to be on the receiving end and doesn’t like it. She knows she’s a hypocrite. Han-sung was a good partner in contrast to her.
Film Beats (from the East) 