Coffee Prince (2007)

Progressive and Timeless

I’ve watched so many Korea and Chinese dramas and this drama is still so special to me unlike any other. It is timeless while still being very progressive. It was progressive when it came out and is still progressive in many ways compared to current dramas. For that reason and many others I can rewatch this one again and again.

It has an incredibly realistic, lived in feeling to it where you feel like this crazy out there story could be people in the real world. There is an unique natural physicality all the actors bring to story. It’s all over the drama and I just love it. It breathes a kind of life into the story I haven’t seen replicated anywhere else and contrasts so much with the current dramas that love the perfect lighting, long drawn out stares, freeze frame, fake music video atmosphere.

The chemistry between the main couple is some of the best I’ve ever seen, but all the actors and side characters played so well off each other. You can really tell everyone had fun while together filming this.

Can’t praise enough Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun Hye! This is my favorite role of his from an impressive acting career. I won’t call him classically handsome but has a certain kind of charisma that can’t be taught and sucks you in. And I can’t imagine anyone else playing Eun Chan. This is the first girl pretending to be a boy storyline that is actually believable and it’s all because of her.

Coffee Prince brings me nostalgic feelings. Maybe because when I watch it I am transported back to 2007 when it was filmed and I was a college student experiencing my own first love with my now husband. The drama’s costumes, music, cellphones, and coming of age storyline bring me back to that time. It reminds me of a warm summer of youth.

And of course it’s a message of love is love.

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There is almost no way to accurately capture the feel of this drama. There is a reason why it is on most MUST WATCH drama list. Now naturally I love gender bender dramas. There is just something about the idea of cutting off your hair and looking like a guy that just makes me happy. That's exactly what Coffee Prince is about. A young lady who is easily mistaken for a guy and who finds herself having to live a lie just to take care of her family. Of course there is humor and love in it as well- it couldn't be a kdrama without it.

The acting in this drama just takes it to a whole new level. Its undeniable the skill Yoon Eun-hye puts into this role. She is amazing. I loved her in the Princess Hours but was more blown away by her acting skill in this. I mean she even managed to change her walk to appear more masculine. Look her up and you will see why she is so impressive. (I mean who would ever expect HER to pass for a guy)
Also Gong Yoo- well I just want to see him in so much more. I wish he did more dramas I have admittedly not seen his movies.

Not just their acting but how the characters were written and the story line itself is strong. Of-course there are flaws but in the way of dramas at least it doesn't fall off a cliff at the end. The characters feel resolved and complete, even more mature...plus a rare bonus in kdramas not everyone story ends happily.

Music wise I was not super trilled so it lost some points there but when it was over I still wanted to see more which gained it major re-watch point.

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I'm definitely not giving the full marks just because there is Gong Yoo but because I really loved the story
You will definitely understand me if you are a fan coming from the famous BL world well it's not a Shoune-Ai but from the point of view of Choi Han Gyul he was experiencing a prohibited love and that was really fun to watch
to be honest I had start the draa 2 years ago to watch but for unknown reasons I stopped it to wath in ep 1 and this summer when I had a lot of free time I decide to start again, I was literally in love with the drama just from the first two episodes specially because I was really missing a lot to see again Gong yoo on screeen and here wooahh he was so cool, cute, handsome don't know wich word to use to express hw hard I fell for this drama
gender bender genre should be like this one

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I really have to stop getting my hopes up so high

To be honest, I had much grander expectations for Coffee Prince. For a drama that I constantly hear about from every single person in the kdrama community, it wasn’t nearly as impressive as some people made it out to be.

What I liked: There was great comedy and bromance in this drama. I loved how this drama handled particular tropes such as the disapproving grandmother and the time skip slash study abroad trope. They were handled very maturely and the characters were always very supportive of each other. The grandmother wasn’t actually scheming to ruin Eun Chan’s life and accepted her rather quickly into the family. The second leads had a very wild (shall I say) romance and I honestly thought for the longest time that they wouldn’t end up together. It was very refreshing to see two people love each other but lack faith/loyalty and struggle to communicate with one another sometimes.

What I disliked: Too much fighting/conflict. It left a bad taste in my mouth. I understand that the whole romance is supposed to be “hate to love” or whatever but I honestly get attached to characters so easily and so deeply that I always feel emotionally drained when they fight or get into too much conflict. Additionally, this drama lost traction at the end for me and I had to pretty much force myself to finish the last few episodes. It was the same problem I see in a lot of dramas where there was just no more storyline to tell after the leads got together. When a drama lacks a proper side story to back up the romance and the romance is at the forefront of the drama, it’s not wise for writers to have the leads get together as early as, say, episode 11. Because then what are we to do with the remaining 5 hours of the drama? Oh right, create more stupid conflicts and filler conversations and events. Dramas such as The King: Eternal Monarch and Doom at Your Service pull off having the leads get together early on because the romance is never the primary conflict of the drama. Rather, it is more of a catalyst for that primary conflict. On the other end, dramas like 30 But 17 and Gangnam Beauty with less storyline work great and don’t lose traction at the end because the leads do not confess their feelings until the last few episodes. After that, both dramas simply spend a couple episodes tying up loose ends and showing us some fun scenes with the couples.

All in all, I did enjoy Coffee Prince for what it was, but I feel the quality of the drama was blown quite a bit out of proportion when it is not as perfect as we all make it seem. We all love Gong Yoo, but even he can’t save a drama from bad pacing and (sometimes) bad writing.

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Lovers of Goblin will also like Gong Yoo in This Role

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2007 South Korean television series that spanned 17 episodes (~60 minutes/episode).
Go Eun-chan (Yoon Eun-hye) has always been a tomboy and is often mistaken for a man. So when a job with a new coffee cafe becomes available but is only open to men it is an easy role for her to fill - pretending to be a guy. Choi Han-kyul (Gong Yoo) has always been a rick playboy. His grandmother forces him to start a business in order to get him to take things more seriously. A "bromance" turns romance develops between the two main leads.

Spoiler 🚨 I liked this one a lot. I felt incredibly bad for the male lead as he struggled with having feelings towards what he thought was a guy. I also liked all the supporting characters and their reaction to the "female" lead. It was well acted, well scripted, just all around enjoyable. For me a 9/10 just because I did feel like there were some slow parts.

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Oh wow! Coffee Prince doesn't disappoint, and the thing that gets me - is this drama is from 2007!

Coffee Prince was such a delight and played on one of my favourite concepts - girl mistaken for a guy! Yoon Eun-Hye does such a wonderful job transitioning from her normal gorgeous self into the adorably tom-boyish Go Eun-Chan.

The story itself is compelling - it takes the concept of Rich Guy / Poor Girl, but it doesn't shove it down your throat like witnessed in The Heirs or Boys Over Flowers. We are made aware that Gong Yoo's Choi Han-Gyul is the Heir to a major corporation, but his wealth isn't thrown into your face with flashy everything and this is helped with the setting of the coffee shop.
True friendships blossom and we see varying struggles with love - with the two sets of main characters and our supporting cast as well - what I found quite enjoyable was the diverse nature of romantic relationships across the cast and that it wasn't limited to the main four.
In saying that, one of my least favourite couplings was with Hwang Min-Yeop & Go Eun-Sae; I often felt sorry for Min-Yeop and I didn't like the way Eun-Sae behaved towards Min-Yeop, I continually felt conflicted about their 'relationship'.

There is really a lot to love about this drama - the character relationships are intricate with a lot of depth in emotion and story. You become so invested in these characters that when you're nearing the final episodes, a sense of sadness looms.

There are issues tackled in this drama that are incredibly real & relatable & so important to be dealt with on-screen.
This drama could be considered ahead of its time with the way it tackles some of the topics in its story line - they are beautifully handled, and the evolution of the characters is natural as well as their response to the concerning topic at the time.

The drama also tidies up in a really sweet way, it leaves you both happy with how it ends and wishing we could have just one more episode.

I could happily rewatch this drama and really fell in love with this story - I think it's well worth the watch, and could be enjoyed as a beginner drama (although it sets the bar high) or after watching a variety of others.

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The storyline is exciting, a tomboy works hard to make ends meet due to her irresponsible mom and clingy sister, including disguising as a man to be able to work in a male-only coffee shop. Yoon Eun Hye did an excellent job impersonating a tomboy although too cute to be guy. Her chemistry with her annoying boss played by Gong Yoo is natural in every phase of their relationship. However, the second couple relationship is uninteresting, IMO just a filler to add love triangle spice in the drama. They should instead add deeper side stories about the life of the cafe's employees.

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My first K-drama - Coffee Prince...where to start with this one?

STORY 8/10
The show consists of some popular rom-com tropes (girl disguised as a boy, love triangle/square, wealthyXpoor background, parents disapproving of a relationship etc.) but somehow it all feels new and genuine. I was surprised by the 'mature' feel of the series, the characters are in their 20's/30's and their actions are (mostly) very reasonable . There weren't many moments when I would feel embarassed for the characters (a welcome change if you're tired of J-drama characters' antics).
For me, the biggest flaw of this series was its pacing. Really, the first couple of episodes are ok but the second third of the show is seriously boring - I almost abandoned it altogether. Luckily, the last third of the series suddenly becomes fast and entertaining again and the ending is great.
I wish the coffee making and the actual running of the coffee shop were more prominent in the series. And I wouldn't be mad if the three 'princes' had more space than the beta couple (with their endless communication issues).

ACTING/CAST 10/10
They were all very good but the main couple - Gong Yoo as Choi Han Gyul and Yoon Eun Hye as Go Eun Chan - stands out for me. They were both flawless.

MUSIC 7/10
A lot was said about the music score in the other reviews and in the comments. For me, this soundtrack will not become my top favorite or anything, but I would recognize its main themes anytime.

REWATCH VALUE 5/10
Due to the slow second part of the series (ca. episodes 5-10), the rewatch value is quite low (I don't think I would get through that again). Though I will definitely rewatch my favorite scenes in the future.

OVERALL 7.5/10

WHAT KIND OF FEELS THIS SHOW GAVE ME
Happy and dying-of-all-the-cuteness feelz :). The ending was especially awesome - not many dramas have such a satisfactory ending.

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