Coffee Prince

 

Coffee Prince  is a 2007 South Korean television series starring Yoon Eun-hye, Gong Yoo, Lee Sun-kyun, and Chae Jung-an. Based on the novel of the same name written by Lee Sun-mi, it was aired on MBC's Mondays and Tuesdays at the 21:55 (KST) time slot from July 2 and August 28, 2007 consisting of 17 episodes.

The drama portrays the story of an unlikely romance between a tomboyish woman, who dresses like a man in order to get work, and a young food empire mogul. It contains homoerotic elements, as the man does not initially know of the tomboy's true sex. Hailed as a hit for its high ratings, the drama received positive reviews from critics and won multiple awards.

Plot

Choi Han-kyul (Gong Yoo) is the grandson of chairwoman Bang (Kim Young-ok) of Dong-in Foods, a company that has a thriving coffee business. He has never had a job and does not care for responsibility. Han-kyul is hung up on his first love, Han Yoo-joo (Chae Jung-an), who only sees him as a friend. Go Eun-chan (Yoon Eun-hye) is a 24-year-old tomboy who is often mistaken for a guy. Her father died when she was 16 years old and since then she has taken over as the breadwinner in her family. When Han-kyul and Eun-chan meet, he, not knowing that she is a girl, decides to hire her to pretend to be his gay lover so that he can escape the blind dates arranged by his grandmother.

After getting an ultimatum from his grandmother, Han-kyul takes over a rundown old coffee shop, later renamed "Coffee Prince," to prove that he's capable, both to his grandmother and to Yoo-joo. In order to attract female customers, he only hires good-looking male employees. Eun-chan, desperate for money, continues to hide her gender to get a job at Coffee Prince.

Soon, feelings start to develop between Eun-chan and Han-kyul. As Han-kyul is unaware that Eun-chan is a woman, he starts to question his sexuality and is thrown into turmoil. When Han-kyul finds out that Eun-chan is a woman, he gets angry. But soon, they make amends with each other and the two fall in love again. Eun-chan eventually leaves for Italy to study and Han-kyul supports her.

 

Cast

Main cast

·         Yoon Eun-hye as Go Eun-chan

A cheerful, friendly girl with a large appetite, she works multiple jobs to support her family. With her short haircut, baggy clothes and flat chest, Eun-chan resembles a boy and is often mistaken for one.

·        Gong Yoo as Choi Han-kyul

The grandson of chairwoman Bang of Dongin Foods, a company that has a thriving coffee business. He is an intelligent man but is fiercely independent and abhors the thought of being tied down by one career in his life.

·         Lee Sun-kyun as Choi Han-sung

A talented music producer and cousin of Han-kyul. Despite being in a complicated romantic relationship with Yoo-joo, he develops feelings for Eun-chan as well.

·         Chae Jung-an as Han Yoo-joo

Han-kyul's first love, and Han-sung's ex-girlfriend. She is a talented professional artist who left Han-sung to go to New York with another man, but complicates his life by returning to Korea.