The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Coffee Prince 1-ho Jeom ( 커피 프린스 1 호점 ) |
| Country of production | South Korea |
| original language | Korean |
| year | 2007 |
| length | 60 minutes |
| Episodes | 17 in 1 season |
| Broadcasting cycle |
Monday, Tuesday (at 9:55 p.m.) |
| genre | Romance , comedy , drama |
| Theme music | "Lalala, It's Love!" by The Melody |
| idea | Lee Jung-ah, Jang Hyun-joo |
| production | Lee Eun-kyu |
| music | Tearliner |
| First broadcast | July 2, 2007 to August 28, 2007 (South Korea) on MBC |
The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince ( 커피 프린스 1 호점 ; also known as Coffee Prince ) is a South Korean television series starring Yoon Eun-hye , Gong Yoo , Lee Sun-kyun, and Chae Jung-an . It aired on MBC from July 2, 2007 to August 28, 2007 . The series is based on a novel of the same name by the South Korean writer Lee Sun-mi .
action
The 24-year-old Go Eun-chan, her mother and her younger sister, who is still of school age, with numerous part-time jobs, is more poorly than fairly afloat. Among other things, she teaches Taekwondo to small children and delivers fast food on the streets of Seoul at a daring pace on her mini scooter. Because of her not very girlish appearance and outward appearance, she is often mistaken for a boy. So also of Choi Han-kyul, the scion of a rich family, which would rather see him married today than tomorrow. Without further ado, he hires the cheeky "boy" to sabotage the blind dates that his grandmother has arranged. Eun-chan seizes the opportunity, accepts the lucrative offer and lets her new boss believe that he is also male. Both are extremely successful at scaring off the wives-to-be and sometimes mime a gay couple. But Han-kyul did not expect the revenge of his grandmother, who wants to drive him out of the lottery life. He is condemned to bring the run-down café "Coffee Prince" back on the road to success. After initial reluctance, Han-kyul accepts the challenge and, together with Eun-chan, puts together a team of young, attractive waiters who are particularly aimed at a female audience. The concept is successful and the café is rapidly improving.
A close friendship develops between Eun-chan and Han-kyul, which gradually blossoms, which brings Han-kyul in particular into ever greater troubles of conscience. He begins to seriously question his sexuality and meets Eun-chan in the resulting emotional chaos alternately with affection and rejection. Eun-chan himself therefore doesn't really know for a long time what it is about him. For fear of losing him as a boss and friend, she continues to hide the fact that she is a girl. When Han-kyul confesses his love to her despite all the adversities, she wants to end the charade. But it is already too late, Han-kyul learns the truth from someone else. Once again deeply taken, he feels betrayed by someone close to him and at first relentlessly rejects the completely dissolved Eun-chan. The two approach each other again only with difficulty and finally admit to being unable to live without the other. But the next adversity is already looming: Han-kyul has to convince his family of the new girlfriend, who doesn't want to fit into the schema of the coveted daughter-in-law at all. Ultimately, it was agreed to test the young love with a two-year hiatus, during which Eun-chan moved to Italy to train as a professional barista.
The roles
Leading roles
- Yoon Eun-hye : Go Eun-chan: Sympathetic, boyish appearing young woman with many talents, great appetite for everything edible and the strong will to keep her fatherless family afloat financially by doing all kinds of part-time jobs. She is often mistaken for a boy due to her loose clothing style, her cheeky and cheerful demeanor, the short haircut and her slim appearance.
- Gong Yoo : Choi Han-kyul: Rich young man. Future heir to a food company run by his grandmother. He defiantly insists on an independent lifestyle and refuses to allow his family to influence his private life. He mourns an unrequited love (Yoo-joo) and finds it difficult to open up to others due to further personal disappointments - among other things, his adoption was concealed from him.
- Lee Sun-kyun : Choi Han-sung: Han-kyul's cousin and best friend, a talented record producer, is in an extremely complicated on-off relationship with Yoo-joo. He gets to know Eun-chan independently of Han-kyul and also falls in love with her for a short time, but in contrast to his cousin he knows from the beginning that Eun-chan is a girl.
- Chae Jung-an : Han Yoo-joo: The professional painter has a tragic talent for leaving broken hearts. Once she disappointed Han-kyul, whose love she did not reciprocate, later she left her partner Han-sung in Korea and lived with another man in New York for a time. On her return to her old homeland, she tears open old wounds.
Extended cast
- Lee Eon: Hwang Min-yeop (waiter at the Coffee Prince)
- Kim Dong-wook: Jin Ha-rim (waiter at the Coffee Prince)
- Kim Jae-wook as Noh Sun-ki (waiter at the Coffee Prince)
- Kim Chang-wan: Hong Gae-shik (Co-Manager at Coffee Prince)
- Kim Young-ok: Han-kyul (Han-sung's grandmother)
- Kim Ja-ok: Han-kyul's (adoptive) mother
- Choi Il-hwa: Han-kyul's (adoptive) father
- Han Ye-in: Go Eun-sae (Eun-chan's younger sister)
- Park Won-sook: Eun-chan's mother
- Lee Han-wi: Mr. Ku (butcher)
Background information
- The series won the Korea PD Award for best drama series in 2008, among other things. Yoon Eun-Hye also received the Baeksang Arts Award for best TV actress that same year.
- It was seen on television in Asia - including Japan, Thailand and the Philippines - and on the American continent - including Chile, the USA and Canada. Dubbed versions have aired in the Middle East, Malaysia and India.
- Due to the large audience, the series was adapted in Thailand (2012), the Philippines (2012) and Malaysia (2017). A Chinese remake was announced in 2016, but ultimately not implemented.