I had a hard time finding k-dramas that satisfied me after this!
The chemistry, main story, sidestory, and comedic side to everything was in perfect balance. It never bored me. A really wonderful, summery and light watch. The sidestory is great, although more mature in a way. It really balances the entire thing out. This is a K-drama must see, for anyone of any age!
Infinite Star
?( ??? )
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Wholesome, Nostalgic & Feel Good Drama
Ah, I completed this drama in 2 years. Yes, I started it in November 2021 and watched 15 episodes, and then in January 2024, I completed the other two remaining episodes. And I can say it is one of the best dramas you see. If you're someone with a low attention span or ADHD, you probably won't like it.Because it's like a slow melody, like how Korean dramas used to be back in the day. The acting, cast, and story are all fulfilling. Gong Yoo is hands-down the best Korean actor for me.
I really wish it would have had 20 episodes because this drama has potential. But nonetheless, I recently finished it, and I recommend it to every human being to watch these wholesome 17 episodes. You can have a better story, you can bring a better cast, and you can bring better directors, but still, nothing beats this 2007 show, even after 17 years. I'm so ecstatic, and I thank God every day for introducing me to Korean dramas. I love you, Gong Yoo!!
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Classic for a reason
This is such a massive underhanded criticism of homophobia that uses heteronormativity to make its point, I love it.Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-hye. They're so cute! No wonder the former became such a big star in Korea.
The secondary leads are the main reason why I can't give this a perfect score. The character played by Lee Sun-kyun (RIP…) was annoying and the actor didn't do a very good job in my opinion. He was over-acting his scenes and he never came across as believable to me. That was one of his first roles though, as he would go on to have much better roles in the future, namely in Parasite.
However, the others did a good job.
I love it when people mistakenly answer the phone with something other than the phone itself. This time, it's a toy cube. If I remember correctly, the other times I've seen this so far are in Dreaming the Reality (1991) (Sibelle Hu answers a Coca-Cola can) and The Stunt Woman (1996) (Michelle Yeoh answers a brush). These are the only other such instances I can recall right now. Fun gag.
It's strange because, although the writing is a bit forced, contrived and overly dramatic sometimes, I would still praise the writing in this show, mainly because they managed to make realistic, believable characters that feel human and unique. They all have quirks that make them endearing, even if sometimes the story forces them to act in a certain way. It's an odd dichotomy but it is what it is. Imperfect writing can still manage to be absolutely great when it sets its aims high enough.
If you're trying to flee the soap-opera cliché nature of kdrama (especially the OST, this one is refreshingly silent in all the dramatic moments), then this should be your next destination.
I'm not queer and/or LGBTQ+ so it's hard for me to say whether it's good representation.
But it's a killer gender-bender story for sure. Hella hard to beat on that front.
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I can totally understand how this show influenced the drama world, as it has that iconic feeling, despite the simpleness.
I looooved Gong Yoo in this, although it wasn't my favorite performance of his; his character was so funny!! I saw real development. Honestly, I loved every character. Usually, female characters in older dramas are difficult to like but "My Chan" (lol again haha) was really likeable and a good character.
It has its flaws and it isn't a drama that I would rewatch (at least for now), but I can see its quality and value, specially since it was released 12 years ago!
Don't regret watching it at all.
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The drama has a good start. It has an adorable male and female. They have a lot of cute scenes together. Their bond evolves from friendship to love.
There are not a lot of cross-dressing modern-day dramas so I was very excited to see it. The story is nice and the acting of the cast is great. Everyone did an amazing job.
The one thing I did not like was the pace of the drama. I felt the drama was quite slow with a lot of fillers. Even though there were some moments I enjoyed in the episode, the drama felt too long. Hence I dropped it.
To summarize, it is an enjoyable drama that you can watch if you like slow-paced dramas.
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Marathoned this series.
Of course it was slow and boring at times, and I didn't really like the side characters romance because it quite annoyed me a bit. Except for that japanese guy, that guy was awesome. Anyway, it's still worth the the slow parts, also because of how lovely the actors are, especially the main girl!
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I really liked the story. Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun Hye definitely need to do another k-drama, or even a movie, together. They're awesome! <3
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This review may contain spoilers
Toxicity Disguised as Depth
What I am going to say is completely my opinion, and I am not going to sugarcoat anything.I have watched a large number of dramas—not just Korean, but also Thai, Chinese, and Japanese dramas—and this is genuinely one of the worst dramas I have ever endured. Not “disappointing.” Not “overhyped.” Bad. You cannot watch this drama in peace even for a single episode. The writers seem obsessed with injecting negativity, chaos, emotional manipulation, and frustration every few minutes, as if silence or stability would kill them.
The story is unnecessarily overcomplicated, poorly paced, and filled with pointless misery. Worse, it does not justify the premise written on MDL at all. What is promised in the summary and what is delivered on screen are two completely different things. Any initial intrigue fades quickly and is replaced by emotional torture disguised as “depth.”
The real reason this drama collapses—and I mean completely collapses—is the second lead storyline, more specifically the Second Female Lead (SFL).
Because of this character, the entire drama becomes unbearable. I have seen toxic characters before, but this one stands out because of how shamelessly the narrative protects her. She is dysfunctional, selfish, insecure, manipulative, emotionally irresponsible, morally hollow, confused, and relentlessly bitchy. And no, this is not “complexity.” This is a badly written character constantly excused by the script.
This character proves something important: a bitchy character does not always need to be loud, scheming, or flamboyant. Sometimes, bitchiness is simply a series of selfish choices made over and over again, with zero accountability.
Let’s start from the beginning.
She was first with the Male Lead (ML). Then she moved on to the Second Male Lead (SML). But even while dating the SML, she kept lingering around the ML whenever it suited her ego. She never respected boundaries. She never made clean breaks. When she returned, she went straight to the ML first—not because he approached her, but because she needed reassurance that she was still wanted.
That already tells you everything about her.
She is not “conflicted.” She is emotionally greedy.
She cheated on the SML for more than an entire year. Let that sink in. Not a moment of weakness. Not an impulsive mistake. A full year of betrayal. And after that? She breaks up with him and runs to New York for work, chasing career, status, validation—whatever suits her at the time. The behavior is textbook: when stability feels boring, she chases excitement; when excitement feels unstable, she crawls back to safety.
She dates the DK guy, benefits from him, and once she gains fame and realizes she needs emotional security again, she casually dumps him and returns—as if she didn’t destroy someone in the process.
And what does the drama do with this year-long betrayal?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
A man gets cheated on for over a year, and the emotional impact is treated like a minor inconvenience. The SML barely gets space to feel anger, betrayal, humiliation, or grief. The drama robs him of dignity and hands it to her instead. It is insulting—not just to the character, but to anyone who understands what betrayal actually does to a person.
She comes back, sheds a few crocodile tears, and suddenly everything is fine. Forgiveness is instant. No accountability. No effort. No consequences. Then she resumes the exact same behavior—continuing contact with the DK guy, meeting him, taking favors from him—fully aware that the SML is deeply insecure and emotionally scarred because of her actions.
And the show still expects us to believe she “cares.”
She doesn’t care.
She uses.
she is a bitch.
She is the one who shattered the trust, yet she constantly plays the victim. She weaponizes her tears, her confusion, her “career struggles,” and the narrative bends over backwards to excuse her behavior.
The moment the Female Lead (FL) appears, her insecurity explodes. Instead of standing firm or earning back the relationship she destroyed, she runs. This is the most revealing part of her character. After a year of cheating, the moment she feels even a hint of threat ( just like what she has done over a year) , she panics and escapes. She expects unconditional loyalty from a man she betrayed without remorse.
Then she has the audacity—the absolute audacity—to accuse the SML of being “swayed.”
That accusation alone is revolting.
In reality, she is just an insecure woman who cannot accept the fact that she is no longer the center of attention. The FL is not the problem. The problem is that this woman cannot tolerate losing control over someone she already damaged.
And despite all of this, the SML humiliates himself by chasing her to the airport and begging her not to leave. Begging. After a year of cheating. And what does she do? She disappears without explanation, cuts contact, and even instructs the DK guy not to give her contact information to the SML.
This is not confusion.
This is emotional cruelty.
Then comes one of the most absurd developments: she proposes marriage while still being unsure about commitment. The entire marriage feels hollow, rushed, and unearned. It happens not because of love, growth, or redemption—but because she gets pregnant.
And pregnancy changes nothing.
She continues working late nights, drinking wine, hanging out with male artist friends, and showing zero emotional awareness. Then she delivers the most tone-deaf line imaginable: “Baby and career are equally important.”
No.
After everything she has done—after prioritizing career and selfish desires over loyalty, honesty, and responsibility—the baby should have been the priority. This line doesn’t show strength. It confirms that she never learned anything. Given another chance, she would make the same choices again.
Such a bitch.
Because of her actions, they lose the baby. And even after a miscarriage, At the last scenes also she forces a vacation the very next day because she wants to go—completely ignoring the SML’s work. Her needs always come first. Always.
This character is emotional poison.
Now, let’s address the bigger issue.
Yes, such messy situations can happen in real life—but the way this drama treats them is deeply irresponsible. A year-long affair is brushed off like a misunderstanding. Forgiveness is immediate. Accountability is nonexistent. The message is clear: if a woman cheats, it’s healing; if a man gets hurt, he should understand.
Love does not work like this.
When betrayal happens at this level, there should be consequences. There should be guilt, remorse, effort, and growth. None of that exists here. She walks around as if she did nothing wrong, while the narrative twists itself to justify her behavior.
Worse, the drama constantly portrays everything as the SML’s fault. He apologizes endlessly. He bends. He breaks. He loses his pride. And the drama calls this love.
It isn’t love.
It’s emotional submission.
The show wants to have it both ways. She wants freedom and security. Independence and unconditional loyalty. Forgiveness without earning it. This isn’t complexity—it’s cowardly writing disguised as empowerment.
What truly ruins the drama is that she is portrayed as a “strong, important character.” This is not strength. This is entitlement rewarded by bad writing.
I mean forget everything , every allegation so far I pointed out. They showed us that SFL are in deeply in love with the SML as per the show concern but at the same time they shows us that she had been cheating on him for more than a year point this "more than a year" not a mistake of one day or not that she suddenly got an opportunity to go to NY and she left him for that opportunity this is not the case she cheated on him for more than year and lied to him till the last day of break up about where she was ( she told she was in work but she was with DK guy) and then break up and go to the NY this cant happen when you are in love with someone (as they wanna see). this happens when you don't love the previous guy anymore. Now for what ground they are portraying her so called "deep love" here this is the most frustrating part of this show and I can not justify this in any sense.
From the SML’s perspective, the writing is equally frustrating. He should have walked away. He should have protected his dignity. Instead, he is turned into a doormat, and the audience is told this is romance.
As for the ML and FL, their storyline is painfully predictable. The entire plot revolves around a stretched-out gender reveal that barely justifies 17 episodes. There is no meaningful character development. Even the coffee shop storyline—promised in the summary—disappears halfway through.
The second leads hijack the narrative, dragging everyone into their mess. The past relationship between the SFL and ML adds nothing except unnecessary complications. Side characters exist purely to fill screen time and contribute absolutely nothing. Remove them, and nothing changes.
By the end, no relationship feels trustworthy. Everyone is involved with everyone, and nothing feels stable or earned.
In conclusion, I am not a relationship expert, but this drama normalizes betrayal, excuses emotional abuse, and punishes the wrong people. Choices should have consequences. This character deserved accountability, not validation.
Even though this drama is 17 years old, this problem still exists today. When male characters cheat, they are punished. When female characters cheat, it’s reframed as healing or self-discovery. Either they disappear quietly or the man forgives them. That double standard is exhausting and dishonest.
This issue poisoned the entire viewing experience for me and made it impossible to enjoy the drama at any level.
PS: These are my opinions after watching the drama. Feel free to disagree—but this drama earned every word of this criticism.
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Lying about 'insert lie here' past the point of it being logical. JUST TELL THE TRUTH ALREADY!
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This review may contain spoilers
A drama full of toxic characters
First of all, I was intrigued by this Drama because it sounded like a Korean version of the Japanese amine Ouran High School Host Club. 😂 Sadly, it was way lacking in terms of plot and relatable characters.At the beginning, the Drama was fun and interesting, with her trying to live by as a guy and not getting found out. And although there were some scenes where I was thinking to myself “ok damn that shit js homophobic as fck”, I was considering that maybe it was a realistic presentation of how old people might view homophobia (yes the doctor scene).
However it got kinda boring after her real gender was being revealed and even more boring after it turned all lovey-dovey.
Many people were getting annoyed at Eun-chan for keeping her gender a secret for so long and i guess even if it wasn’t neccessary in the end, I can kinda understand why she did that in order to keep her job. I found the way that Han-Gyeol was treating Eun-chan way more toxic tbh. Especially when he was trying to manipulate her not to go to italy bcs he stayed in Korea bcs of her so she cannot go either 🤦🏼♀️ I was facepalming myself so many times! Oh and also Inwas getting mad and annoyed at him for trying to force her into marrying him after only knowing each other for like 3 months, and then the majority of that time was even based on a lie too…
Also I gotta say: Almost all the men in this Drama were toxic AF!!!! Including the main lead!!!! Getting angry at him/her all the time, bossing her around and trying to control her. He was very manipulative and I seriously dunno why she fell in love with him so much… I kinda wished she would have gotten together with Han Sung and Yoo Joo with Han Gyeol…
And Yoo Joo herself was toxic in different ways as well. Super egoistic and self-centered, being with Han-Sung but kept on flirting with Han Gyeol knowing very well he had a crush on her! In general their interactions were just cringe af!!! They were literally acting like a couple and at the beginning I was actually confused about who she really loved. I realized it when she found out about Han-Sung’s crush on Eun-chan. And the way she reacted to it. Like I get it what he did was wrong af but what she was doing with Han Gyeol all the time wasn’t much more different either… And then also after she got pregnant she was still acting like a teenager. Like Why tf are you drinking alcohol when you are pregnant??? Idk but I really had the ick toward her…
However the worst character of this drama was probably Jin Ha-Rim the worst kind of wanna-be fckboy ever!!! He was so annoying and istg he deserved a good beating! i hated him so much!!! like it’s none of your business if a girl has a flat chest, doesn’t wear make up or has or doesn’t have sex with her boyfriend!!!! Him and Han Gyeol were one of the main reasons I started hating this drama towards the end…
Min-Yeop was lowkey annoying too. A pathetic clingy gorilla baby who then went on and listened to the suggestions of a playboy. And Eun-Sae wasn’t better! What a toxic bitch!!! If I had a sister like that I would have slapped her! what an embarrassment! no seriously tho, who came up with these characters??? I have never seen so many toxic characters and relationships in one Drama alone!!!
Seon-Gi was the main reason why I kept watching it and I wished he had more screen time 🥺
Also the fact that Eun-chan looked like a young Jungkook was hilarious 😂 To be honest I think she did kinda look like a guy, but more like a 15-year old teenage boy rather than a 24-year old grown man 😂 At the beginning it was funny how everyone treated him like a kid bcs ngl she really looked like a teenage boy, but it kept on getting annoying when they were still treating her like a child after her gender reaveal. Especially when Han Gyeol was still calling her “kiddo” while they were dating… it gave me the pedophile ick tbh ngl! Even she was still calling him boss in the 16th episode! Like come on girl, he is your boyfriend! But in general Seon-Gi, Eun-chan plus Han Sung were the only characters I liked, but I still couldn’t relate to anyone in this drama… A total fail!!! would not recommend.
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One of the best K-drama (Romance) of all time
Coffee Prince holds a special place in my heart.It’s thanks to its phenomenal cast and acting, beautiful soundtrack, high production quality for a 2007 drama, and a love story that has all the ingredients of perfection — tension, a forbidden-love trope, real development, and undeniable chemistry.
One of the best Kdrama of all time.
Story (coherence, originality): 1/1 point
Character Writing (depth, development, credibility): 1/1 point
Acting Performance (overall quality): 1/1 point →nailed, nailed, nailed!
Chemisty between the main leads: 1/1 point →yes, yes, yes!
Cinematography (visual quality and creativity, VFX): 1/1 point
Atmosphere (immersion, consistency of the setting, costumes): 1/1 point
Pacing: 0,5/1 point
Sound Production (because it's too underrated): 1/1 point
Soundtrack (good music and you have my heart): 1/1 point → absolutely nailed!
Overall Impact/Personal Enjoyment: 1/1 point → never bored to rewatch it
Total: 9,5/10
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