Spectacular give me 14 of them right now
Amazing how Coffee Prince, as a drama from 2007, was so ahead of its time.
You often see the classic "girl gets mistaken for a guy" trope in dramas, but it’s usually played for laughs, or the male lead finds out early enough to avoid any deeper complications. Not in Coffee Prince. You actually see Han Gyul’s feelings develop before he knows Eun Chan’s real gender. You watch him wrestle with the possibility that he might be falling in love with a man.
Hangyul, a 20-something irresponsible and charming "playboy" almost, finds himself swayed by this younger, short, scrappy and clumsy "guy" who works for him. Watching his internal breakdowns — the confusion, denial, frustration, and eventual acceptance — is honestly one of the most compelling character arcs I’ve seen in a K-drama. It's really done with sincerity and not for the sake of comedic misunderstandings which for me, I don't know how to tell you, was a breath of really fresh fucking air.
Yoon Eunhye, who plays Eunchan, actually makes the disguise believable. And not because she might really look like guy, but with her body language, mannerisms and the way she carries herself, even the outfits were a great choice if you ask me. Like, in the drama, I got why people mistook her for a guy(can't say the same thing about you're beautiful).
Even the supporting characters have depth. Most of the time they're comedic relief, yes, but each one gets their own little moment. The second lead couple does lean more into melodrama and gave me a whole bunch of unnecessary headaches but even then, there's something realistic about their struggles. Especially them two, felt really human.
All in all, coffee prince just feels real. The writing trusts the audience to to sit with the discomfort and ambiguity. It doesn't back away from complexity, which again makes me amazed by the fact this was released in 2007. I wasn't even born then haha
This is one of my favorite dramas of all time and it's one of those rare ones where I could genuinely appreciate at least one thing about every single(and i mean every single) character. It still holds up beautifully and its emotional honesty is something I almost never see nowadays in modern shows.
You often see the classic "girl gets mistaken for a guy" trope in dramas, but it’s usually played for laughs, or the male lead finds out early enough to avoid any deeper complications. Not in Coffee Prince. You actually see Han Gyul’s feelings develop before he knows Eun Chan’s real gender. You watch him wrestle with the possibility that he might be falling in love with a man.
Hangyul, a 20-something irresponsible and charming "playboy" almost, finds himself swayed by this younger, short, scrappy and clumsy "guy" who works for him. Watching his internal breakdowns — the confusion, denial, frustration, and eventual acceptance — is honestly one of the most compelling character arcs I’ve seen in a K-drama. It's really done with sincerity and not for the sake of comedic misunderstandings which for me, I don't know how to tell you, was a breath of really fresh fucking air.
Yoon Eunhye, who plays Eunchan, actually makes the disguise believable. And not because she might really look like guy, but with her body language, mannerisms and the way she carries herself, even the outfits were a great choice if you ask me. Like, in the drama, I got why people mistook her for a guy(can't say the same thing about you're beautiful).
Even the supporting characters have depth. Most of the time they're comedic relief, yes, but each one gets their own little moment. The second lead couple does lean more into melodrama and gave me a whole bunch of unnecessary headaches but even then, there's something realistic about their struggles. Especially them two, felt really human.
All in all, coffee prince just feels real. The writing trusts the audience to to sit with the discomfort and ambiguity. It doesn't back away from complexity, which again makes me amazed by the fact this was released in 2007. I wasn't even born then haha
This is one of my favorite dramas of all time and it's one of those rare ones where I could genuinely appreciate at least one thing about every single(and i mean every single) character. It still holds up beautifully and its emotional honesty is something I almost never see nowadays in modern shows.
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