Coffee Prince (Korean Drama)

The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince revolves around four people whose lives (and hearts) intertwine as the series progresses.

Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo) is the playboy son of a very rich family whose food corporation is on the decline. He has no faith in love and has no intentions of getting married despite his family's nagging. Meanwhile, Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) is an energetic young girl who often gets mistaken for a guy because of her short hair and tomboyish ways. After her dad passed away, their family struggled financially so she takes on any and every odd job to support her mother and younger sister.

Since they keep meeting by chance, Han Kyul, thinking Eun Chan is a guy, hires her as a fake lover so that he can escape from the blind dates that were arranged by his grandmother.

Across town, the paths of Han Kyul's cousin Choi Han Seong (Lee Seon-gyeon), an established music producer and his ex-girlfriend Han Yoo Joo (Chae Jung Ahn), a famous New York-trained artist, cross again after two years of separation. They were lovers for 8 years but their relationship ended when Yoo Joo broke up with Han Seong.

Reconciling with his lost love isn't that simple though. When Han Seong meets Eun Chan (whom he sees for who she is, a pretty girl with a happy heart), he gets confused about his feelings for both women. Add to that the fact that Han Seong doesn't know that Han Kyul has been secretly in love with Han Yoo Joo for a long time.

Han Kyul's grandmother is very sick so in order to please her (and because she gave him an ultimatum), Han Kyul takes over a run-down coffee shop, later renamed Coffee Prince, to prove his ability to his grandmother and Yoo Joo. As a strategy to attract female customers, he decides to hire only good looking male employees. In a struggle with money, Eun Chan, whom Han Kyul has already mistaken for a boy, hides her gender from him to get a job at Coffee Prince.

Soon feelings start to spark between Eun Chan and Han Kyul and because he's unaware that Eun Chan is a girl, Han Kyul starts to question his sexuality.

Photo courtesy of KoreanDrama.org. Some information is from Wikipedia

Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun-Hye) is a smart, high-spirited tomboyish girl in dire need of money. Her dad has passed away, leaving her as the breadwinner of a family of three so she takes on almost every job possible. She meets young tycoon Choi Han Kyul who mistakes her for a guy and hires her to be his "boyfriend". Still pretending to be a man, she later ends up working as a barista in his all-male coffee shop and forms a strong relationship with him that threatens to blow her cover.

Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo) is a handsome young food empire heir who plays the field and has no plans to settle down. His grandmother always sets him up on blind dates so he can meet someone to marry but he hates the idea. He meets Eun Chan by chance and, thinking she's a guy, decides to hire her as a boyfriend-decoy to drive away all the girls his grandma sets him up with. Finding him irresponsible, his grandma also tasks him with restoring and running a dilapidated old coffee shop in Seoul.

Choi Han Seong (Lee Sun Gyun) is Han Kyul's cousin. The exact opposite of the cocky Han Kyul, Han Seong is a respected music director and his humble and charming demeanor makes Eun Chan fall for him. They meet because he lives along her milk delivery route. Han Seong was left by his girlfriend of 8 years Han Yoo Joo and is faced with the confusing decision of accepting her back into his life when she asks him to.

Han Joo Yoo (Chae Jung Ahn) is Choi Han Seong girlfriend of 8 years but at the start of the series, it is revealed that she has left him for another man two years prior. She lived in New York, working as an artist, but comes back to Korea and to Han Seong and asks him to give their relationship another chance. Meanwhile, Yoo Joo is also close to Han Kyul who has been infatuated with her for 9 years but hasn't done anything about his feelings out of respect for his cousin.

The Coffee Prince Baristas (from left to right)

Jin Ha Rim (Kim Dong Wook) is the fun-loving mischief maker in the bunch of Coffee Prince baristas. He calls Eun Chan "My Chan" affectionately, thinking that she looks cute and pretty for a guy.

No Sun Ki (Kim Jae Wook) is the silent and brooding half-Japanese waffle cook who girls usually flock over to see in the coffee shop.

Hwang Min-yeop (Lee Eon*) is the big, goofy, simple-minded strong-guy in the group. He is in love with Eun Chan's sister Eun Sae and fawns over her even while she chases after Sun Ki.

*Lee Eon died in a motorcycle accident on 21 August 2008. He had been riding home from a party celebrating the last airing of Mighty Chil-woo, when his motorcycle hit the guardrail of an overpass in Hannam-dong, Seoul, at around 2 am. RIP, Min-yeop (5 February 1981 - 21 August 2008).

Hong Gae Sik (Kim Chang Wan) is the strict but dependable ex-Coffee Prince President. He is the best barista in the series, having been the only one who trained to be a barista in Italy. He is the only one among the baristas, at first, who knows that Eun Chan is actually a girl.

How to Get There: Take Subway Line 2 to Hongik University and go out of Exit 4.

The 1st shop of Coffee Prince is actually an old coffee shop that was remodeled for the Korea TV drama. My husband and I went on a trip to Korea recently and so we had a chance to visit the filming location. Visit my page on the Coffee Prince Cafe for photos and detailed information.

Information courtesy of Visit Korea