The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince

The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (Hangul: 커피프린스 1호점; RR: Keopipeurinseu 1 Hojeom; also known as Coffee Prince) is a 2007 South Korean television drama, 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, the hit series aired on MBC from July 2 to August 28, 2007 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 17 episodes.

The drama is 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, because the man does not initially know of the tomboy's true gender.

Plot

Choi Han-kyul (Gong Yoo) is a third generation scion of a food chaebol. 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 was never interested in dating, so they never officially went out. On the other hand, 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. She has the responsibility of taking care of her childish, spendthrift mother and trouble-making younger sister, so Eun-chan takes up every job possible: taekwondo teacher, waitress, and food delivery. 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.

Yoon Eun-hye

Yoon Eun-hye (Korean: 윤은혜; born October 3, 1984) is a South Korean actress, director, singer, entertainer and model. She debuted as a member of girl group Baby V.O.X, staying with the group from 1999 to 2005. Yoon has since moved on to acting and is best known for starring in the television dramas Princess Hours (2006), The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (2007), Missing You (2012), and Marry Him If You Dare (2013).

Biography

1999-2005: Debut with Baby V.O.X

Yoon Eun Hye debuted as a member of Baby V.O.X at the age of 15, replacing an ex-member (Lee Gai) in 1999. Yoon was the sub-vocal in the group, known for her cuteness and childlike traits. Being the youngest member of the group, she received little attention and was often overshadowed by her other four members.

After she joined, the group released their third album Come Come Come in 1999. This album became their first major success, with their singles “Get Up” and “Killer” reaching the number one spot on the Korean music pop charts. Since then, the group released many hit albums which garnered them not just a large loyal fan base in Korea, but also in China, Thailand and other Asia markets.

Gong Yoo

Gong Ji-chul (Hangul: 공지철; born July 10, 1979), better known by his stage name Gong Yoo (Hangul: 공유), is a South Korean actor.

Career

Gong graduated with B.A. Theater degree at Kyung Hee University. He started his showbusiness career with small parts in dramas and films. He landed his first lead role in Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy in 2005. His acting talent caught the attention of casting directors and audiences and he has become an actor to watch. His role as Choi Han-Kyul in the MBC romantic comedy The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince solidified his status as a leading man. The popularity of the drama made it one of Korea's most watched dramas of 2007, and made Gong Yoo a hallyu star.

The actor finished his mandatory service in the Korean Armed Forces, which started on January 14, 2008 and ended on December 8, 2009.

Gong Yoo initiated and pursued production of a theatrical adaptation ofGong Ji-young's novel The Crucible, a gift from his senior as congratulation for his promotion during enlistment. This movie was internationally released under the title Silenced. The film sparked public outrage upon its release on September 22, 2011. This led to a reopening of the investigations into the incidents on which the novel and film are based. Public demand for legislative reform reached the National Assembly, where a revised bill to target sex crimes against minors and the disabled, dubbed the Dogani Bill after the Korean title of the film, was successfully passed in late October 2011.

Lee Sun-kyun

Lee Sun-kyun (born March 2, 1975) is a South Korean actor. After beginning his career in musical theatre, for many years Lee was relegated to minor and supporting roles onscreen, only getting to play lead characters in one-act dramas on KBS Drama City and MBC Best Theater. In one such Best Theater project, he worked with TV director Lee Yoon-jung on Taereung National Village (2005), which led to him being cast in her later series The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince in 2007. Coffee Prince, along with medical drama White Tower brought Lee mainstream popularity, which he followed with Pasta (2010) and Golden Time (2012).

Meanwhile on the big screen, he received a Best Actor award from the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival for his role in Paju (2009), followed by critical acclaim for mystery thriller Helpless (2012), romantic comedy All About My Wife (2012), and crime/black comedy A Hard Day (2014). Lee also continues to collaborate with auteur Hong Sang-soo, and his arthouse films with Hong include Night and Day (2008), Oki's Movie (2010), and Nobody's Daughter Haewon (2013).

Chae Jung-an

Chae Jung-an (born Jang Jung-an on September 9, 1977) is a South Korean actress and singer.

Filmography

Television drama

Film

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links