Coffee Prince Review

Coffee Prince is gonna be aired on Channel U on 31st December from 10-11pm in Singapore! Though I’ve already finished watching the full series, I’ll definitely catch it when it’s shown in Singapore. Really love Coffee Prince for the cast,the characters, the really sweet lovey dovey moments between Han Kyul and Eun Chan and also the backgroud music which really suits the various scenes and bring out the mood of the scene. In most kdramas, we often see the conflicts between a couple but the sweet moments of a couple during their dating periods is often not covered. However in Coffee Prince, we get to see the dating process of Han Kyul and Eun Chan and how their relationship grew and developed over time. It reflects the tiny but significant problems and situations which may be faced by many couples in real life and this made it easy for the audience to be connected to the show.

Chae gyung in Goong

Eun Chan in Coffee Prince

To admit it, I’m really a big fan of Yoon Eun Hye after watching her act as Chaegyung in Goong and the main reason I watched Coffee Prince was also due to her, but her acting is really commendable in Coffee Prince.You can really see her transforming and maturation as an actress from Goong to Coffee Prince. Her acting as the tomboy Go Eun Chan is really convincing. She managed to ditch the cutesy and feminine image which is commonly associated with her and totally transformed into the Go Eun Chan we see in Coffe Prince. She acted the character of Eun Chan to ever little details and all her actions and movements reflects Eun Chan’s character. From the way she talks(she makes her voice lower pitched), the way she sits to the way she walks (she changed the way she walks too!) all shows Eun Hye’s dedication as an actress. She even cut the long hair she kept so as to suit the image of Eun Chan. There were also lotsof praises about her acting skills(both from the public, as well as insiders). Her dedication and professionalism is the reason for the popularity of Eun Chan in Korea, as well as the rest of Asia. It even created a Eun Chan phenomenon [credit: article as the clothes worn by Eun Chan, Eun Chan’s hairstyle, the background music used in Coffee Prince and also the online searches relating to barrista increases in demand. Therefore its not too much to say that Eun Hye plays quite an important part in the popularity of Coffee Prince.

Tae In in Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy

Han Kyul in Coffee Prince

Besides Yoon Eun Hye, Gong Yoo, the male lead is also really important in the success of Coffee Prince. Gong Yoo is really suited for the character of Han Kyul. He managed to act out the deep and complicated feelings of Han Kyul when he had his internal struggle of falling in love with Eun Chan (whom he thought is a guy) and accepting himself as a ‘homosexual’. Before Coffee Prince, I watched Gong Yoo’s previous dramas and I find that the character of Han Kyul was quite similar to Tae In in Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy. Han Kyul seems to be the grown up version of Tae In as both of them are confident and certain of what they want, but they’re also at the same time childish but cute. Han Kyul is more reserved as compared to more spontaneous Tae In, hence Han Kyul can be rightly considered as the more matured version of Tae In. We dont really get to see the acting skills of Gong Yoo when he was in Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy, therefore I thought he was juz an cute looking actor, with superficial acting skills. But he really surprised me with his ability to act out the perfect emotional struggle which Han Kyul was going through and he really touched me with his acting in Coffee Prince. His great acting brought Han Kyul alive and made Coffee Prince an enjoyable show to watch.

Besides the great acting skills from both Gong Yoo and Eun Hye, they also have an excellent on screen chemistry. The two of them make a perfect couple and I cant help but smile whenever there were scenes of Han Kyul and Eun Chan’s sweet moments. Their interaction on screen seems really natural and convincing. Besides the sweet moments, the hot bed scenes as well as the forced kiss between them were really memorable scenes of them.

Apart from the 2 main leads, Lee Seon Gyeon character as Choi Han Seong was also nicely performed. Although Lee Seon Gyeon may not that good-looking as compared to Gong Yoo, he still has a charm in him which draws the audience. Choi Han Seong also may not be as interesting a character as Han Kyul, but Lee Seon Gyeon managed not to make the character dull. And did I mention Lee Seon Gyeon’s voice?? I really like his deep and voice(i dunno how to describe them but his voice is so nice to listen to).

I think Chae Jung Ahn is pretty but I find her acting average. Up till now, I still dun fully understand Yoo Joo’s character. Maybe that’s how Yoo Joo was supposed to be like- carefree ,unconstrained and hard to fathom. Sometimes its hard to read her expression and understand exactly her emotions she was trying to convey…. I dunno, but this can also how the director wans Yoo Joo to be portrayed as….

Apart from the 4 main leads, the 3 Princes played an important role as well. The Princes each have their own unique character. Min Yeop- the strong muscular blockhead who is totally devoted and loyal to his angel Eun Sae, Ha Rim- the cute and adorable guy who always go “My Chan!!”, and the cool waffle guy Sun Ki, who cant help but be infected by the warm-hearted Eun Chan, enthusiastic Ha Rim and silly Min Yeop. To add on, there’s also Mr Hong, the other president of Coffee Prince. He’s really disgusting and unhygienic with his actions but he’s still a nice guy overall who is really supportive of Eun Chan. The development of the supporting cast also helped to make Coffee Prince more complete as a whole and brings a feeling of warmth into the drama as we see the interaction and strong friendship between all the characters in the story.

Coffee Prince Shop

EunChan’s hseHan Seong’s hse

(picture credit to soompi and coffee prince photobucket acct)

Besides the cast and characters in the story, the design for the setting of Coffee Prince is also nicely done. The design of the Coffee Prince cafe was beautifully decorated. Eun Chan’s small and cluttered house always filled with dolls/boxes of food for work reflects how hard it is for her to earn money, Han Kyul’s modern and sleek house reflects his decisive and confident character, Han Seong’s simple house with the garden and greenary around showed his simple and sensible character. The recording equipments, cute music player which also acts as a decoration, the guitar and all the other equipments in his house also refects his job as a musician.

All of these required much effort and dedication. Therefore Coffee Prince is definitely a drama not to be missed because of its excellent production crew, actors and actresses and the refreshing approach.

Coffee Prince Cast

The 4 main characters. From left: Choi Han Seong, Han Yoo Joo, Go Eun Chan, Choi Han Kyul

Hankyul and the Coffee Princes

Yoon Eun Hye as Go Eun Chan

Go Eun Chan is a hardworking tomboy who is often being mistaken by others as a guy. She’s the breadwinner of the family, having to work to feed her mother and her sis (Go Eun Sae). Due to this, she grew into a really hard working girl who takes up numerous jobs to earn money for the family. She is also a responsible, trust-worthy and dependable person who put in her best in the things she does.

Gong Yoo as Choi Han Kyul

Han Kyul is an only child from a rich family who owns large company. He is confident and capable, but he is only interested in designing toys and is not interested to inherit his family business. Therefore he come to an agreement with his grandmother to manage a rundown coffee shop and make profits within an agreed time span and if he suceed in doing so, he’ll have the freedom to persue his interest. Hence, he took over the coffee shop and name it Coffee Prince.

Lee Seon Gyun as Choi Han Seong

Han Seong is the cousin of Han Kyul. He is an easy-going musician who live alone with only the companion of his dog.He was in a relationship with Yoo Joo before Yoo Joo left him alone without saying a word…..

Chae Jung Ahn as Han Yoo Joo

Han Yoo Joo is an artist who follows her mind. She is independent and free-spirited, often getting caught up in her work. Her relationship with Han Seong is deep and mutual as they had spend a long time tgt.

The Princes of Coffee Prince

3rd pic from left: Min Yeop, Ha Rim, Sun Ki

Min Yeop is a loyal guy who is madly in love with Eun Sae. He is a blockhead who is innocent and a really devoted muscle guy.

Ha Rim is a cute guy who have a way with girls. He has lotsof girlfriends and treats girls like changing clothes. He does not belief in being devoted to a single partner. Despite this, he is still a lovable and adorable guy. He likes to go around calling Eun Chan ‘My Chan!’.

Kim Jae Wook as Sun Ki (credit: soompi for pics)

Sun Ki is a cool guy who is very popular with girls. He formerly sold waffles by the roadside before being approached by Han Kyul to join the Coffee Prince. Although he remain cold and find the other guys and Eun Chan silly and childish at first, he later grew to warm up to

the warm Eun Chan, Min Yeop and Harim.

200 Pounds Beauty

200 Pounds Beauty is a lighted hearted korean comedy which actually conveys a message to the audiences.

Its about a really fat girl called Hanna(played by Kim Ah Joong) who is really good at singing, but obviously she’s not attractive, therefore she could only be a ‘ghost singer’ for Ammy. Hanna would be the one who sings backstage while Ammy would be the person lipsyncing and performing on stage. Hanna is secretly in love with Sang-jun(played by Joo Jin Mo), the manager for Ammy, but dared not confess to him. Then one day, Ammy humilitated Hanna by making a joke outta her and after Hanna overheard some hurting words about her during the conversation between Sang-jun and Ammy, she decided to do a full body makeover/plastic surgery.

Hanna disappeared for a yr to haf the surgery, leaving Ammy’s singing career in distress as she wont be able to perform. After the surgery, Hanna had a complete transformation and became an attractive girl who makes guys swoon over her. Even her best friend could not recognise her.

Sang-jun and the company was trying to find another good voice for Ammy, but did not managed to find a suitable candidate until Hanna went for the audition. Hanna introduced herself as Jenny to Sang-jun. Sang-jun didnt recognise her but was drawn to her amazing vocal and he thinks that she has the potential to become a singer. So Hanna become a singer known as Jenny and she took on the role of being Jenny, putting all her past behind her.

The movie talks about plastic surgery and put them in a new light. It shows how plastic surgery managed to give confidence to a lady and the great difference in treatment received by an ugly woman vs an attractive one. Through the exaggerated response of the guys towards the attractive Hanna, it reflects how fiticious and superfical human beings are. Being ugly is not a crime, but being pretty will bring much benefits.

Besides that, the movie also conveyed the message that it is important to not forget one’s self and identity and also their family and friends.

After the surgery, Hanna didnt wan her past identity to be found out, therefore she told ppl that she’s a real/geniune beauty. Apart from that, she also stopped visiting her father who is in hospital(her father is generally okay, but appears to suffer from dementia). Ammy suspected that ‘Jenny’ is Hanna after a conversation she had with Hanna.

In one incident, Ammy brought Hanna’s father to an event, hoping that Hanna’s identity would be revealed, but surprisingly Hanna didnt acknowledge her father. Her good friend was upset by the way she treated her father and also by the change in attitude and behaviour of Hanna after her surgery, therefore their friendship became more distant. Sang-jun apparently found out about Hanna’s real identity eventually and Ammy threatened the company, sending a picture of the past Hanna and saying that she’ll reveal Hanna’s identity to the public.

Hanna’s real identity became known to the company and in order to prevent the loss which may be made by the company if the news got spreaded, the boss wanted to cancel Hanna’s large scale concert which was supposed to be held the next day and planned to release a porn photo album of Hanna so that the company can make as much money as they can out of her. This is strongly objected by Sang-jun and he pressed for Hanna’s concert to be held.

Hanna concert was held as planned but upon seeing her father, Hanna couldnt control her emotions after her father was too ethusiastic and was going to be brought away by the security.
Hanna made a confession on stage and told the audience that she was once an ugly girl who sang backstage but mananged to become the Jenny that she is now after her surgery. However, she said that in the process of becoming Jenny, she lost her true self and identity. She no longer noes who she is and she’s like an empty shell whoose soul is lost in the process.

Her speech touched the audience and she made headlines after that. She gained more fans and also more anti-fans( a very serious problem faced by korean celebrities as these anti fans are really crazy and could even do things that could harm the celebrities which they do not like).

Hanna’s heart-felt speech made me teared abit and it really highlight the importance of us living our life and acknowledging and accepting ourselves as who we are. Besides that the fact tat Hanna’s good friend took care of Hanna’s father after Hanna dis-acknowledge him and also how Hanna went to look for the guy and beat the guy up after the guy ditched her friend, causing her to try committing suicide showed us the dept of friendship and how true friends would always be there in times of trouble to provide support.

I was quite surprised after knowing tat Kim Ah Joong is an actress and not a singer turned actress as she can really sing! The soundtracks in the movie is quite enjoyable and I especially like Kim Ah Joong’s Maria(the song is embedded in the beginning of the post). Kim Ah Joong looks quite pretty at some angle and her acting in the movie was not bad.

Joo Jin Mo, the male lead is hot. Here’s a picture of him
(picture credits: soompi and http://img.search.hanmail.net/)

I think he’s not tt photogenic, so dun be so quick to judge him by the photos of him. He looks better on screen IMO. You gotta watch the movie first before deciding

In all, 200 Pounds Beauty is an entertaining comedy which is worth watching. Its not just merely some brainless comedy but also conveys meaningful messages to the audience.