커피프린스 1호점 or The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (2007). I cannot thank you enough to my friend for introducing this drama to me :D
Synopsis: 24-year-old Go Eun Chan is a girl with no streak of femininity in her appearance or behaviour and often mistaken for a boy. Her family has been doing it hard ever since her father died and Eun Chan quits schooling in order to feed her family by doing odd-jobs here and there. One day through a misunderstanding she meets Choi Han Kyul, a 29-year-old affluent man who just came home from the States. Han Kyul thinking Eun Chan is a boy hired her to become his lover hoping he can still live life to his content by avoiding arranged meetings for potential wife organised by Han Kyul's grandmother by pretending to be gay. Eun Chan in desperate need of money reluctantly agreed.
Han Kyul's grandmother tired of Han Kyul's recklessness gives him an ultimatum. Manage a broken-down coffee shop of her acquaintance for three months and if by that time he is able to gain three times the current profit he is able to do what he wishes. Although reluctant Han Kyul finally gives in and through this chance encounter the co-manager of the coffee shop is also a close acquaintance of Eun Chan, though knowing that they only hire male waiters Eun Chan applied and got the job by pretending to be male.
Through several events Eun Chan develops feelings for Han Kyul and Han Kyul for Eun Chan. But the dilemma is as followed, Han Kyul still thinks that Eun Chan is a male! Even though Han Kyul truly has feelings for this 'man' can he ever love this 'man'? Can Han Kyul overcome his sexuality and love this person?
Casts: Yoon Eun Hye as Go Eun Chan, Gong Yoo as Choi Han Kyul, Lee Sun Gyun as Choi Han Sung, Chae Jung Ahn as Han Yoo Joo
Review: THE BEST DRAMA OF THE YEAR!!! *pops champagne* I am absolutely in love with this drama. There is not a moment where I feel that I was cheated out of my time nor did I even realise that time slowly (or quickly, I cannot be sure) run by. I realised that I was very much transfixed into the complexity of the drama when I realised I was watching episode 10 without realising how far I have watched.
It is a truly remarkable drama with complex character relationships especially between Eun Chan and Han Kyul but it has to be noted that the other main couple, Choi Han Sung and Han Yoo Joo, within this drama is also of importance since it reflects so much the real-life experiences of couples in general. Each actors play their characters beautifully with Yoon Eun Hye leading as my favourite main actor. Closely behind I have to say is Kim Chang Wan as the grossly behavioured co-manager, ex-president of Coffee Prince, Mr. Hong.
Although I have to say I was slightly disappointed with the little amount of screening time of the other stories that involves the extended characters' love relationships. Personally I think they should be studied more than they did in the drama. Often I find these extended stories too rushed and not explained properly leaving me clueless and wondering.
But overall the drama was very satisfactory and I would recommend it to anyone! :D
Ratings: 4.5/5 stars (just because of that damn extended little stories)
Post Script: All the guys are absolute cuteness! And also I did not realise that Eun Chan was a girl for a couple of minutes until it suddenly clicked in to me "OMG! That's the girl from Goong!" compared to all the other dramas of girls pretending to be guys (in particular both versions of Hana Kimi) don't look like guys no matter how guy-ishly they act but Eun Hye definitely nailed this. Poor her for being able to beat the guys in x-man she had to carry all those guys in the drama :D
