8/10
In Coffee Prince, love crosses boundaries (gender, economic status)
5 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The Coffee Prince shows love can cross boundaries (gender, economic status) and triumph. The love story is beautifully portrayed and makes Coffee Prince worth watching.

The two leads embody the main characters perfectly. Gong Yoo plays Choi Han-gyul, a rich aimless man and Yoon Eun-hye plays Go Eun-chan, a hard- working breadwinner for her family. Eun-chan does not look or dress in a feminine fashion and Han-gyul mistakes her for a boy.

Their initial relationship is based on Han-gyul paying Eun-chan to act as his boyfriend to repulse the blind dates his Grandmother and Mother set him up with, as they want him to settle down and marry. Han-gyul then is challenged to make a decrepit coffee shop profitable in 3 months (as co-owner) and Eun-chan gets a job in the coffee shop. It is wonderful to watch their ensuing friendship and love blossom. Han-gyul struggles with his love for Eun-chan as it challenges his concepts that love should only between a man- and a woman.

The lead actor, Gong Yoo, goes all-in on his character, Han-gyul, playing crucial moments with intensity and elevating the entire drama. The lead actress, Yoon Eun-hye, manages to be sympathetic as her character Eun-chan continues her gender lie longer than necessary.

The supporting characters of the drama did not grab me so their on- screen stories were not of much interest, lowering the overall of the effect of Coffee Prince as a whole.

*SPOILER* When Han-gyul finally allows himself to love Eun-chan regardless of gender (episode 10) it is the best moment of the drama and truly touching.

*SPOILER* The finale episode is the weakest as we wait too long for the couple to be reunited, but all ends well.
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