Coffee Prince (2007)

Starring:
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
Extended Cast
Kim Ja Ok as Han Kyul's mom
Choi Il Hwa as Han Kyul's dad
Kim Young Ok as Han Kyul's grandmother
Park Won Sook as Eun Chan's mom
Kim Chang Wan as Hong Gae Sik (ex-Coffee Prince president)
Kim Jae Wook as No Sun Ki
Kim Dong Wook as Jin Ha Rim
Lee Un as Hwang Min Yeop
Lee Han Wie as Mr. Ku (the butcher that likes Eun Chan's mom)
Han Yeh In as Go Eun Sae (Eun Chan's sister)
Kim Jung Min as DK (Yoo Joo's ex-boyfriend)

The life of Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) is not easy; she works many jobs to pay off debts and even gave up her feminine image. Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo) is the heir of a big food company, but his grandmother wants him to settle down, so she arranged many dates for him. After Eun Chan bumped into Han Kyul and was mistaken for a boy, Han Kyul decided to hire Eun Chan to be his gay lover in order to avoid the arranged dates. Desperately in need of money, Eun Chan had no choice but to accept. Han Kyul's grandmother also made Han Kyul in charge of a filthy coffee shop in danger of being bankrupt. Eun Chan begged to work at the coffee shop, and not long after, feelings start to spark, except, how would Han Kyul accept his "homosexuality"?


Yep, had to watch another that I've seen before. Actually, this was the first, EVER, Asian drama I watched. I was hunting for anime really. I found an Asian channel that hald anime they showed only at night so I looked online to see what they aired and Coffee Prince caught my attention after reading the short synopsis. So I did a hunt and started watching it. From that point on.....I have been addicted ever since.

I'm not saying Coffee Prince was the best but I thought it was good. Enough so that I wanted to see more from Korea but ended up watching a Japanese drama afterwards (Nodame Cantabile). So my love officially started.................This was almost a year and a half ago............

Ahhh!!

This isn't the best of all Korean dramas but it was good enough to keep me hooked. I think I liked the idea that Han Kyul fell in love with a "guy" and let all inhibitions go because the love was more important. Okay, it was good that the "guy" wasn't actually of the male variety. Hehehe!

I thought that this story showed that love was the most important factor of the story where as gender took a second role. It was quite funny at the beginning. I'm not saying it lost its comedic output as the story went on but the hilarity of it disappeared. The coffee "princes" took over that role. Oh and those princes were some serious eye candy. One of those "princes" is the late Lee Eon who passed away just a couple of weeks ago. And let me say this that after watching this show, there wasn't a moment when his face appeared that my heart "hurt". Kim Jae Wook, is he Korean? The name is definitely but he looks Japanese all the way. I'm so confused?????

A definite feel good show without the typical Korean drama ending. I felt good afterwards and hope they make a second season but then that won't happen because our Gong Yoo is doing his mandatory 2-years "voluntary" military service. Ughhhhh!

Kim Jae Wook


Lee Eon

R. I. P.

S Diary (에스 다이어리 -2004)

Starring:
Seon-a Kim ... Jinny
Su-ro Kim ... Jeong-seok
Hyeon-woo Lee ... Gu-hyeon
Yu Kong ... Yu In
Mun-hee Na ... Jinny's mother
Kwang-il Kim ... Ho-woo
Sun-yeong Ahn
Hyuk Jang ... Lim Chan
Jae-hyeong Jeon
Yeong-im Kim
Mi-kyeong Kim
Shin-yeong Han
Hyo-eun Hwang
Ju-eun Oh
Yun-min Jeong

On a dreary day Jini gets laid off by her boyfriend with the final note that he was only interested in making love to her but not in a lasting relationship.

This triggers the girl's curiosity about whether her past three lovers were also only after her favors. As a result Jini checks back on her previous boyfriends including Ku-hyeon, an advocate of strong religious beliefs, macho college lover Jeong-seok and inexperienced Yoo-in who makes a living as wandering artist. Will Jini's emotional journey be rewarded with sincere answers from her old admirers ? Find out as S-Diary unveils its top secret material.



LOL! This was a riot. And why wouldn't it be? Kim Seon-ah is a comedic genius!!!

Revenge is sweet! Oh yeah. You go girl!

How I wish I could get back my love that I shelled out to all my ex's. I'd be rich. For all those girl's who gave what they thought was love, this movie is for you. We girl's shouldn't have to sell ourselves (not meaning prostitution) to win our guy's love. I really think this was the moral to this story. Be true! AH-JAH! FIGHTING!

Ah, and for eye-candy factors....we have Gong Yoo and Jang Hyuk! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Gong Yoo


Jang Hyuk

Spy Girl (Geunyeoreul moreumyeon gancheob/그녀를 모르면 간첩 -2004)

Starring:
Jeong-hwa Kim ... Park Hyo-jin
Yu Kong ... Choi Ko-bong
Sang-mi Nam ... Nam Jin-a
Jadu ... Park Hyo-jin II
Il-seob Baek ... Park Mu-sun
In-yeong Yu
Myeong-kuk Kim
Dal-hwan Jo

Go-bong has a huge crush on Gye-soon who works at a fast food restaurant. He puts her photo on their internet and she becomes the hottest girl in town. But she is frustrated because she is a spy from North Korea to catch a betrayer.

I hate to say this but this movie wasn't all that to me. It was sort of boring actually. The story was stupid. There needed to be some sort of realism or something to make the story stick together. I watched and waited for this to get better. Actually the ending was quite good and sweet......but everything before that....sucked! I literally fell asleep a few times out of boredom while watching this.

The person who wrote this, produced this, directed this...should have proofread this and watched it before releasing it out. This could have been way better. Just because it had two people who make hearts flutter doesn't make a good movie.

I'm really disappointed.

Gong Yoo

She's On Duty (Jambok-geunmu/잠복근무-2005)

Starring:

Seon-a Kim ... Chun Jae-in
Yu Kong ... No-young
Sang-mi Nam ... Seung-hee
Jung-woo Ha ... Detective Cho
Sang-Myeon Park ... Class teacher
Ju-hyeon No ... Detective Chun
Kap-su Kim ... Cha Young-jae
Bul-am Choi
Su-ah Hong
Ji-woo Kim
Sang-ho Kim ... Detective Kang
Beom-su Lee ... Detective working on maths exam
Sa-Pi Lee
Ya-mi Lee
Kwang-rok Oh ... Bae Doo-sang
Hyo-eun Hwang
Yeo-eun Son

Detective Chun Jae In thinks that she is about to break a huge child prostitution ring, but when she finds that she has really ruined a much higher-level undercover operation, she is embarrassed and humiliated. Despite this, an important new mission arises that requires her unique talents – i.e. her ability to dress up and convince as a school-girl. She must go undercover once again, this time in a school, under the pretence of being a new student so that she can ensure the safety of the daughter of an important Mafia witness that the police want to locate. Before long she finds her maths skills challenged, her fighting skills honed on the school bullies and her heart melted by a fellow student. But will she be able to stay focussed on the mission, capture the bad guys and save the day?


Aye-yi-yi! That was pretty good. Gotta love Kim Seon-ah! That woman'll make you laugh until you pee yourself. She is a natural. I think I've loved all of her movies. Not a one have I not liked. How can we forget the Lovely Sam-Soon! HEHE!

I will say this though. I was going for her with Detective Joh at the beginning before I realized he was the "bad" guy. Ugh! You know that hate-love relationship....they can't stand each other then realize they like each other? That was what I was hoping for. But hey, No-young, wasn't a bad choice either. How can we not love Gong Yoo? The man has a bod that won't quit! Whew! As a matter of fact, if I haven't already said this, the Coffee Prince was my very first Kdrama...ever! That is the one that started it all. So in all....I thank you Gong Yoo for being such a hottie to keep me coming for more!! LOL!

Gong Yoo

My Tutor Friend (Dong-gab-nae-gi Kwa-oi-ha-gi, 동갑내기 과외하기-2003)

Starring:
Ha-Neul Kim - Su-wan
Sang-woo Kwone - Ji-hoon
Il-seob Baek - Ji-hoon's Father
Ji-woo Kim - Ho-kyeong
Yu Kong - Jong-soo
Dong-won Seo
Hyo-jun Park
Hye-ok Kim
Jeong-woo
Ja-ok Kim

Su-wan is a sophomore in college, and she works part-time as a tutor to cover her tuition since her father lost his job and started a small chicken eatery. Tutoring is a tough job, especially since basket cases are more curious about what's underneath her skirt (The mirror is the most commonly employed device in satisfying this curiosity.) than what's in the books. Again for the zillionth time, she couldn't hack it. It's been only 7 days since she started teaching her new student, and already she's been sacked. "No tutoring, no tuition," declares her mother to make sure she understands she has no choice. So Su-wan is back on the market, and meets her next challenge -- the impossible, the unconquerable and the unreformable Ji-hoon.

He's the eldest son of a wealthy upstart. At school, he's a well-known fighter and the king of troublemakers. And what's more, he's repeating his senior year for the third time. Ji-hoon, who boasts such an impressive school record, becomes a very unwilling student of Su-wan, who's the same age but in college. She is flabbergasted by his careless manners and speech, and his incessant smoking during the lesson. Extremely tempted to quit, Su-wan is determined not to lose this job since she doesn't want to disappoint her Mom. Yes, she'll bring him down on his knees and under her control, so as it may seem as she tries to convince herself, but Ji-hoon tramples on her courage with his bluntness:

"Hey babe, just sit over there for two hours and then leave. I'll make sure you get paid." "Oh, sure, why not."

That's how their lessons began. And from then on, things started happening one after another.



God, I really love this movie. This is my second time watching it. LOL! The first time I watched this, I had no clue who Kwon Sang Woo or Kim Ha Neul was. Watching this again, as I've become more familiar with names and faces, surprises me. Kwon Sang Woo, I will never get tired of looking at. He can play comedy, drama, action in the blink of an eye. He does them so well.

I guess I really needed to watch this because I'm feeling so down. My husband is in the US Army and has left for the "sandbox" (Iraq) again for the 3rd time. Ugh. Today, I'll be watching lots of romantic comedies to get me in a better mood. No sad, tragic romances...that would just make me suicidal. That means no Koizora for a long, long, long, long, long time.

So back to a better note...sorry there.

I think this was my very first Korean movie. I can't think of any that would pre-date this one. Anyway, this is one of my favorites and one of many that I have downloaded via internet!

For those of us, who are military dependents (U.S. or any other nation)................HUGS!

Kwon Sang Woo


Gong Yoo

Aishiteru! Saranghae! Wo Ai Nee! Means....I Love You!

Ah! I've decided to post some of the reasons of why I watch Asian dramas before I start posting links and reviews of my favorite shows. I have 3 reasons why I watch Asian dramas........

1. HOT Japanese men.
2. HOT Korean men.
3. HOT Taiwanese/Chinese men.

Aren't those good enough reasons. (My husband is rolling his big, brown eyes right now.) I know, I know, I know. Hey! There are some HOT chicks but I won't talk about them because I'm not that sort of gal. Hehe!

I spent most of my night in bed tossing and turning on how to put this into words into my blog. I wish I had a voice recorder because at that time in bed it sounded so much better. Who do I start with? What movies should I reference them to? Should I make it even and put the same amount of guys for each genre? But, nahhhh. I'll just put who I like and why. And for the record, literally, most of these guys started out in boy bands or were singers before starting out as actors, and/or doing both.

So let me start by saying that it will be the Japanese first since that is the genre I started with in the first place. And it will be the first guy that I liked from the beginning.

So let me begin.

JAPAN

Tamaki Hiroshi

My first drama ever was Nodame Cantabile. It's corny by American standards. That's only because it's based on a manga (comic). Some of the actions are exaggerated but if you can get passed that....you'll fall in love with the story. Hiroshi plays Chiaki. His character is an eccentric, clean freak compared to Nodame who is untidy, unstudious, and totally a marble head. Other notable dramas and movies I have seen him in........

Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi
Last Christmas
Remote
Waterboys
Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru

Oh did I mention that he can sing too?!!!

Kimura Takuya

Out of all the actors I mention, he is the very best so far by my standards. Agh! I get the eebie-geebies, mushy, heart squeezy feelings for this man. He isn't the best looking of them all but damn if his characters don't make you fall for him.

The very first drama from this talented guy that I happened upon and ended up having a Takuya marathon was Love Generation. Katagiri Teppei...mmmmm,mmmmm,mmmmm. Maybe it was the bad boy image? Long hair? Attitude? From this drama on, I watched maybe 3-4 other of his dramas back-to-back. Oh, my toes curl with delight. Takuya-kun is a member of the boy band called SMAP. Here are few more of my recommended shows for viewing from this guy.

Hero
Engine
Pride
Good Luck!
Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi

Oh damn! Just read that he's going to be in an American made movie called I Come with the Rain starring Josh Hartnett! Hot damn!

Kamenashi Kazuya

If only I were 10 years younger....*sigh*. So cute. Kazuya is a member of the HOT boy band KAT-TUN.

I never really paid much attention to this guy until I came across the drama called 1 Pound no Fukuin. This drama is another drama based off a Japanese manga. It's about a boxer who falls in love with a nun-wannabe. Very sweet. But the best out of his dramas, hands down, is the drama called Nobuta wo Produce (notice how my blog name resembles his...hehe! Here are few more shows from him that I recommend.......

Tatta Hitotsu no Koi
Suppli
Gokusen 2

Here's a song from KAT-TUN with Kazuya singing the theme to Gokusen 2....Kizuna!

*sigh*

.....and last but not least............

Matsumoto Jun

Mmmm,mmmm,mmmm! Kawaii (cute in Japanese!) *sigh* He is also a member of a boy band named ARASHI. I'm not much for their music, but hey, I can't like everyone.

This guy is a great actor. Something about him comes across as arrogant. Very tense for an actor and hard for me to see as a comedian even though he did have very many poignant, comedic moments in Bambino! and Gokusen (the first season....he was not in the second season with my Kazuya.) I first noticed this guy in the movie Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru. The movie is about a brother and a sister(fraternal twins) who love each other...and not in the sibling fashion. This might sound like a perverted movie but you forget they are related and you feel for them. A forbidden love that can't be accepted. Definite tear jerker. It makes you think about what is considered forbidden and accepted in society and why the rules are the way they are. What is even sadder is that they have loved each other since the day they were conceived. Man, tears are already forming. *sigh* Here's more from this great, young actor/singer........

Hana Dori Yango
Kimi wa Pet

KOREA

Oh yeah. This country produces the best dramas....EVER. You will find fan sites of Korean dramas and fanatics like myself who can't get enough. OMG! My Bi (Rain) is from here. *sigh, giggle, sigh*

Jeong Ji Hoon
Bi (Rain)

*saliva oozes from the corners of my mouth* I can't get enough of this man! My excitement mounts because a few months ago I found out that my main man will be in the Speed Racer movie coming out next month. It won't be a main part but who gives a damn! I'll be there in my theater seat drooling like a rabid dog in heat! He can act, he can sing, and damn if he can dance! *shivers*


Out of all of the Korean dramas, this one has been considered the best out of them all. There hasn't been another one that can compete with the ratings this one pulled out in the year 2004. The drama.....is called Full House! The ratings for this show went through the roof. Let's compare it to the year that JR got shot on Dallas kind of ratings. Whew! This drama is the drama that got me hooked. I've not watched American TV since. No more LOST, no more Desperate Housewives, no more Office. Why should I watch them when these dramas can't compare? They are more intense, more loving, more romantic....ahhhh. Bi (Rain) as he is called in the English language has this naive, childlike demeanor in his shows. He is so compelling. His face is so sweet. You can't help but be drawn into his innocence. Yeah, that is the word....innocence. There isn't any awkwardness, evil, mistakeness in his acting. It's sincere in it's primest form. Oh, let me count the ways I love this guy. If you want to start watching at least one Asian drama...this is the one to start you out on. Here's more from "my" guy. (The husband is rolling his eyes again..... ;) )

A Love to Kill
Sang Doo, Let's Go To School
I'm a Cyborg, but It's Ok

Lee Wan

Okay, this guy is gorgeous. Oh my! But that is not the only reason why I love this guy. I watched the most beautiful, saddest, romantic story with this guy as a main character. The story.....Heaven's Tree, or Tree of Heaven, depending on how that person wants to write it. I watched this story and afterwards cried so hard for so many hours. A+++++ is this show. OMG! You'll go through a year's worth of Kleenex in one sitting. Just thinking about it now, my nose starts to run and my eyes start to water. Story depicts the love of two step siblings. The girl is Japanese. Her father dies and her mother goes back to Korea and marries another man who already had a son from his previous marriage. The son is Lee Wan (Soon-suh). Even with language barriers, she only speaks Japanese and he only speaks Korean. They eventually fall in love. Oh God....the waterworks are going as I remember the story. All I can say is......if ever there was a true love....the story depicts it well!! I've seen him in only one other drama.....In-Soon is Pretty. This one was well-acted. A really good show. But because of Heaven's Tree, I had to put him in my blog.

Gong Yoo

Ummm.....yummo! Found that pic and had to post it up! Whew! *sweatin' bullets* LOL!

I've only seen one of his dramas and one movie. The movie he had a small supporting role...but it was quite funny. The movie was called.......My Tutor Friend. It was a cute, sweet film. Something fun to watch to get you out of your doldrums. The drama that shows his best ability was the drama called the First Shop of the Coffee Prince. This was actually my first Korean drama. The storyline catches ya like a shark on bloody meat. As soon as your hooked, all you can do is hang on because you aren't going anywhere. LOL! Definite must see, and hey, he's not bad to look at either. Hehe!

TAIWAN/CHINA

What is it about a guy, leather, and a crotch-rocket? Mmmmm. Why do I start with that question? Well, because the first guy I will talk about looked so damn good in a particular drama...that I've been following his shows ever since. And damn if he ain't the finest thing next to fine China.

Vic Zhou

OMG! He's the best looking out of them all! I swear! Another boy band member, he is a member of F4. F4 was created after Meteor Garden was created. Metero Garden is the Taiwan version of Hana Yori Dango...another Japanese manga. Does anyone see a correlation here?

And most of all, his hit drama MARS was out of this world (pun intended). Whew! MARS is highly recommended. Next to Heaven's Tree, this one will make you cry. Maybe not as long, but it will take you for one hell of a rollercoaster ride. That is for damn sure. MARS was another drama depicted from a Japanese manga. And this one my friends is why girls like guys on bikes. *fans self* Okay, okay....he's not just gorgeous but he really can act. He started out as an actor and continues to this day. I've seen almost all of his dramas............and they kick butt!

Love Storm
Silence~serious tear jerker....BEWARE!
Sweet Relationship
Wish to See You Again

Joe Cheng

This guy was the first Taiwanese actor I got to witness. I had just got done watching Itzura na Kiss (a Japanese drama and manga) and came across It Started with a Kiss the Taiwanese version of the manga. He was the main character. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! Kawaii!!! This drama is soooooo popular. It is the hottest thing searched on most video viewing websites. *cough, cough* Luckily, the Taiwanese decided to stick with the manga and have followed it pretty well. And with the drama being sooooo popular, they decided to continue the story further and have produced They Kissed Again (scroll down the page from the link to ISwAK). A very addictive show. The second show is still airing to this day.

Summer X Summer
The Rose

All in all, these are a few of my favorite men. Oh there are more. But I seem to come across these guys the most. There will be more to come...and I'll have new reviews to post. So keep a look out!

Sayonara!
Ahn nyung hee ke se yo!
Zài jiàn!
Bye!