Yoon Eun-hye and Gong Yoo starred in the 2007 drama 'Coffee Prince.'
My Dear Youth: Coffee Prince is a 2020 documentary about the 2007 k-drama, The First Shop of the Coffee Prince, starring Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-Hye. When Gong arrives at the coffee shop where the drama was shot and part of the documentary is filmed, he says being there is like seeing his first love again. For longtime viewers of Korean dramas the experience of seeing this documentary might evoke similar emotions—especially if that particular drama was the first time they felt so intensely about this addictive form of entertainment.
The documentary features several interviews with the drama’s director and cast members. Gong and co-star Yoon meet at the coffee shop, which has faithfully recreated the drama set and brims with memorabilia, including a life-size cutout of the actors. When Yoon arrives to surprise her former co-star, she looks far more glamorous than Eun Chan, her character in the original drama. Eun Chan spent most of the drama being mistaken for a boy.
The drama's stars reunited in a coffee shop filled with 'Coffee Prince' memorabilia.
The title of the drama, The First Shop of the Coffee Prince refers to the coffee shop, managed by Gong Yoo’s character Han-gyeol. The character’s lack of focus troubles his family, so his grandmother insists he manage a failed cafe and make it a success. He can’t refuse, and while studying the gourmet coffee business, begins to make changes. He decides to hire only attractive male waiters and winds up offering Eun-chan a job. Things get really complicated when Han-gyeol realizes he has fallen in love with Eun Chan, still believing she is a boy. She likes him too, but is afraid of getting fired if he finds out she’s a girl. Their tender gender-swapping romance deftly approached the topic of same-sex relationships, concluding that what matters is who you love, not which gender that person is.
Kim Jae-wook played a waffle maker in the drama's coffee shop.
The documentary reunites the talented cast, which have to date earned some impressive acting credits. Gong appeared in the drama Guardian, The Great and Lonely God, the films Kim Ji-young: Born 1982 and Train To Busan. Yoon was last seen in the film After Love and the drama Fluttering Warning. Also in the original cast—and the documentary—are Kim Jae-wook, last seen in the drama Her Private Life, Lee Sun-kyun who starred in the Academy-Award-winning film Parasite, Chae Jung-an, last seen in the dramas Suits and Legal High, and Kim Dong-wook, who appears in the film Trade Your Love and the drama Find Me In Your Memory.
Together they view scenes from the drama and share memories, offering both touching exchanges and funny asides. The emotional reunion will likely make some of the drama’s fans teary-eyed and it’s especially touching to see the actors watching some scenes and feeling the same way.
