Coffee Prince: Eleventh Cup

183 August 6, 2007January 24, 2016

by javabeans

Oh, zee angst! It keels!

(Great acting all around.)

There were fewer songs used this episode, with more empty spaces, which I actually appreciate. I have this odd belief (totally unbased in anything tangible) that really good acting requires less music. That bad or mediocre acting requires extra frills (cuts, effects, music) to elicit emotions from the scene. But in strong, emotional acting, you could have a single long take, with no cuts and no music, and still be compelling. There were a few scenes here that had that spare, raw feeling, which I thought was cool.

SONG OF THE DAY

Oldfish – “같이가자” (let’s go together) [ zShare download ]

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EPISODE 11 SUMMARY

The night of their kiss, Eun Chan and Han Gyul have their first giddy new-lovers phone call. She has to forcibly calm herself down before answering, and the conversation starts slowly and awkwardly. But now that Han Gyul has accepted his feelings, he seems much more willing to admit them to her, and says, “I miss you.” Eun Chan thrills at the sound of that, but tries to sound normal as she answers, “We just saw each other, what do you mean…? …me too.”

Eun Chan asks, “Tomorrow… will we be able to laugh together? We won’t fight anymore, and we can talk… right?” He answers yes. Although Han Gyul wants to stay on the line longer, her fluttery heart can’t take too much, and she has to make up an excuse to hang up. Before going to bed, Eun Chan takes out the Lego toy Han Gyul gave her, and tells it, “Now I have to tell him. Right?”

Han Gyul receives a request to meet from the mysterious stranger, Lee Myung Jae. Han Gyul has been told that he used to really like the man when he was young, but admits he can’t really remember him. The man’s comment that Han Gyul must have inherited his stubbornness from his mother leads him to the realization: “Did you… know my biological mother?” The man gives Han Gyul a photo of her.

[Note: The following is explained much later in the episode, but I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the recap (as if that should be a concern) so I’m explaining here. Lee Myung Jae is Han Gyul’s blood father, and his (adoptive) family have kept it secret all these years. They’re worried that Mr. Lee will cause problems even as they understand a father’s natural desire to want to claim his son. The ‘why’ of the matter is not disclosed, but I presume there’s a big reason hidden somewhere.]

Eun Chan arrives for work dressed as a girl, mentally prepared to tell Han Gyul everything. Ha Rim is still angry with her, and accuses her of being cunning — now that everyone’s found out the truth, her dressing as a girl is just a ploy at damage control. He sarcastically congratulates her on such wily thinking.

He sneers at her apology, asking about Han Gyul: “Do you know how much he suffered? That was the first time I’ve ever seen him so broken-down, do you know that?” He accuses her of playing around with people, saying she’s gone too far. Frustratedly: “I can’t even hit you, seriously!” Ha Rim takes a look at her teary eyes and scorns her for using tears to manipulate.

Han Sung arrives home to find Yu Ju packing her things. He asks what she’s doing, and she says she moved up her departure date. He tells her not to go — he’s serious about getting over his feelings for Eun Chan, if she just gives him some time.

Yu Ju: “What should I do while I wait? Pray? ‘Please don’t let him waver any more. Please don’t let this man be drawn further to that girl. Since that girl is in love with his cousin, he’ll have to come back around to me, so please give me the patience to wait that long.’ Should I say that kind of prayer while I wait?”

Yu Ju acknowledges that she did the same (or worse) to Han Sung and he took her back, so he must be wondering why it’s so hard for her to accept this:

“I know I don’t have the right to say this to you. That’s why I have to leave. I don’t want to become a burden to you. Don’t force your feelings because of me. Han Sung, follow your heart, because that’s what I did.”

And I really like this scene, not merely because the acting is so in-the-present, but because you think they’re talking about one thing, but suddenly they’re talking about something else altogether:

Han Sung: “Why don’t you speak honestly and just say it’s because of your work! You don’t need to fake an excuse. Whether my feelings wavered toward that girl or not doesn’t matter to you. Don’t you have another reason? That you’re bent on doing your work, or maybe you’re going back to that guy. Why? Do you feel too guilty to just leave me again? Is that why you’ve blamed this on that girl, like a coward?”

Yu Ju doesn’t say a word, and leaves in tears.

Han Gyul arrives at the cafe and immediately looks for Eun Chan. As she’s dressed in her work clothes, he doesn’t notice anything different, and she tries to work up her courage to tell him the truth. He tells her about meeting the man who knew his mother, and says, restlessly, “On a day like this, I really hate to work. Comfort me.” He describes feeling like a lump of ice is wedged in his chest — heavy and cold.

“Go Eun Chan. Why are we both men? What do you think, should we just run away to America?”

Sensing an opening, Eun Chan tries to speak, but can’t get the words out. Ha Rim interrupts, startling them both. Assuming Han Gyul already knows the truth, Ha Rim wonders to Han Gyul (when Eun Chan isn’t there) how they could’ve been so fooled. Han Gyul can’t believe it, but Eun Chan appears just as Ha Rim is going on about they should have known.

[Side note: I think it’s really freaking cool of Han Gyul that, when Ha Rim first says Eun Chan is a girl, he laughs, “However much I might like that guy, how can you just turn a guy into a girl like that?” This is the day after he’s decided to be happy with (a male) Eun Chan, and doesn’t have a problem saying that in front of everyone — which shows that he really was ready to go for it, and without shame.]

In disbelief, Han Gyul asks, point blank: “Ha Rim says you’re a girl. Are you really?” She can’t look him in the eye, so he asks again, “What, so you really are a girl?” At her continued inability to speak, he demands an answer, and yells at her to say something.

Holding back tears, she nods yes, and Han Gyul walks out. She runs after him, but he drives off.

Han Gyul recalls all the little details that should’ve tipped him off — his initial impression that she looked like a girl, her identification number with a female designation (which he assumed was her error), why she didn’t grow facial hair, her asking how he’d feel if she were a girl…

Worried, Eun Chan calls him, and he demands to know who else knows the truth. Mr. Hong? Sun Ki? Ha Rim? And then, his face darkens when he thinks of Han Sung — “Does he know? Does Yu Ju know too?” Eun Chan’s afraid to say yes, but he barely contains his fury as he demands, “Answer me, you bastard. Does Choi Han Sung know or not!?” Looking sickened, Eun Chan admits he knows.

He shows up at Han Sung’s house and jumps right in: “Why didn’t you tell me Eun Chan was a girl?” Interestingly, Han Gyul still refers to Eun Chan as “that guy”: “Don’t you know how much I agonized because of him? And you still didn’t tell me?” Han Sung says that Han Gyul never asked him — if Han Gyul never brought it up, how could he say anything?

At that, Han Gyul punches him in the face.

Han Gyul: “Who the hell are you? Do you like that guy [Eun Chan]? Is that why you backstabbed me?”
Han Sung: “Why are you so angry? If Go Eun Chan is a girl, isn’t that a good thing for you? If Eun Chan likes you, what’s the problem?”
Han Gyul: “So you knew all along. You knew what was going on between us. And you still didn’t tell me? Han Yu Ju said you’d found another girl. That’s Go Eun Chan, right? The girl you took to the exhibition — was that her? Is that the reason you hid it from me?”
Han Sung: “Eun Chan had her reasons…”
Han Gyul: “What reasons?! If I found out she was a girl, would the sky fall? Would the earth crumble?!”
Han Sung: “You’re right. I’m sorry. I must’ve been thinking whatever was easiest for me. But I didn’t want to make things difficult for her.”

Han Gyul tells Han Sung to give him a straight answer: “When Yu Ju said you’d strayed, who was the woman?” Han Sung declines to answer (“That’s my business. Don’t involve yourself”), so Han Gyul calls Yu Ju:

“Hyung won’t say, so you tell me. The girl he took to the exhibit was Go Eun Chan, right? The girl that made him stray was Go Eun Chan, wasn’t it?!”

Han Sung grabs the phone, and levels with him (with Yu Ju still listening): “Fine. I liked Go Eun Chan. But she wasn’t interested in me. I’ve already gotten over my feelings, all right?”

Han Gyul arrives home to see Eun Chan waiting outside his door. He tries to ignore her, but she has something to say.

“I didn’t mean to deceive you from the start. At first, it was because of money. The Taekwondo school closed, and I had nowhere to work. Then I liked working at Coffee Prince so much, I wanted to keep working there — but if I revealed I was a girl, I thought I’d have to leave. So I couldn’t say anything. I’m really sorry. I tried… I wanted to tell you… but I wanted to spend your remaining time here [before leaving for the US] on good terms. If I told you the truth, I was afraid I wouldn’t ever see you again.”

Han Gyul grabs her suddenly and pushes her against the door. He says, in a pleading tone:

“Say it’s not true. Please, say it’s not true. Eun Chan. I won’t get angry, so tell me the truth, okay? You didn’t lie, right? No matter what, you couldn’t deceive me, isn’t that right? Not just for a day, or two, but for several months… that’s not what happened, is it? Say you’re not a girl… say that you’ve never deceived me… that this can’t happen between two people who love each other… Tell me everything’s a misunderstanding, quickly, SAY IT!”

All she can do is weep and say sorry. Hearing those words, Han Gyul deflates in disbelief, barely whispering:

“You… lied to me? You did? You deceived me?”

He goes inside in a pained daze. Overwhelmed, Eun Chan cries outside his door.

She tells Eun Sae, “Even if I can’t see him anymore… even if he refuses to see me… I want to tell him. That I really, really love him.”

Eun Chan still comes to work every day, to Ha Rim’s ire, and he takes every chance to sarcastically make her feel bad, calling her shameless. It’s kinda mean, but kinda understandable. Ha Rim: “I don’t understand you at all.” Sun Ki steps in to defend Eun Chan: “Then don’t understand. What’s the problem?” Sun Ki’s perspective is that the two like each other so there’s no problem. Ha Rim sees things differently: “Liking each other isn’t everything. She deceived him and destroyed his trust.”

Min Yub apologizes to Han Gyul for his part in keeping the truth secret, offering a rather weak excuse that it was because of Eun Sae. Han Gyul calls him out on his selfishness, asking, “Is your love the only thing that’s important? You act all innocent, but you sure know how to lie and stab someone in the back.”

Mr. Hong casually-but-on-purpose tells Han Gyul how rough Eun Chan’s had it, providing for her family since she was sixteen, after her father died. It was easier not to worry about acting feminine, with so much else to worry about. Han Gyul tells Mr. Hong to fire her; Mr. Hong counters that since Han Gyul hired her, he should do the firing.

Han Sung visits Yu Ju, once more asking if work is truly the only thing that matters to her — can she live happily without him as long as she has her work? What does she really want? He says earnestly that he’s settled his feelings for Eun Chan.

Yu Ju isn’t buying it, though:

“Are you really over her? When I said I was leaving, you asked for time. I thought you’d tell me not to leave because you’d already settled your feelings. But you asked for time to get over her. I know you’re not one for saying empty words, but in that moment, you should have said them. I hoped you’d tell me, ‘I’m over her, she’s nothing to me. Han Yu Ju, I only want you.’ This means you’re not really over her.”

Han Sung asks why she can’t trust him, and Yu Ju tells him to look straight into her eyes and tell her Eun Chan means nothing to him. He can’t.

Yu Ju: “I can change quickly and end things quickly, but you can’t. Your feelings can’t change direction quickly, and once they have, it’s difficult for you to change them back. You’re different from me. That’s why it makes me more frightened and more angry. From the time I met you, until you met Eun Chan, there was nobody but me in your eyes. There were plenty of suitable women around you, but they were nothing to you. You wouldn’t even have a cup of coffee with another woman! When I needed you, you were always by my side, and whatever I did, you’d forgive me and accept me. I was always number one. But now, you’ve given me too many expectations.”
Han Sung: “Nothing’s changed.”
Yu Ju: “No, so much has changed, because I can’t trust you anymore.”

Han Sung says that if she wants to break up, this is the last time. Yu Ju bursts out that she can’t even stand to see him, and Han Sung replies:

“So you really want to break up again? You don’t give me any chances, and decide everything by yourself. What did I do that was so wrong? Both then and now… you sure do break up easily.”

Han Gyul’s mother drops by to make him dinner, and although Han Gyul accepts her presence without suspicion, it seems her real reason for being there is to find out about his meeting with Lee Myung Jae. (I’m not sure whether she’s a nice woman or someone to distrust.)

Han Gyul sinks into quiet thought, then tells her: “I think you’re the only one in the world who has faith in me.”

Mr. Hong drops by to give Han Gyul some roundabout advice. He relates the story of a woman he once loved, a long time ago. She always lied to him about everything — she’d say she was meeting friends but go drinking; or that she was going home but then go dancing. Han Gyul: “You really loved someone like that?”

He asks why Mr. Hong laughs when it should make him angry, and gets the answer: ”Whenever I think of her, I laugh.” He figures the girl must’ve really liked him, though, and lied about those things for fear that he’d think less of her. “How much must she have liked me to have lied for so long?” He explains that he never once fought with her, because whenever he got angry, he would ask himself: “So you’re angry, but can you really live without her?”

Han Gyul gets the point (“So you’re saying if I’m not going to break up with Go Eun Chan, I should let this go?”) but doesn’t seem to be buying it.

Eun Chan looks at her Lego toy while repeating Han Gyul’s words to herself: “Whether you’re a man, or an alien…” Eun Chan tries to tell herself she hates him, but ends up saying, “I miss him… I miss him.”

At work the next day, Han Gyul briefly argues with Sun Ki and notes that everyone seems to be on Eun Chan’s side. She hangs her head and once again apologizes: “I should have told you from the beginning. I didn’t know things would come to this.”

Without sparing her a look, he tells her to pack her things and leave. She grabs his arm, and he flings it off harshly. He tells her it must’ve been fun for her — she got him to hire her, and admit he liked her thinking she was a man.

Han Gyul: “Miss Go Eun Chan, when were you planning on telling me? You must’ve had plenty of opportunities. When I said we should be sworn brothers, didn’t you understand my feelings driving me to say that? Couldn’t you figure out how I felt toward you? Do you know how hard it was for me when we were at the beach, and why I didn’t come to work for days? Did you really not know, you bastard?! Tell me. Did you really not know?”
Eun Chan: “I couldn’t say the words. I didn’t know how I’d act if you got this angry, and I thought I might not be able to see you ever again. I was wrong, truly wrong.”
Han Gyul: “You were only thinking of yourself. You didn’t care about how much you were putting me through. When I said I liked you as a man, when I said let’s go as far as we can go, you knew and still didn’t say anything? Was it fun?”
Eun Chan: “It wasn’t fun at all! I liked you too much, so I couldn’t say it. You said you were going to America in a month… we’d have to separate in the end anyway… So I tried to pretend not to know.”
Han Gyul: “Here I was, even thinking of taking you with me to America, but you were already thinking of sending me away. What was I to you?”

He turns to leave, and Eun Chan says to his turned back: “You said you wouldn’t like me as a girl. You said it was a good thing I was a guy. So what could I do, when I wanted to see you—”

He grabs her and shoves her against the wall, and assaults her in a kiss.

It’s harsh and unsexy — angry, and kinda almost ugly.

Eun Chan shoves him off — and he grabs her forcefully for a second kiss — and she forces him away again —

“The kiss was better when you were a guy. What’s left between us? Was there ever any trust there? I’d abandoned so much in my life just to have you. But you, you calculated everything to make sure you wouldn’t get hurt. Without a care for me.”

He stalks out, leaving Eun Chan in shock.

183

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101 Gramps

August 7, 2007 at 4:14 AM

wizie
"approximately 7 hours my time"

Hey, that would explain one component of the javabeans miracle: she inhabits a parallel universe where time flows at a different rate! That would account for how she manages to do so much when measured in our time -- especially over the past few days. But though it explains the astonishing quantity, it doesn't explain the even more amazing quality.

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102 kimi

August 7, 2007 at 4:53 AM

i almost cried while reading the Eleventh Cup (to think im suing my ofc computer here at work) ... cant wait to watch the episode later. thanks!!!

im really so hooked w/ Coffee Prince! the last im into this was when i watched "My Name is Kim Sam Soon"...

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103 Gramps

August 7, 2007 at 4:59 AM

Acey
"Harim and Eun Chan talk fast and slurred."
I hadn't grasped this about EC's speech until you pointed it out, but yes: this is another of the gender-blurring features that Yoon Eun Hye brilliantly yet unemphatically builds into her playing of the role. It's not just speed, it's pitch, or rather relative lack of variation in pitch. It's a commonplace in phonetics that female speakers are, on the whole, easier for non-native learners of a language to understand than males, because the higher frequency makes it easier to discriminate between unfamiliar sounds. But in Korean especially that difference is heightened by the way that females, and especially trained presenters and performers, tend to use a much wider range of vowel tones than males. Listen to any Korean TV program where there is a male-female pair of MCs or anchors, block out the sense and just listen to the sounds. You'll most likely notice that the female uses a much larger range of vowel-pitches than the male, even when talking about the same things. So much so that a visiting linguist from Mars might well conclude that Korean as spoken by females is a tone language (as of course for centuries Korean was, and still is in some dialects). The outcome of this for enjoy-the-dramas-while-pretending-it's-all-all-for-the-sake-of-language-learning freaks like me is that we get to a stage where we understand most of what the women say while still having to wait for the subs (or javabeans) to decode what the men say back. But I had noticed that I was having real trouble following Eun Chan. Suddenly, I realise why and that the reason is very much part of this drama's all-round excellence.

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104 hua

August 7, 2007 at 5:02 AM

Ahh! I should have waited to read 11th and 12th cup together! Ah the angst the angst! Thank you for another awesome recap! Ah be still my heart!

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105 TiKiElf

August 7, 2007 at 5:02 AM

I'm really glad that I finally am able to read this. Tried staying up all night and keep refreshing the page to see if you've updated, but sleep beckons me instead. hehehe...

I would just like to say that I really enjoy reading your reviews, esp on CP, because you seem to be very perceptive of the characters, and also very sensitive to the storyline. After reading your review, I always feel like there's something I've missed and would normally go re-watch the episode again. There's emotions in your review that reflects the storyline, and at times, just reading it can get just as good as watching the show itself.

And this review on 11th Cup, was just as poignant as the rest. I watched the raw last night, but not knowing a single Korean word, I had to struggle going through forums to check what exactly is going on. And your review just completed, and perhaps, gave me a more in-depth understanding of the episode from my initial understanding of it.

I like your comment about the (lack of) use of music in this episode. And again, your reflections about the characters are amazing. Han gyul's and Eun Chan's struggles with their emotions: betrayal, jealousy, anger, guilt, shame... it was painful to watch, yet necessary.

I'll be waiting patiently for your next review tonight!

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106 Acey

August 7, 2007 at 5:18 AM

Hmm I think there's something wrong with the cookies for the comments? Often I see the name of the last poster still in the Name box, and people have been using my name too -.-; ohwell not a big problem I sound pretty schizo normally anyway =p

I was watching episode 11 again (subless, I tell myself rewatching repeatedly is a good exercise in comprehension. which is half-true) and I think maybe for Han Gyul, the last fierce kiss in the end was meant to be some kind of exorcism? Maybe he feels betrayed by his own feelings because although he feels hurt and betrayed by Eun Chan he still can't let go, so he's trying to convince himself that he should know better? I'm not sure to what extent it worked though - though he lashed out hurtfully - the kiss was better when you were a guy, I wonder what he's really thinking underneath the words (though Gong Yu's superb acting gives us more than plenty of clues)

Sigh I really wonder how they'll resolve this. Previews give indications that it will all be okay again, but I hope they do it believably - so far the CP production team has been great in handling things such that we're like ohhh yeahhh that's great I wouldn't have done it any other way, if I'd even been able to think of such a perfect way of handling it. I hope they manage to resolve this issue with their usual flair instead of just making it fit for the sake of the story. That'd be disappointing. I love the way that, for example, while Han Gyul is still grappling with the truth of Eun Chan's gender, he still refers to her as 'i saekki' - naturally, he still thinks of her as a boy.

And I think there is a sense that even when he gets over her deception, there'll still be something lost to their relationship that they had when they were both boys. Or maybe it won't be noticed as the natural first giddy, fluttery-ness of a relationship are lost as well. I really liked how in the book they've tried to keep their relationship as natural as possible, to get a sense that whatever's lost isn't all gone and is even replaced with something that's perhaps even better - I really loved it when Han Gyul tells Eun Chan to dress girlier so they won't look like two men - and Eun Chan, in typically Eun Chan-ish fashion, tells him to wear a skirt xP

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107 Acey

August 7, 2007 at 5:37 AM

Gramps
(I always feel bad at cluttering up the space with comments swiftly following one another - sorry I didn't see your post before I posted!)
Wow, I never knew that. And suddenly, everything becomes clearer. As you put it, Korean dramas for me is very much a "enjoy-the-dramas-while-pretending-it’s-all-all-for-the-sake-of-language-learning" endeavor, and this I think justifies it. I learned something new, and now I realise why 1) although I generally prefer male singers to female ones I have many more female Korean singers' songs than the normal proportion for other languages - I guess because I can actually understand what they're saying more of the time, and 2) even for some of the male songs that I can understand happily (like Ready'O's 손만 잡고 잘게, which is hilarious) the raps are completely unintelligible to me - I suppose there's that much more tonal variation in the singing?
I'll definitely pay more attention to tone the next time I listen to them speak!

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108 nhetski

August 7, 2007 at 5:40 AM

waaah! such a sad episode :(

but excellent performance and dialogues, scenes etc.. i'm really proud of CP!

thanks sarah for your summary! can't wait for tonight's cup of coffee!

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109 Acey

August 7, 2007 at 6:33 AM

It's me again. Still rewatching. I'm beginning to understand why in K-dramas they say michigetta so often. I bet it's because there's something particularly craziness-inducing in korean-ness, and it's not a bad crazy. It's an I'm-close-to-pulling-my-hair-out-but-I-wouldn't-really-have-it-another-way kind of crazy. But I'm sooo amazed by the layers there are in these episodes, the sheer amount of detail. There's always something left to discover. I'm beginning to wonder how much I've missed, having only watched the previous episodes once, with subs. But there's this bit in episode 11 that I'm only just noticing, when Yu Ju is packing, where she picks up her toothbrush, lets it kiss Han Sung's toothbrush, then 'kick' it. It's at once sweet yet somehow sad. It's also somehow very Yu Ju - reminds me of the time she was waiting for him at his house at made dominoes out of CD cases

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110

August 7, 2007 at 7:07 AM

awesome!!!!!!

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111 yakatoo

August 7, 2007 at 7:15 AM

intense. speechless. hmmm.

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112 jk

August 7, 2007 at 7:30 AM

hey
i just saw episode 12 in korea and it is soooooooooo much better than 11.....totally made up for the drama in 11.....but this time there were no previews for next week so i have no idea where they are gonna go from here.....how are they gonna fill up 7 more episodes worth of storyline when they've already run the gamut of emotions already? i'm new to kdrama so i have lots of questions....anyway the cool thing is i happen to go to the same hair salon as HG and EC so i can see them anytime since they go there every morning for hair and makeup. i already saw the guy who plays min yup in person and he is just as cute as on tv. i wish i had the courage to ask them to so some commentary on the dvd like american shows. for some reason koreans dont do commentaries...but for CP i wish they would make an exception. i would really love it if they explained how they viewed certain scenes...why they chose these roles-what drew them to it....what were their favorite scenes...which ones were the most difficult to shoot...etc. it's so much fun to get the actor's perspective on each episode. i would so buy that dvd!!!! anyway you guys will love the 12th cup!!!!

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113 1st Coffee Prince(KOR)

August 7, 2007 at 7:39 AM

Hi~
I`m Korean.
It was surprised that overseas people interested in 1st Coffee Prince.
I have seen the coffee prince Ep.12 on TV.
It`s very awesome episode.

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114 Gramps

August 7, 2007 at 8:01 AM

Yippee, the cyber-fates were kind for once and let me watch the whole of ep 12 on the MBC stream without a single bout of rebuffering. Given my distinctly wonky grasp of spoken Korean, especially when there's no rewind button to hand, I won't attempt to anticipate the goodies javabeans will have for us here soon, but I think you're going to like it, folks. And to add to my good mood, I made a stupendous cultural discovery when I went out to the supermarket straight afterwards (it's a glorious midsummer afternoon here). There, right next to the checkouts in the impulse-buy bargain DVD promotion racks were numerous copies of The Host. I can't sufficiently say what an epoch-marking event it is to find a Korean movie piled up high and selling cheap in a UK supermarket a long way from London. So that famous wave has finally begun to lap against these distant and occasionally xenophobic shores! True, one slight downer is that, if the packaging is to be believed, they've stripped the Korean subtitles, which are present on my own Korean import copy. I find having the Korean spelled out on screen is a great help with the more mumbly-shouty passages of dialogue, where English subtitles shortcut my attempts to really grasp the grammar and syntax. And I suppose before long people are going to start asking me whether spunky little girls who've been so brave and resourceful for such an expanse of screen time always end up like that in Korean movies. And I'm going to have to say, in effect, "Hollywood it ain't, but Welcome to Korea: you'll get to like it eventually..."

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115 charm

August 7, 2007 at 8:14 AM

OMg! I think i'm really going crazy over coffee prince. just saw ep 12 lq streaming. and despite the language barrier, i smile and feel all girly girl at the scences of HK and EC! *sigh* so excited for tom's summary! hehe ;p i'm at peace now...

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116 secret admirer

August 7, 2007 at 8:40 AM

OMG, went to sleep, wake up.. and we have like a gazillion comments here. Sorry for taking over your pad, javabeans. See what Coffee Prince does to us? If i may, gotta put in my opinions ...

Acey, dude, i dig what you said in # 74,#106,#109 (cause i'm not sure which other comments are yours!). Mr. Hong is like the coolest guy (well, maybe after Sun Ki) if we can just overlook his tendency to do personal hygiene maintenance in public. He's the father figure that Han Gyul never had (or thought that he would never need). His advices are so on the spot, man. He encourages Han Gyul to look beyond what is obvious, see the big picture and understand other viewpoints beside his. In the end, despite the betrayal, pain and anger: "Can Han Gyul really live without Eun Chan?" So true, so true.... The kiss at the end is to (unsucessfully) convince himself and Eun Chan that their love is not real because it was based on her lies and deceptions. I feel so much pain coming from both of them in this scene.

Gramps, Acey and Ima, agree with you all. The discussion about CP's choice of music, color pallette, settings, directing and cinematography probably requires its own post! I congratulate the crew for their excellent choices. The music selection is like &%$!@ . It rock! From the use of muted/earthone colors to highlight the realistic tone of the drama to the wonderful play on shadows and lights, it was just lovely (in a subtle/understated way). I love some of the shot composition and the director's personal touches . This drama really requires multiple viewings to appreciate its technical achievements.

Ahhh, so much pain and heartaches... I am so ready for this drama to take a U-turn in direction and give us back the quirkiness and off-beat charm/fun from the first few episodes. There is only so much drama this poor little heart can take. Wahhhh.

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117 Noona

August 7, 2007 at 8:43 AM

Hi 1st Coffee Prince(KOR), I am from California and we all so love the coffee prince at home! Its all of course because of javabeans' help by providing us with awesome writings! Luv you java!!! Hey guys, how come ep 11 is so much better than ep 10 (I thought ep 10 is the ultimate!) and JK said ep 12 is "soooooooooo much better than 11"!!! I can't wait.......

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118 Gabi

August 7, 2007 at 8:47 AM

Hi, I'm a sophomore in high school (in Korea) who's supposed to be doing her homework but ended up posting a comment here...
I don't like "trendy dramas" in general cause they all have same plots that enable viewers to know from the start how the series will unfold itself and where it would eventually end up... and i'm really surprised that a drama series of such kind is practically monopolizing my attention these days..@_@(and all this is so bad cause i should really be putting that much attention to my studies!) People agonize over how their hearts do these terrible flip-flops when they watch CP and i can totally relate to this...
all of this is a torture for me, i love and hate CP at the same time T.T

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119 secret admirer

August 7, 2007 at 8:56 AM

Hey, like your new banner... Nice!

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120 Samantha

August 7, 2007 at 9:04 AM

I really hope everything gets worked out as soon as it did in the book, that last scene was unbearable to read. Well thanks for the summary can't wait to watch it

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121 Samantha

August 7, 2007 at 9:05 AM

oh, i absolutely LOVE THE NEW BANNER its so cute

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122 Gramps

August 7, 2007 at 9:37 AM

gabi
"all this is so bad cause i should really be putting that much attention to my studies!"

Well, I don't suppose we ought to be encouraging you to neglect your homework, especially not in the fiercely competitive Korean system, but I don't think time spent here reflecting on your responses to Kdrama in general and CP in particular within the magic circle of javabean's wonderful insights and writings is in any sense going to harm your education. Far from it. And I say that as a now rather elderly lifelong professional educator myself. This blog is gathering together people of many different generations and many nations, and we're all enjoying learning more about our experiences and values and our different but yet overlapping worlds through sharing responses under javabean's inspired and inspiring guidance. I'm not sure that there's any better form of education anywhere. And hey, in the longer term it may even improve your grades as well as enhance your leisure hours. Of course, we are sometimes rather naughty boys and girls, in that when javabeans is busy writing, or maybe even sleeping (though I can't see how she ever has time for that) we tend to talk among ourselves; but we do try to keep within the agenda she has set, because after all this is her blog, and if it wasn't her blog none of us would be here.

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123 tooizzy

August 7, 2007 at 9:48 AM

Hello All! Just wondering who we all are. (^_^)

I'm a Latina with roots in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (We LOVE our novelas=soap operas) American currently in the state of Maryland. Phewww! THAT was long. hehehe :-)

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124 wizie

August 7, 2007 at 9:54 AM

1st Coffee Prince(KOR)

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125 wizie

August 7, 2007 at 10:06 AM

i should remember not to put "

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126 wizie

August 7, 2007 at 10:07 AM

weird my comments keep getting cut. sorry, something's wrong with my pc i guess.

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127 Bamidele

August 7, 2007 at 10:12 AM

wow, this is a crapload of comments ^_^

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128 Acey

August 7, 2007 at 10:12 AM

secret admirer -
yup, that's all me. haha glad to see there seems to be a discernible method to my madness afterall! I agree with what you said about Bin-Jip, by the way. Coffee Prince has done a remarkable job of balancing the poignant silences characteristic of that movie with its own quirkiness, and I think that's reflected in its music choice as well - it has sweet, lighthearted 'foamy' concoctions in its OST, and meaningful scenes are undercut by melancholic, reflective tunes that don't drown you in sap, that bring to the surface what's underneath while still remaining in the 'background'. And when there's nothing to say but what's there, the music reflects this by giving us the 'sound of silence'. Insights I'd never have gained had I not read this blog =)

gabi -
I so know where you're coming from. I'm in my final year of high school and I've spent at least half of the time since I got off school today (12 hours ago!) on CP. If only Korean comprehension/film studies were on my syllabus! Thankfully the series ends (just barely) before my prelim (mock) exams, or else I'd have to grit my teeth and put my self-discipline to the test, and who knows if I'll emerge triumphant?

Wow each entry on this blog seems to have grown a life of its own, turning into mini-forums/thread discussions. I love the new banner, by the way - lovely and appropriate! Meanwhile my sanity is preserved with the timely arrival of chinese subs for ep11 - or not, given that it's 1am here. Luckily I have no school tomorrow

Thank you so so much, Javabeans - you've given us more than beautiful summaries, written with flair and with screencaps to boot - I have no idea how you find the time to do it! But you've also given us (as a side benefit :p) a whole new platform for interaction, as Gramps said. I bet my teacher wishes I'd put as much effort into reading and analysing my lit texts as I do for these dramas =)

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129 Gramps

August 7, 2007 at 10:15 AM

secret admirer, Samantha
I didn't get what you guys meant about the new banner, because my normal ISP operates a stupid non-refreshing graphics cache so I was still seeing the old one. But now I've switched to my backup ISP, I get the point. Yes indeed. And it has the appropriate colour balance and temperature, too!! (Whereas some of the pre-airing publicity shots on the MBC site visibly don't)

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130 Fritz

August 7, 2007 at 10:52 AM

How this episode is so full of angst!

HK really going all out on his emotions, what's with everything happening to him, and adding insult to injury is that having him to be the last to know about EC. I could understand him, but I'm worried what's gonna happen next.

Heard they were planning to extend this to few more episodes.

I hope they do not spoil the broth while it's still hot.

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131 mona

August 7, 2007 at 10:55 AM

Java Java Java ... seriously, what would we do without you?!
I'm anticipating this next episode with everything I've got! I've got my own drama--which are quite substantial--but it lovingly takes me away for an hour every week. I don't dare watch the raws. I'd dislike switching back and forth from one screen to the next to try and keep up. Until then, I'll read your synopsis rather religiously.
Reading YJ's "justification" of running away with DK made me want to throttle her. Very selfish of her. It's convenient only for her but when someone else is asking for time and understanding, it's either her or the highway. I'll swing by and pick you up, HS!!!
Until next time ...
Keep up the tremendous work! Along with other folks all over the world, I love you!!!

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132 zeekzeek

August 7, 2007 at 11:13 AM

Hi I'm a Vietnamese living in Germany, watching CP via Internet and understanding only a few Korean words ^.^

Thank you very much Sarah for making such a hard and wonderful work.

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133 Auntiemame

August 7, 2007 at 11:38 AM

I think, with this episode, we have arrived at EC's journey into adulthood. Looking at EC from a distant and objective viewpoint, I see a child that has assumed adult responsibilities. But, being able to fulfill adult responsibilities does not necessarily mean that a person is emotionally adult. Have we not experienced children lying or not tell the truth when they were afraid of getting into trouble or having something bad happen to them? Isn't EC, emotionally, right in there with them?
In turn, being able to admit the truth, regardless of the consequences, takes a certain amount of maturity. This maturity is usually gained through lessons learned. We could consider this lesson as EC's road to maturity and adulthood. For this reason, I don't judge or side against her for not telling the truth. Not that I'm minimizing the impact on HG. But, understanding each other's mistakes and faults is also part of the journey into adulthood. (gads, sounds like 12 steps...)
Aww... getting too wordy and theoretical. It's good enough to just enjoy the emotional roller-coaster ride. I love this show ... and book ... and the summaries!!! Thank you to all.

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134 Gabi

August 7, 2007 at 12:12 PM

Gramps:
you're totally right about how sharing ideas with people coming from diverse parts of the world will be a great experience! (and btw, thank you for your long, friendly answer to my lamentations *_*) But what seems to be the major problem of all is that CP lingers around me all day... i can't get it off my mind! T.T Oh well, it's up to me to get control of myself^^;;

Acey:
Wow it must be really hard, being in the last year of high school! Though it's going to happen also to me before long, and i can barely imagine it..
It's 4:04 in the morning and i'm still working on my homework so that I don't have to wake up early in the morning to get it finished.
Jia you to both of us!

Javabeans:
It's really interesting to read an English version of a summary of a drama that i've already understood(obviously... cause i'm Korean), and a beautiful one, too! The way you write, you make me want to read more. Now that i've seen the 'Twelveth Cup' i'm curious about how you will feature/summarize this episode :) Keep up the good work!

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135 its_trish

August 7, 2007 at 1:06 PM

I think this episode beats the 'BIG ONE'..
Their acting is so realistic.. everything is developed accordingly..
Although the truth is revealed, instead of everything being solved now we face another onslaught of problems.. namely Han Gyul's bad luck of being 'lied' to by everyone close to him
In comparison, the two kiss scenes.. this one is more dramatic and manages to convey their mutual feelings as well as the sense of betrayal whereas the other one served only to realize their feelings - of course there was the possible 'gay' element too
In this episode Han Sung and Yu Ju also figure prominently. bringing in the rivalry between the cousins as well as fully illuminating the tangled relationships (of the four), and at the same time delving into their relationship.
All in all, I'm pretty impressed with this episode and all there is to do now is to - as patiently as possible - wait for the next one and another awesome summary from Sarah-Java-Beans!
Thanks as always!

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136 its_trish

August 7, 2007 at 1:22 PM

Oh oops I also want to compliment ya on the new banner - very fitting and spiffy!
and.. did anyone else find it a riot and worth mentioning when EC first shows up for work in her 'girl' clothes and Sun Ki remarks that she really doesn't have anything there.. (hearkening back to the post when he first reveals that he knows by asking her how she managed to hide.. physically that she's a girl)
ok.. enough for me
I can't wait for the episode that's supposed to be better than this one!!!

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137 Iranian Espresso

August 7, 2007 at 1:28 PM

:) :) :) :) :) :) :)
2007-08-06 Episode = 11 Nationwide= 28.4 (2nd) Seoul = 30.8 (1st)
YOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!
Coffee Prince is in No.1. :) :) :)
Congratulation, Congratulation, Congratulation, Congratulation

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138 Eunwhui

August 7, 2007 at 1:37 PM

Thank you thank you thank youuuuuuuu.
SO MUCH.
I don't know HOW to say this.
THANK YOU.
MUCHAS GRACIAS.

you are truly a total sweetheart.
this episode made me cry so hard.

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139 starz12

August 7, 2007 at 3:43 PM

waaaa..... i wonder how many kissing scenec are in this drama, eun chan was kissed how many times now...

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140 Zoooooey

August 7, 2007 at 4:02 PM

thank you for the summary once again!

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141 jinkzzmec

August 7, 2007 at 4:30 PM

Another episode of coffee prince today...yippee!!!! Can't wait for Javabeans' narrative/ summary...looking forward to it...I am so glad that i have stumbled into your blog, Javabeans. Not only do i read your summaries but i come back and check all the posted comments as well. Wierd as it may sound but reading them always makes me smile...This is the first time in so many years that ive had this feeling/ obsession (?) over a drama series. thank you.

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142 yaye

August 7, 2007 at 6:10 PM

can't believe how much YEH has changed from her cutesy role in goong to this.. hahah great job! :D ommgg can't wait for 12th ep:)

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143 christy

August 7, 2007 at 6:48 PM

Already camping here for 12th!!!! =p

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144 4blueroyal

August 7, 2007 at 6:55 PM

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW, this is the climax of the drama... i never thought that she would tell him this early. i thought she was going to tell him on ep 15 or something. I think that Han Gyul likes Eun Chan too much to stay mad at her. But this episode by far is the best. Thanks for the summary, u rock.

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145 hana

August 7, 2007 at 7:10 PM

thanks javabeans...
hv been parked here since I wake up this morning.... waitg 4 ep 12...
you've done a great job javabeans... your summary... marvelous... I really enjoy reading your summary on CP....

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146 jinkzzmec

August 7, 2007 at 7:15 PM

whoa...i thought i was the only crazy one who's been parking in this site since this am...guess not...hehehe....wow as early as now the sitemeter already reads 152...guess there would be more traffic congestion later.