South Korean star Gong Yoo may have become a global internet sensation thanks to his starring role in season two of Netflix’s hit show, Squid Game. But the actor has been a reigning superstar in his home country for over two decades, starring in a number of beloved and acclaimed projects over the years, including Train to Busan, Guardians: The Lonely and Great God and Coffee Prince .

However, in today’s edition of our weekly K-Fix, we turn our attention to the latter from the list. Yes, we’re going to be discussing the sweet, sweet series that stars the talented Yoon Yoon-hee as a 24-year-old tomboy. While the story itself was unique, the main attraction of Coffee Prince was the electric chemistry of its lead characters. Gong Yoo was his usual charming self as the carefree, irresponsible and sycophantic Choi Han-gyeol, who feels deep unrequited love for a woman who only treats him as a friend. But it was Yoon Eun-hye’s inspiring turn as a young woman disguised as a man that made the show an instant classic.

The story goes like this – Choi Han-gyeol is an irresponsible young man who is deeply in love with someone who doesn’t like him back. His family owned a coffee shop, which was later named Coffee Prince. Han-gyeol has been entrusted with the business by his grandmother, who wants him to eventually ‘settle down’ with a nice woman. However, fate has something else in store for our hero, who ends up falling in love with Yoon Eun-hee.

Being the only earning member of her family, lovely Yoon Eun-hye comes to the coffee shop and is immediately given a job. Soon, things start to heat up between Go Eun-chan’s Han-gyeol and Yoon Eun-hye’s character, who keep bumping into each other at work. The sexual tension is palpable, reaching straight from the screen to the hearts and minds of the audience.

The pair, predictably, fall in love with each other, which ends up blowing Han-gyeol’s mind. After all, how could she, the courageous and courageous owner of the Coffee Prince, fall in love with a man? Of course, when he learns the truth about Yoon Eun-hee’s identity, he first feels betrayed and then obviously becomes incredibly upset.

Despite being released almost 20 years ago, Coffee Prince effortlessly tackled timely topics like gender identity, sexuality and what it really means to love someone in a patriarchal society. The supporting characters of Lee Eon, Lee Sun-kyun, Kim Jae-wook and Kim Dong-wook added a lively touch to the show.

The drama, co-written by Lee Jung-ah and Jang Hyun-joo and directed by Lee Eun-jung, still deeply connected with audiences, largely for its grounded yet modern themes of companionship and same-sex love. Thank you. It is particularly revered by Gong Yoo’s huge fan base, as it was one of the first major roles of his career.

You can stream Coffee Prince on both Netflix and Rakuten Viki.