EXTRA EXTRA! Read All About it!

I’ve recently finished two Kdramas on Viki Rakuten, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, and Coffee Prince. I was so enamored with the lead actor in Guardian, Gong Yoo, that I wanted to watch another show he was in. Coffee Prince aired on Korean television in 2007, Guardian in 2016. Both were excellent.

The best part for me, though, was the extra show titled My Dear Youth; Coffee Prince that featured bloopers, outtakes, interviews with the actors, etc. Coffee Prince was filmed in 2007, and My Dear Youth in 2020, thirteen years after the original series aired. It was fascinating seeing them get together and rehash the old days. I know this is what I want to see after I finish a series. Because I’ve only seen these extra episodes on Viki, I’m wondering why they aren’t available on any other streaming service. Food for thought.

Sadly, two of the actors are no longer alive. One died in a motorcycle accident a few years after the series ended. One of the extra episodes for Coffee Prince did a very nice posthumous segment on him. The second, Lee Syun-kyun, ended his life in 2023 after he had been caught up in a drug scandal. He was quite famous and had acted in many Kdramas and the academy award winning movie Parasite. His death really rocked the Korean acting community. In some way it was strange knowing I was watching him at his best knowing he was no longer here.

Okay, last thought on Gong Yoo. I think the infatuation is over. I tried to watch two more shows he was in, A Man and a Woman and Seo bok, and neither came close to the above mentioned shows. One was too depressing, and the other too sci-fi weird for me. Time to go back to Jun Ho I guess! ~ Pat

Gong Yoo & Yoon Eun-hye... My Dear Youth Coffee Prince is a 2 episode recap that takes place 13 years after the filming... definitely watch it!