December 05, 2007
Commercials after commercials for Coffee Princes..
If we google for the main characters of The First Shop of Coffee Prince and commercials, several pictures and blogs come up, although more often than not (unfortunately), they are written in Korean. However, there is a blog entry “Coffee Prince’ Actor Gong Yoo Replaces Rain as Ohui Model.”
http://bluejaymiesky.multiply.com/journal/item/31/_Coffee_Prince_Actor_Gong_Yoo_Replaces_Rain_as_Ohui_Model_
For those who have absolutely no clue about Korean celebrities, Rain is a singer with a very hot body that many Korean teenage girls adore. Rain was popular for his singing, dancing, and acting in various popular dramas. He appeared in numerous commercials that address young women, and proved to be a very effective character. On the other hand, many people did not even know about Gong Yoo until this drama was on TV every Monday and Tuesday, so this just gives an idea of how powerful one drama affects a celebrity’s income and popularity.
Usually, although not always, when a Korean drama turns out to be a huge success, it is the main characters in the drama that shout with joys, since many companies ask them if they are interested in being the model for their commercials. Since The First Shop of Coffee Prince became such a popular drama, it was mentioned in many of other TV shows, not to mention in many blogs and websites. Anywhere you went in Seoul, the chances of you hearing people talking about the drama was pretty high during this past summer.
Yoon Eun Hae was not so popular after several dramas that she was in as a main characters. People often complained about how she was not suitable for the character. Surprisingly, people started to acknowledge that she improved a lot in the Coffee Prince, which made her image boost up very high. Consequently, Yoon Eun Hae, who played the character Eun-Chan in the drama, appeared in TV commercials for cellphones, jeans, make-up products and more. Some people complained on their blogs that although they have enjoyed the drama, now they are sick of seeing these main characters all over the place.
Gong Yoo, thanks to the popular drama that he was in, now became a popular man in Japanese market, especially for the women in their ages between 20 and 40. One Japanese company actually made profits by making a 2008 calendar with Gong Yoo’s handsome photos. Some Koreans are still not sure why and how he is so attractive. I doubted that too, since his mask wasn't all that cute compared to many gorgeous actors....Nonetheless, my only recommendation would be to watch the entire series of The First Shop of Coffee Prince, to slowly realize what sort of image and feeling he creates in you. By then, anyone could appreciate many commercials or other future dramas or movies that he appears.
Posted by hayoung at 12:14 AM
December 03, 2007
The houses and views of Seoul, Korea
So far, I have discussed the drama The First Shop of Coffee Prince and its effect on Korean's fashion style, as well as its impact on Coffee markets within Korea. At this point, you might be asking, 'okay, so let's say it did impact all these areas..but would there be any more?’ The answer to that is, of course!
In the drama, each main character -- Eun-chan, Han-kyul, Han-sung, and Yu-ju -- lives in a very unique and adorable house located in Seoul. The scenery that appears in each episode of the drama has been so amazing and surprising to many of the audiences, since not many people imagined that the most crowded city, Seoul, would have such a beautiful view of nature. Although not comparable in their sizes, the houses in the drama looked a lot like those celebrity houses in L.A.
While in reality, it is very hard for the ordinary citizens to actually acquire such big and gorgeous house with amazing views of Seoul, at least many became aware that there is actually something to visit and see in a very crowded and polluted city. It did not only attract the Koreans, but the sceneries shown throughout the drama actually promoted Korean Tourism, and provided additional popular tourist attractions especially for Japanese tourists. In fact, many Japanese women in their mid 30s or 40s often watch Korean dramas and come to Korea to see the beautiful places shown in drama.
I myself am very used to seeing endless lines of apartments all over Korea, so it was certainly refreshing and enjoyable for me to watch these lovely parts of Seoul with cute couples in them. I don’t know when I would be able to visit Korea, but I would definitely make trips to these houses, dreaming that maybe one day, my BBA degree will somehow enable me to purchase one of these adorable houses in Seoul…
Although my blog entry mainly talks about the “houses” of the characters in Seoul, Korea, I found a useful website in *ENGLISH* that lists some of the filming locations/popular sites shown throughout the First Shop of Coffee Prince:
http://english.tour2korea.com/02Culture/TVMiniseries/CoffeePrince.asp
Posted by hayoung at 09:07 PM