커피프린스 1호점 S1

I don't think anyone needs to be convinced to watch the legendary Coffee Prince; it was a huge hit when it was released back in 2007, especially outside of Korea - it was a big part of 한류 at the time. It's a cute, funny show that’s full of likeable characters; if you like romantic comedies, you’ll probably enjoy this.

고은찬 is a young woman who has been working like a dog to support her family since her father died. She doesn’t have time for “feminine” things, so her short hair and androgynous style, while convenient, often cause her to be mistaken for a boy. 최한결 makes this mistake when they cross paths, and although their relationship starts off as antagonistic, 은찬 eventually persuades 한결 to let her work at his coffee shop. As they become closer, 한결 realises he’s falling for 은찬, whom he believes to be a guy…

The modern setting and daily life situations makes it a great choice for language learners, especially if you watch with Korean subtitles. You won't encounter any particularly unusual or specialised vocabulary, and although there are conversations that touch on business, finances, or coffee-making sprinkled throughout the series, these are few and far between. (There is one minor character than tends to speak very quickly and at great length, but he’s just trying to appear poetic in order to seduce 은찬’s mother; I just tuned him out.)

The show is a great slice-of-life rom-com, so I’d recommend it for both entertainment and language learning purposes.