In Guk and Si Yang slayed their roles!
I enjoyed this drama so much. It was so fun to watch, In Guk and Si Yang played their roles extremely well, I was not only crying from laughter but of course sad scenes as well, because let's be honest, it's not a kdrama without a few tears. The story line was interesting and kept me invested the entire time I was watching. The whole tory kept me on my toes because of the suspense it also had with the whole plot and everything that went with it. I highly recommend watching this, you won't regret it I promise, bit just remember to go into it with an open mind, don't take everything too serious otherwise you'll ruin this great drama portrayed by wonderful and amazing actors and actresses.Was this review helpful to you?
Comedy & Crime
This drama is NOT to be taken seriously. SIG is his usually wonderful self, this time bouncing around as a shaman, who is secretly trying to avenge his friend's murder. He used to be a profiler & uses that in his fortune-telling. The team at Cafe Minamdong is just fun, although those who hate slapstick, exaggerated comedy will not like them.The police team are also fun, although the two junior detectives were a bit over the top even for me. I liked the female lead (really, people! WTF is wrong with her? She's a cop, going after criminals!), and the older mentor just is one of those seasoned Korean actors that brings verisimilitude to every role he takes.
The mystery has an interesting twist - I wondered after about the 8th episode, but it didn't fully reveal itself until nearly the end, and did so in a very good way. I've watched a lot of dramas with this kind of thing before that have not done this as seamlessly or logically, frankly - playing with the audience or using shock value (or both, like Mouse ). This one did it well.
All in all this was just a fun, refreshing drama for me to watch - nothing heavy, satisfying action, very few true plot holes or logic fails (other than some over the top kinds of comedic situations), and just, SIG being very funny & appealing throughout.
I find all the negative reviews ridiculous, frankly.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Cafe Minamdang is a Hoot!
I'm surprised that most of the reviews reflect dissatisfaction with this drama. I'm in episode 10 right now and let me tell ya that I have not had so much fun watching a K drama as I am having now. I'm still laughing at Seo In-guk as Nam Han-joon (I even rewinded some scenes to get another laugh). Who would have thought this guy can do brilliant comedy. So, I'm writing this review even before I finish with the drama just to share my two cents and how much I enjoy watching it.Cafe Minamdang was Han-joon's brainchild to trick his mother, a deeply religious Catholic, from the shock of knowing that her son and daughter were running a shaman scheme. But behind the facade, Han-joon, riddled with guilt after his best friend prosecutor was murdered, took this route to find the murderer.
I thought the concept of this drama was weird, but after I started watching, I was hooked and it made sense to me. A gifted profiler turned shaman. He did not even have to fake it because he is such a genius in reading people that his transition from profiler to shaman was seamless. A shaman does the same thing: help individuals with issues in their lives by listening to their woes and helping them overcome those challenges.
The mystery thriller/comedy/romance combined would have been a disaster had it not been executed well. What I like most is the epilogue after each episode that gave clarity to the viewers as to what transpired before the crime and any action taken by the characters happened.
And the other characters ie, Oh Yeon-seo as Han Jae-hee, as a hyper detective with her ninja punches and volatile personality (a clear foil to our hero's persona that reminded me of the eccentric detective, Sherlock Holmes), Nam Hye-joon, Han-joo's younger sister, an exceptionally intelligent hacker, his right man and Minamdang's barista, Gong Soo-chul and the loveable Jonathan complete his ensemble of very funny and smart team engaged in fighting crime as well as helping their clients, who of course, paid for their services. Loved the crime squad team of hilarious Jang Doo Jin, Kim Sang Hyup and Na Kwang Tae.
That was a fun ride. Just completed watching and I must say, I was thoroughly entertained. I prefer watching crime thrillers like Voice and Monster with dark and jarring scenes and serious looking characters and since Cafe Minamdang had a serial killer storyline, I took the chance and watched it. In comparison, Cafe Minamdang was like a breath of fresh air with characters that were whip smart, don't take themselves too seriously and maintain their sense of humour in dangerous situations. I think the message these characters wished to convey was for the audience to join the ride and follow them as they solve the crime in their own way.
I highly recommend. If you want laughter and entertainment, at the same time, satisfy your love for crime thrillers, then this drama is for you.
Was this review helpful to you?
Don't know how I made it to the end
There are quite a few issues with this series unfortunately. Some massive and others subjective. I'll list them and leave it to you to decide how you feel about watching this series.1. The series drags a bit and could have been wrapped up sooner. I almost didn't feel like continuing several times. Nearly 70% of the episodes were watched in 1.25x or 1.5x speed for this reason.
2. Casting issues that feel confusing. The FL is depicted as knowing the ML as a child while he was already an adult. But later they seem to be of the same age. Similarly, an adult female character is introduced to two children and later they look like they are older than her or the same age while she hasn't aged at all.
3. The FL is initially shown as a powerful force and a strong woman but her character deteriorates significantly. She becomes unbearable, overbearing, a bully, extremely suspicious without justification at times, breaks and enters while portraying a cop, beats up the ML, her fight scenes are a joke, she ruins investigations and leads by the ML, and is the worst character in the series.
4. No chemistry between the ML and FL. I don't understand why they even like each other.
5. The humour is funny but at times cringeworthy. For example baby talk, split pants, pulling faces. Not really my style.
6. The action was ruined in the finale. Something that I had been looking forward to. Almost fell asleep at one point.
The good aspects that got me through.
1. The cafe Minamdang team has good chemistry and they are the heart of this show.
2. The male lead acting as a shaman could have easily come across as over the top but he kept it classy. He lives up to his character as a profiler and is good at catching clues.
3. The mystery element is decent.
4. When the humour is good, it's entertaining. I am glad that this was a light show considering the number of murders taking place.
5. If you enjoy strong female leads then that would be the character of the sister. Enjoyable persona.
Cafe Minamdang is not the best mystery, detective, comedy, action series so I wouldn't honesty recommend it for any of these genres. There are better shows out there. But if you like the male lead then you'll enjoy it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Give this series a little time and after few episodes, you will start falling in love with it !
So actually other reviews were kinda cruel to me so I decided to write what I think of this series.First, i have to say the first 2 episodes are aweful. I even dropped it myself at the beginning and I have seen lots of people who dropped watching it at the beginning but I can say deciding to keep watching this series was the best decision I could make.
Here's why I love this series and why I recommend it:
1. This series got better episode by episode. In episode 3, we realize why they are doing such a thing and in episode 4, the main story starts and then episode by episode everything got more complicated and I can say the last few episodes were so shocking and exciting and I wish I could watch them again without knowing how things would go.
2. Unique comedy. first this kind of comedy might sound annoying but If you keep watching, you feel like you need such a thing in the series and I myself laughed so hard with it.
3. Couples. the first couple sounds like Tom and Jerry at the first episodes😂 but I really loved the way their relationship was improved and about the 2nd couple. God they are so cute😭.
4. predictable but shocking at the same time. Honestly I could guess who the killer was but when I saw it with my eyes, I was shocked and I really loved this point.
5. Chaotic squad. Nam Han Joon, Nam Hye Joon, Sochool and Nadan were so funny, chaotic and useful at the same time.
6. effective sad scenes. I didn't think that I would break my heart but Seo In Guk did a great job playing those scenes and the sadness in his voice everytime he talks about his best friend.. Oh It was really impressive.
Generally I recommend this series and I want you to give it a little time and It will surely show itself to you.
Was this review helpful to you?
A comedy-thriller with Seo In Guk? Count me in!
"Café Minamdang" is a kdrama that does double duty. It's a super silly comedy and a revenge thriller centered around the extremely versatile and talented Seo In Guk. He plays an ex-criminal profiler turned conman shaman on a quest to solve his best friend's murder. I am a huge Seo In Guk fan and I love how easily he can go from dark and serious to over-the-top humor. He is perfectly cast as Nam Han Joon and his antics got me hooked from the very beginning. I think the concept is pretty clever too, since most "psychics" are master profilers, but just know that this drama never takes itself too seriously and takes the humor to ridiculous levels.The cast is full of fun characters, but I was biased towards the main trio. Kwak Shi Yang & Kang Mi Na are great as Han Joon's Café Minamdang ride-or-die team and they match his craziness well. Baek Seo Hoo is pretty funny too, or at least cute. I really liked all of the main characters except for one, and sadly that was the FL Oh Yeon Seo as Han Jae Hee. It's not that I disliked her completely. I loved that she was strong and determined, but I hated how frustratingly stubborn she was. It just started to feel one-note for too long. I also didn't feel like she was an even match for Seo In Guk when it came to romance or comedy. There was no chemistry, so even in scenes played up for laughs their romance felt forced. They were decent rivals but any attempt at butterflies fell flat to me. I also couldn't take their character's supposed age difference seriously. She looked older than him to be honest.
Seo In Guk had better chemistry with Kwon Soo Hyun who was great as straight laced and awkward Cha Do Won. I enjoyed their rivalry more than the romance. One thing that everyone did well was balancing the funny moments and the genuine crime-solving moments. The jokes didn't distract from the intrigue, it just kept the story from ever getting too heavy, even during sad moments.
Would I watch this again? I'm not sure. I did enjoy watching it week to week but didn't have the same kind of excitement I had for other on-air dramas I was watching. The story was pretty predictable, but the twists were well written and didn't feel thrown together. If the main romance was stronger I would probably feel differently about rewatching this drama but knowing how each mystery gets solved would take away most of the fun I had watching. I could also watch other dramas to get my Seo In Guk fix, but I admit just watching him outsmart everyone may be entertaining enough if I'm in a certain mood. Knowing certain twists ahead of time may make earlier scenes more interesting duringa second viewing too.
Overall, this is good but not great drama. The crimeand corruption stories get a little convoluted and hard to follow at times but it all makes sense and comes together by the end. The revenge story is less "old boy" vibes and more "scooby doo", but know the subjects touched on are not childish at all... including murder, abuse, & rape. Still, I found this drama to be lite and equally corny and hilarious, so if you're not laughing at the cast's hijinx it will be hard to enjoy this drama. As for me, this drama wouldn't make my favorites list but if there is a season 2 (which is totally possible based on the last episode) I would definitely watch.
I will miss Han Joon's knowing smirk, fan waving, and thinking man pose, at the very least.
Was this review helpful to you?
Great Concept, but awkward execution
I’m not sure how this drama could be stretched out to 18 episodes, but they did it. The only reason why I picked up the drama was because of Seo In Guk. I absolutely loved him in Doom At Your Service and honestly I wish he did more serious roles, because he can act it.
The thing that really killed the show for me was the FL, as much as I loved her in Korean Odyssey, I didn’t like her character at all. Her character in the first half of the drama is absolutely annoying and although she “mellows” out eventually, she was so off-putting in the beginning it was hard for me to like her ever.
The FL continues to get in the ML’s way and not only she gets in his way she keeps on using violence in doing so, I understand it’s for comic relief, but I found it cringy and frustrating to watch. There was ZERO chemistry between the leads and it’s so sad because I know they can act well.
Even though the comedy was a little forced and cringy, it was basically the saving grace for the show. It really kept the tension low and moved the drama forward. The storylines are VERY slow and EVERY detail is played out. This drama could have easily been edited down to 12 episodes.
Finally, we get to the overall storyline and it was the most boring storyline ever. How many episodes can the team focuses on ONE killer? Several episodes, they said the guy’s name so many times, I was getting annoyed to how many times they were yelling out who the killer’s name is.
I didn’t even mind how obvious all the storylines were, because that doesn’t bother me, I was just annoyed at pacing and character development.
The best advice I can give is if you truly like the actors and want to support them (like me), put the drama in the background, dubbed in English (I’m American) and even though I can’t get their real voices, at least I’m supporting them and hopefully they bring a better drama to Netflix.
Was this review helpful to you?
Café of horrible Exaggeration…
Not bluffing when I say that I knew what will happen to this drama. When the news broke out and I read the story, with my notions and instincts, I, for sure, knew this will be as bad as Seo In Guk’s previous drama, DAYS, where the characters, their appearances and the setups will be incorporated to attar t and intrigue the audience, instead of shaping up the plotline. I have zero idea about the original manhwa and is quality, but this show is surely below average and I guess the opinion is unanimous. I still wanted th drama to do good bc In Guk actually needs a blast in his career atp, but well…..Produced combinedly by ‘People Story Company’, ‘AD406’ and ‘Monster Union’, “Café Minamdang (미남당)” is an 18 episode long live-action adaptation of the popular Kakao webnovel of the same title by Jung Jae Han. Written by Park Hye Jin and directed by Go Jae Hyun, the mystery thriller cum comedy drama was originally broadcasted on KBS2 and internationally distributed by Netflix.
The drama is about a handsome shaman Nam Han Jun (Seo In Guk), formerly a criminal profiler, who runs a small café with fortune-telling as a backdoor business and cons people for money. With him, work Gong Su Chul (Kwak Shi Yang) as a bartender, Nam Hye Jun (Kang Mi Na), an elite hacker and Jo Na Dan (Baek Seo Ho) as the waiter, all of them with the aim to unveil mysteries from the past. Detective Han Jae Hee (Okm Yeon Seo) is an upright police officer currently transferred to work with Detective Jang Do Jin (Jung Man Shik) and is close to prosecutor Cha Do Won (Kwon Soo Hyun).
Other familiar faces in the show are: Jung Eun Pyo, Jung Ha Joon, Hwang Woo Seul Hye, Park Hae In, Heo Jae Ho, Baek Seung Ik Kim Byung Soon, Kewon Hyuk, Kim Won Shik, Jung Da Eun, Cha Geon Woo and Park Jung Hak.
Plot is very choppy provided the mystery line was not properly to begin with. I feel the screenplay and execution could have made the drama survive but the very fact that not one of them were potentially enough, did influence the overall quality and the dhow hit its lowest even before it could reach its interval. This definitely didn’t deserve 10 episodes, forger about 16 but the audacity to make it 18 is beyond my thinking process. They should have been considerate to the response and criticism, duh! Not just the comedy scenes in the later half is stupid, the story itself was exaggerated without any mercy.
The twists and revelations were underwhelming for obvious reasons, not just they gave away obvious hints at the very beginning of the show only to make us look like clowns at the end, it did not pick my interest at any point and I gradually lost interest in the 4th episode itself. However, it felt like it had hopes left so I thought to proceed by the kind of stupid portrayal and execution got me hard soon. The antagonist and the group of evil people is too high but their connections and way operations were poorly sketched.
This is my first drama from the writer Park Hye Jin and they haven’t created much it seems but I really hope they learn from all the criticisms for poor writing skills and low-standard character buildups. Apart from the shoddy plot development, the elements incorporated were very subpar and the characters had no overall growth. This no way felt like dark comedy,ngl, rather the thriller part were hugely mis-subscribed as unfunny comic. It was kinda okay till the interval but then exaggerated to an extent that anyone would loose interest.
Go Jae Hyun PD-nim deserves better scripts for all his hard work in all these years but this is probably his worts creation and not to lie, there were significant flaws with the direction, as the writing, so he needs to do better, as well. The screen-editing is one of the worst aspects of the show. The comic flash-ups were unnecessarily frequented which turned me off from the beginning and the sound production was also substandard. The flashy hues again were not attractive as it were intended by the makers.
Composed by Seo Sung Won, the drama has a total of 7 OSTs; some are good but not very memorable. I vibed with “The dance of Minamdang” though haha.
“Ghost Buster” by Gwangil Jo
“Stay Awake” by Nam Young Joo
“Endless Night” by Raina
“The dance of Minamdang” by Gonia and Yu Taepyungyang
“Stay Here” by MORE
“I like you’ by Seo In Guk
“Still with you’ by SU A
The character of the female lead was the worst thing about the drama and there is no way I will take back my words, let me tell you why. Han Jae Hee appeared to be strong, brave and fierce on her first appearance but soon it was followed by a comic gesture, which I took healthily, but to my disappointment that feature of hers was frequently utilized for comedy only and was exaggerated. There is no development at all and her behaviors wee quite made to annoy the audience, like not one percent likable. On that note, the male lead character is subpar as well.
The romance was off, please I would like to have none of it. There was no chemistry between the leads at all and other than that they were not exactly falling in love. To me it seemed funny about how they came to kiss and be together, but until that point, I felt no need of them ending up together. And for partnering them for the cases, they weren’t even good at that. Also, the 2nd couple were funny but ig their impact didn’t lessen the mediocrity of the show.
None of the characters were likable. Seo InGuk seemed intriguing at first but his aura soon vanished into thin air. Kwak Shi Yang as a tall dummy was my most favorite probably, liked the way he acted up. Kang Mi Na was kinda bland for the kind of crazy girl she was supposed to be. The antagonist was lame lmao.
Final remarks… Do not need to watch even when you are Seo In Guk fan. Thank you.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Female lead is annoying, but get's better. Also, she never turns into a damsel
Drama had a lot of potential, but the writers didn't put much thought into articulating the story line.Major issues with the female lead character, her tsundere trope fell flat, and annoying. Constant nosiness, bashing, and stalking the male lead became overbearing. It was neither funny, nor cute, her character was outright horrendous.
The age difference between the male lead and female is never explained, which is ridiculous. Considering in a flashback, she is a middle schooler and he's in police uniform, it' s mindbogglingly they think no one would give it an afterthought.
The Idea of Café Minamdang is interesting. The gang has great chemistry, and the plot should've been revolved around them. The acting is superb, from everyone. The female character is being bashed, but Its not her that's the problem, it's the writer who wrote her that way. I'm so grateful they never turned her into a damsel in distress.
The romance is forced, because Kdramas unnecessarily add romance because of their obsessions with it.
The music is fabulous. I haven't missed the entrance once because It's that good.
The re-watch value depends on how much of a fan you are of Seo In Guk.
Was this review helpful to you?
Wild and Wacky
Cafe Minamdang is a silly but good-natured romp that positions itself within the tradition of slapstick buddy cop procedurals while conducting an uneasy dalliance with the serious side of criminal profiling. It’s no marriage made in heaven as the ensemble hunt down an elusive serial killer who seems to be connected with the upper echelons of South Korean society. Indeed how does one successfully reconcile the comedic with the more serious elements? Not easily and the mixed results speak for themselves. Seo In-guk who plays former forensic profiler Nam Han-jun turned consulting shaman gets to display his comedic talents with shameless glee as he robs from the rich while trying to solve crimes with his partners-in-crime, Kong Su-cheol (Kwak Shi-yang) and sister Nam Hye-ju using their individual skill sets. Han-ju is reduced to grifting as a shaman in his popular cafe using his mentalist abilities because he was wrongly convicted for fabricating evidence in the aftermath of the murder of his bestie the late Prosecutor Han Jae-jeong. After serving time, Han-jun is determined to track down the killer while amassing resources earned through the cafe. It doesn’t take long before he starts to cross swords with Jae-jeong’s younger sister, Jae-hui (Oh Yeon-seo) who despite her rank is really a third-rate detective who is investigates using her unreliable gut and is prone to emotional outbursts. In fact her entire team comprises of a rag tag of ne’er do wells that often have their rear ends handed to them by the unofficial sleuths from Cafe Minamdang (the front for Han-jun and Co.’s real agenda). Jae-hui misunderstands the flamboyant Han-jun but he prefers it that way especially when he doesn’t know who she is.Like many South Korean dramas of its type, the show mercilessly mocks the wealthy and the powerful not just for their avarice and flagrant disregard for the rules which are only for the plebs. It even manages to poke fun of wealthy parents with more dollars than sense in an unexpected foray into nature vs nurture territory on top of everything else the show crams in. Furthermore materialism is a scourge of society that afflicts the religious as represented in a character like Auntie Im and the irreligious for whom religion is a tool to gain power. Han-jun maybe an egotistical religious huckster to the more discerning but his razor sharp observation skills and ability to think on his feet sees him often in service with the angels until he is strapped for cash.
The 18 episode format is an overkill. This is a story that could have easily been told in 12 episodes but for the unnecessary insertion of romance which frankly adds nothing to the storytelling or character development. That said Seo In-guk is adorable even in his more pubescent outbursts. It is his onscreen charm that carries the romance as much as it is possible. The drama however is not enhanced by it or by Jae-hui’s presence. Her antics are particularly hard to watch in the first half as she’s bumbling around at playing detective, getting in his way and basically being a hinderance to actual investigative work done by the unofficial sleuths who have inserted themselves into an investigation illegally. It is something of a running gag that the police are so incompetent at the start, a situation made worse by Jae-hui’s lack of professionalism as she stubbornly sets her sights on a single line of inquiry in the early episodes. Her tendency to be overly emotional (there are good reasons why cops aren’t allowed to investigate cases involving family members) and freakishly violent is undoubtedly written to be a point of humour but comes across much more as annoyance for at least half the show. She’s in it to put the breaks on the real investigation and her violent spurts directed towards Han-jun don’t reflect particularly well on her.
18 episodes is also rather too long for a show primarily concerned with uncovering the identity of a mysterious serial killer especially when it is fairly obvious to the audience who that individual is quite early on. While there are no lack of red-herrings and false trails to lead the show’s investigators off the beaten track for the show’s most scary bad guy, there is no lack of real villany on offer whether they be chaebol heirs, corrupt politicians and supposedly real shamans who abuse their power.
It also takes far too long time for the two sides to start working together even though it’s always fun to have a giggle at official detectives’ expense. But when they finally do collaborate, things move far more smoothly for all concerned, expediting proper detective work.
Last but not least, the humour, which is perhaps the most important consideration of all, is an acquired taste. It’s over-the-top, slapstick and unabashedly wacky but it still manages to get laughs out of an old stodgy type like myself. Seo In-guk and Kwak Shi-yang are particularly ridiculously hilarious especially when one considers what they they are willing to do to create these larger-than-life caricatures. Even in my more doubtful moments I laboured under the belief that since I survived Vincenzo I could survive this which I did… and even enjoyed much of it.
It’s not a great show by any stretch of the imagination (although it could have been if it had been leaner and tighter) and the flaws are plain to see from the start. As far as the whodunit side of things are concerned, it does nothing spectacular or novel. But when Nam Han-jun flicks his folding fan and turns on his crazy shaman shtick, it’s almost a guarantee that we’re in for a wild and raucous ride.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
café minamdang's main charm is inguk so if you're not a fan, you'll hate it. dislike it at most
let me get this out of the way before i take the longest breath: im gonna miss the minamdang squad terribly ㅠㅠ(starting w negatives first, who cares)
- the whole process of catching gopuri was coming along smoothly, as in, in a way that was fun yet kept me up on my toes but my interest dwindled a bit when they started delving into the romantic relationships and the politics. i can let hyejun & sucheol be but hanjun and jaehui's romance is where i feel the itch. i dont think they needed to be romantically involved at all. i would've loved them as just two people who had a special bond with each other bc of the binding link bw them: jaejeong. they could've slayed so much more as partners in crime too but instead i had to sit here seeing poor inguk and yeonseo trying their hardest to make it work. rip you guys were amazing tho! the politics bits was annoying bc they were just. speaking words. saying things that made no freaking sense
- hanjun's brilliance. can we talk about it? my most favourite part about watching the show was experiencing inguk play the hottest shaman ever with his witty thinking and profiling skills.. i dont think there are many main characters i can say w confidence i love for their smartness but nam hanjun, yes. the way his brain worked alongside gopuri's and HE (as in, hanjun) was the main reason the stupid fucking police were even able to catch that bastard was just so hot and satisfying, god. him not being overtly narcissistic (not seriously) and a dorky shit PLUS smart as hell just adds to his sexiness btw
- cha dowon. he played a good fucking villain, ill give him that. it almost makes me sad that i didn't know soohyun's existence before minamdang bc the acting!!!!!!! it was phenomenal. especially after we figure out his identity, everything he says and does is just donned with such brilliant creepiness, i love it. was a character i found annoying at first but after finding out he was a psychopath and a brainwashed one at that, his past and god complex and obsession with evolving justice, my curiosity and attraction to sexy-guy-who-plays-psychopath upped him to #2. #notsorry
- jaehui.... ahhhhh it was not her fault that the character was written poorly and given no space to be enraged and hurt for everything she went through aside from the occasional one scene. i said it. the writers were afraid of a female lead being actually mad as hell and paid her dust trying to subside her down to lawful and violent to cover up for their cowardice 🤷🏻♀️ wasted potential
- the police team: aka losers— corny as hell. no need for them to be even there at all. go die or sumn; minamdang squad: nadan, i have the adoption papers ready and sucheol-ah.... can you fight? bc im abt to steal ur gf
overall i loved it (if i just dont think abt the 11-15 episodes) and with how cutely and w possibilities it ended, i wouldnt mind there being more of hanjun&co solving murder mysteries for the next decade or so consistently :p ah im gna really miss them 💔
Was this review helpful to you?
