[Ishani's Picks] "Cafe Minamdang" Leaves A Strong First Impression That Is Built To Last

Closing out the first half of 2022 on a high note, the romantic comedy / crime thriller "Cafe Minamdang" has officially landed on Netflix for viewers worldwide! Starring Seo In-guk, Oh Yeon-seo, Kwak Si-yang and Kang Mina, this drama is already setting high expectations for the episodes to come. Needless to say, the hype is built to last.

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Spoiler Alert!

"Cafe Minamdang" opens with the introduction of a modern shaman, Nam Han-joon (Seo In-guk), who defines the "young and rich" trope. Known as the wonder of Yonghae-dong, he is a revered professional in his field and highly in demand for his impeccable skills. With the popularity of an idol, Nam Han-joon successfully runs the eponymous Cafe Minamdang as a guise for his shaman consultation business. However, he has a couple of rules: confidentiality guaranteed, reservation is a must.

VIP clients flock to him, usually to get away from crimes and he keeps them wrapped around his finger. However, it is soon revealed that Nam Han-joon isn't really an all-knowing shaman connected to the spiritual realm. Instead, he has a whole team working for him, constituting former National Intelligence Service agent Nam Hye-joon (Kang Mina), the brain, and Gong Soo-cheol (Kwak Si-yang), the brawn. Together, they solve the problems that are brought to them through sheer logic and investigation.

On the other hand, we have our female protagonist, Han Jae-hee (Oh Yeon-seo), the newly appointed Team Leader of the Major Crime Division Seven of Daeun Police Station. Infamously known as "Han The Ghost", Han Jae-hee has a reputation for being uptight and hard to get along with. Once she targets a case, she goes after it like a hungry ghost and her unbelievable competence makes her even more intimidating. The fact that she has near-supernatural physical abilities adds to her nickname as the Ghost.

As it turns out, Han Jae-hee has a past connection to Nam Han-joon and is determined to catch him by any and all means. The epilogue of the first episode makes it clear that their lives are entangled by a tragic fate and we're about to see it all unfold when they cross paths. Luckily for us, it happens soon enough and a twisted romantic comedy is set afoot.

The second episode furthers the enemies-to-lovers angle with Han-joon convinced that Jae-hee is in love with him and Jae-hee bubbling in anger over the concept. It is also in this episode that we dig deeper into the past when Han-joon was a profiler. Once again, the epilogue gives us a glimpse into Han-joon and Jae-hee's former relationship. Back then, Jae-hee seemed to have a crush on Han-joon even though she was much younger than him and was even inspired by him to become a cop herself. Clearly, something went horribly wrong because now, they stand in confrontation.

Seo In-guk is so masterfully well-suited to the role of Nam Han-joon that we just can't get enough of his animated confidence. Oh Yeon-seo is excellent, as always, bringing her character to life with effortless elegance. Nam Han-jun's crew is refreshingly quirky with Kwak Si-yang pioneering comic relief and Kang Mina endearingly holding the family together. With each episode bringing the bigger picture together like a jigsaw puzzle, I cannot wait to see what "Cafe Minamdang" has in store for us next!

By Ishani Sarkar.

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"Cafe Minamdang" is directed by Ko Jae-hyeon, Yoon Ra-young-I, written by Park Hye-jin-II, and features Seo In-guk, Oh Yeon-seo, Kwak Si-yang, Kang Mina, Kwon Soo-hyun, Baek Seo-hoo. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2022/06/27~Now airing, Mon, Tue 21:50 on KBS.