Given the spike in interest in Korean TV, especially after the phenomenal success of Squid Game last year, it’s hardly unexpected that Netflix has established itself as the leading streamer of K-dramas in Western nations. The service now includes Café Minamdang on its roster as of this summer. The first episode of the 18-episode season of the show aired the last week of June.
Nam Han-joon, the main character of the series, is the most flamboyant con man in the world. He employs cold reading to ascertain the intentions of colleagues, clients, and targets. He has a dapper appearance and exudes an impression of extreme chill. He continues to project a mystical atmosphere and uses props to create the idea that his powers of deduction are the result of shamanic talents.
The South Korean city of Seoul is the setting for Café Minamdang, which also includes a few seedier spots that match the underworld theme.
Seo In-guk, a famous performer on Korean TV, plays Nam Han-joon. The actor most recently gained greater recognition from Western viewers as Myul Mang in Doom at Your Service, a fantastical romance that aired on Viki last year. It’s simple to understand how In-portrayal guk’s of the angel whose mere existence dooms everyone around him to tragedy caught the filmmakers’ interest. He approaches this project with the same fervour Han-joon did. Oh Yeon-seo portrays Han Jae-hee in the opposing role.
Along with Heo Jae-ho and Jung Ha-joon, Jung Man-sik, who had a supporting part in the well-received political thriller Escape from Mogadishu from the previous year, completes the cast. The actors portray a trio of detectives: one old, one superstitious, and one fresh out of college. They are unnerved by Yeon-appearance seo’s as the “Ghost of Han,” an almost mythological detective who is capable of taking down entire gangs of criminals by herself.
