User reviews

A detective who was imprisoned for a year after being framed sets himself up as a Shaman to catch the serial killer who murdered his friend. Along the way he becomes involved with his murdered friends sister who has become a detective to catch the same killer. I have been quite generous with a seven as it starts well and ends well but is way too long at eighteen episodes. The script overall is poor and their is no real chemistry between the leads, the actors all do an ok job with what they have to work with. The idea had promise but sadly if you watch it you may be fast forwarding a lot to see if the killer is caught.

The female lead in this drama is very clumsy. She was nicknamed a ghost, which made me think, "Oh she must be a smart cop and it's really hard to trick her." But she's just an obsessive and stubborn girl. She doesn't have a strong instinct in handling cases, she always fails to find valid evidence that can arrest suspects. For example, in episode 12, when she gets into Gu Tae-su's camping van, she doesn't even pay close attention to her surroundings. She enters without seeing there is cctv near the van door. That's so reckless. Then her nickname as a ghost is also too much. She is a troublesome girl.

So much fun & interesting drama. It is so funny and Seo In Guk's acting is amazing and versatile, love his facial expression. A combination of comedy and action and crime makes this drama is very fun to watch. It's getting better and better each new episode.

Happy to see in guk on Netflix. It's just one episode and it hooked me so well. The cast and story is interesting. Looking forward for more episodes. Episode 1 is damn well written.

I like how these series show the detective character using the mystic component that is more believable for some folks to help him for solving the case. The story is fun but on the other side, this is also dark from the thriller and mystery element.

I found it amazing.. it got me hooked since the first episode, I started watching this because of seo in Guk but now I'm here because of the plot.. very interested drama.. it's really a must watch.

The first time I saw people posting on social media about a particular funny scene of Seo In Guk praising his looks in Cafe Minamdang, it caught my attention because I knew Seo In Guk is quite a comedic actor in Shopping King Louis years ago.

During the first episode, I was amazed at how expensive Seo In Guk was and his skills in reading the person's personality and background sparked my interest even more. Then, the drama got more exciting when I learned that there is a murder case that Seo In Guk's character has to solve.

I love the casting of this drama, however I just noticed that the chemistry is off between the characters of Seo In Guk and Oh Yeon Seo which gives me the idea that this drama can stand alone without the romance of the two main leads. Seo In Guk's role in this drama is meant to be smart, funny and childish. But I am seeing so much of an exaggeration of being funny which tends to be unrealistic at most times considering that Seo In Guk's role in this drama involves him being with the law enforcement team in the past. It's ironic how he's too childish and comedic when his past job was too serious and sensitive.

The predictability of the murder suspect is also one of the loopholes I have found in this drama. Other viewers might disagree with this opinion of mine, but I believe a lot of us already had one person in mind as the mastermind of the major murder case being investigated since the early episodes of this drama.

I know it's based from a web novel, but I hoped there would be more big surprises which are not noticed by the majority of the viewers.

On top of that, I appreciate how beautiful the camera angles are and the acting skills of the cast are great. I also like the script of this drama!

Quite entertaining and keeps you on your toes. There's a balance of all genres and loving the comedy aspect in this kdrama. Good looking lead actors and interesting characters.

I can understand why Seo In Guk has taken on this role - it's a million miles away from some of his previous angst driven and emotionally heavy roles. Despite being a very accomplished actor, however, he doesn't quite have the comedy timing to take on a slapstick role like this so his performance is just a little bit off which is a shame.

As for the female lead police character, frankly she would have been suspended and investigated by now for some of her antics! Totally unbelievable.

The series is often quite annoying and I'm only giving it a 6 because I love Seo In Guk and he's a great actor.

This one could have been so much better.

The pace and comedy is something I am enjoying. Entertaining and will give you a good laugh. Even with good k dramas , I always find the pace to be a problem but so far the show is going very well.

This is silly, stupid and certainly not funny. Scenes are way too over the top ridiculous. If you want a thriller or mystery choose another drama. Seems to have a good set of actors that were just involved in a terrible script.

A lot of things don't make sense and that is why it's funny. You can't watch this with your normal POV.

This is just an pleasant enjoyable drama series for people who just want some fun with a little bit thriller at the end.

Updated review: As I continued to watch the series, I realized the script is just plain bad... The actors are failing to deliver, but it would be hard just based on the script, the characters they play, and the directing.

Original review with 7 stars: Over-the-top comedy at the beginning, but has more of a thriller theme now with drama and a bit of toned-down comedy. Lead actor does a great job as the eccentric shaman character, as well as the astute profiler. Supporting cast does a good job too. One character that I did not particularly like was the female lead character Han Jae-hui played by Oh Yeon-seo--the character does so many annoying things that it got irritating to watch. The character is suppose to be a good detective/police officer, but far from it and liked to blame the main male lead character.

I will continue to watch it since for the most part it is a good series.

Oh Yeon Seo is really not my cup of tea. I also didn't like her in Korean Odyssey. There are a lot of other actresses that can take on a tough female detective role and excel at it. She looks awkward. Her acting is lacking, I can't sympathize with her. I believe she'll do better in a romcom, romance-centered drama. Her role, Han Jae Hui, is also annoying. The way she handles her cases isn't ideal nowadays. She's too narrow-minded, she only believes what she wants to believe. She's not showing a tough detective, she's just arrogant. But since I like the story of Cafe Minamdang overall, I'm still watching it. Just that the female character AND actress are both frustrating.

At first I was pleasantly surprised it was so good. After binge watching it over 3 days I'm hooked. I'm a fan of Asian TV and anime but I haven't seen anything this good before. The actors were great! It was funny without being too cheesy (although it was cheesy a few times. Lol) it was serious and heart wrenching at times too. I would love to see another season of this. I really hope you all dub into English more asian tv. I just can't read subtitles and watch a show at the same time. You could find a whole new audience if you did. Especially anything with these actors in it. This may be one of the best shows I've seen in a long time!

Koreans have quite the repertoire of movie and television series.

I've been away from there for 52 years now and discovered only recently these films were available, and I've been hooked on them for a month and a half non stop. Making up the lost times. I'm more American than a Korean now but still love "K-Drama!" I am happy that the "K-Pop" bands are popular among the young adults here and abroad, global in fact! Very proud of how Korea have came into world renown now, in all things technology and automobile exports and so much more just in over fifty years. Nothing like the one I'd left in 1970. Unrecognizable! Their population increase in the fifty years also the testament to their healthcare and the economic growth! Korea is a resilient country like our country, 🇺🇸!

Oops, I've gotten off onto tangent things. Apologize.

This series is worth watching. A cute funny story to boot. Great entertainment. It's actors are well chosen for each characters, love their crazy, often unrealistic actions. As I'd stated it is "a good entertainment!" The stories on going and well developed too. The few actors are recognized from their other works and glad to see them in this series too.

Anyway, I recommend you to watch it, I think that you will be glad you did.

A team of shaman, hacker and a former cop/detective. These three will get the job done for their customers. Not so strangely, they are famous for solving criminal cases. The customers are happy and hence the cafe being quite a popular place.

Although the premise is very interesting, the writing of this show lacks research and details. Almost to the point that it drags down the fun parts too. If you are seeking a plot driven show, this is not for you. It's there in bits and pieces. So my two points go to lack of research on characters and uneven plot line.

Other than that, I am quite enjoying the actors as they all bring something unique and their own craziness. The OSTs are above average.

I really wanted to rate this series better. But man, even if I really like Oh Yeon-seo, her character is so poorly written and really unlikeable!! Self centered selfish and close minded.

Seo In-guk does a great job as the profiler/shaman. The series is well balanced between action, drama and comedy. It has a great plot and good side stories. It has great supporting cast. But everything becomes awkward and a little cringe because of how bad detective Han Jea-hui's character (Oh Yeon-seo) is written.

I wanted to give this an 8. But the more you watch the more you dislike Jae-hui!

Nevertheless, Cafe Minamdang is a worthy series and a must watch.

Let me start by saying that this movie was indeed entertaining. How entertaining it will be to you, depends on your tastes in comedy.

The acting is described as poor, over the top and cheesy, by many but this is a slapstick style comedy so you need to expect a lot of stupid stuff and seemingly bad acting from the actors.

I think they all did a fine job of it. The story, itself, is fun to follow along.

It only gets an 8 from me though because this is the one that officially ended my crush on Seo In-Guk. He totally captivated me in Doom at Your Service and was so-so on other shows but this time, I realized that Doom made his name and it ended there for me. He's not the A-Lister I thought he would be and has been downgraded to a B, at least by me.

Don't take this to mean I don't like him as an actor anymore because I do. He's quite versatile but he's just not "hot" or a "must watch" when it comes to romance and that's pretty much what I liked about him, in the first place.

To recap, this is a silly comedy, with plenty of action and mystery to keep it interesting. If you don't like slapstick, then you won't enjoy this one.

I really wanted to like this drama because the cast contains some of my favorite Korean actors, but even they could not save the series from a bad script. One of the reasons I like Kdrama is because of the way they blend drama, comedy and romance together in a way that works. But in this drama the comedy is so overdone, often descending into slapstick, that I can't take the male lead seriously at all. The main characters are unlikable and annoying, and there is no chemistry between the two leads.

I'm used to the Seoul police being portrayed as incompetent, but in this show they're like the Keystone Cops or the Three Stooges. I no longer care 'who dun it', but I'm watching it to the end if for no other reason than to hear Dreamcatcher Kim Sua sing her first OST song. I just wish it had been in a better drama.

I waited a long time to watch this series thanks to Netflix's mad new policy of weekly episodes.

I was so disappointed.

Why is it that Koreans think that including a physically dirty and unkempt woman is so funny? I have noticed this in several series and this one really went over the top. Filth isn't funny.

It's odd that it is never a man portrayed like this.

I also thought the acting was particularly poor with some guy running with his arms flailing like windmills during a chase where the female detective was able to outrun any man and even jump about thirty feet in the air.

The continual "I am so beautiful" comments from both men and women are irritating in the extreme.

I couldn't tolerate the childishness of the humour.

I don't know what has happened to Kdramas - most of the new ones are now unwatchable because of bad writing and bad acting.

Don't waste your time on this.

This is a great show with good comedy breaks but the female lead is very frustrating to the plot. I personally do not enjoy the amount of times she hits not only the male lead character but other characters involved in the show. Her detective skills are terrible and her lines attitude don't really match up with the try kind of character she supposed to be portraying. I won't say her acting is terrible but for me personally the hitting is annoying and the way she ruins the cases is annoying, they will get so close to finding something and then she will ruin it with arrogance. Like i said the show is great but the way they wrote het charter is awful. LIKE YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PUNCH THE MALE LEAD IN THE FACE EVERY EPISODE!!!