Many scenes in Korean dramas take place in a cafe. Cafes play a big part in Korea's day-to-day life, not only at the Korean drama level but also in real life.

Cafes in Korea are very sophisticated. Designers pay attention to detail in decoration, often with a specific theme. No two cafes are alike in Korea, except for major American chains with Korean outlets that have been popping up, such as Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee and Coffee Bean.

There are tens of thousands of cafes all over the country, so it's no wonder competition is fierce when it comes to service and quality.

Cafes are the single most popular meeting place for people of all ages.

When you live in a city of 13 million-plus residents, traffic can be unpredictable, so being late to a meeting or date isn't unusual. Instead of waiting outside, in potentially bad weather, it's much easier to sit in a nicely decorated cafe with air conditioning.

As here, Korean cafes serve specialty coffee, desserts and a select few entrees. Most people meet there to talk for a while, catch their breath then move on, often to a restaurant or theater.

If you watch Korean dramas, you'll notice that people often order coffee or — the standard — orange juice. Some people stay in the cafes for several hours.

Wonder how the businesses make a profit? Coffee prices in Korea are almost double the cost of an average lunch. Korean cafes/lounges in luxury hotels charge from $10 to $13 for a cup of Kona blend coffee. On top of that is a hefty service addition and tax. It's cheaper to pick up the tab for lunch than for coffee.

Coffee prices in Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee or Coffee Bean are almost equivalent to the prices in Hawai'i.

Jeff Chung is the general manager of KBFD, which televises all of the K-dramas. If you have a K-drama question or comment, call KBFD at 521-8066.

K-DRAMAS

By Jeff Chung

'MR. HOUSEWIFE'

(episodes 11 and 12)

6:50 tonight: Sun-woo is stunned when he finds out Mina is married. Eun-mi also discovers Mina is married. Mina is ready to resign, but Sun-woo assigns her to the product development team.

8 tonight: Mina goes on a business trip with Sun-woo without telling Soo-han. Out of anger, Soo-han goes with Song-yi, Yoo-jin and Ji-hoo to the amusement park, where he meets Suk-joon and Kang-ja.

'EMPEROR OF THE SEA'

(episodes 45 and 46)

7:50 p.m. Friday: Yon complains of Jang Bogo's decision to accept Yum Moon and Kim Yang into Chunghae. Jang Bogo explains to him that he wants to give Yum Moon a chance to start a new life. Jung-hwa asks Yum Moon to leave Chunghae but he refuses.

7:50 p.m. Saturday: Jang Bogo takes Yum Moon on his trip to China. Madam Jami tries to isolate Chunghae to destroy Kim Woo-jing and Jang Bogo. Jang Bogo finds Madam Jami in China and Yum Moon follows Madam Jami to find out what she's up to.

'FASHION 70S'

(episodes 7 and 8)

7:50 p.m. tomorrow: Joon-hee (Kang-hee) tells her father about what happened to Dong-young, and also gives him Dummy's resume. Chang-hye sees his daughter Joon-hee's photo on the resume, but doesn't realize it's his daughter. Dong-young's father saves Dong-young and tells him to leave the country but Dong-young returns to the island where Dummy (Joon-hee) lives.

7:50 p.m. Tuesday: Dong-young is injured while swimming and Dummy saves his life. Dong-young wakes up to find Dummy unconscious and renders first aid. He is shocked to find a gun shot scar on her shoulder.

'MY LOVELY SAM-SOON'

(episodes 3 and 4)

7:50 p.m. Wednesday: Jin-hun asks Sam-soon to pretend to go out with him to deceive his mother. Sam-soon's big sister, Yi-young, returns home, divorced. Sam-soon's friend Chae-ri comes to Jin-hun's restaurant to plan her engagement party, and it turns out her fiance is Hyun-woo, Sam-soon's ex-boyfriend.

7:50 p.m. Thursday: Jin-hun's ex-girlfriend, Hee-jin, walks into the restaurant when Sam-soon is alone. Jin-hun goes berserk at the mention of Hee-jin's name, but later apologizes to Sam-soon with flowers. Hee-jin and Jin-hun finally meet, but Hee-jin finds Jin-hun is still furious with her.