Cafe Minamdang (미남당) is a mystery-drama-comedy TV series directed by Ko Jae-hyun and written by Park Hye-jin, the series is based on the book Minamdang: Sagun Soochub written by Jung Jae-han. Cafe Minamdang episode 4 has a runtime of 63 minutes.

The series, created by Park Hye-jin, Ko Jae-hyun and Yun Ra-young, takes over KBS2’s Monday-Tuesday 9.30 PM KST slot previously occupied by Bloody Heart. The series stars Seo In-guk, Oh Yeon-seo, Kwak Si-yang, Kang Mi-na, Kwon Soo-hyun and Baek Seo-hoo, alongside other cast members.

Netflix describes the series as:

A SUSPICIOUS BUSINESS THAT OFFERS THE SERVICES OF A PURPORTEDLY ALL-KNOWING SHAMAN CATCHES THE ATTENTION OF A TENACIOUS POLICE INSPECTOR.

– Cafe Minamdang Episode 4 Recap Contains Major Spoilers –

Café Minamdang episode 4 starts with Gyeong-ho losing his mind in a drug-induced haze and thinking that the person he had killed years ago is out to kill him. Hye-jun and Na-dan try to stop him, but he passes out before that, and Jae-hui gets to the scene as well.

Meanwhile, Han-jun is creating a scene in the forest in order to get the thugs away from Cheong-gi. As their plans work, they take out the security guys one after another and, in the end, meet up with a traumatised Cheong-gi who is unable to fathom seeing Han-jun and Su-cheol there.

In a flashback 3 years ago, Han-jun is being questioned by Cheong-gi and is being accused of trying to help Jae-jeong’s murderer run away along with Seargent Gu. Han-jun desperately tries to defend himself, but Cheong-gi reiterates that they found all the evidence on him and that it’s easier to blame one corrupt cop instead of bringing the entire department under fire.

Back in the present, the two threaten him to tell them who his boss is or go down with Gyeong-ho. However, before he can make any sort of choice, they hear weird noises from the woods – Na-dan is here to tell them that the police are here! And thus, we get the extremely over-the-top scene of Han-jun and Su-cheol wearing the most extra clothes and praying in the woods.

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The next scene makes both Jae-hui and the audience not only very confused, but it personally made me roar with laughter – Gyeong-ho goes wild, Cheong-gi starts to scream through his gag, and Jae-hui finds 4 of the thugs sitting inside the grave dug for Cheong-gi screaming about evil spirits. It’s absolute chaos, and Jae-hui looks totally bewildered.

Frustrated with the hell that she is witnessing, she chooses to rush off to see what is going on with Gyeong-ho but doesn’t forget to tell Han-jun that he will receive a summon from the court. After the coast is clear, there’s an air of celebration among the group as Cheong-gi, gagged and bound, sits there watching them with bewilderment.

They later ask Cheong-gi to take them to the person who orchestrated the entire thing, who turns out to be Superintendent Lim Min-jun. Meanwhile, having found proof, Jae-hui sends out an APB on Cheong-gi. Unfortunately for Han-jun, when they reach Min-jun’s home, he is getting taken in an ambulance – someone made it look like he died of shock from drinking a caffeinated drink, but in reality, he was murdered.

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Hilariously, Jae-hui finds Cheong-gi the next day strapped to a pendulum ride wearing a tiger headband. In a flashback, we see Han-jun and the team dancing their way out of the park as Cheong-gi is left strapped to the ride just swinging away. Later, at Min-jun’s funeral, Han-jun and Su-cheol discuss who could have murdered Min-jun and what his connection with Gopuri is. Just as they are about to leave, however, they are startled at the extra influx of security – it’s Cha Seung-won, the heir to Choekang Group.

Han-jun asks Min-gyeong to find out who hired Min-jun at Choekang Group on the pretext that his spirit is wandering around to give a message. She then hands Han-jun his fees, a prenup and then promptly proposes to him. He, obviously, turns her down, and although she agrees to wait for him, he simply asks her to not come to Minamdang anymore.

He later goes to meet Gyeong-ho’s victim’s sister and offers her compensation, and asks her to stay strong and not agree to a settlement. Jae-hui witnesses this and seems to be quite confused regarding what Han-jun is doing. Regardless, he then goes to a columbarium to talk to Jae-jeong and tell him all about how he tried to catch his killer but hasn’t been successful yet. However, he promises to catch Gopuri the next time he sees him.

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He comes across Jae-hui stalking his place on his way back home and also sees the keychain on her bag – a part of which is with him. The moment he tries to catch her in the act, though, she punches him straight across the face. When he comes to, they discuss why he caught Gyeong-ho and that stalking is a serious crime. Either way, her confusion is not cleared at the end of her conversation with him, and everyone now thinks she is in love with him.

That night, she goes through all of the internal investigation files on Han-jun and ends up getting up late for work. Meanwhile, Han-jun is frustrated about the dwindling cases thanks to Gopuri, but a fated call from a VVIP makes him see green.

Cafe Minamdang Episode 4 Ending

When he reaches Ms Kim’s place to look into this kitchen ghost, at first, his thought is that it’s a thief, which is a logical conclusion.

However, not long after entering the house, a pot of half-eaten food and a strategically placed dog flap takes Han-jun to the backyard, and Hye-jun confirms that it is unlikely that someone broke in. Han-jun, though, is able to find who has been getting into Ms Kim’s home – a pair of homeless kids used the sewers which open into her backyard.

Jae-hui forces Han-jun to accompany him into the sewers to prove his theory after threatening to take him to the station for using a camera in his glasses. Either way, they find the little kid underneath and then find a body wrapped in cloth – it’s Choi Yeong-seop, and they have finally found him.

In the epilogue, Jae-hui gets a call over the phone about a burnt corpse, and so does Hye-jun. Both Hae-jun and Jae-hui rush to the scene and miss each other by a whisker.

Cafe Minamdang Episode 4 Review

Cafe Minamdang episode 4 is absolutely hilarious, and I can see the mystery forming slowly. The last scene of the episode came out of the left field for me because I never imagined finding a missing person wrapped in white cloth in the sewer of all places – talk about the mother of all coincidences!

Han-jun is absolutely as delightful as ever, and although people might find him to be too much sometimes, which he definitely is sometimes, I think it goes well with the fact that he is masquerading as a shaman. I love his chemistry with his teammates, and that scene at the pendulum swing thing got me good.

However, I think Han-jun’s chemistry with Jae-hui is severely lacking. Maybe it’s because they showed us a surprising age difference between the two, or maybe it’s because Jae-hui is rather annoying, but the scenes in which they are together seem more cat and mouse rather than potential lovers.

And no, I have absolutely no issues with them not being lovers. Totally ok with platonic love-hate relationships. But I feel like they are somewhere hinting at the relationship going that way, so I really am a bit confused.

Either way, I think the mystery and the comedy went together well, and I found myself laughing more often than not. A totally entertaining and funny episode, all in all.

Cafe Minamdang is streaming on Netflix.

Check out our Cafe Minamdang reviews here.