By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
July 6, 2022
Oh Han-byul (played by Lee Sung-kyung)
Gong Tae-sung (played by Kim Young-dae)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.
I enjoyed this generally light series for what it is: a cute romance with two incredibly attractive lead actors. But I also acknowledge that there are some problematic moments that mar parts of the series for me.
Han-byul is the head publicist at a talent agency where the profits ride or die depending on the antics of their moody top star Tae-sung. The two went to college together, but have a contentious relationship. One might say they despise each other.
So when they inevitably start dating (and this is no spoiler to say this because, hello, this is the premise of the entire K-drama), they get gushy awfully fast. What about the years of hating each other? What happened there? Is it a case of a fine line between love and hate? Or signs of immaturity perhaps? (I’ll talk about that more in the Spoiler Alert below.)
The biggest issue I had with this series is the turnaround in Tae-sung’s behavior, which went from haughty in the first half to smitten puppy in the latter portion of the show. One of the marks of a truly nice person is how they treat people who can do absolutely nothing for them. And Tae-sung was cold and demanding of the people who do make his life easier (his agent, assistant, the entire PR team and, especially, Han-byul).
He is bitter because he is under the impression that the one-year volunteer stint he did in Africa was orchestrated by Han-byul to remove him from her life. This will get resolved later. Something that’s never sorted out is… why is no one asking where in Africa he volunteered? Everyone talks about the entire continent as if it’s a destitute country that is saved because one Korean star helped dig a well there. There are 54 countries in Africa and the showrunners couldn’t think of narrowing it down to just one?
Even more condescending is how Africa and South Korea are filmed. The former is shot in sepia, I guess to drive home how backwards it is? Meanwhile, Korea (with all its real-life pollution) is depicted with bright blue skies.
All that aside, there are some insights into the world of celebrity that some viewers may find surprising. For instance, in episode 5, Tae-sung is supposed to do an email interview with a New York publication. He doesn’t want to bother with it and tells Han-byul to answer the questions for him. While this doesn’t always happen, it does happen. Public Relations friends in various countries have told me how they have coordinated almost exactly the same thing for their clients.
And as many fans of Korean entertainers already know, Korean celebrities’ careers can be ruined if they get caught in a dating scandal. I’m not talking about underage relationships or peculiar sex acts. I’m talking about two grown adults simply dating. “Shooting Stars” depicts exactly what can happen and the lengths some couples will go to not to get caught. Honestly? It’s sad that they can’t just live. (Note: It’s not just Korean celebrities. Western celebrities don’t go out of their way to announce their partners, either. But in the U.S., for instance, it’s also not a career ender in this day and age.)
In summary… I love lead actress Lee Sung-kyung and would watch her in just about anything. Head to my Spoiler Alert below the trailer for a few more thoughts.
Meta Casting: Yoon Jong-hoon portrays Tae-sung’s manager. Both he and Kim Young-dae (who plays Tae-sung) starred together in “The Penthouse: War in Life” trilogy. Their co-stars Um Ki-joon and Bong Tae-gyu make a fun cameo appearance in episode 13 as a spoiled actor and his representative, respectively.
Airdates: Sixteen hour-ish episodes aired on tvN from April 22 to June 11, 2022.
Spoiler Alert: Han-byul and Tae-sung weren’t a campus couple as everyone thought. They shot a promo cover for the university magazine, which was enough for rumors to spread at school.
After Tae-sung’s father died, Tae-sung’s mother abandoned him. She later tells him that her in laws told her to start a new life and to leave the boy with them. I find this to be difficult to believe (unless they thought she wasn’t a good mother). But she listened to them and pursued her dream. She became a rich and famous actress. She got re-married and moved to France with her new husband. When her in laws died, she secretly made sure Tae-sung was taken care of financially…but didn’t go back for him. He now had no family in Korea. When she does return to Seoul, he’s already an adult and a famous star. It takes forever for her to tell Tae-sung that she has dementia and wants to apologize to him for not having been there when he was a child. She wanted to do all this before she lost her memory. Meh.
Han-byul wanted to know why he treated her so poorly in college and in the years they worked together. He said it was because he liked her so much he didn’t know what to do, so he was mean to her. Oh no. Do not go there. This is like telling a distressed little girl who’s been shoved by a little boy that he’s only doing it because he likes her. Noooooooooooooo.
As viewers, we want to like Tae-sung, and that’s partially because we feel sympathy towards his character, but also because (let’s get real) Kim Young-dae is so very handsome. If a less attractive actor had played the character, I think we would all be less forgiving of him.
© 2021 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
I LVOED this show but I agree that there were some issues especially in the way Africa was depicted. They could have handled that in a better way.
Great review Jae-Ha! This is how I felt about the K-drama. It was bingeable, got a little long near the end, and had some parts that were a bit cringey. It was easy to watch though for sure.