Star Struck (2023)

Started out okay and then just went downhill

I think that's the first time I genuinely thought that the leads would have been better off staying friends. While I used to be okay with the whole "one friend has feelings for the other, the other doesn't, behaves horrible but is also super possessive—which eventually ends up the reason for them getting together" type of story, I've come to realise just how problematic this dynamic is, so I can't really get into it or consider it even remotely romantic. Add to that the fact that the leads had zero chemistry with each other... They should have just stayed friends.
The storytelling wasn't that great either, and I don't even know what happened with the last 2 episodes, they were so bad I had a hard time finishing the series even though it's not very long.
All in all, can't recommend it, felt like a waste of my time.

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Like Most BL, "Star Struck" Should Have Been Much Longer

The reviews on MDL for this drama were brutal and I disagree.

I felt that Zuho and Kim In Sung did a great job with their characters.

BL are often 4 to 12 episodes and I really wish they were much longer so viewers can witness the growth of the characters and learn more details about their lives. Often, there are too many unanswered questions, too many plot points that are introduced for interest but not followed or resolved due to the short format. "Star Struck" is yet another example. Lee In Gyu (wore the headband) was an unnecessary character. Park Jin Hwan was sweet but we never received an explanation why Jo Yoo Jae kept blocking Jin Hwan's efforts to establish a relationship with Yoon Chae Young when it was apparent that Yoo Jae wasn't interested in dating (or protecting her) and she and Jin Hwan were interested in one another.

Jo Yoo Jae and Seo Han Joon meet as children, instantly become best friends and grow up together. Somewhere along the way, Han Joon begins to view Yoo Jae as a life partner, rather than as “just a friend.”

Despite their closeness, both Yoo Jae and Han Joon omit vital information from one another which only serves to harm their relationship and trust for one another.

As with drama...lack of communication causes 80% of all problems. The other 20% is covered by a refusal/inability to ask questions and assuming you already know the answer.

Yoo Jae’s parents hate one another. His dad appears to be an unemployed drunk who spends his days watching tv programs about financial investments while Yoo Jae’s mother yells at him for not working. Eventually, one of dad’s schemes works and he becomes exceedingly wealthy due to one of his stock purchases. Yoo Jae’s mom goes on a luxury goods spending spree, Yoo Jae has a nice allowance and they move into a much larger, nicer house. Yoo Jae doesn’t bother to tell his best friend about his good news and Han Joon finds out from his classmates who are astonished that he didn’t know.

In the first episode, we are told that Han Joon’s “family” runs a banchan stand and that Yoo Jae really likes the food. Han Joon’s father isn’t seen or discussed. We later learn that his mother is selling insurance but isn’t making any money. Then, Han Joon finds out from his classmates that his mother has gotten a job in a restaurant in another city and is moving. He confronts his mother and she doesn’t apologize. She confirms she is moving, has already gotten him a (much smaller) apartment nearby, has paid the rent for the next three months and he can pack his bags to move in immediately. Han Joon will be taking the college entrance exam in three months, graduate high school and will then be homeless and in need of a job that pays more than he earns as a janitor for a boxing gym. It’s hard to believe that Han Joon’s mother could not get a job in a restaurant in Seoul. She’s not moving to be the manager of a restaurant, or even to be a chef, she is moving just to be a waitress.

Han Joon doesn’t bother to tell his “best friend” that his mom has left and that he’s moved. In fact, when Yoo Jae tells him he’s coming over, Han Joon runs out of his apartment to intercept his friend and suggest they go to a café.

After taking the college entrance exam, Han Joon finally confesses to Yoo Jae who does not take the news well, they fight and end their friendship. Han Joon stops attending school and doesn’t show up for graduation. In fact, he shows up at the school administration office, pretends to be Yoo Jae and asks if he can pick up “Han Joon’s” graduation certificate to give him.

Fast forward and, coincidentally, both men are freshman at Hanguk University and run into one another. Han Joon keeps his distance and Yoo Jae is forced to initiate contact and attempt to salvage their friendship. When Yoo Jae assumes that the months of no contact resulted in Han Joon “sorting out his thoughts,” Han Joon tells him to just go away and stay away. Yoo Jae’s presence in his life is too painful and Han Joon wants to forget him and move on with his life. Eventually, Yoo Jae decides he does want to pursue a relationship that is more than friendship and asks if they can date.

Other reviewers have written harsh things about Yoo Jae that I don’t feel are completely warranted. He was raised by parents who hated one another and probably treated him as if he were a burden. He needs someone to focus on him and care for him. He probably didn’t get the affection he needed from his parents. In his friendship with Han Joon, Yoo Jae does become jealous, anxious, controlling, and angry when Han Joon has other friends and interests that get in the way of being 100% available for Yoo Jae at all times. He reminds me of Segasaki (“My Personal Weatherman”) and Kiyoi (“My Beautiful Man”) who were wounded men who needed to be the focus of attention, and also needed to learn how to communicate and to mature.

He was heavily criticized for throwing away Han Joon’s gift of chocolates twice. Viewers have to keep in mind that he thought of Han Joon just as a friend and Han Joon’s confession decisively changed his perception of reality. He had to work through the complexities of their relationship. He had been in “friends only” mode for over a decade. He now learns that is best friend is attracted to him. Was he attracted to Han Joon? What did it mean to be attracted to another man? What is life like for a gay man in Korea? Was he ever/still attracted to women? He wanted everything to stay the same, to stay “just friends” and Han Joon told him that wasn’t possible. He’s 20 years old and needs time to grow up and mature in order to become a better human being, in general, and to become a better partner for Han Joon.

Han Joon has also received quite a bit of criticism for rushing to his mother and then leaving her just as quickly. First and foremost, I think Han Joon should have been communicating with Yoo Jae every single step of the way. He told Yoo Jae that he had something to do, but promised to be on time for their dinner reservation and ceased all further contact. Han Joon thought his mother was merely sick, but later finds out that she’s moved out/been evicted and lost/quit her job and is in the hospital preparing for surgery. He should have communicated all of this to Yoo Jae. In the end, it is his mother that repeatedly tells him to leave and go home for his appointment. We never learn what sort of surgery she is going to undergo. Han Joon’s mother may love her son in some manner, but I am not nominating her for any “Mother of the Year” awards. She refused to tell her son she moved, no longer had a job, had debts and needed surgery. Her excuse was that “she didn’t want to worry him.” Nonsense. He didn’t deserve her running away when he was a senior in high school and didn’t deserve her repeated withholding of vital information.

The series ends with a mildly “happy for now” status.

Will Han Joon’s mother ever be honest with him?

Yoo Jae did not react well to his parents’ announcement of their impending divorce and has probably disinherited himself. He can probably move in with Han Joon but he’s going to have to get a job to pay for living expenses and for college. Yoo Jae needs to work on himself and his relationships with others.

Han Joon is happy to have him by his side for now, but Yoo Jae needs to fully earn Han Joon’s love and support and provide the same in return.

A second season would be nice, but probably won't happen. The best that can be hoped for would be to find "Star Struck" fan fic.

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Awesome characters... on a high-speed rail.

Not going to lie, this one deserves an 8.5/10 for the first six episodes and a 5/10 for the last two episodes.
Also, it ends in the blink of an eye. It's like they mashed together clips of the whole thing, particularly the last two episodes. I don't know whether to be upset or angry. The actors were good, the premise was good and it had plenty of potential to be one of the better short dramas out there. And to an extent, it is.

This is the one time I truly wished that a drama had a longer run time. Or a second season even. (If it's an 8 episode series, it needs at least 20 minutes per episode. Or 10 episodes, if it's going to be 15 minutes each.)

So… what do I think? Take off the "BL spectacles" and view it objectively as a simple story between two childhood friends, Han Joon and Yoo Jae. However, their bond becomes uncertain when Han Joon starts to realize his feelings for Yoo Jae. Moreover, the struggles of their families puts a further strain on their lives.

The characters and the performance by the cast is what carries the whole 8 episodes. Kudos to them for managing to bring so much depth and emotions to life while being handed like… half the story?
There is so much angst in this one that I decided that the 'best friends to lovers' trope is one of the worst out there. (This one has a particularly noteworthy confession scene.) But, it gives a strange satisfaction when beautifully portrayed. It was stressful to see both Han Joon and Yoo Jae keep trying to keep their friendship alive.

I'm surprised by both the leads. Kim In Sung could really make the viewers feel 'broken'.
While Yoo Jae is getting pummeled by the majority of the viewers, I liked that guy. While Han Joon was more emotionally receptive, Yoo Jae struggled to express his emotions.
I've not looked much into the idol group SF9, but I did not realize how popular they were until Star Struck. Baek Zu Ho can definitely act.

Their chemistry was not bad at all. But, as the concept of time isn't conveyed well, it can appear off putting to many.

The characters needed time: they were not just dealing with their feelings, but also had troubles with their families. This was one part that was well paced in the first few episodes, but got thrown into the bin during the last two. Not that it was bad, but it was all too sudden. Han Joon with his mom and Yoo Jae with his parents.

Another thing? The timeline. The first four episodes took place over a span of four months. The next two focused on their college. The last two took place in about three months. (That's three months in twenty minutes, I tell you.)

On a side note, I never cared about kisses ever since I watched the Taiwanese movie Our Times (2015) and that had literally no physical interaction between the leads, but was just sweet. So, I forgive the directors because the rest of their interactions were gold.

The bad stuff is definitely the runtime which impedes a better written script. I also suspect that they cut off a few remaining bits too. Also, I'll never look at Ferrero Rocher the same way again.

Am I disappointed? Yes, badly. The slew of well plotted short dramas with a longer runtime or more episodes with a tight plot might've made viewers expect better from 'Star Struck'. I'll rate this a generous 7.5/10. Han Joon, Yoo Jae and even those smaller supporting characters are too sweet to not be given a second chance by anyone who stumbles across this review.

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Miscast and imbalanced romance to typical kdrama issues ratio

Camera angle kiss again in this day and age shows the lack of commitment from one or both of the actors and it really breaks immersion for the viewer and the production is at fault as well for letting this situation become so. The role or roles could have gone to better actors that would commit fully to portraying the characters. The complicated and toxic tinged relationship between Han Joon and Yoo Jae has so much potential to explore with Yoo Jae not wanting to date Han Joon, but not letting Han Joon date or even be close friends with anyone else either with the hints of Yoo Jae's dependency on Han Joon with him being the closest thing to a loving family member he has because of his troubled homelife. He wants Han Joon's attention and physical closeness all to himself and I like that Han Yoon calls him out on it which unfortunately only leads to the aforementioned very anticlimactic camera angle kiss. Also, every romantic benchmark is a big deal with this intense set up, but it's always abruptly undercut in the editing of this drama. That would mean more actual kiss scenes or something that would organically be the expression of the two characters. I do like the scene where they went out for ice cream and held hands. They got to date for five seconds before it all ends. If only there was committed acting, it would be a lot better, but it's not so there are better options to watch than this drama.

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It was good, but... what happened to the end?

It was pretty good, over all. But like most KBLs, they usually start with a bang and end with.. nothing that good. I mean, I haven't seen Friends to Lovers for a really long time because the majority really like the Enemies to Lovers but I won't compare them.

I like the cast, they're cute, and their acting was pretty good. It's pretty low budget but it's pretty well-made.

And then there's the ending to which.. what happened to Hanjoon's mom and Yoojae's parents? They just aren't going to elaborate on it? I mean I guess they solved it because they're together and they'll push through. But neither of them told each other of their situation, like.. at all. Yoojae just gave him the ring and then happily ever after.

Love doesn't actually solve everything like what almost every show says, but they should've at least elaborated on the very last conflict or didn't involve it at all. They could've done 7 episodes and fit in the ring part and left out the drama at the end and saved some money..

But anyway, it was a good show and if there's a season 2, maybe they'll make up for it because the ending seemed pretty sudden.

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It started well and ended badly.

After a few good chapters, it got lost in a bad script. There was still a lack of depth in secondary characters, who were there only to compose the scenery.

I read that it seems like it didn't have a lot of budget, but it didn't need to make a very complex story. I think that for Zuho, who was extremely attacked, because he was from a famous group (SF9), it wasn't so good. He has suffered several homophobic attacks.

At the end they tried to do things that were even interesting, but that wouldn't have time to be really enjoyed. Out of nowhere, unrelated things happen. There are some stories that need more time to develop. What didn't happen here.

Perhaps a new edition if they have extra scenes or remove unnecessary things can improve in film format, if they are interested in relaunching in that format.

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Another victim of the K-BL format

Nearly every Korean BL I watch has the exact same issue: not enough time. And this one is no exception. I was excited to watch this one as a fan of SF9, and was slightly disappointed to see such potential in a show that could never live up to it, due to the time limits that K BLs seem to always have.

Hanjoon has secretly been in love with his childhood best friend Yoojae for a long time now, but only truly realized it when he starts to get jealous that Yoojae is pursuing a girl. This brings out a lot of tension in their relationship, as both of them are quick to anger when it comes to issues with each other. It takes a long time for them both to realize that the reason they're always on edge with each other is because both of them are harboring more feelings than they thought, and neither of them know how to process it.

Each of these 15-20 minute episodes could have and should have been 45 min. There's a quick conflict in every episode, where the causes, conflict, and aftermath are never fully fleshed out. Plus, they attempted to give both characters complex family situations without having the time to do so properly. They either should have cut out some unnecessary conflicts to flesh out the characters, or lengthen the episodes to flesh out the conflicts. As is typical, there is truly no way to have multiple complex characters with multiple complex conflicts in a series with a total run time less than a movie. Frankly, a movie would have been better because at least it would have been one continuous storyline instead of 8 separate conflicts that they resolve in under 5 minutes. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the acting of the main two. The tension and fights felt like real issues that 18-year-olds would have, and nothing about this show felt cheesy. A fun watch that I wouldn't recommend too highly.

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Good and short series to watch but…

It was really interesting to watch and I loved the casting. The acting is so good and the OST is also really good.
Now let’s talk about the characters :
- First of all, I wanna know if Han joon really cut off ties with his high school friends just because of what happened between him and his ´best friend’ because they seem really caring and genuine to each other especially the girl. Shés such a good character because after being played around, she never acted toxic or acting like holding a grudge against the one in cause. We also need to know what happened to jinhwan ! He was also so cute and nice !

Kudos to Han joon’s mom. I even cried at the last episode because of how incredible she is, taking everything to protect her son and let him leave ´comfortably ´. I want her to be so happy and neat her son, no debts or anything because she deserves the world !
Yoo Jae’s parents on their side really destroyed him and even when his father was slapping him and then threatened him to cut ties with him etc… his mom’s reaction disappointed me because all she did was saying ´ yoo jae ! yoo jae! ´ she didn’t take his defense probably nor contact him afterwards… Like please madam, now you are even divorced with that trash of husband, take care of your son ugh ! Even before they got richer, she would also act really not nice to her son, asking his father to go search for a work and help her out paying for HIS son’s tuition fee… I get you want him to help in the house and that’s completely comprehensible but what is not is acting like Yoo Jae was a burden…

Then Yoo Jae. such a problem in himself ngl. Way too possessive ( like who tf ate you to litteraly interrupts your bff and one of his friends’s hang out just because you are jealous??? he is not yours man!!! Even if the girl was obviously interested in Han joon this is not your business bro. when you were ´flirting’ -toying chae young actually- in high school did Han joon deliberately interrupts you ? no so get out !!!) yet refuses to get to know of his passions… He knows his best friend loves boxing yet keep bashing on it, treating it of all the names then getting angry when Han joon finally finds someone with the same passion… I also HATED how he came back to him like nothing happened then later on asking him out after humiliating him (throwing away a gift he starved himself to buy -I get you don’t want him to starve himself for you but that doesn’t mean you should throw it on the floor IN FRONT OF HIM!!!-) then always saying things like ´don’t stay away from me ´ everytime but always getting angry at me when the other would slightly take some time to tell him something bug happening in his life. The way he rejected him also felt so wrong on many points because he is your best friend, so you should be the nicest while rejecting him especially if he was being nice to you (not forcing his feelings on you I mean) but no, he litteraly act like he was disgusted or something. Then another thing would be him throwing away ONCE AGAIN that chocolate plate he was offered before rejecting Han joon and once again in front of him (to afterwards ask him out ?).

Apart of all his BIG red flags, the series was decent eventhough his character traits really kept me on edge. Would have liked seeing the reaction of their parents to them dating tho!

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It's worth the watch!

First of all, the music in this series is outstanding. The intro music reminds me of Love, Simon--not the same but it gives me the same feeling.

I barely leave reviews but I would like to give this one to at least add a positive feedback over the negative ones because I enjoyed the series and I think it deserves it.

I love a BL series that is more focused on the development of the relationship of the two main characters in a way that it is not boring, and I think Star Struck did that. I love the pacing from episode 1 up to the second half of episode 7, but the last episode felt like, suddenly this and that happened without proper build up. There should have been an extra episode where we have to see the romantic relationship of the two main characters, but who knows, there might be a second season for that.

If there is a thing to be upset about, that would be the kissing scene. LoL! It's a turning point of the plot of the story but why fake it? That kiss was like a confession that Yoo Jae like Han Joon too. One more thing, Han Joon did not even bother to explain what happened why he failed to meet up with Yoo Jae and Yoo Jae did not even bother to ask. It is like they assume they did. Anyway, the two leads are too handsome and have good acting skills which made me enjoy this series aside from the music and the story. I hope they'll get more acting projects.

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Это реалистично

Вот и закончился просмотр еще одной тонкой, мудрой вещи от Кореи. Сразу вижу много критиков. лол. У меня уходит в любимые точно. Зная изначально актерский состав, готовилась к эмоциям и боязни пропустить хоть секунду их игры. Игра, та которую надо смотреть - это игра лицом. Здесь прекрасны были все: от детей до взрослых актеров. Зухо показал себя с новой стороны. Не люблю сравнивать актеров, но вот реально они родственные души с Ли Джун Ки. Ким Ин Сон (Со Хан Джун) и Зухо - Пак Джухо (Юджэ) показали прекрасную игру и супер химию между героями. В этой минималке хорошо показали жизнь дома (в семье), стресс, проблемы. Честно, немного было урезано как пришли к отношениям. Ведь тот поцелуй смотрелся больше как удержание около себя, а не проявление чувств. Замята концовка, хотя обошли клише с ним. Скачки по сюжету (62 дня встречаемся, 100 дней) наверное было бы лучше если бы это был все-таки фильм. Не буду про психологию отношений, семьи, общества.... Для меня эта дорама однозначно в любимые. Я наслаждалась каждой серией, они были очень реалистичны и жизненные.

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