Shooting Stars Full Review: Behind the Glamour of K-Drama Stardom

The stars whom we like to see on screen who shine the brightest there are also humans like us, right? But have you ever thought about how their lives are off-screen? Do they also have flaws? Or are they just so perfect as we know them? This drama gives the answer by pulling back to reveal the chaotic, hilarious, and heartwarming mess behind the glamour. In this article, Shooting Stars full review, I will try to make this behind the screen story a little easier, what say? 

We all see how perfect our favorite stars or celebrities are but it always makes me think how can someone be this much perfect. Then I watched this drama and realized that in the entertainment industry good image is everything and nobody can be flawless. There are lots of people who fight daily to protect the image of our favorite celebrities. As our favorite celebs are also like us in real life it is so normal for them to have a story of love, friendship, and the personal struggles that they often hide from the world behind the headlines and flashing cameras.

So, let’s see how it works.

Plot Summary 

Gong Tae Sung and Oh Han Byeol work in the same entertainment company called Starforce Entertainment. One as an actor and the other as a PR member. Han Byeol is very good at her work and has an excellent skill in speech and crisis management. Her work is to make the stars shine brightly without any scandal. But one day she accidentally wrote something that created a scandal in the name of Gong Tae Sung, the A-listed actor. From here their love-hate relationship starts. Both were university mates and that worked as fuel in their relationship. 

Kang Yoo Sung is a manager of the same company but he is often mistaken as an actor for his personality and looks. He does not have any flaws and is secretly loved by Park Ho Young. Park Ho Young is a former taekwondo player but now works as a manager under Kang Yoo Sung. 

Meanwhile Jo Ki Bum, Han Byeol’s best friend and an entertainment reporter, falls in love with Do Soo Hyuk who is a corporation lawyer and a consultant for Starforce Entertainment company.

Main Cast and Their Performances

The cast of the drama is the biggest strength of this drama which is a mix of both established stars and rising talents who successfully bring both heart and humor to the screen. Each character is skillfully crafted and the actors who played these roles delivered both entertaining and emotionally resonant performances.

Lee Sung Kyung as Oh Han Byeol

Lee Sung Kyun as Oh Han Byeol steals the spotlight with her skillful performance and makes Han Byeol the heart of the drama. Han Byeol is an important member of the PR team who is appointed to protect the public image of the stars and she can do her work very skillfully. Her sharp wit and quick problem solving skills make her the head of the team just within some years. Her only flaw is her emotional vulnerability. And this strength and vulnerability made her a refreshing female lead who is neither overly perfect nor overly dramatic.

Sung Kyung perfectly understood the role of Han Byeol and perfectly balanced the professionalism and playful nature of Han Byeol. Her professionalism shows when skillfully manages every celebrity scandal and her comic timing shines when she is with her friends and especially Gong Tae Sung.

Kim Young Dae as Gong Tae Sung

Gong Tae Sung is an A-star actor in South Korea, who has a good reputation and a huge fan base. But he is arrogant too, which makes him some rivals as well. To clear his name he was sent to Africa to do charity work. Even if he is a rude and arrogant guy he has a pure soul that cares for everyone and especially his lover.

As for the performance, Kim Young Dae proved that his strength is not only his handsome face but also his talent. He proved himself to be a polished and refined actor. This time along with his looks he surprises viewers with a layered performance. His chemistry with Sung Kyung was top-notch and his own character portrayal was praiseworthy. Again he proved that he is more than just a handsome guy and is growing into a serious lead actor.

Yoon Jong Hoon as Kang Yoo Sung

Kang Yoo Sung is the manager of Gong Tae Sung, who is more like a brother to him. He is a calm and composed man, and his handsomeness often makes people confuse him as a celebrity. However, he is a kind man and is good to everyone. He is one of the most reliable managers in this drama who inspires others with his personality.

While playing the role of Yoo Sung, Yoon Jong Hoon brings unique charm and quiet strength to the screen. He assures calmness in the midst of chaos and his loyalty to Tae-Sung offers heartwarming moments of friendship, brotherhood and care.

Kim Yoon Hye as Park Ho Young

Park Ho Young is one of the most loveable characters in the drama Shooting Stars. She used to be a taekwondo player who is now working as a manager at Starforce Entertainment. She has a huge crush on one of his senior managers called Kang Yoo Sung and their chemistry creates an adorable slow-burn romance subplot that fans adore. 

Kim Yoon Hye with her performance adds a lovable touch of awkward humor and girl crush energy. 

Lee Jung Shin as Do Soo Hyuk

Do Soo Hyuk is a legal advisor of Starfprce, who holds his own aura. He is calm and cool and sometimes acts very sweet. He is very passionate about his work. He played the role of second lead in the story of Tae Sung and Han VByeol and later became the second lead couple with his own love story. 

Lee Jung Shin, a member of the K-pop boy band CNBLUE who played the charismatic role of Do Soo Hyuk. He played this role with quiet grace and charm and his presence brought depth to the workplace setting.

Park So Jin as Jo Ki Bum

Joo Ki Bum is the best friend of Han Byeol, by profession she is a reporter. Both the friends work in rival agencies but their friendship is still the best, they are more like sisters. For a workplace issue, she meets Do Soo Hyuk, who is the legal advisor of her rival agency and somehow in the most unexpected way they fall in love and become the second lead couple. 

Beautiful actress and former idol Park So Jin played the role of Jo Ki Bum who is one of the sweetest characters in this drama. Her on-screen chemistry with Lee Jung Shin is loved by many fans and their love was one of the cutest subplots of the drama. 

Themes Explored in Shooting Stars

Along with being a romantic comedy, this Kdrama Shooting Stars presents to us the inner story of the Korean entertainment industry. This drama is filled with humor, heart-fluttering romance, and behind-the-scenes chaos. Apart from this it also touches on deeper emotional and social themes that elevate it beyond surface-level storytelling.

The Price of Fame

At its core, we see the untold stories of the stars we know or we fall in love seeing them on screen. But this love or their fame does not come without any cost. Physically, mentally or psychologically so many people work so hard to build this fame. The stars work hard day and night, the managers, staff and also the PR team give their best to build an image of a particular star. But they are also human beings with flaws just like us, and to prevent themselves from this flaw they just choose to be isolated, and we see through the character of Gong Tae sung. To protect his images he battles loneliness, past trauma, and unrealistic public expectations.

Public Image vs. Private Reality

As the celebrities are also normal people like us they also have a private life just like us. And for this reason, maintaining public image and private life is so tough for them. As a fan, we only see what you are being shown, only the surface but if you see the struggles of the staff who work to make their image picture-perfect, you will know the actual truth. And this is what the drama actually shows us. The drama shows manipulation, control, and hard work behind maintaining the perfect image of the stars.

The Unsung Heroes Behind the Spotlight

We all know our favorite actor or idol, right? But do you know the people who work day and night to protect their idol image? From PR managers to legal advisors and talent agents, this drama mentions and gives credit to all of them who work hard to protect the celebrities and keep the entertainment machine running. This drama pays a tribute to their exhausting schedules, emotional stress, and unwavering loyalty to their stars. 

Emotional Healing and Redemption

We always see the best version of the stars on the screen but they also can have a messed up life. In this drama, we see some characters who shine like the brightest star before the camera suffers from childhood traumas and is followed by toxic rumors and also depression and so many negative things behind the camera. In real life, our favorite stars also can deal with these, right? Some get healed and start a new life but others, we lose them sometimes. The drama Shooting Stars focuses on personal growth and healing and shows how connection, friendship, and honesty help people move forward, even in a high-pressure world.

What Makes Shooting Stars Unique

Apparently, Shooting Stars seems like just another office romance or celebrity-centered rom-com but deep down this drama delivers more than that. It shines with its own light among the vast galaxy of K-dramas. Let’s see what are the strengths of this drama that make it stand out.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at K-Drama Stardom

This drama shows an unknown side of the entertainment industry that focuses on the star’s personal life and tells their stories of love or struggles. Instead of only idolizing a celebrity this drama explores them, their flaws and insecurities, both their positive and negative sides. The unsung struggles of the PR teams, managers, lawyers and assistants as well as the whole agency or the company are highlighted in this drama. The drama showcases both on-screen and behind the story of celebrities which is quite realistic. It talks about not only the red carpet, celebrities and fans, but it also talks more about damage control, burnout, media manipulation, and loyalty under pressure.

Witty, Self-Aware Writing with Satirical Humor

The drama doesn’t narrate the serious theme in a serious tone; rather it cleverly uses hilarious parodies of scandals, PR nightmares, and the absurdity of the entertainment world. This drama will make you laugh at the same time we will get so much unknown knowledge about the entertainment world which as a fan you should have understood. And the greatest lesson is the stars are not someone flawless like their fictional roles, they are just like us. 

Strong Female Lead Who Isn’t a Damsel

The main female lead Oh Han Byeol is not a typical female lead who is adored and protected by others, this time she protects her man. She is emotionally strong, sharp-tongued and also professionally competent. Her role breaks the usual gender dynamics that make the drama empowering without being preachy. She represents modern women and what they face in their life and professional careers and how they overcome the obstacles of their lives. 

A Refreshing Ensemble Cast with Subplots That Shine

Along with the main lead couple, other couples were also loved in this show. In this drama, we can see almost all kinds of tropes like office romance, unspoken crushes, admirations, bromances and much more, and play a meaningful role in enriching the plot. Even the supporting characters have their own charms and arcs that make the story more appealing and I am sure when you are going to watch this drama you will have your personal favorite secondary characters. 

A Bubbly, Mood-Lifting Soundtrack

One of the strongest parts of this drama is its soundtracks which feature playful, upbeat and romantic tracks fully matched with the tone of the drama. The soundtracks heighten the mood and create an atmosphere that is needed according to the plot and which lingers even after the episode ends.

Soundtracks and Musics

The drama Shooting Star has a total of 51 tracks including both vocal and instrumental pieces that enrich the theme and the story of the drama. It is often used as a mouthpiece because so many times words can not deliver the desired emotions that music can. The vocal album was resealed in 5 different parts and those are:

Part 1 (Released Date: 22-04-2022)

• Shooting Stars by Nam Woo Hyun
• Shooting Stars (Instrumental)

Part 2 (Released Date: 29-04-2022)

• How I Feel by Kim Jae Hwan
• How I Feel (Instrumental)

Part 3 (Released Date: 07-05-2022)

• My Secret, My Everything by Sondia & Vincent Blue
• My Secret, My Everything (Instrumental)

Part 4 (Released Date: 21-05-2022)

• Departure from A Country by Cho Kyu Hyun
• Departure from A Country (Instrumental)

Part 5 (Released Date: 03-06-2022)

• Won’t Give Up by Choi Yu Ri 
• Won’t Give Up (Instrumental)

If you want to hear the instrumental scores or the background music too, you can find all of them in any streaming platform you like including these vocal tracks.In conclusion, I would say the drama Shooting Star is not just a typical Korean Rom-com drama, rather it presents the real picture behind every rom-com. The heartfelt love, comic timing, skillful cinematography, loving characters and sometimes painfully real portrayal of the people who make K-dramas possible, both on and off screen made this drama stand out and with these qualities, this drama shines brightly in the world of K-dramas like its name. 

The strong performances, meaningful themes like mental health and media pressure, a memorable soundtrack and the adorable characters made me a huge fan of this drama. So for this reason I am gladly recommending the drama Shooting Stars. Even if it’s not on your watch list I think you still should watch it just to know the real picture of the entertainment world.