To My Star: The Intersecting Destinies of a Famous Actor and an Ordinary Chef

To My Star is a warm and emotional South Korean-made BL (Boys’ Love) themed mini-series. Consisting of 9 episodes in total, this series, with each episode lasting an average of 15 minutes, offers a short but effective narrative. South Korean BL productions always offer short stories. Not long and exhausting like Thai series. THIS is very good.

Also, the series exists with an approximately 2-hour 2-minute movie version as well; if you want, you can also watch the same story in one breath without interruption. I watched it episode by episode as a series.

A quality production especially for youths and young adults, or for anyone who loves love and commitment. Does watching a series have an age! A satisfying drama for anyone who wants to watch love, loneliness, and the difficulties of bonding. That state of inability to bond, that psychological tension, and the introverted atmosphere in the series really established a good bond with me when watching. A series should be able to bond with you. You also do not necessarily need to be homosexual to watch the series and to bond. 👉 Without forgetting, there is the continuation of the duo’s relationship in Season 2.

🏳️‍🌈🇰🇷 Curator Recommendation: Best South Korean BL catalog

To My Star (2021) Plot and Review

Han Ji Woo is the head chef in a newly opened small restaurant that suffers from a lack of customers. Ji Woo, who has no family, lives alone, and has a serious character, sees cooking as an internal therapy as much as his profession. He received gastronomy education in Italy and jumped into restaurant life as soon as he returned to his country. However, things do not go very well; most days the restaurant is completely empty, not even an order comes.

The house he lives in belongs to Kim Pil Hyun, a former acquaintance and CEO of an actor agency. As coincidence would have it, right around that time, the famous actor Kang Seo Joon, whom Pil Hyun looks after, gets involved in a scandal. Due to a fight news bursting in the media, Seo Joon needs to stay out of sight for a while. Pil Hyun, as a temporary solution, places his actor into Ji Woo’s house.

At first, there is a big distance between them. Ji Woo is a secretive, distant, and calm person; Seo Joon, on the other hand, is someone extroverted, active, and with high self-confidence. Even if these contrasts create tension in the first stage, they turn into an interesting attraction over time. Daily habits brought by sharing the same house, shared silences, small conflicts, and a sincerity developing without realizing bring them closer to each other.

However, this newly starting closeness will be tested by threats coming from the outside. The owner of the restaurant and the person Ji Woo trusts the most tries to use the fight Kang Seo Joon experienced in the past as a trump card. Blackmail shakes the fragile structure of love. While Ji Woo’s hard outer shell is tested by his love and trust, Seo Joon’s self crushed under his star image also questions what establishing a real bond means.

Review and Commentary

A Familiar But Sincere Boys’ Love Story

“To My Star” handles the “cohabitation” theme frequently encountered in Asian BL series. But this time there is a more emotional, more introverted, more delicate story. For a mini-series, intrigues, character depth, and dramatic transitions to a story that seems simple are good. South Korean productions’ unique serene narrative and aesthetic visuals are as usual. This can sometimes feel very artificial as well. The series is overly stagnant at times, characters are very dull and emotionless.

The escape of a famous actor from social pressure and the media, seeking refuge in the plain and quiet life of an ordinary chef… This contrast offers not only a romantic but also a social reading. The reason for my continuing to watch the series was exactly these “social readings and psychological depth.” Sincerity and warmth are as valuable as popularity and visibility. Being popular, instead of giving a person the life they want most of the time, gives living as others want. It was a good experience to watch two stuck characters, afraid of living their emotions and sexual orientations, meet on a common frequency in the series.

Seo Joon’s glittering but complex world and Ji Woo’s calm and orderly life are completely opposite to each other. Seo Joon is someone extroverted, fast, and courageous in love; Ji Woo is someone cautious, distant, and slowly opening up. However, this contrast turns into a harmony pulling the duo towards each other over time.

Movie Version Duration: 2 hours 2 minutes. Where to Watch: GagaOOLala official broadcaster. You can look on MyDramaList. Continuation Season: To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories. That’s all from me.