It’s No “ Secret” That This Drama Is A Waste Of Time... First of all before saying why this drama didn’t met up to many expectations of drama fans, it’s important to say that there were some genuinely intriguing aspects towards the show. One of the most apparent aspects of the drama was the international relationship between our Vietnamese female lead and aspiring reporter Chi Mai ( Hoàng Yến Chibi) and South- Korean Hallyu Star JIN ( Sung Joon). Although it isn’t out of the question for dramas to tackle international relationships or respectfully cast actors from different countries ( such as renowned South-Korean actor Lee Jong Suk being cast in the Chinese drama Jade Lover, or a young Lee Joon gi’s appearance in the Japanese movie with actress Aoi Miyazaki in Virgin Snow ), it isn’t a theme or relationship which is often tackled or centralised in many typical Asian dramas. Respectfully a lot of this can be to do with natural cultural differences and language differences between the two countries, and in My Secret Star there is the evident problem of Chi Mai and JIN’s words being lost in translation without Mai’s earphones which help to translate their conversations back and forth. On the other hand, My Secret Star was severely flawed by the aspect of story -writing and pacing. Although the show was very short, there was little to actually develop or process the relationship between our main leads. Undeniably the main focus of the show was the supernatural element of JIN transforming into a young child when someone makes physical contact with him. In a typical cliche manner, JIN naturally discovers that he is immune to Chi Mai’s touch leading the two to spending more time together. This is certainly a sweet element to show within the portrayal of their relationship, however, after the few early episodes of My Secret Star, this supernatural element is nearly drawn out the picture entirely and by the ending of the drama, it’s magically “ solved” without rhyme nor reason . It isn’t necessarily that this aspect of the show shouldn’t have been included, however, it was a strange move by the scriptwriters not to symbiotically use this as a plot device within portraying the development between the leads and challenges which allow them to grow closer in later episodes. In addition to this , despite JIN and Chi Mai’s status as an international couple, there were few culture shocks or differences between the two leads as well as general intrigue other one another’s country at all within the show. It is of course certainly not a necessary aspect to beat genuine romantic feelings, however, if a show is trying to tackle a relationship where both parties are from different countries and speak different languages, there is the natural element of wanting to learn more about someone’s background. This is hardly shown in the drama and whilst JIN reveals a little bit and his past and resentments towards becoming famous, there’s little explanation or actual drive as to why Chi Mai wanted to become a reporter even through revelations of her childhood . Overall My Secret Star wasn’t a show which was incredibly dire, however, poor story writing , characterisation , outfits ( particularly the Korean misrepresentation of the “ gay” fashionista ) and an inaccurate representation of international relationships, made the show incredibly cliche and a waste of time.

Two young men with opposite personalities sparked love and growth in each other’s lives. STORY Coming from Korea, I already expected it to have a seemingly interesting and unique plot. The story beautifully portrays a growing relationship between two young men with completely different careers. Their opposite personalities added depth to their characters, and I love how they helped each other develop. I would also mention how I really liked that they added a character that depicts a “confident gay” as I may say without hesitations or whatsoever when it comes to what he truly likes (no more “I do not like men, I only like him” lines which irritate me, I guess haha). It felt like they were existing in a world where homophobia does not exist, and they just took everything casually. The story also shows a glimpse of the entertainment/showbiz industry. The struggles of living a normal life as an actor and the realities of the controversies they get involved in. Also shows how media can be deceiving, and how it affects the lives of celebrities. I really find the story cute and full of fluff with the continuous engagement of the couple. Their interactions made me want to fall in love again, and how they managed to make each other a better person. The pacing is beautifully done, and I love how things are not rushed nor too slow for this drama. They are taking their time and there is something within the story that makes it feel comforting. The ending was great and sweet I really wish there was more. And what I think the edge of this drama compared to other recent Korean ones was the pacing, I do not feel that the ending was rushed. Everything was explained correctly and most of the things were settled at the end. Their story makes me want to watch more episodes but sadly, it’s only 9 episodes that are roughly 10-15 minutes long. ACTING In terms of acting, I would say that they really act natural around each other. I love their chemistry and the cast did a great job portraying their own characters. It does not feel forced and awkward at all. They’ve done it well especially the main couple because every time they have cute little interactions, I would quickly smile knowing how comfortable they are with each other. CINEMATOGRAPHY Since this is from Korea, I do not have issues with the cinematography as it is a lot better than the ones I previously watched from Thailand. In comparison, the production value of this drama is good and met the standards of the recent Korean BL dramas I’ve seen before. MUSIC The music is okay for me, I wish there were more songs in the drama but the ones used really suit the atmosphere of the scene. Overall, this drama is very good in my opinion and probably my favourite among the recent ones that Korea has produced (Color Rush, WYEL, Mr Heart, Wish You). I fell in love with the cuteness of the plot and I really wish it was longer. Nonetheless, this is good and it made it into my favourites.

This is the kind of drama you watch strictly to get a your romance fix! If you're not a romcom fan then don't even bother with this one, but If you are a a fan this could be worth watching if you keep your expectations realistic. This one is like a romcom snack. There are enough likable characters, cute moments, and a decent enough story to keep it entertaining, but there isn't really much substance. What really matters is that the 2 leads make a good pair, and that's what kept me watching. Song Ji Eun is cute as the shy and repressed Yoo Mi, and Sung Hoon is perfect as the "sexy and he knows it" typical spoiled chaebol's son Cha Jin Wook. Of course their paths keep crossing in the expected ways, and their chemistry goes from annoyance to playfulness and then escalating quickly... VERY quickly. I think that's what initially got me hooked. Still, it was obvious pretty early on that there wouldn't be much to this story. As cute as they were as a couple this love story got repetitive pretty quickly, and towards the end was so unrealistic and overly cheesy that I stopped being interested in them at all. Their inner monologues tried so hard to be deep but they seemed really shallow, and the stakes just didn't seem as high as their reactions made them out to be. The more dramatic it got the worst their acting got. I think the drama did have some entertaining supporting characters. I enjoyed the mom, even if she was a frustrating mess, and Nam Ki Ae is always good at playing a mess of a mother. I liked the second lead, although he didn't have much of a story to work with. My favorite was the Secretary, who's suits made him an instant scene stealer, and his boo in the kitchen staff. The supporting cast helped to make some of the most repetitive moments easier to sit through. Even though this drama is shorter than most, I still think it was too long. It could have easily been 10 episodes, or maybe even less. I still found myself eager to watch more moments between the two characters, but in the last episodes it was like they just gave up and started to rely on flashbacks! Ugh! The flashback abuse in this drama is pretty epic. Not only does every episode end with recaps that were super literal, extra cheesy, and felt completely unnecessary, but the final episodes almost seemed like music videos strung together with fan compilations of all the cutest scenes. The last 4 episodes are almost unwatchable because it was mostly everything I already saw. They repeated scenes so much that they lost all of their previous charm, including the kiss scenes. The music is also super cheesy, which matched the show well, but it was driving me a little nutty. There was even a moment where Yoo Mi sings for so long I though it was turning into a musical. So I give the music a 4 for simply not being my taste. Not to mention the damn sound effects. Someone got a little too happy with the sound effects machine! Would I watch this again? Maybe. I would probably skip the last episodes 10-12, but it's entertaining enough to watch if I need another quick romcom fix. The ending is such a let down, so I'd really have to have run out of other things to watch. Overall this is a quick romcom you can easily binge watch, but I say keep your finger on the fast forward button for those repetitive flashbacks. If the idea of literally falling into someone's arms sounds too corny, or if a boss using abuse of power to flirt with an employee sounds like a reason to visit HR not a premise for a love story, then maybe you should watch a different kind of drama instead. I really wish they would have put more effort into the story, but for what it was, I was entertained enough to keep watching. For those not scared away by these mediocre reviews I'd say lower your expectations, and enjoy this cheesy romcom snack. (get it... she makes food :( sorry! )