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Wish Upon a Star: Episode 5

All right, all right, so I lied (twice). I honestly didn’t think I’d feel compelled to continue recapping this drama, and I expected youth hit God of Study and/or light-n-sweet Pasta to trump the good-natured Wish Upon a Star. But those other two have started lagging while my interest in this one keeps building, so the decision comes pretty naturally.

SONG OF THE DAY

Ivy – “안돼요” (It can’t be) (Doesn’t this intro remind you of “Lovefool”?) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 5 RECAP

Pal-gang’s siblings watch the baby while she goes out for her second job, not knowing she was fired from her first with the insurance company.

When Jun-ha drops by the basement room to see the kids tending baby Nam, he hears that Pal-gang took a night job cleaning saunas. This weighs on his conscience, because he feels bad for her plight. And that’s without even knowing the truth — that she is a new hostess at a fancy bar.

(Note: You’ll see hostess bars regularly in Korean dramas, so they may require a bit of explanation. Hostesses and bar girls aren’t prostitutes, but they do get a lot of scorn as being a “dirty” profession. Some bars, generally the lower-end ones, do conflate hostessing with prostitution, but it’s not the same thing. Pal-gang is working at a pretty fancy bar, which has a strict policy of not allowing their girls to leave with the clients, although they can exchange numbers and date outside of work if they want.

A bar girl’s job shares similarities with the old-school geisha or gisaeng — they sit with men, flirt with them, and generally liven up the atmosphere. The reason this is a last resort for many women is because despite the hit to one’s reputation, it brings in money fast, in addition to liberal tips from their rich clientele. There’s no direct equivalent in the West for how Koreans view bar girls, but I’d say it’s somewhere between a Hooters waitress and an exotic dancer/stripper. Those don’t involve sex, but often come with stigmas.)

Pal-gang feels some shame at her choice, but at least the money is soothing. After work, she looks at her pay and figures that in the next six days, she’ll be able to make enough to put them up at a motel for a while. She stops by a convenience store to sober up (a bar girl’s job description generally requires drinking with the men) and douse herself in mouthwash to cover the smell.

When she gets home, rather than go to bed, she starts making breakfast, afraid that she won’t be able to wake up if she goes to sleep. Jun-ha comes into the kitchen early in the morning (before 5am) and finds her dozing. With concern, he asks if she can handle a night job while being their maid and still going to work. Pal-gang is surprised that he hasn’t heard: she was fired. She asks him to keep this from her siblings, and this news upsets him even more.

Left at home for the day, the kids clean the house and brainstorm for ways to keep from getting kicked out. Younger sister Cho-rok says Pal-gang should marry Tae-kyu, which the others shoot down immediately. He isn’t called “ddorai” (wacko) for nothing, you know. Cho-rok stands her ground, saying he just seems that way, but he actually has the best heart of all the men. Plus, his parents live in America, so if they marry, maybe they’ll get to move to the States!

Older sister No-rang prefers Jun-ha, because he’s nice and looks at them with sympathy. Eldest brother Ju-hwang is the one with the most sense, saying they’re totally jumping the gun.

Pal-gang spends the day at a sauna, because she doesn’t want her siblings to know she was fired.

Jun-ha comes into work that morning on a mission: He questions Pal-gang’s boss about her firing, and takes up the issue with both Kang-ha and Jae-young. Since Jae-young did the firing, he asks her to reconsider. Coldly, Jae-young answers that Pal-gang is an unneeded employee. She won’t let personal feelings interfere with work.

Jun-ha starts to bring up Pal-gang’s dire circumstances, at which point Kang-ha tells him to give it up. It’s clear that the other two find Jun-ha to be too nice (which is a quality they deem weak); Kang-ha warns him not to interfere in the first place if he’s not going to assume responsibility for her. He calls his brother a character out of a romantic comic book, and that he should know that interfering with someone else’s life will only ruin his own. (This statement alone sheds quite some light on Kang-ha’s character, doesn’t it? It suggests that he’s angry not with Jun-ha’s naivete but rather his own, as though he’d been like that once and gotten burned.)

His reaction infuriates Jun-ha, and when he next runs into Jae-young, he says sarcastically that she should marry Kang-ha after all, since they’re made for each other. Go Jun-ha!

That night, Pal-gang has to rid herself of Tae-kyu, who has cheerfully announced he will help her with her cleaning job. Insisting that he will be more helpful to her watching over the kids, she leaves them at home, and goes out to the bar again.

As she’s called out to a guest’s room, the bar madam takes Pal-gang aside. She guesses that Mimi is a fake name, and hones in on Pal-gang’s attitude of shame/superiority. The madam warns her not to look down on this profession — does she think she’s better than the other girls? Pal-gang is chastened by this reminder not to think herself “above” this job, then heads to meet her patrons.

Mid-introduction, she recognizes one of the men in the room: It’s Kang-ha, here with In-gu (Chairman Jung’s son), having come together after a trying day at the hospital. Pal-gang immediately averts her eyes and they pretend they don’t know each other, although the atmosphere is strained. Pal-gang is visibly discomfited by In-gu’s skeevy ajusshi moves, and forces herself to try to be personable. Kang-ha looks (ever so slightly) uncomfortable, though he doesn’t say anything.

Things worsen when the third member of their party joins them: Jun-ha.

Outside in the hall, Jun-ha challenges his brother — is he just going to close his eyes to this? Pal-gang had a crush on him for five years, so he could at least scold her for her choice, telling her not to resort to hostessing. (He means that if Kang-ha says something, he will have some influence over her.) Kang-ha is almost offended by that suggestion: “And why would I? SHE chose this herself.” Jun-ha points out that he had pushed her this far.

Kang-ha: “If we let her stay with us, do you think her life would change?”
Jun-ha: “I’m just saying to give her a small opportunity. Just a small one!”
Kang-ha: “Opportunities aren’t given, they’re something you make for yourself.”
Jun-ha: “She has no chance to make opportunities!”
Kang-ha: “Then she shouldn’t have lived like that!”

The last line he says with particular contempt.

At the end of the night, Jun-ha hangs behind to have a word with Pal-gang. Kang-ha is surprised, but merely shoots Pal-gang a look and goes. With Jun-ha, Pal-gang maintains a cool, detached tone, while he speaks to her in frustration:

Jun-ha: “Don’t you know you’re living recklessly?”
Pal-gang: “I know.”
Jun-ha: “Even though you know…”
Pal-gang: “So what if I do? Isn’t it enough to survive? I decided to only worry about that — surviving no matter what.”
Jun-ha: “Survive no matter what? Look here, Jin Pal-gang. Don’t you think you’ve entered this path too easily? That you chose the easy way out?”
Pal-gang: “Staying here with you means I lose opportunities to earn tips. I’m someone who needs every penny.”

With that, Pal-gang leaves, but she isn’t as impervious to his words as she pretended. On her way home, she tries to convince herself of her choice — who knows, she may have found something she’s actually good at. It’s better than working at the company where her nickname is “있으나마나 미스 진,” which means, “The Miss Jin who may as well not be here” or “Miss Jin who’s just as useful here or not.” She even starts to calculate for the future — as a hostess, she could earn an apartment deposit and put her siblings through school. So what if people sneer at her? As long as the kids don’t know, she can do it.

For all Kang-ha’s stoicism at the bar, once he’s home, his reaction points to some stirrings of sympathy deep (deep, deep) down, which I’m sure he’d really rather not be bothered with. But remembering how she shrank away from In-gu and looked uncomfortable, Kang-ha wrenches off his necktie and scowls.

Jun-ha confronts Pal-gang as she comes home, trying to get through to her again. Can she really do this, without regrets? “Even if you’re in a tight spot, there are things you can do and things you shouldn’t.” It seems the madam’s admonitions have bolstered Pal-gang’s defense, because she asks, what does it matter? She’s doing this to live, to feed her siblings. Jun-ha asks, “Do you think your siblings are going to thank you for raising them while being a hostess?” Pal-gang answers, “I don’t expect thanks. As long as we survive, that’s enough.”

But she hasn’t seen Ju-hwang stepping outside to overhear the last part, who says in a hard voice, “I won’t say thank you, and I don’t want to live like that! We’ll go to the orphanage.” Heading inside, he rouses his siblings from sleep, ordering them to hurry up and pack.

Pal-gang defends herself — she has no skills and she’s not smart, so she’s doing what she can to earn money! Ju-hwang fires back, “I don’t want to stay in a motel with money you earned at a bar!” Groggy and alarmed, the younger kids ask if she’s become a bar girl now, understanding, “But that’s a bad thing.”

Pal-gang: “I’m not ashamed of anything. No matter what the world says, I’m not the least bit ashamed. I’m doing this to survive, so if they’re going to point fingers, let them.”
Ju-hwang: “It’s not because I’m ashamed of you — it’s because I’m ashamed of us for making you into that!”

On the verge of tears, Ju-hwang leaves the house. Jun-ha and Tae-kyu have overheard the argument, and as Kang-ha joins them, Jun-ha asks caustically, “What are you standing there for? It must be annoying for you.”

Tae-kyu follows the boy outside, finding him sitting on a bench, and asks if Ju-hwang really intends to go to the orphanage. Ju-hwang answers, “It’s better than ruining her life.” Tae-kyu asks, “Without you guys, do you think your sister will be able to live happily?”

When Ju-hwang returns home, he tells Pal-gang they’ll leave tomorrow, and asks her to take them to the orphanage. Pal-gang sits in a dull daze, making a promise:

Pal-gang: “If I make you feel ashamed again, then I’ll take you to the orphanage. So until then, don’t talk about things like that, you jerk.”
Ju-hwang: “It’s only temporarily. Just for now — we have no other way. Even if you work to get money for a motel, you know we’ll be kicked out. You know that there’s no motel that will take us. At the orphanage, I’ll take good care of the kids. So when your situation improves, come get us. We’ll be fine until then.”
Pal-gang: “It’s because I’m not confident I can do it. If we’re separated, I’m afraid I won’t get you back. You know how I’m rude and selfish. If I start feeling that my life is easier without you, I’m afraid I won’t come get you. If you don’t want to turn me into a good-for-nothing, just live.”

Thankfully, the mood lightens in the morning as Pal-gang continues her maid duties. Kang-ha is unsettled to see her in his room — which is totally just another excuse to give us topless Kim Ji-hoon. (Not that I’m complaining; just pointing out that this drama is making sure we get plenty of opportunities to glimpse him without a shirt on. I knew I liked this show for a reason.)

Pal-gang has decided that since she’s going to be kicked out anyway, she’s going to clean on her terms. She assures him she’s not mooning over him — she thoroughly regrets wasting her time and money chasing after him, since if she’d come to her senses earlier, she wouldn’t have gone into card debt trying to look pretty for his benefit. Kang-ha is confused at her attitude change; she’s matter-of-fact and blunt, even insisting he sit down for breakfast.

(Pal-gang has finally mastered the art of cooking the rice to Kang-ha’s liking — her breakfasts are very, very slowly improving — although she has paid so much attention to the rice that nothing else is quite satisfactory.)

Despite her earlier bravado, Pal-gang has been influenced by the reactions of Jun-ha and Ju-hwang, so she goes back to the JK office that morning and boldly starts working as an assistant. Everyone eyes her curiously and her former supervisor ignores her, figuring she will get the message and quit sooner or later.

The boss asks what she’s doing here, and Pal-gang gets on her knees. She admits that she has never once envied her boss’s skills, or the care she put into her work. In fact, she had ridiculed her mentally — she’d thought that a woman just needs to meet the right man to have a good life, so the boss was sad for being an aging spinster. “I’ve committed an unforgivable sin. I’ve been regretting it tremendously. So please, help me. I have five siblings, and we have to survive. Please teach me how to become like you.”

The boss isn’t without sympathy, but she tells Pal-gang that it won’t work. Pal-gang begs, insisting that she will change. She’s not the same Miss Jin she used to be. Her boss says, “You see your clients as your income source. Do you think they don’t know that?”

The boss walks away, but Pal-gang remains kneeling in the office, unmoving, all day long. Gossip spreads through the office, so Jin-ju and Eun-mal rush to her side to urge her to give up — this isn’t the right way to cling to her job. They try to take the baby off her back, but Pal-gang resists: “The kid has to know too, that life isn’t easy. That way, he won’t become like me.”

The Won brothers and the hateful Jae-young also hear about Pal-gang’s efforts, and while Jae-young laughs it off, both brothers are disturbed. Jun-ha walks by, feeling bad to see her kneeling with difficulty, but as he steps toward her, he remembers Kang-ha’s warning not to interfere if he’s not ready to take responsibility for her.

At the end of the day, he gets into the elevator next to her, though she doesn’t even notice — she’s exhausted after spending the entire day in that position. On the upside, her efforts have paid off — her boss has told her to show up tomorrow. For what, it’s unclear, but it’s better than a dismissal.

Pal-gang rests on a bench on her way home, and when Nam gurgles a few syllables, she unlatches him from her back and asks him what he’s saying. The baby points up at the sky and repeats his gurgling, and finally she understands: “Mom, Nami said the word ‘mom’ and then ‘star’! He hasn’t said Mom since you went to heaven, but he must know you turned into a star.” She promises him, “I’ll pick that star for you.”

(And there we have our literal title — Pick the Stars.)

 
OTHER PLOTLINES

My caveat for continuing with Wish Upon a Star is that I’m pretty much going to skip over the Jung family parts. I know the story will have to be mentioned since it’ll grow in prominence as we get further along, so I can’t discount the scenes entirely. But for now, they’re getting shoved off to the side. Also, I hate Jae-young.

Grandpa/Chairman Jung still suffers from selective amnesia, which is frustrating to his family, particularly long-suffering son In-gu. The old man keeps asking for his eldest son, wondering why he isn’t coming to see him. The doctor explains that he’s reverted to the time he most wants to remember, which is before his first son died. As a result, he thinks it’s 25 years ago and doesn’t recognize Jae-young as his granddaughter. In-gu is frustrated (hence the night of drinking with the boys), but Min-kyung shrewdly points out that this is good for them. As long as he lives out his life with this amnesia, their inheritance is safe, since he won’t remember his hospital plans either.

 
COMMENTS

I appreciate that the drama has purposely made Kang-ha unlikable, so that we can have some fun spotting the tiny cracks that appear in his cold demeanor. There were a few teeny signs earlier, but this is the first episode where it becomes really apparent that Pal-gang bothers him more than he wants to admit. Not enough to do anything about it, but enough to sour his mood, which I enjoy seeing. I still don’t feel the pull that they should be together, but part of my fun is in watching how this will unfold, because I’m pretty confident that it’ll work out in the end.

Meanwhile, it’s still Shin Dong-wook’s time to shine. I wonder if they face some unforeseen difficulties with how appealing he is, because he’s supposed to be sort of a pushover. Kang-ha is an asshole with charisma, and Jun-ha is a nice guy without much of a presence (supposedly). Yet Shin Dong-wook does have presence, and he comes across as far from weak. Nice, yes, but not powerless. When he tells Jae-young that she and Jun-ha were made for each other, I just about cheered, because it’s true, and it also indicates that his feelings for her are at an end (or soon will be).

Speaking of whom, I don’t know why they cast that actress (Chae Young-in of Terroir, Wife’s Temptation) because she brings absolutely nothing positive to that role. I know she’s the second lead and we’re not supposed to root for her, but my favorite love triangles (rectangles) are the ones in which all the feelings are credible and all the characters likable in their own ways. With Jae-young, I don’t feel any sort of appeal — she not only is unlikable as a character, the actress doesn’t have much presence, either. It’s hard to believe she’d be an adequate rival for Pal-gang, who may be flawed but is also very lively, upbeat, and caring.

Also, Tae-kyu continues to be hilarious and sweet. Aside from the Jung family, this has a pretty nice cast.

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yooooo hoooooo!!! thank you thank you thank you for the recap!! you can keep lying about not continuing the recap, we don't mind :)

off to read now!

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thanks !
your recaps are greatt

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hahahahhaha! "you lied" hahahah! this does seem quite enjoyable - no surprise you continue to recap this one!

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I don';t like the second female lead either. She's a total turn off for me. I wish it's was someone else playing her part. So glad you're recapping this drama. Love Kim Ji-hoon and Shin Dong-wook. Eye candy. hehehe

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Im happy to see you continuing the recaps.
I absolutely LOVE this drama! Im watching most of the dramas that are airing currently throughout the week but this is the only one where I wait in anticipation for the next episodes. For me it just keeps getting better and better!

Im enjoying how Kang Ha's slowly becoming receptive towards Pal Gang.
What I love about this too is that we see BOTH male and female transitioning into 'better' people.
Usually in romantic dramas its one person that goes through a personality change so to speak. But here they're both flawed and I cant wait to see them becoming better people.

And not to mention the kids are sooo adorable! They're a talented bunch for sure.
As for the rest of the characters Im pretty much enjoying everyone minus the 2nd female lead. She's drab.

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The drama is nothing to write home about but I like the leading lady. She reminds me of leading ladies from old Italian and French films. Like a fav' leading lady from a Fellini film.

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the kids are the biggest draw for me. they're adorable and are really good actors. ok, baby nami's not really acting but he's so cute.

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Yes! I had a feeling you'd recap the next episode because the drama gets better and better. I hope you continue.

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Thank you for the recap. I have a suggestion, why don't you just continue recapping this drama? I think alot of people wouldn't mind at all, including me! :-)

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this is the ONLY recap I have read for this drama mainly because it did not appeal to me. But this recap has piqued my curiosity and now I want to watch the drama from the beginning..

Thanks! ^^

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Yeee haah! *does the happy dance around her bedroom*

I totally second Lei, and about this episode:

- I want Tae-kyu's Elmo sweater!

- Ju-hwang's sarcasm is far too sharp for his age, especially with the rice cakes line.

- Mmm... nice bod Kang-ha!

- SDW's Jun-ha is on faaaiyah! Totally agree with JB - he (SDW) ain't no pushover, I can also understand his apprehension at not trying to help her so eagerly, I have a feeling it's his respect for PG and a quiet way of encouraging her, so much more than his brother's warning. (Hah! Eat that Jae Young!)

- That last scene made me cry more than ever, when Nami speaks while pointing star-wards and she promises to pick that star for him. *Sob*

- Oh no! I could feel her humiliation emanating from my screen. The humiliation of being caught as a hostess by the brothers, poor girl! That was a pretty instense scene imo, Kang-ha was definitely affected, both the Wons looked so peed off! You just tell by their faces when at the bar and I realise that after Jun-ha's first attempt trying to drill sense into Pal-gang that it's the first time she breaks down and sobs. Not just the misty eyed stuff she does consistently but actually CRY, even though she quickly regains her composure since she's still working.
and EEE YAK!! That ahjusshi was her real life uncle.

All in all great episode, as was no. 6.

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I see you added many shots of Shin Dong-wook who I find adorable, let's get them while we can. I'm sure the story will soon focus on Kim Ji-hoon. :)

Love the drama for the children, they are adorable.

Thanks for the recap, it is lovely as usual.

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JB, thank you so much for continuing to recap Wish Upon A Star. It has been a pleasant surprise.

Kang-ha is a rich lawyer but why doesn't he buy a rice cooker? And, yes, people it is hard to cook rice perfectly without a cooker but it is possible. I too have gone through many burnt rice during my first year at college without a rice cooker and without my mother.

Tae-kyu has really grown on me. His devotion to Pal-gang and her siblings is really touching.

I agree with you JB, I don't find Jae-young very appealing. She seems very dull and for some reason, I keep staring at her weird lips.

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Thank you so much for the recap! Episode 5 was awesome, especially the scene with Palgang and Juhwang over the hostess issue. And you had just made me relive it again. Pal-gang and the kids totally steal the show! Even if Kim Ji Hoon and Shin Dong-wook only appear for 5 minutes out of the entire hour, I would still love it.

I agree with you abt the actress who plays Jaeyoung. She does not invoke even a smidgen of sympathy or understanding from me. I can't understand how Junha fell for her. Even when Kangha was being an ass, there would be a flash of feeling for Pal-gang's plight in his eyes. I totally cheered when Junha told Jaeyoung that she and Kangha should just marry each other cuz they were both being so cruel.

What has been niggling at the back of my mind is how Junha and Kangha visit hostess bars. Why not a regular bar? Granted they visited with that evil man....but Junha had visited once before by himself and who is to say that Kangha may not also visit every now and then.

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I's soooo glad you decided to recap this series. To be honest, out of all the new drama you were thinking of recapping, I had hope you would stick with this one. God of Study didn't really hook me, though I am a Yoo Seung-ho fan and Pasta was meh (probably bc I had to no subtitles to understand it). All in all, thank goodness you decided to recap this drama!!! Thank you, I hope you'll get as hooked as I am =]

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Haha, I usually fast-foward through the Jung family bits too. I like Grandpa, so I watch the scenes where it's just him, but I don't care about any of the others. What gets me about Jaeyoung, though, is that I thought she was really pretty in Terroir, so it kills me how terrible her hair is here. I don't particularly like the character (okay, not at all), but they could have at least made her prettier..

Other than the Jungs, this show is much better than I initially thought it would be.. I won't blame you if you decide (again ;)) to stop recapping, but I'm going to keep watching until the end.

And shirtless KJH is such a nice bonus. I'd still be watching even without it, but he's just such delicious eyecandy that I sometimes watch those scenes over and over again. XD

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THANK YOU THANK YOU for the recaps JB This one is becoming one of my favorite series at the moment it's getting better and better and I love the whole cast I am getting the same satisfied feeling that i used to get when i watched YB.

Thanks again you do a great job on all your recaps by the way.

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@13 Penn. I wondered abt the lack of rice cooker too! I know i've seen a few other scenes in asian dramas where the rich and even the middling-income family don't have rice cookers. Is it a cultural thing? And I also vaguely remember a friend's family having cooked rice in a pot too instead of a rice cooker and they weren't poor or anything. Maybe rice tastes better from a pot?

But then again, even if Kangha had a rice cooker, Pal-gang would still have messed up the rice by adding too little or too much water with the rice. One time I forgot to add water after I had washed the rice and the result wasn't good at all.

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Hi JB,

While I'd be happy and grateful to read any drama recaps that you choose to do, I'm particularly glad that you've chosen to continue recapping this one. I started watching this, while awaiting ViiKii's late February release of "Pasta", and I'm really enjoying it.

I completely agree with you about the actress playing Jae-young. Jae-young hasn't just been completely unlikeable; the actress makes the character flat, boring, and unconvincing.

And, while I initially also found Kang-ha's character to be completely unlikeable(and a complete a-hole), I agree that it's proven to be a good thing...as it makes watching the tiny glimpses of humanity breaking through his hard shell all the more fun. And, even though he's been a total jerk, up to this point, his character is so dynamic that you don't want to take your eyes off him or miss a word that he says.

Pal-gang and her three oldest siblings? Absolute pleasure to watch. And Pal-gang's eyes are so full of expression, that just watching them will fill your heart with every emotion that her character is feeling at any given scene. Choi Jung-won has been wonderful...proving that she is capable of being the heart of this entertaining drama...and carrying a fair chunk of it on her shoulders.

Thanks again, JB! =)

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yay! i hope you'll continue recapping this series, JB! i was hoping you would recap Pasta too but Wish Upon a Star is just as good.

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su-pah, i want that sweater too!

penn, you are right about the rice cooker. why don't they buy one? it's not like they can't afford it :)

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Thanks for the recap Dramabeans :)

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Yay! I'm glad you're recapping this series. It's so fun and enjoyable, mixing comedy with touching moments. I agree with everyone Kang Ha-whoa! he's hot! Jun ha- nice and caring without being icky sticky sweet. Jae young- totally ssa ga gi ub suh.
And in episode 6 we start seeing more developments that Kang ha is slowly being affected by Pal gang. Can't wait to watch more :)

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JB..You are awesome! Thanks for your hard work, from all the new series this is the one I like the most, the leading Lady and the kids are what makes this drama so enjoyable, I hope you can continue recap this show, Thank you again for your hard work.... :~)

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Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I'm so ever grateful that you decided to continue recapping this drama. i really look forward to it every week and episode 6 was even better than this one.

You're totally right about Jae Young - her character honestly brings nothing to the drama and it's really hard convincing the viewers that Jun-Ha is actually carrying a torch for her? With her type of personality, I think it'll be hard for any type of guy to like her! Jun-ha and Pal Gang actually seem to have a lot of chemistry together and he seems to care a lot more for her.

Kang-ha's character grows more upon me in episode 6 and he doesn't come across so much as a heartless man. Like you said, cracks are starting to appear. I'm still really curious about his history with the woman he thought he recognized in the earlier episode. Ex-girlfriend whom he loved and subsequently left him? If that's the case, it seems she would make better competition compared to Jae Young for his affections.

Anyway, please continue with your recaps for this drama! I and everyone else hooked on this drama will hope you continue to "lie" about recapping until the very last episode! :)

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@ asianromance: I don't know if it's a cultural thing because I am asian. Before the 90's, my mother would always cook rice in the pot. Now, we can't live without it. It's just convenience really. I'm proud to say that if my cooker dies, I'll know how to cook rice.

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I was watching Pasta, but I feel more drawn to this as well.. even though it's a tale as old as time. Every episode has at least one good tearjerker monologue for the kid actors to shine, even though they hit it out of the park in most of their scenes. What really gets me laughing is some of the crazy expressions of Kang-ha. Jae-young is boring and needs to get her shoes thrown or something to push her to an extreme (at this point she can't be likable so I want more evil)

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May it's me but rice that has been cook in a proper pot whether a thick @ 1/8 to 1/4 aluminum or a clay pot the taste will be very different than a cheap rice cooker with a coat of PTFE (Teflon) maybe I am just to picky about rice, but there is definitely a difference in taste, but than I may be wrong!.... : o )

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I so root for Shin Dong-wook!! (I am a bit bias, I have to admit, since I love the actor) he is so much more likable and really, he has presence. is it possible for the main girl to end up with the second lead? I guess no, but right now, Shin Dong-wook's character seems more like the main lead to me....

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I am SOOOOOOOOOO glad that I kept going with this drama because it's getting so good. I agree with you about the whole Jung family plot, I hate all three of the family members, especially Jae-Young. I was so excited to see Shin DongWook in something else, and I think he's chosen a great role that suits him well. It's gonna take a lot of work for the writers AND Kim JiHoon to get me over on the KangHa ship because I absolutely adore JunHa. I can't wait 'til next week's episodes! :D

And a million thanks to you Javabeans, for continuing with your Wish Upon a Star recaps because I get to relive the giddiness I feel while I watch the episodes through reading your recaps. I hope it only gets better from here! :)

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And the winner of JB's Monday's recap war is ???? wait for it - Wish upon the star - YAAAYYY!!! Thank you for recapping this wonderful and fun show. To me the show is about change - Change for PalKang, the 5 kids and the 3 men in the house. We get to see the dynamics in a gradual process especially in the house for that I'm very happy about. With PalKang and the kids living in the house the men are somewhat forced to live in a lively family type atmosphere which will contribute greatly to the changes in all of them. As long as the writers stick to this pace and keep us hooked I'm sure the ratings will continue to increase.

I love this show and watch the episodes at least twice on viikii, tempted to rewatch more its that good.

In terms of Jae Young, I know she is not a likable character but could there be a possibility that instinctively she sees PalKang as a future threat and as such wishes to eliminate her as quickly as possible? This could explain her behavior at the same time she has just alienated all the men, yippee for us. This I think is due to the fact that PalKangt is living with them & they are juuust starting to behave like a family.

Looking forward to more episodes, keep it up everyone.

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thank u so much for recapping. love it. love shin dong wook. Why isn't HE the lead?! Damn it! i just know he's not gonna get the girl n that pisses me off cuz i love him. anyway, guess ill have to deal. grrr

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Yay! So glad you're still recapping this one! I wasn't going to watch this drama, just didn't sound appealing, but I thought, "what the heck, I'll give it a try." I didn't like the first episode much, and really didn't like Pk at all. I just cringed watching her chase after the lawyer. I only watched the 2nd episode out of sheer boredom, and now I'm hooked!
I love watching PKs transformation from selfish airhead to mature, caring sister. Even the arrogant lawyer jerk is showing signs of humanity...but that creates a dilemma for me, cause I'm lovin' SDWs character. Why, oh why do I always root for the 2nd lead nice-guy-who-never-gets-the-girl types?! They always break my heart.

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I love this show... can't wait for the next episode!! I love all the Kang men (the bros and the nephew). I absolutely love the kids...and Pal Kang! I cannot stand the 2nd chick (Pal Kang's cousin) or any of the rest of the family.

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Pasta was the drama I was looking forward to the most this season, but Stars Falling from the Sky/Wish Upon a Star has ended up being my hands-down favorite.

The main leads are wonderful, and it will be fun to watch his attitude slowly change. Like the Grinch, I expect his heart will grow three sizes by the end of the series ^_^ It just gets better as it goes along. The kids are wonderful actors, too.

As for Jae Young, without even considering at her mean personality, I didn't like her just because of her hair. It reminds me of Sun Ah's hair in Don't Hesitate. That must be the default 'bitch' hairstyle :)

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So glad I'm not the only one who finds the Jae young character completely unappealing in every way. Every time she comes on screen I find myself staring at her face and thinking, "poor girl, is her flat performance due to plastic surgery gone horribly wrong or is it just bad acting?" I find it very distracting.. I usually have to rewatch her parts to catch her dialogue because I've missed it the first time around. It's kinda like driving past an accident, you know you shouldn't stare, but you can't help it.

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ha..ha..ha.. there you go again, javabeans
now you make us want to see this drama too......

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Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for lying!!! I'm delighted that you're going to continue to recap Wish Upon a Star (at least for now!) especially since it was your recaps that got me hooked on this series in the first place!

I liked the cracks in Kang-ha facade, even if they were mostly internal at this point. But I think may favorite bit was when Pal-gang woke him up so she could clean his room. He was totally disconcerted and the more apparent it was that Pal-gang honestly didn't care that he was shirtless, the more disconcerted Kang-ha seemed to be. (There's also the fact that she was standing up to him, but I have a feeling it was more about how she just didn't care.)

But my favorite moment had to be Pal-gang's interaction with her siblings. Ju-hwang very nearly made me cry with his "I'm ashamed we turned you into that." Forget the love story with Kang-ha or Jun-ha. It her bond with her siblings that has me tuning in. I love how each episode forces Pal-gang to grow a little more without it feeling like the lesson of the week. Instead it's an organic and natural progression. So you've figured out that you will do anything for your siblings, now you must learn to put there well-being before your own without shame. You've learned to do what you have to do without shame, now you must learn how to take the more difficult path and serve as a good role model. One of my favorite sayings is "they keep moving the goalposts" and it definitely applies here. I love seeing Pal-gang rise to the challenge.

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Pal-gang: “I’m not ashamed of anything. No matter what the world says, I’m not the least bit ashamed. I’m doing this to survive, so if they’re going to point fingers, let them.”
Ju-hwang: “It’s not because I’m ashamed of you — it’s because I’m ashamed of us for making you into that!”

There were many good moments in this episode...but it was this exchange, between Pal-gang and Ju-hwang, that really caused a lump to form in my throat....

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On the rice cooker thing, my family (we're asian) didn't cook rice in a rice cooker until recently.. and even now we don't use the rice cooker often. Rice really isn't hard to make in a pot unless you are super picky about varying textures then it takes a bit more maneuvering and practice!!

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I KNEW you'd continue recapping. I watched this episode and thought, that was really good. I don't think javabeans will be able to resist.

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Yay you recapped this episode!

Between the 4 dramas that show on this time slot, this is the only one that has really started to grow on me. GofS is too predictable for my taste, and while I love Pasta, I skip through it for the the lead couple.

I didn't think I'd love this drama so much but I'm really enjoying it. Kang Ha's slits of humanity make it fun to watch him. TaeKyu is adorable and heartwarming and JunHa really does shine. Like you said Jae Young, I can't stand! And the family plot line is going to stay pretty uninteresting for now.

But thanks for the recap! I really do enjoy reading your thoughts on these dramas:)

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Thank you so very much for deciding to keep recapping this show. I'm sure that everyone appreciates you doing this.

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Can you say you're not recapping God of Study and then recap it too?!! hehe, I mean, you can skip over the boring or un-needed plot lines in there as well?!!! Okay, I thought I'd give it a try at least, haha. Thanks for the recap though Dramabeans!!!! It was a very pleasant surprise.

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If they had cast a different actress, maybe I would care about Jae Young, but this actress totally turns me off every time she shows up. I can't see any reason why the guys would like such a sour puss personality who has no redeeming qualities.
I love my fast forward button so I can skip the Jung family for now.

Tae-kyu is so adorable because he has a crush on his noona and is so eager to please. Also, his interactions with the children is fun and energetic.

I'm sure I'll warm up to Kang Ha once he looses his frosty personality, but for now the gratuitous shirtless scenes provides a lot of eye candy.

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Out of 4 drama on Mon-Tue, this is the one that i follow through...and it keeps getting better and better...Thanks JB for the recaps! Yes, i also get teary when Ju-Hwang said those words...such a nice kid,,,,he seems really take the role of being the oldest son in the family seriously. He`s pretty mature kid for his age...

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That's great news that you'll continue the recaps! Thanks!

I like how Pal Gang is really left to work all out on her own, without (yet) help from a rich prince. I wonder how the writer will make her fall in love again with Kang Ha. As we see Kang Ha is developing feelings slowly, but we see absolutely no more signs from the 5 years crush Pal Gang had. (I loved the shirtless Kang Ha's shy expression while Pal Gang doesn't even blush.)
Shin Dong Wook is yummy.
The kids are cute, my favorite is sleep walking Pa Rang.
And the Jung family is the perfect evil family to hate, excpet the grandpa of course.

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yiheeee!!!!! thanks JB ^^ i never thought i'd love the drama this much ;) i like how the story's going and i like the development of kang ha's character... this is getting more and more exciting to watch.... ^_______________^

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I had no interest to this, but I kept reading your recap - as something to read, like a novel or fanfic, but since you've mentioned you'll gonna continue it, not Pasta, my interest is growing. Actually I like the male casts - Shin Dong Wook and Kim Ji Hoon ( for eyecandies, I'm shallow ), and yet you said that this drama keeps giving you unnecessary topless KJH's scenes, so I decide to download this too! Especially WITHS2 is working on the sub, so yes, I'm in!

Thank you.

( child actors always make me interested. That boy - who plays Ju Hwang - is a good child actor. That's a plus point )

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I'M SO GLAD YOU DECIDED TO RECAP THIS DRAMA! i absolutely LOVE this drama! i understand korean but i read your recaps for your point of view and just in case i missed anything!
Episode 6 is even better than this episode! i can't wait to watch the next one on monday! woohoo!!

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