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Wish Upon a Star: Episodes 1-2

When writing up my first impressions of the new dramas, I had thought Wish Upon a Star would probably be put to the back burner quickly. I liked it, but it seemed pretty ordinary. But Episode 2 was a lot more interesting than Episode 1 and I find that the premise grows more entertaining (and complicated) than it first seemed, so I’m drawn along a little while longer. I still don’t think this is going to be a stunning groundbreaker, but it’s got a good heart, some funny setups, and is very easy to watch.

SONG OF THE DAY

Taru – “Slow Star” [ Download ]

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CHARACTERS

I wrote a general description of the characters in the first impressions post, so you can also refer to that.

JIN PAL-GANG (Choi Jung-won) is the eldest daughter to a loving, large-hearted couple. Her father (who is, as we later learn, her stepfather) runs a hospital that mostly helps the poor, and with his wife, they have adopted four (and a half) children. (I say “half” because the last isn’t officially theirs yet; they’re waiting to adopt the baby, who isn’t pictured above.) Pal-gang is Mom’s only biological child, and the joke is that she can’t be adopted because why would they have chosen such an irresponsible, flighty thing like her? Despite the ribbing, the Jin household is clearly warm and loving, aside from the typical bickering that comes from a close family.

Pal-gang is 25 but her maturity level may as well be in the teens. She works at an insurance company, spends too much money on clothes and has gotten herself into credit card debt. While that’s not too unusual for someone her age, she goes about things immaturely; rather than cutting her spending, she borrows money from friends and continues her spendthrift ways.

However, she justifies it because she believes that she can land her dream guy within the next month — she has been dangling after him for a while, but now she’s going to go after him in earnest and seal the deal. So this is really an investment into getting him, right?

The man of her dreams is WON KANG-HA, the insurance company’s lawyer. He’s far from the perfect guy — he’s cold, he’s rude, he’s snobby — but Pal-gang has built him up in her mind to be perfect. She dreams of him as an idealization more than as a person, so she isn’t fazed when he dismisses her attempts to ingratiate herself to him. In fact, her bold behavior would be embarrassing if she had any shame, but she doesn’t.

 
EPISODES 1-2

Pal-gang is a standard rank and file employee at JK Life Insurance, but harbors no great ambition about the work. Her closest co-worker friend is JIN-JU, a timid 39-year-old spinster who’s the sensible one of the two, but is often a pushover for Pal-gang’s more assertive personality. Jin-ju still lives with her parents and has been warned by her mother not to be friends with Pal-gang anymore, as Pal-gang has a habit of borrowing money from Jin-ju since her credit card was frozen. Without a feasible way of repaying her card debt, Pal-gang runs from the debt collector and strengthens her dream to land her lawyer prince.

She has a habit of loitering around Kang-ha and his younger brother, WON JUN-HA (Shin Dong-wook), the latter of whom also works at JK as a mid-level manager. Both brothers know that Pal-gang’s efforts are in vain but they tend to ignore her; Kang-ha is cold, Jun-ha a little more friendly. Kang-ha’s work requires him to defend the insurance company against claims by its policy holders, such as when a woman’s husband dies, but he keeps his answers clinical and professional — he’s just doing his job so emotions have nothing to do with it.

When Pal-gang overhears them discussing the need to hire a housekeeper, she jumps at the chance. She begs Jun-ha to let her take the job, which he is reluctant to do, not least because she’s a fellow employee. That would be awkward. But Pal-gang assures him that she would be fantastic at the job, and he agrees with some misgivings.

Of course, this is really just her way of pursuing Kang-ha, since this would give her ample opportunity to be near him. In order to prepare for her first day that weekend, she heads over to the hair salon — breaking into her younger brother’s piggy bank to pay for it.

Meanwhile, Pal-gang’s father has a discussion with JUNG GOOK (Lee Soon-jae), who has taken the younger man under his wing. They’ve known each other for thirty years, and the old man is actually the chairman of JK. He’s a common fixture around the Jin household, but they know him as a friendly grandpa rather than as the rich businessman he really is.

Chairman Jung is a man with a good heart, and he has been impressed with the doctor’s dedication to his work, when he could have pursued a more lucrative career. (In fact, he seems to be a natural mentor figure, since he tries to talk to Kang-ha about going into public service as a prosecutor rather than a private company lawyer. Kang-ha answers that a man who isn’t morally upright, such as himself, cannot pursue an upright career.)

The chairman reveals that he’s been watching the doctor for years, and he has finally passed his “test.” He wants to build a free hospital and put him in charge of it, using up all of his wealth to do so. When Pal-gang’s father takes his wife out on a day vacation, he shows her the land and tells her about the chairman’s wishes. But she is unnerved — because it sounds like she knows this man. In fact, his older son, now deceased, was Pal-gang’s father. Dun dun dun! The plot thickens. (Pal-gang’s father had promised to come back for her mother, but never did. When she sought him out, she heard he died in an accident. This means that Grandpa Jung doesn’t know Pal-gang is his granddaughter.)

Now for the JK company cast. The man on the left is Chairman Jung’s younger son (JUNG IN-GU), who has toiled his whole life for his father under the specter of his better, now-dead older brother. He’s timid and nervous, but he can’t take it anymore when his father reveals his plans for the hospital. How can Dad give away his inheritance to some stranger who isn’t even related to them? How can he bypass his hardworking son who slaved for him his whole life? In an emotional confrontation, both men get worked up, and the chairman suffers a heart attack that lands him in the hospital, unconscious.

In-gu feels guilty and afraid, but his wife MIN-KYUNG is a formidable woman. She’s calculating and frightening in a Lady Macbeth sort of way, and coolly counters all of her husband’s conflicted wishes to do the right thing. She considers the chairman’s collapse a good thing — it nullifies his hospital plans. She even tries to get their lawyer, Kang-ha, to reveal the chairman’s will to her, but he refuses.

The Jins hear about the chairman’s collapse and head to the hospital. Their presence endangers In-gu and Min-kyung’s place in the family (and the inheritance), and puts them on edge. So it’s a curious thing that when the two drive home from the hospital, they are tailed by a large truck, and then forcibly driven off the road. The car crashes into a ravine, and explodes.

With their parents suddenly dead, the children are left to fend for themselves. The younger siblings don’t quite understand what’s going on and cry for their parents to return, while the second-oldest, JU-HWANG (Park Ji-bin, another rising child actor) reacts by harshly telling his siblings that they’re not coming back, they’re dead. D-E-A-D!

Pal-gang is hit hard by the disaster, all trace of her former bubbly self gone. She sits in dazed shock throughout the funeral and remains unresponsive. It’s such a huge blow that she cannot pull herself together; it’s all too much to take in. She mumbles that she was a horrible daughter, that she was actually getting her hair done while her parents were dying, like a fool, because she wanted to look pretty for the lawyer. She’s so hard on herself that her friends worry for her.

Things get worse when they come home from the funeral to find that they are being evicted from home. They don’t understand how this can happen, but the man has an official notice showing that the home is going to be demolished. Their belongings are thrown out on the street and they have nowhere to go. (What they don’t realize is that this is the work of Lady Macbeth — Min-kyung — who tells her husband that he shouldn’t feel sorry for the family that was going to steal his inheritance.)

Even worse, it turns out that her parents’ life insurance policy won’t pay them a penny. Her mother had cashed out her policy early to help a poor woman get surgery, and now her generosity has shortchanged her own children. Pal-gang feels betrayed by her mother, then grits her teeth and vows that this makes them even for her being a thoughtless daughter. “I won’t feel sorry anymore,” she says, as she tries to pick up the pieces and figure out what to do.

Pal-gang’s friend Jin-ju can’t put them up because there’s chaos in her own household. Pal-gang then tries to take her family from motel to motel, but they’re kicked out when the baby, Nam (or Nami), keeps crying. She sells a few of her handbags and with less than $50 in her pocket, she takes them to a sauna, where at least they can spend the night.

But the situation is bad, and only growing worse with their meager funds dwindling. As a last resort, Pal-gang heads to a foster home, where she promises to only leave the baby for a few days. Without the baby, at least they’ll be able to find a place to stay. It’ll only be a few days, she promises.

But Ju-hwang is appalled and angry. How could she get rid of Nami like that? He accuses her of being selfish and wanting to get rid of them all. Is she going to leave them behind, too? Fine, he gets it — they’re only her adopted siblings, it’s not like they’re blood related. He says fiercely, “Even if you abandon us, I won’t abandon them.” He orders his sobbing siblings to follow him to the foster home.

I think she does see them as “real” siblings (without that qualifier of “adopted”) and she’s busting her ass to try to keep them fed, so his words sting — but they probably also have a hint of truth, and she cries back defiantly that yeah, she’s selfish! Yeah, she’d like to get rid of them all! But is this how their parents raised them? To rebel against her and turn her into the bad guy? Taking the baby back, she says that she can’t see them disgrace their parents like this, “So I’m going to take you and make people out of you.”

She takes everyone back to the sauna for one last night, and makes her decision, chopping off her hair in a symbolic gesture.

Back to the Won brothers for a moment. Kang-ha and Jun-ha live in a large house, with their 22-year-old nephew TAE-KYU (Lee Kyun). Tae-kyu is irresponsible and immature, and when he throws a party and gets caught, the brothers have enough of his antics. They’re kicking him out. Tae-kyu protests and begs, offering to be their maid so they don’t have to hire outside help, but they’re not inclined to give him yet another chance.

Meanwhile, JUNG JAE-YOUNG arrives in Korea to mix things up with the love rectangle. She is the granddaughter to Chairman Jung and has grown up alongside the Wons, and has always had a crush on Kang-ha. The feelings aren’t reciprocated, but she does have the affections of Jun-ha — which she doesn’t reciprocate.

Pal-gang remembers her promise to be the new maid, and although she missed her first day, she asks Jun-ha for the position again. He first treats her coldly, but when she explains that she couldn’t make it because of her parents’ funeral, he softens and relents.

And so, Pal-gang decides that this is their last shot. She will have to sneak her brothers and sisters into the household to ensure a roof over their heads, and they must remain absolutely silent so they’re not discovered. She manages to sneak in three of them in boxes, but the baby can’t come until late at night after he’s fallen asleep, so she leaves second-eldest Ju-hwang in charge. They’ll sneak him in at night.

She gets them indoors fine, which is aided by the fact that Tae-kyu is the only one home. However, he haaaaaates the sight of Pal-gang, because her very presence endangers his in this house. He thinks that if he can get rid of her, he can stay. Until then, however, he is forced to give up his old room.

Pal-gang is puzzled at his antagonism, but she quickly asserts herself and handles him just fine. It helps that he’s not the most quick-witted, and also, his credit ain’t so good with the brothers right now so they ignore his complaints about the new housekeeper, figuring he’s just being a brat.

Kang-ha is NOT pleased to see her, and orders her out immediately. Jun-ha had made the decision without letting him know who he was hiring, moved by pity. Jun-ha prods his brother to give her a shot, and gives Pal-gang tips on how to satisfy Kang-ha’s super-picky demands. They come to a semi-compromise: the moment he is dissatisfied with her, she’s out.

At least for the moment, the kids are fed and housed. It’ll be a challenge, but as she meets Ju-hwang outside that night (bringing a sleeping Nami back), she tells him, “If we’re kicked out of this house, it’s all over for us.”

 
COMMENTS

Episode 2 was a lot better than Episode 1, which was really just an extended setup. The second episode is really the one that sets the tone for the rest of the series, as Pal-gang enters the household and gets her wild last-ditch scheme going.

I was skeptical to see how the feel-good drama could kill off her parents and recover its upbeat tone right away, but I think they did a decent job of it. They had that moment showing Pal-gang deciding to stop feeling sorry (for herself) and deciding to get on with it, which helped a little. She recognizes that she was a silly fool and admits that she’d lived a pretty carefree, irresponsible life. But I like that she doesn’t wallow in self-recriminations for too long; she’s got five mouths to feed. Six including herself.

That’s part of the fun; we get to watch her try to make her way in the world, and there’s enough sadness to be touching, but it’s not drowning in misery. For instance, after they’re kicked out of the house, a neighborhood ajumma wants to help but she can’t give them money, so she gives Pal-gang two tins of powdered infant formula. At the sauna, a careless man kicks over the tin and scatters a good amount of the formula, and Pal-gang rushes to gather up the precious powder. But an ajumma worker chides her — you can’t feed the baby dirty formula — and throws it away, while Pal-gang looks after it desperately. The emotion is there and it’s this kind of hardship that turns the viewer around from disdaining Pal-gang into feeling for her and hoping she’ll succeed.

I know the symbolic hair-cutting scene is a pretty familiar one so it doesn’t get points for originality, but it is still a nice way to show her turning point. With money running out and no other options, she decides to put the kids first, and the hair-cutting is a nice way of tying in the earlier scene when she stole her sibling’s allowance money to get her hair done. Her days of vanity are over, and as Pal-gang cuts her own hair, she tells herself resolutely, “You’re not a woman anymore. You’re just… a mother.”

When she enters the Won brothers’ house, she guesses that Kang-ha’s opposition is because she had been fawning over him so much. She assures him that if he suspects her of having ulterior motives, he can rest easy. She is here only to be his housekeeper, and has no other thoughts. I wonder if her crush will be renewed upon their proximity in the house, but I’m actually hoping not. It would be really interesting — and more compelling, in my opinion — if she keeps her head down and shows no interest in him, and HE’S the one left dealing with growing romantic attraction.

As for the premise of her sneaking the kids to live at the house? It’s insane, and ridiculous, and therefore I kinda love it. If she were merely bringing herself to the house, I’d gripe that we’ve seen this all before (like with Last Scandal), but with the added burden of five hidden kids? It’s like Bad Family meets Anne Frank meets Full House and how can you not dig that, right? Plus, Lee Kyun is hilarious as the displaced nephew — and can I just say, it’s great seeing him back from the army! (He did his service a little earlier than most entertainers, and I last saw him in Dasepo Naughty Girls and vampire sitcom Hello Franceska.) Funny that he’s only a year younger than Kim Ji-hoon and the same age as Shin Dong-wook, but his feckless character is 11 and 8 years younger than their characters, respectively.

I’m pretty certain I won’t be continuing recaps with this drama, and the reason is that this seems like one of those shows that is a lot of fun if you watch with your finger on the fast-forward button. If I recap, I have to watch every moment closely, and if I did that with Wish Upon A Star I think I’d be likely to grow tired of it and drop it. I do want to continue seeing how things progress, and if I watch casually, I’ll have a better chance at making it through the end.

 
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Oh yay! I watched the first 10 mins of ep 1 and couldn't stand her immaturity and screeching and I knew it was just the setup. I'm glad she grows up due to her sad circumstance while still retaining her spunk. Will give the show a second chance. I really do give up on shows too early >_<

I really do dislike dramas where the girl likes the guy from the beginning and cohabitating but hopefully it won't play out like 'It started with a kiss' (taiwanese drama) which my inner feminist abhors. She was a total doormat for the guy she liked. I couldn't stand it.

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cute!

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I do find this drama quite entertaining. The female lead, i find her more suitable in comedy, I hope she will have more success in the future.

I love Lee Ji Hoon but i wish she would go for Shin Dong WOok. Such a sweetie.

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Thanks once again for another recap, javabeans!

I have watched the first two episodes myself and I found Pal-gang insufferable at first. But after the second episode I understood her character better and I am going to continue to watch. I love the second oldest sibling. He is doing a fantastic job!

Happy watching!

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Thanks javabean. I feel like this will be a drama I can look forward to every week!! ^_^

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Does that mean she will get the Chairman's inheritance? He must know she is his granddaughter. Why would he hang around and see if her stepdad is worthy.

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@Rika,
Chairman Jung doesn't know Pal-gang is his granddaughter. I clarified the relationship in the recap -- Mom and Pal-gang's dad had a relationship and he promised to come back for her, but died. She had been pregnant when she found out the truth but never sought out his family, figuring it was no use, she would raise her child herself. So none of the Jungs know that Pal-gang is related to them.

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Sounds like it could be a hoot !
Hope the story line goes your way.... really quite fun !

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Thank you so much for the recap JB I am interested in this drama but the subs on viikii are to slow. So thank you so much. It looks like a likable show. The first episode was a bit slow but i loved the 2nd.

Sorry to ask this but is there any chance you will be doing recaps for chuno as I cannot watch it anywhere.
Thank you again for all your hard work.

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As always, thanks for the clarifications. I watched the first 2 eps without subs and while I was getting the general gist of it, I didn't pick up on the chairman and parents connection so well so thanks for that.

You are def right about how recaps for this show would prob take the fun out of watching them. This is one of those, enjoy it for its surface goodness type of shows:)

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I'm seeing shades of Shining Inheritance here too. Girl's life falls apart in the first couple of episodes, melodrama ensues with girl learning how to cope. Hiding all those children in the room is a hoot! Like she's gonna get away with that one...

In Gu and Min Kyung are totally like the Middletons from Sense and Sensibility... Selfish to the max. Sounds interesting... I still can't decide which drama to watch yet aside from Smile, You (which is wearing me out).

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ah. Jung In Gu as Uncle Toad from Bad Family. That image of him flicking his tongue still haunts me.

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Thanks for the recap Javabeans, even if you aren't going to continue it. I can understand the whole "one of those shows that is a lot of fun if you watch with your finger on the fast-forward button". That happens to me with a lot of dramas. I'd never be good at recapping a drama because I tend to fast forward through scenes even if they could be good scenes.

I think though I'll hold off on watching it for a bit and maybe hope that she doesn't revert back to the immature, brash character that she was and that I hate.

I have to wonder though if the grandfather is going to find out about her. Why include that little storyline about her mother and birth father if that's not the case? He may not know about her now, but there's no reason that he wouldn't...I just hope he doesn't die (so it doesn't end up as one of those dramas).

Thanks again for the recap!

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Wow, JB...you're cranking them out like a superwoman! :D

The second episode was definitely better than the first, but there were a lot of little details that bothered me (ex. everyone at the sauna thinking Pal Gang was a mother who fought with her husband and telling her to go back home, when it was clear that she was wearing a white ribbon of mourning)...sloppy writing and stuff like that.

I will probably keep on watching this, as long as I can squeeze in the time, but so far, Pasta is much more entertaining. ;)

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Just watched the 2 episodes.. I must say ep 2 was a surprise... I cried a lot but it seems to have a good overall tone. I hope that continues with the rest of the episodes.. can't wait for ep 3 tomorrow!

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thanks JB for the recap. i agree with you that the 2nd episode really made me want to watch ep 3. the drama and comedy was handled very well, and the lead girl nailed it, i like that she has angst. only comment is lead girl looks too old for a 25 year old :) and is the shower scene necessary??? (is this a bonus for us?) and this made me laugh, oh kdramas :D

@reese: i think the grandfather will eventually find that Pal Gang is his grand daughter that is if he will check his voice mail :)

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The first episode didn't grab me at all. Matter of fact, it was a turn-off. However, my standard is to always give a new drama three episodes to strike out.

And, I may not have a decision even after the third episode because this writer takes a few more episodes to get things moving, if s/he is following his/her previous work, i.e. "Family Honor" and "How To Meet a Perfect Neighbor".

Also, s/he seem to like to throw birth secrets and crime, into the mix. I'll continue to give it a try.

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Thanks for the recap, and for a great recap, as usual. I really want to watch this, and will definitely do so now that I've read the recap and I find the story interesting, cute, and definitely my cup of tea. I just hope CJW has good chemistry with KJH the second.

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@ Auntie Mame
Ah...I forgot this was Jung Ji Woo! Then, the writing will probably improve (I hope).

@ ockoala

So far, none to speak of, since most of the interaction was between CJW & SDW...but we'll see how it goes. ;)

BUT, PD-nim...we could seriously do without the ajumma hair on SDW & KJH. Please. ;)

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Lovely recap as usual; just wanted to clarify one point - it was her younger sister's piggy bank she broke into to pay for her new haircut, was it not? Rather confusing since the character was rather androgynous...?

Also, can I please squeal about how much I love Park Ji-bin?? The kid is awesome! If I ever have a child, please let it be him. I'd offer to do the recaps, mostly because I think I'll follow this drama, but I don't do screencaps very well because I usually stream the episodes so...

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whee! shin dong wook finally! i remember the kang ha guy from the golden era of daughter in law. was quite handsome there. but jun ha here steals the show.! =]]

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It sounds interresting. but where can i download it? It seems that aja-aja shut down now, that's where i used to get 450p HAN files in the past.

Any idea?

Help appreciated. I really want to watch this now.

grateful,
fan

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Thanks for this..

The Chairman is one of my favourite KDrama arabojies.. and I missed SDW so much, I might watch this later..

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I started watching this out of boredom but I really enjoyed the second episode, as well. This will definitely do for a mid-week diversion! The kid who plays Pal Gang's oldest brother is pretty good and I like the whole dynamic of his character. It seemed to me that, knowing his sister's flakiness, he's trying his best to take responsibility for his siblings but, because he's still so young he doesn't know how to go about it so he lashes out at them. Anyway, he plays it all well for someone so young.

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Thanks for the recap!

I was a little worried during the first episode (making it to the end felt like work). But I consoled myself by encouraging various characters to slaughter the Evil Auntie. None of them listened to me, of course. That darned fourth wall only breaks one way...

And I agree with everyone that the second episode was much better. I'm back to looking forward to watching :)

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Oh, thank you so much for recapping this!
I agree, episode 1 was a poor start (intentionally or not) and episode 2 was where the drama really begins.

Pal-gang is one of those characters I will grow to love, however strong my dislike for her at the start.
The second episode stung! Especially the part where Ju-hwang confronts her about the foster home and her intentions to dump them all. What a fine actor he is!
Also when she forgets about him and he's outside freezing his ess off with baby Nami. Ouch, it stings!

Orphan stories always break my heart, be it Grave of the Fireflies or Oliver Twist.

It's inevitable she will end up with the richer, lead Kang-ha but I can see a change already, she won't be a sloppy fool for him and possibly detest his princessy ways while her and the babies are living through a challenge much bigger than their little selves.

Jun-ha (SDW) fighting! :D

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Nobody knows?

But where do you get your episodes from?

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aja-aja is now closed. When I checked soompi I couldn't figure out how to download dramas....anyone use soompi? I guess there's mysoju still.

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@ 27 & 28:
Try - youtube.com/fredyshin - he uploads raw episodes of all current TV drama episodes, if you understand Korean?

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@29

I want to download for local watching; youtube is a bit uncofortable. But I found a good place to download dramas now

http://www.am-addiction.com

Needs registration, but it seems to has all recent dramas too, also in 450p and 720p versions. No need anymore for aja-aja

Time for wathcing kdrama! :)

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@17 AuntieMame:

Me too! I enjoyed HTMAPN and LOVE LOOVE Family Honor so I'll definitely watch this drama. Jung Ji Woo has become my 'must-check-it-out' drama writer other than the Hong Sisters.

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this is in NO way meant to be taken as an insult or criticism to any of your guest bloggers covering a variety of dramas... but javabeans, i'm SO happy to see YOU doing recaps again! i'm glad that there are dramas that you consider worth recapping (will it snow for christmas, the beginnings of these mon-tues dramas, etc) because i was attracted to this site because of YOUR writing voice and your perspective and anyway, just wanted to say woohoo!

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Thank you for the recap!!

@14 hjkomo. I was also irked by how no one really noticed that Pal-gang was wearing that ribbon of mourning. She looks like she's grieving and she's wearing that ribbon! come on! no condolences?!

Anyways, I agree that the second episode is when the real story starts. the first episode displays pal-gang in a very bad light, but she redeems herself in the second. I love the hair-cutting scene! made me =*( but it also made me cheer for her. Even though she was a bad sister in the first episode, you can see the love she has for them pouring out of her in the second. And it's nice to see her channel her excessive energy from frivolous things to something more positive.

my favorite scene was the part where both her younger brother and that nephew trying to sneak into the house at night. Of course when the nephew started telling his uncles abt someone else trying to sneak it, they thought he was drunk and Kim Ji hoon sprayed water in his face with the showerhead from the bathroom from You're Beautiful. hahaha

"It would be really interesting — and more compelling, in my opinion — if she keeps her head down and shows no interest in him, and HE’S the one left dealing with growing romantic attraction."----> i'm also hoping for this too!!! *crossing my fingers*

....but it is a shame abt the guys' hair...maybe this drama is supposed to take place 10 years ago or something...

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@29 and @30 I thank you very much for your suggestions for I was feeling lost without aja-aja. Thank goodness I understand Korean.

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linwe I hated ISWAK too! In fact I disliked it so much that I still don't understand how othr ppl loved it so much! and it's getting a kdrama remake! hope the female lead isn't as dumb as in the taiwanese version.

That evil mother also reminded me of lady macbeth, she's evil now but i hope she'll be screaming out, out damned spot! later

I'm liking this drama can't wait to see how it turns out.

More shirtless sceens please!

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Dude, now i gotta at least watch episode 1, looks like an okay plot, but your review had me hooked. Hopefully it lives up to your words javabeans.

Oh and try going to viikii, for the first two episodes, they are completed on the subtitling as well.

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this drama has been so amazing.
i almost started crying because of her siblings.
it is seriously so sad to see little kids out into the streets and being hungry.
im totally hooked onto this drama and i hope that the kids won't get thrown out of that house

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Thanks for the recap on wish upon a star. I find this show very sad. Really enjoyed the show.

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Pal-gang's little sister looks a lot like Han Ye-seul!

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@ 37 and 38

I agree this show is very saddening. lol. It sucks being locked outta house like that, it really does.

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java beans thanks for the recap!!

please keep us posted every episode just like what you did on "you're beautiful". i really like this drama and i watch it raw the day after it was shown. in the drama YB i also watch it raw just a few hours after it was shown and the only time i was able to understand the story is by reading your blog just past lunchtime the day after.

thanks! and more power!

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This drama is amazing. Ep 1 and 2 is nothing. You gotta watch Ep 3 and 4.

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@42 emeldy. I have to agree with you 100%. I really brushed off this drama at first. I mean, seriously, when Mon-Tues lineup brings us JeJoongwon, Pasta, and God of Study, it's really easy to miss this. And plus, there wasn't a lot of buzz surrounding it. Now into the second week, I end up watching just this and Jejoongwon. I'm a stickler for family dramas and historical dramas and Stars Falling From the Sky is such a GREAT family drama so far. Though I admit, there are a lot of holes but I easily overlook them to instead focus on the characters. Pal Gang is a brat but I found myself crying for her and her siblings FOUR TIMES already (and I can barely crack a tear on some serious angsty dramas). It has humor also from a variety of characters. And to think I wasn't even thinking of watching this drama....I just wish that you continue to recap this Javabeans. Maybe more people will watch it then.

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JB, I love your re-caps and have been avidly following everything you've written since I've become a K-drama fan. You're Beautiful would definitely not have been as entertaining if not for your weekly re-caps and insights.

I had no expectations of Stars Falling From The Sky when I started on Ep 1, but am now completely hooked after finishing Ep 3 & 4. In fact, right after watching Ep 1&2, I came here immediately to look for your recaps and wasn't disappointed. It would be fantastic if you could continue with your recaps for the rest of this drama as I think this is really a hidden gem that seems to be getting better and better with every episode, evoking both laughter and tears with not a boring moment in between. I didn't fast-forward once while watching it so far!

If not, thanks for all your time and effort, plus thought-provoking insights on all the dramas you've covered! It's amazing that there is someone like yourself who seem to know everything about K-dramas, from themes, metaphors, foreshadowing of plot, to everything else in-between. Cheers to you!

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Hi!
Thanks for the recap JB!!
It seems to be very cute but...
Where can I watch the episodes?
Thank you!

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@people who want to know where to watch -

I would try going to Soompi and then just reading the posts.

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=324796

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This is the most outstanding korean drama ever I seen so far. It supposes to be the best but the ending is so disappointing. Well, maybe that's why this drama is not that hot around.

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