My Love from the Star () is a South Korean fantasy romantic comedy television series written by Park Ji-eun and directed by Jang Tae-yoo. Produced by Choi Moon-suk and Moon Bo-mi, it stars Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Soo-hyun, Park Hae-jin, Yoo In-na, Shin Sung-rok, and Ahn Jae-hyun. It tells the story of an extraterrestrial alien who landed on Earth in 1609 during the Joseon period and 400 years later falls in love with a top female actor. The plot is originally inspired by historical records from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty dating to autumn 1609, when residents reported sightings of unidentified flying objects across the Korean peninsula.
The series aired for 21 episodes on Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) from December 18, 2013, to February 27, 2014. According to Nielsen Korea, it recorded an average nationwide television viewership rating of 24 percent. It garnered widespread popularity during its broadcast and sparked trends in fashion, make-up and restaurants. It has been also credited for spreading the Korean wave.
My Love from the Star received several accolades. At the 50th Baeksang Arts Awards, it received nine nominations with three wins; Jun won the Grand Prize – Television and Kim won the Most Popular Actor – Television. The series won the Korea Drama Award for Best Drama, the Seoul International Drama Award for Excellent Korean Drama and the Magnolia Award for Best Foreign Television Series.
Plot Do Min-joon is an alien who landed on Earth in 1609 during the Joseon period. He saves a girl named Seo Yi-hwa from falling off a cliff and misses his return trip to his home planet and is stranded on Earth for the next four centuries. He has a near-perfect human appearance, enhanced physical abilities involving his vision, hearing and speed, and a cynical, jaded view of human beings. Min-joon never ages and is forced to take on a new identity every ten years; he has worked as a doctor, an astronomer, a lawyer, and a banker, and is now working as a college professor.
Cheon Song-yi is a famous Hallyu actress who attained stardom as a schoolchild; her haughty demeanor has earned derision in the entertainment industry and on social media. Song-yi's spendthrift mother has mismanaged her finances and her younger brother Cheon Yoon-jae is estranged by her success. Lee Hee-kyung has been Song-yi's friend since middle school and remains in love with her but is continually rejected. In turn, Yoo Se-mi, Song-yi's childhood friend who is frequently cast in a supporting role alongside Song-yi has had a crush on Hee-kyung since middle school despite her love being unrequited. As a result, Se-mi secretly harbors a deep jealousy towards Song-yi for standing in the way of her career and love interest.
With only three months left before Min-joon's long-awaited departure to his planet of origin, Song-yi suddenly becomes his next-door neighbor in the condominium where he lives. Slowly, Min-joon finds himself entangled in Song-yi's crazy and unpredictable situations, saving her multiple times using his special powers and eventually acting as her manager due to his vast legal knowledge. He finds out that she at a young age resembles Yi-hwa, with whom he fell in love with 400 years earlier. Min-joon and Song-yi eventually fall in love; Min-joon aims to leave Earth without being emotionally attached so he tries to avoid her but fails. While Song-yi initially does not understand his impending departure, she ultimately accepts letting him go to assure his survival.
Song-yi's career goes into a downturn when her talent agency and sponsors drop her in a backlash against her recent behavior, particularly rumors that she caused the suicide of her arch-rival, actress Han Yoo-ra. Earlier at a celebrity wedding, Song-yi had discovered Yoo-ra was in a secret relationship with Lee Jae-kyung, the elder brother of Hee-kyung. Jae-kyung tries to silence Song-yi until Min-joon brokers a deal to spare her in return for burying the evidence. Jae-kyung, however, turns out to be much more dangerous than Min-joon suspected, learning to exploit Min-joon's weaknesses and injuring Se-mi's older brother, a prosecutor who is investigating Yoo-ra's suicide. Min-joon, despite being discreet in the use of his special abilities, eventually draws the attention of police while losing control of his powers as his departure date nears. While jealous of Min-joon for winning Song-yi's heart, Hee-kyung works with Min-joon to protect her from Jae-kyung.
Cast
Main Jun Ji-hyun as Cheon Song-yi Kim Hyun-soo as young Cheon Song-yi / Seo Yi-hwa Kim Soo-hyun as Do Min-joon Park Hae-jin as Lee Hee-kyung Jo Seung-hyun as young Lee Hee-kyung Yoo In-na as Yoo Se-mi Kim Hye-won as young Yoo Se-mi
Supporting Cheon Song-yi's family Na Young-hee as Yang Mi-yeon, Song-yi's mother Um Hyo-sup as Cheon Min-goo, Song-yi's father Ahn Jae-hyun as Cheon Yoon-jae, Song-yi's younger brother Jeon Jin-seo as young Cheon Yoon-jae
People around Do Min-joon Kim Chang-wan as Jang Young-mok, Min-joon's lawyer who serves as a close confidant and "father figure".
Lee Hee-kyung's family Shin Sung-rok as Lee Jae-kyung, Hee-kyung's older brother Lee Jung-gil as Lee Beom-joong, Hee-kyung's father and the chairman of S&C Group. as Hong Eun-ah, Hee-kyung's mother
Yoo Se-mi's family Lee Il-hwa as Han Sun-young, Se-mi's mother Oh Sang-jin as Yoo Seok, Se-mi's older brother who is a prosecutor.
People around Cheon Song-yi Hong Jin-kyung as Bok-ja, a comic book store owner and Song-yi's high school friend. Jo Hee-bong as Ahn Dong-min, CEO of Song-yi's talent agency. Kim Bo-mi as Min-ah, Song-yi's stylist as Yoon Bum, Song-yi's manager
Others
Kim Hee-won as Park Byung-hee, a detective who works with Yoo Seok. Lee Yi-kyung as Lee Shin, Jae-kyung's secretary Jo Se-ho as Cheol-soo, a patron of Bok-ja's comic book store who twists celebrity gossip and creates rumours. as Hyuk, Cheol-soo's partner
Special appearances
Yoo In-young as Han Yoo-ra, an actress and Cheon Song-yi's arch-rival. Yoo Jun-sang as Mr. Yoo, section chief at Lee Hee-kyung's workplace. Park Jung-ah as Noh Seo-young, an actress Jang Hang-jun as Park Min-kyu, a director Son Eun-seo as Hwang Jin-yi, a kisaeng in the Joseon era. Kim Soo-ro as Lee Hyung-wook, an auditor in Gangwon during Joseon era. Jung Eun-pyo as Yoon Sung-dong, a Joseon realtor / Yoon Sung-dong's descendant in the present time. Park Yeong-gyu as Heo Jun, a doctor in the Joseon era. Bae Suzy as Go Hye-mi, Do Min-joon's student Yeon Woo-jin as Lee Han-kyung, Lee Hee-kyung's eldest brother Ryu Seung-ryong as Heo Gyun, a poet in the Joseon era. Sandara Park as herself
Production Developed under the working title Man from the Stars (), My Love from the Star was written by Park Ji-eun. She based the drama on the historical Gwanghae Journal from the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty that references mysterious UFO sightings. The journal documented sightings of strange flying objects resembling Halo or washbowls in various parts of present-day Gangwon Province on August 25, 1609 (September 22 in the solar calendar). (Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty) The series was directed by Jang Tae-yoo and the cinematography was handled by Lee Gil-bok and Jung Min-gyun. Produced by Choi Moon-suk and Moon Bo-mi, managed the show's production.
In August 2013, media reported that Kim Soo-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun were cast in a fantasy rom-com; it is the second collaboration between Kim and Jun, coming after the successful film The Thieves (2012). It also marks Jun's small screen comeback after 14 years. Initially Park Hae-jin was cast to play Lee Jae-kyung, the antagonist, and Choi Min was cast to play his younger brother Lee Hee-kyung; but Choi Min's injury led to Park's role being changed to that of Lee Hee-kyung and Shin Sung-rok was cast as Lee Jae-kyung.
The first script reading was held on October 14, 2013, and filming began in early November 2013. The protagonist of the series possesses superpowers including the ability to teleport and stop time so special effects were needed. The crew used 60 small, special cameras to create bullet time effects. GoPro cameras were installed in a 180-degree arc and "stopped" characters were filmed from various angles. The final scene is a montage of small details and was enhanced digitally. This was the first time high-definition cameras were used to produce a television drama in South Korea.
Original soundtrack Album
My Love from the Star soundtrack album was released on February 26, 2014; it contains all of the singles and background tracks from the series.* The album debuted on the weekly Gaon Album Chart at number four and was ranked seventy-one on the 2014 year-end Gaon Album Chart.
Tracklist
CD 2 is composed by Jeon Chang-yeop, Jin Myeongyong and Choe Changguk.
Chart performance
+ Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peakposition South Korean Albums (Gaon) 4
+ Year-end charts Chart (2014) Peakposition South Korean Albums (Gaon) 71
Singles Singles included on the album were released from December 2013 to February 2014, and a special standalone single from the series, "Promise" (), sung by Kim Soo-hyun was released on March 13, 2014.* Kim also contributed to the vocals of the soundtrack with "If I" (너의 집 앞; In Front of Your House); both of his covers were well-received by the audience. "Promise" reached the top of online music charts Soribada, Daum Music and Cyworld Music. All of the soundtrack's songs were popular across the Asia-Pacific region, including South Korea. Lyn's soundtrack single "My Destiny" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and Billboards K-pop Hot 100. She later received the Best Original Soundtrack award at the 16th Mnet Asian Music Awards for the song. Hyolyn's "Goodbye" topped the Billboards K-pop Hot 100 chart for three consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running number one of January and February 2014.
Chart performance + List of singles, showing year release, selected chart positions, sales figures, and notes Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Notes KORGaon : Ref. for OST Part 1 : Ref. for OST Part 2 : Ref. for OST Part 3 : Ref. for OST Part 4 : Ref. for OST Part 5 : Ref. for OST Part 6 : Ref. for OST Part 7 : Ref. for OST Part 8 : Ref. for OST Special : KORHot : Ref. for OST Part 1 : Ref. for OST Part 2 : Ref. for OST Part 3 : Ref. for OST Part 4 : Ref. for OST Part 5 : Ref. for OST Part 6 : Ref. for OST Part 7 : Ref. for OST Part 8 : Ref. for OST Special : "My Destiny" 2013 2 2 KOR: 1,074,581 Part 1 "Like a Star" 2014 5 1 KOR: 723,530 Part 2 "My Love from the Star" 15 9 KOR: 389,907 Part 3 "Goodbye" 1 1 KOR: 1,161,073 Part 4 "I Love You" 29 7 KOR: 166,329 Part 5 "Tears Fallin' Like Today" 2 2 KOR: 745,484 Part 6 "Every Moment of You" 2 2 KOR: 1,260,644 Part 7 "If I" 4 4 KOR: 379,336 Part 8 "Promise" 16 13 KOR: 125,051 Special
Broadcast and viewership My Love from the Star was originally broadcast on Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 pm Korea Standard Time (KST); it was the most-watched television program of its time slot from December 18, 2013. Episode 14, which was supposed to air on January 30, 2014, was delayed and Secretly, Greatly starring Kim Soo-hyun was broadcast instead. A 70-minute special episode titled My Love from the Star: the Beginning was aired on February 7, 2014, at 11:20 pm KST; it recapped episodes 1 to 15, focusing on the love story of Do Min-joon and Cheon Song-yi. The program was aired 30 minutes ahead of its original time on February 12 due to coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics but it still ranked as the most-watched program.