Welcome to Kdrama and Ramen

Oh Han Byul works tirelessly as a PR Representative at Starforce Entertainment Agency.  As the head of the PR team, her job is cleaning up the scandals and messes of her star clients.  Unforuntately, her biggest star also happens to be a friend from her youth who broke her heart when she he was just starting out.  Now the two of them spend their days bickering and antagonizing each other .  Those closest to them suspect their fighting is just a way of covering their true feelings for each other.  But even if that were true, for a celebrity, dating is no easy thing.  Especially if he were to date the one who is paid to  cover up his relationships.  

Kim Young Day as Gong Tae Sung

After volunteering in Africa for a year, Gong Tae Sung comes home with a hero’s welcome.  His one focus is to get his career going again, so he immediately takes a part in a romantic drama.  But while plenty has changed while he was away, his feelings for his college crush Han Byul have not.  When he finally realizes his feelings, he becomes determined to win her over.  But getting her to date him is only his first obstacle.  He becomes increasingly frustrated with trying to keep their relationship secret and finding time to be together without raising suspicions.  

Gong Tae Sung is the picture perfect star. He is handsome, kind, and charming.  But he bears the scars of psychological trauma and emotional pain caused by a mother who put her own fame above the health and happiness of her son.  Luckily for Tae Sung, his Starforce family stepped in to offer him the support and love he deserved.  Gong Tae Sung is largely a subtle and understated character, not unlike other roles we have seen Kim Young Dae cast in.  And he handled it with his usual finesse, but I really enjoyed the few scenes where we got to see him dig a little deeper and show a wider range of emotions.  I suspect we will be seeing more of him in future roles and I look forward to it.    

Kim Yoon Hye as Park Ho Yeong

Park Ho Yeong is a young manager at Starforce.  She used to be a Taekwondo athlete.  She met Yoo Sung while working as a body guard for an autograph signing event.  She is enthusiastic and eager to help her new stars succeed.  She has always had a crush on Yoo Sung but it has taken her years to finally be able to confess her feelings to him.  But she is thrilled when he reciprocates her feelings.  

 ♥ Positive Portrayal

Generally idol dramas tend to paint the agencies as the greedy, selfish machine that uses and abuses their stars.  I enjoyed the fact that this drama actually portrays them in a much more positive and caring light.  The family atmosphere between the staff of Starforce and their actors gave this series a warm feeling that is often missing in this style of drama. 

♥ Drama-Free Leads

This drama took a unique approach for a rom-com in that they allowed the leads to get together pretty quickly without any miscommunication or sacrifice that lead to a big break up, so they could get back together.  This couple stayed strong throughout the whole series and learned to face their challenges together without ever doubting each other or their love.  Some felt that this lack of conflict made their romance seem too comfortable and didn’t provide enough chemistry for our leads but I actually enjoyed just relaxing and enjoying their sweet relationship.

Closure

It was interesting how the writers let many of the plotlines in this drama come to an end without any real closure.  Tae Sung’s mom and Luca are good examples.  Usually there is at least a mention of some of the past storylines at the end of the show, but not for this one.  It was almost like a slice of life style drama in the way it moved onto the next story without really looking back, but it left me wanting a bit more of a wrap up to some of those plot lines.

Start and Stop Stalking Story

Idol dramas often have some kind of stalker story and for some reason they usually don’t work for me.  This one was no exception.  They spent an awful lot of time misdirecting so it seemed like the story was over, but then, wait, it wasn’t actually them.  And then we finally find out who it is and barely remember him from the very beginning of the drama.  He gets arrested with very little fanfare and it’s done.  The pace felt strained and inconsistant and I never really cared about finding out who it was.  And the weird “auntie” maid was not an interesting character at all. 

This drama ends with a wealth of happily ever afters.  Choi Ji Hoon retires as president of Starforce and is off to enjoy the rest of his life, starting with a trip abroad that hopefully is taking him to Eun Shi Woo.  He leaves the company to Yoo Sung’s capable leadership with some words of “fatherly” advice.  Yu Na finds out she is pregnant and she and Jae Hyun have a “shotgun wedding”.  And now the famous couple is getting offers for luxury baby toys.  Jung Yeol is now a senior manager in charge of training their new recruits.  And though they are still keeping it under wraps, he is dating Bo In.  Ho Yeong has taken the position of Manager Head and she and Yoo Sung are happily dating. Ki Bum is getting lots of exclusive stories and still dating the adorable lawyer, Soo Hyuk.  And our leads have finally taken the big step in going public with their dating news.  While the PR team is hard at work fielding questions about their relationship, the happy couple is off enjoying some much deserved time together. I see lots of weddings in Starforce Entertainment’s future!