7.5/10 – To be perfectly honest, I went into this drama with the intention of just watching the first episode, because I knew that many of the stars I know and love – Suzy, Kim Soo Hyun mostly, haha – had their baby roots here, and I just wanted to see how far they came. I just assumed it was going to be a cringe K-pop version of high school musical…instead, I found myself truly getting invested in the characters and wanting to see them grow and succeed. Also the fact that Kim Soo-hyun didn’t really get introduced til episode two, lol, so I had to keep going. And then I was hooked xD.
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The story overall was pretty straightforward and nothing extraordinary, but I think that’s a bit of a biased opinion because this drama came out in 2010!! If I compare it to many of the amazing films and shows I’ve watched over the past five years, of course it would be lacking in many ways. However, the fact that I still thoroughly enjoyed the show despite its slightly outdated filming style and script and less polished acting, speaks to how endearing the characters were. I even got invested in many of the side characters, especially some of the teachers at Kirin high school. They were more than mentors for their kids, they were also their biggest fans and most persistent advocates, and it was super touching and admirable. The ensemble main cast of talented students was definitely the star of the show, and I can understand why these people became more well-known and prominent after Dream High.
One thing I found very refreshing was that the main female lead, Go Hye-mi, played by baby Suzy omg, was not your typical protagonist. She wasn’t likeable at all. She was rude, callous, full of herself, and completely insensitive. But what child isn’t a selfish idiot, especially if they are talented and have many ambitions? She didn’t start out as this lovely flawless victim character who rose above her situation. She started out as a cruel self-centered girl who learned the value of hard work and friendship. Watching her struggle and fail and be confronted with challenges, and seeing her become a person of humility and integrity, felt so earned and perfect. Suzy’s acting was not remarkable, but it was actually quite good considering her age and also the fact that she was just a singer at the time. I bought her performance, and I think she held her own against the rest of the cast.
I also found Yoon Baek-hee’s character super interesting and surprising. She started out as a character the audience sympathized with, and became a monstrous product of her environment. Hye-mi’s cruelty turned her from a gentle selfless sidekick, into a ruthless dishonest person who would stop at nothing to beat out her ex-best friend, and that was such an important consequence that Hye-mi had to understand. Pride truly comes before the fall, and Hye-mi’s terrible treatment of a friend created her biggest rival. And I liked that the show portrayed this cycle of pride, where Baek-hee became the one who was conceited and selfish, and eventually that led to her downfall as well. Finally, I was really surprised that Baek-hee’s character came full circle and that she and Hye-mi were able to reconcile, and that she was able to become her gentle sweet self again, but now wiser and more confident.
I was also sooooooo impressed by IU’s character Kim Pil-sook. She was such an adorable little bean, and her vocal talents were by far the best in the show. Starting out as a very self-conscious, overweight girl with an amazing voice, she found confidence and drive, made friends, worked hard, and became a star. I thought it was cool of the show to highlight the harsh and unforgiving kpop culture of diet and beauty, and how looks and aesthetics were often more important than skills and talent. Pil-sook never looked down on herself due to her weight, but rather her shyness came from the pressures of society. If she wasn’t enrolled in a kpop trainee school, she would be perfectly happy with how she looked. I thought it was nice that while Pil-sook did undergo a weight loss transformation which led to her becoming more successful, her character’s charm never came from how she looked, but rather from her sweetness and gentle disposition. Her crush on Jason, played by 2PM’s Jang Woo-young, was so cute and funny, and I thought Woo-young did a great job of portraying Jason slowly falling in love. I thought it was great that he fell in love with her personality and beautiful singing, before she lost weight, and that he always supported her and never demanded her to change herself for him.
Now…KIM SOO-HYUN. You could definitely tell that out of the ensemble, he was the one who was a real actor haha. He did an amazing job as the cheerful and innocent country boy/secret musical prodigy Song Sam-dong. His character was so loveable and sweet, and I was fully rooting for him the whole time. Also his TWO GLOW-UPS WERE FANTASTIC. And shout-out to Kim Soo-hyun for learning how to SING AND DANCE for this role. His character was musically gifted, so I can imagine it took a lot of hard work for him to get his singing ability to the point where he could stand out even among his professional singer co-stars. Good for him!
Perhaps the MOST unexpected thing about this drama was the love triangle between Hye-mi, Sam-dong, and 2PM’s Taec-yeon’s character Jin-gook. Jin-gook was set up right at the beginning as being the cool, bad boy guy who swoops in to save Hye-mi. And on top of that, he can sing and dance like a pro. Taec-yeon did a very good job for his breakout role, and like Suzy, was able to hold his own beside the real actors in the cast. He and Hye-mi hit it off quite quickly, and throughout most of the drama, it seems clear that they will be end-game. Especially since the general trend of dramas back then was that the female lead would end up with the guy who causes her more heartache due to bad decisions, lol. Meanwhile, Sam-dong is so innocent and falls for Hye-mi almost at first sight, and follows and protects her like a cute little puppy dog, the classic second male lead who treats the girl super well but doesn’t get picked in the end anyway. Hye-mi and Jin-gook even kiss in front of him, which was so heartbreaking!! But my man Sam-dong pulls through, and his charm, dedication, and earnestness win Hye-mi over in the end. I also thought the storyline of his chronic tinnitus and hearing loss was very well-done. Watching him struggle and come to terms with the possibility of losing his dreams of singing, and then overcoming his disability with the help of his teachers, friends, and honest hard work, was very rewarding to watch. His spiral into depression and apathy, which came on from a combination of his disability and feeling like he could never win Hye-mi, was a pretty dark turn for his character, but it was pretty realistic. He was a teenager from the countryside who had no other prospects except performing, or going back to the farm life. For a singer to lose their hearing would undoubtedly be devastating, especially considering how naturally gifted he was in composing and holding pitch. One of the most touching scenes in the whole drama was when Sam-dong decided to do one last stage performance before deciding whether to quit, and unfortunately he sang everything off-key because he couldn’t hear shit, lol. But Hye-mi, who throughout everything refused to give up on him even when he had given up on himself, ran up onto the balcony and gave him signals that helped him get back on pitch and correct timing, so that he could finish the song strong. They were both crying so hard, and so was I, lol.
Overall, I didn’t expect to like this drama as much as I did, and I am so proud of everyone in the show who grew in success in part because of it. It was truly magnificent to see these singers’ and actors’ humble roots, and admire how far they’ve come, as drama characters, and in real life as well. The show was full of hope and brightness, and I think it will last the test of time for sure 🙂 Thanks for reading, and happy watching!
Thought Bubbles 