Where Stars Land (2018)

3/4 of the Noonas completed this drama. Amanda dropped it over concerns with the way they were portraying the disability of the male lead and where they seemed to be headed with that. While her concerns were not entirely realized, they were not unfounded either. The drama was over all quite cute but had many minor plots that were alluded to and then discarded, and the handling of the disability was definitely not done well. The three Noonas who completed the drama enjoyed it, but had thoughts and feelings over a less than fully satisfactory ending. You can check out our thoughts in more detail in our spoiler laden podcast episode.
https://certifiednoonas.podbean.com/e/certified-spoilers-where-stars-land/

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Good airport drama/ Bad fantasy melodrama

'Where Stars Land' centers around Incheon Airport. Unfortunatelly, set in some alternative reality.

At the airport, we are introduced to many people. They are all professionals (except the main girl, who does not behave professionally), plus even their characters are all really interesting and/or funny. Except the main couple (more about that later). The "ordinary" airport dramatic situations were handled well. It all had good standard until we had to solve the supernatural problem. Then it dropped.

Yes: the airport-drama side of this was actually good. I was NOT enjoying the melodrama-fantasy. Romance was working only for the secondary couple/s of just ordinary humans. As for the characters, the more interesting they actually were, the less screentime they had, and vice versa. Typical episode was like: The main guy is possibly dying and I only find it corny and boring. The completely secondary guy is solving an airport problem and he ROCKS. So, while I do cheer for Chae Soo Bin, who got well noticed by producers in 'Sassy Go Go' and deservedly got main role, as for her 10 years older partner in this, I definitely preferred him crying over unsolved murders through time-travel radio, than being/not being wheelchaired. I'm sorry, but thumps down for the main couple. Girl might as well tried dating her friend Eun Seob, for all I cared.

The added fantasy melodrama actually made the drama less good, not better. Less is more, I say it always. But drama producers never say this to themselves.

It's a pitty because what we can see more and more clearly when dealing with all the "normal" airport problems, is that the whole huge machinery just tries to ensure that all the people get on with their travels peacefully and smoothly. No matter what human emotion rises at the moment, it always follows logic. But then, when dealing with the supernatural, all logic is thrown out of the window, for the sake of the "drama". It's actually a step backwards to dated drama. What's refreshing is to show just how much effort is needed only to maintain peace. No corny villains are actually needed, it's always the simple human recklessness, laziness and folly which is enough to create danger. That would be a modern drama. That could be this drama. Just if the producers deemed it ENOUGH without the "fantasy duo" put in.

I actually cared about many of the airport side-characters and would welcome seeing more glimpse of their fate, but obviously the writer wanted me just to be thrilled whether the main guy does return as the "superhuman" or not. As for the "action final" epi & final scene, I would rate it 3 stars, tops.

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Those who spent many times at airports may like it.

If you watch Terminal by Tom Hanks, this is Korean mellodrama version of it. At least, most scenes are within terminal building. This is the attraction factor for me as I LOVE airport and I spent most of my time in the airports. Another reason to watch is Lee Je Hoon. I enjoy his acting and always like the characters he play, mostly action, thriller, fantasy genre. I have seen most of his drama and movie. This drama is my way to see the romantic side of him. I have high expectations because of these two reasons.

The premise is promising but it is poorly executed. A life within airport terminal is dynamic, chaotic but there's strict structure and rule to orchestra the complex system. There are 1001 possibilities in the airport and the drama told a few of those stories. Some were quite known and some others may not be known for casual passengers. There is specific terminal issue every one or two episodes. Within this context, this drama delivers.

However, in this is the biggest disappointment, the characters are not consistent. I can't relate to Han Yeo Reum character. Well, I prefer strong FL and she is not that kind of girl. She is a bubbly persona who is too busy thinking of what other people think about her. Her kindness and willingness to go extra miles to help others should be her charm but it didn't work for me. Too many times, I am frustrated with her logic. This is my first Chae Soo Bin drama so I don't have comparison to her acting (it's weird that I didn't manage to go beyond the first 15 minutes for the strongest delivery man and rookie cops).

Lee Soo Yeon character made me sad. Such a waste to Je Hoon acting. The first few episodes, the character is clear. Strong, cool headed, smart and all that. I can try to understand his fear in going back using wheelchair if there's a stronger back story. The look of other people? Or maybe this is the Korean context that I can't grasp. There were scenes to explain that he is lack of love, being abandon and all that. Still, there are too many holes here.

This is the case for the rest of the characters. I can imagine each of them is a strong character with their own charm. Is there not enough time to build it and give a proper story for each of them? In my opinion, everyone is interesting here.

Rowoon as Go Eun Seob and Kim Kyung Nam as Oh Dae Ki is so underrated. For me, they stole the show with their "supporting" role. Provide a beautiful nuance to the story.

Let's talk about the story. In addition to problems around the airport (passengers, aircraft, and alike), there is one big drama that should be the one that connect the past and the present time, the relationship among main characters. As the "peak", the story only shown in rush in the last two episodes. It appeared poorly and ended in a manner like it's not a big deal. So one person is groomed to drive privatization of an airport. Why it takes years, there are other ways to do that. There should be bigger goal when you implant a person to get profit out of an airport. Think about other drama with similar goal. Every episode there would be a tactic or strategy in place to move towards the goal. None in this drama.

That's one. Another one is a story about human with different ability, disable person. This can be a great story and yet, they stick to the stigma around disable person. I am sad. I like dr romantic, written by the same script writer. So, I don't know what happened here. I think this drama want to tell too many stories but failed to make it coherent. This reminds me of prison playbook - there are a lot of characters, each comes with their own story and the drama able to tell it beautifully, coherent, consistent and every thing is needed to tell the bigger story.

In short, do I recommend to watch it? Yes, why not. It's easy to watch, you won't get too stressful about it. If you like the casts, you are going to enjoy it. If you are the type of person who get annoyed with inconsistent characters: don't. My suggestion, don't put high expectations, just enjoy it. The soundtrack is super nice. Lee Je Hoon is nice to look at. Watch the last episode with the least expectation. It's happy ending, don't worry. But all done in rush. Well, that last scene made me write this review after hiatus for a year or more. (Seriously, can someone enlighten me with why there is no face of Je Hoon?)

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Interesting Idea, But Messily Executed

Where Stars Land:
So I got half way through this drama and although I was enjoying it I knew it was not one I wanted to spend 16 hours of my life watching. I ended up choosing to skip through It felt almost like it was trying to achieve the sci-fi vibe of Are You Human Too?, whilst also striving for the working/office romance vibe seen in shows like of Forecasting Love and Weather. Nevertheless, I don't regret starting this drama and not completely dropping it. So I’ll tell you what I liked/didn't like to help you decide if you want to watch it or not.

I'll like to start on a more positive note:
- Lee Je Hoon and Chae Soo Bin as the leads (I think they did have chemistry with each other but also played their characters well. I was impressed by Chae Soo Bin as I had been disappointed with her performance in I Am Not A Robot - but that may just've been because the whole drama idea was strange to me)
- Not only was the cast food for the eyes, but the majority of them were skilled actors/actresses.
- Kim Kyung Nam (this guy is amazing! He blows me away with his acting skills every single time!)
- Lee SooKyung (I hadn't seen her in anything before but I thought she did a great job at portraying her character!)
- Kim Kyung Nam and Lee Soo Kyung! (This was another show in which I much preferred the second couple to the main one, they had great chemistry and seemed so real)
- Rowoon (This guy always surprises me with his acting skills, I think he deserves a lot more than he gets as an actor. He did really well considering he was only 22 when filming)
- The airport setting (at first I thought this would be a really boring setting, but I thoroughly enjoyed most of what it added to the show)

And now here is what I didn't like:
- The negative view of having a disability (yes it did look briefly at the stigma and the show sort of looked at how many aspects in society are not accessible for those in a wheelchair, but the show could've ended with Lee Soo Yeon finding happiness whilst being in his wheelchair or the crew should've tried to confront social stigmas surrounding disabilities head on rather than implying that Lee Soo Yeon would only feel happy if he was "normal").
- The storyline felt very repetitive and it could've been completed in 10/12 episodes. (Hence why I skipped a number of scenes after the show hit the halfway point).
- I did not understand much of anything revolving around Seo In Woo.
- Plot Holes! These were so annoying! (So many characters/potential storylines were introduced and then just chucked away
- The airport/workplace environment clashed with the gangster or sci-fi aspects.
- That very end scene (if you know you know)
- There wasn’t enough backstory for a variety of characters!

This show is definitely not for everyone, but if you're looking for a drama that won't be a big commitment try this one as you can skim and skip scenes through the drama and not lose out on the enjoyment of watching it. Happy Watching! <3

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The romance in this drama is truly great plus the OST!

Highly recommended romance drama because it depicts about acceptance and commitment in both love and work towards life. Where Stars Land (Fox Star Bride) is one of the best romance drama in 2018. I may think that this drama has the best OST's (I swear). Chae Soo Bin and Lee Je Hoon portray their roles really well plus their chemistry and both the security lover's in the airport (really great chemistry ahead for them also). Great drama!



AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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I enjoyed watching this show, but now that I'm trying to write a review I'm having difficulties trying to describe why. I guess I liked the main couple's romance, the lack of a second ML and the OST, but honestly WSL is pretty mediocre for the most part. Maybe it's because I ALMOST felt like that the Incheon airport is a magical place..

Anyway there are lots of negatives:
I could go on and on how stupid our ML is for doing the kdrama equivalent of "burning his life" for nonsense reasons, or how certain characters completely change mid way, the lack of pre-production obviously shows. The most interesting characters on the show barely had any screen time, like that pregnant woman at the control tower, or my favorite supporting actor of all time Kim Wonhae only had like 5 scenes where he did practically nothing.
There were so many missed opportunities, like there were those mini crises at the airport, they could have made some really interesting ones, but all of them were boring. The ending was rather underwhelming, it's one of those "50 minutes of melo followed by 4 minutes of chill & 1 minute of actual happy ending" endings, I'm not impressed, I would have felt more satisfied had they all died in a nuclear attack at the airport... Oh I almost forgot that there were gangsters too, what a waste of screen time they were...

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Not a memorable Drama

After reading the review, I thought this drama might a gem in discovery but I was disappointed.
This drama left me more annoyed than anything else.
I like dramas that transform the lead players due to lessons learnt from life. There were glimpses of brilliance but sadly they were dropped to pursue other side drama.
In particular I refer to main theme "There are no coincidences and everything has a purpose". There were glimpses of developing this theme but as I said before they really didn't go deep into this theme.

Ok.. It wasn't typical family drama. They took a disaster movie theme with 1/2 hour episodes of airport drama and mix it with our OPC (our primary couple) love story. Our FL chooses a guy who also has self-esteem issues. In fact, the ML is so selfish that he chooses not to live. He would rather leave the FL with good memories.. What good memories.. OH I dated this guy and he chose to die on me.. Oh well.... The guy is not in gratitude and realize that he has a lady who loves him regardless of his physical condition... and that's where I begin to get annoyed.

So what's the end result of her love... He abandons her for a year without a word to communicate with her. And that leads to me to the ending: They guy shows up at the airport without a word and she has to find out that he has come back by some chance. At this point .. I decide that she too is a doormat!!

The drama also left other side players without any conclusion.. such as the homeless guy. What happened to him and what was his role in the whole drama. I thought he may play YODA to help our OPC grow.. but alas, nothing happened.

Skipping to the end:

Then at the ending, they only show his back.. what happened to his face. I can only imagine that the selfish bas*** was probably thinking "Oh my god .. this Bit** found me... crap".

I think I am giving this drama a rating 4.5 due the fact, they got me emotionally by I being royally pissed off!! Otherwise a '1'

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Meh. One time watch.

It was good. One time watch. Romance is well written. Loose end tho very anti-climactic in the aspects of his relationship with his brother. It felt out of place like it was just there because they had to fill in the time. They did not shoot the ending with the actor too ig. Very weird to not show his faceq For the last 5 mins. It was good. One time watch. Romance is well written. Loose end tho very anti-climactic in the aspects of his relationship with his brother. It felt out of place like it was just there because they had to fill in the time. They did not shoot the ending with the actor too ig. Very weird to not show his face For the last 5 mins. 6/10.

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Kind of a confusing mess

This drama was a pretty interesting watch. In a weird way, though, they somehow managed to rush the romance yet make the story drag at times at the same time. It feels like the romance between HYR and LSY kind of appeared out of nowhere, but it was still pretty cute nonetheless. The day-to-day life of airport employees that this KDrama showcased was interesting, and I have a deeper respect for airport employees now because of that. Not gonna lie though, I was extremely confused with the bad blood between LSY and his hyung, but I just kind of went along with the storyline anyway. Altogether, this was a nice drama, but they could have expanded on the romance a bit more and shortened the uninteresting office drama.

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So many holes; this story doesn't fly

A timid and insecure young employee of Incheon Airport who was transferred from dept to dept because of her mishaps, finally lands in Passenger Services where she meets a coworker with a mysterious prosthetic arm, and with whom she shares a previously unknown past connection.

I discovered this show from following Rowoon (Destined With You) and Lee Je Hoon (Taxi Driver). This is an earlier work from 2018 and is the 2nd show I've seen with LJH. The real star of the show appears to be the Skytrax 5-star rated Incheon Airport and its complex inner workings. The story is otherwise a standard office drama with many staff members having dark, connected past histories that slowly come to light. While I enjoyed LJH in Taxi Driver, he doesn't have much range in Where Stars Land, and thus his character seems less interesting. "My human rights are not at your service" Ep6. The FL character grows from a hapless and apologetic screw up, into someone who finds her voice and the confidence to stand up for herself against abusive customers. However, the long, helpless deer-in-the-headlights shots as she struggles with decision making get tiresome.

The writing is not very strong and the story is pieced together roughly. A lot of flashbacks are short on detail. Past relationships between different characters are hinted at but take a long time getting explained, if they get explained at all, so you see that there's a lot of trauma going around but you're left with so many questions. The most exciting parts of the show are the Security Team taking down customs violators. It's rather easy to lose interest, but the story picks up a lot by Ep19 as the ML's secret starts getting (literally) out of hand. Darker elements such as organized crime ensnaring executive management within the airport authority also come bubbling to the surface.

As the lead couple's relationship develops, questions arise as to how to address a permanent disability from a devastating motor vehicle collision. "The gift you were given is not yours." Is having a super strength worth it if you can hurt a stranger, or if it means you can't live very long? On the other hand, is being in a wheelchair so hopeless that after 11 years you still can't accept yourself? I don't know what accessibility is actually like in modern cities in South Korea, but this show sends a poor message to the disabled.

So many questions, so few answers in all the characters arcs. And one of the most bizarre final scenes I've seen in any show: LJH is shown only from behind with his face hidden from camera. Why? The show is so aired with mystery that it's too full of holes and makes an unsatisfactory watch.

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