Kyubin

"Some of you are really blind and tone-deaf to these subtle nuances and subtext which are clearly there and when someone points this out you all act butthurt and hyper-defensive."
Typically the attitude I can't stand here. You are right, everyone else who have a different opinion is wrong. What's the point to exchange with you ? I don't see the interest of debating if you can't accept that others can have a different understanding and views.
To me, what you wrote is not wrong, it's just your opinion and your interpretation of what we both watched but see differently.

Just one thing though, you wrote about nuance and subtlety, but obviously, your are also blind to the fact that Hyeon Ho is the one commanding the bullying against Do Hoe because he has the most power in their group. So because he doesn't used his fists directly he is nice and not bullying him but defending him instead ? We don't have the same definition of bullying then. That is just one of the most cliché thing seen in dramas and movies with bullying, but yes, sure, I'm the one who is blind and tone-deaf.

That could makes sense for me, maybe, but here you are also ignoring the fact that he ends up being super close with the guy that was bullying him violently, probably because at some point they had feelings for each others but Ha Hyeon Ho refused to accept that and used Do Hoe's father violence against his students to retaliate using Do Hoe as a punching ball. So after 12 years they are now super close, maybe even having something going on between them, but that's coherent with Do Hoe behaviour's towards Ju Young ? Well, that doesn't work for many people, like me.
We will see what exactly happens in episodes 5 and 6, and hopefully some justifications will be made for that, but if it simply passes like a storm and end with Ju Young being just forgetful and Do Hoe slowly warming up to him and falling in love with him again, that 12 years time skip and the reasons for Do Hoe's disappearance will appear to be totally useless.

It took me a second watching to appreciate "To My Star 2" actually, but after the first watch I thought exactly like you, and I think everything you pointed out is still valid, even though I like it better now.

And what you highlight regarding "Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo" is for me the key point that damaged this story. Because, of course we can all understand Do Hoe wanting to escape his father considering his past, but he is the one who disappeared while Ju Young fought for him and was waiting for him, and he purposely avoided him for 12 years (like it's not 6 months or even 2 years, it's 12 years !)
All people defending Do Hoe using Ju Young bonding with his father are just wrong, because they justify his actions based on that, when it actually happened after he left and disappeared from Ju Young's life, totally ignoring his and Ju Young feelings.

The point is not that we have to be on Do Hoe's side, or Ju Young's side, just that as a watcher, it doesn't work for many of us.
As you wrote, me might have a plausible explanation for that in the next episodes, but just like you I doubt it too, and I'm not convinced by the "psychological" reason some people gave neither (that he left because he was afraid to become violent like his father).

YNK Entertainement is doing a poor job at promoting their rookie actor.

So far, they only promoted Sun three times through their social medias (X, Instagram, Naver, nothing on Youtube).
The first time was in August 2023 when he made his debut in the MV for the song "No Love" by Chu Hwa Jeong.
The second time was in April 2024 for his birthday.
And the third time was in July 2024, when he attended Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
That's good, and it's fair for a rookie actor that didn't had anything public going on in the meantime.

But in the last few weeks, there was absolutely nothing, despite Sun doing is official debut in a drama. I really don’t understand that. I hope they will share something when "Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo" ends but, nonetheless, they failed him here, because they should have promoted his first drama before, and every week during its airing.

And despite being whit them for more than a year, he doesn’t have a page amongst their artists on their website…

I hope he will get better promotion in the future and that we will see Sun in many more dramas or movies.

Can't wait to watch him again as Ji Fa in "Creation of the Gods ⅠI" for the next Chinese new year.

I hope his nasty anti-fans will find others purposes in life than just hating on him.

Unless you have proofs of your claims, this is defamation.

Part II is finally coming ! Ji Fa~

Reading your comments I think that men watching BLs really have a different understandings of it than women in general. Of course there are exceptions, but overall, when opinions are divided about a BL, I often see that there a majority of men thinking differently than the majority of women commenting here.
I think your comment points what many others have also shared before: the drama is good, (except few stupids people, nobody wrote that it was just bad) and because it has very good and strong points, it's also disappointing that others points are not as good.
Personally, if I think a drama is really bad, I just move on and won't bother comment or debate about it. It's because this drama started of really good, has an amazing cast and good points that I point what I don't find logical or think as bad points about it so far.
Just like you I hope the next episodes will compensate what disappointed in the last episodes.

Well, it's truly embarrassing indeed to see someone who only resort to insults and degrading comments just because other people don't share the same opinion.

To me it shows that you are more close to the 12 years old mental state that many people who just wanted to express freely their opinions here, without telling the others to no do it because they have a different one.

Your comment is just mean to be mean. You didn't even write a single sentence about the drama, or try to debate or exchanges views with others, it's just insults and attacks. That's really sad to see bitter people like you.

I understand, we all have some kind of nemesis like that on MLD I think. ^^

I don't think it's wise to judge a culture or a society, generalised, or make conclusions, just based on some news. This example is like thinking people in the United States have all guns because we keep hearing about shootings in that country...
My comment regarding filial piety and relationships in Korea comes from experience, but you are free to think whatever you want about this.

"And judging the series by watching only half of it makes no sense." We often see this kind of sentences from people defending a drama against critics, but it's kind of stupid I think.
Of course it's important to see the whole drama to make a final judgment (judgment that can change over time too, after rewatching it for example), but I don't see why any judgment couldn't be made when a show is as it start, halfway or near the end. It's not only the conclusion that matters for many people, it's also the story development and each episodes. So it's totally normal for people to have judgements about a drama even after watching half of it. That judgement can change after watching the other half, or not.
But calling a drama "trashy" just because someone doesn't like it is very stupid too. And especially because there is really nothing "trashy" about "Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo ".
I'm sure there are more nice and clever words to express one's feelings or opinions, it just takes a little effort and more than writing a four word "sentence".

Well, you are free to have the opinion you want indeed. But to me you your answer shows that you don't seem to really understand how strong filial piety is in Korean culture, and how relationships work too.

I think there is something that is overlooked too quickly by many people about what happened and their relationship, and that your comment shows.
It's Do Hoe who lied to Ju Young with their last phone call, pretenting they will stay in touch and see each others again, but then totally ignored Ju Young and disappeared. This was just after Ju Young stood up to his master for Do Hoe's sake.
For Ju Young, keeping the relationship with Do Hoe's father was the only way to keep a link to him and maybe have a chance to see him or hear from him again.
Of course Do Hoe has his reasons for being angry and doing what he did, but Ju Young only showed sincere and warm intentions in his actions, so it's Do Hoe's behaviour the one being criticised by many.
And there is also something that many people don't seem to fully understand here: the importance of filial piety in Korean culture (even more in this drama because it's set in the 90'), and thus the meaning of a master/student relationship too. That's why Do Hoe still shows up as his father's funeral despite hating him so much.

Ah episode 5 preview is not good... It's impossible for me to like a character like Do Hoe, he sounds too selfish and egocentric, and mean too.
Of course his behaviour and thoughts can be explained because of his past and his psychology. But still, I can't like him, because in the end he choose to focus on the bad things instead to forgive and move on, and fight for his feelings. To me he is a coward who just give up and run away. (And the stupid 12 years time skip makes it even worse I think...)
Honestly, even if they end up together, with a happy ending (I can't wait to see how Ju Young will turn the tables in the next episodes), it's a miss for me, after the great start.
Otherwise the production is very good and the actors superb, they deliver an outstanding performance here. But the story development is flawed for me.

It's how I understood the sentence, the way it was written, all good if that's not the case.
We don't all have the same expectations and standards when it comes to TV series, or movies. Personally, the coherence and truthfulness is very important in general. Even if it's a fiction, when it doesn't look natural or coherent, it bothers me. It's good if you don't care about that, but me I can't help it so it becomes a big flaw in a story when that doesn't make sense or that no serious or plausible explanation is given. Hopefully that will episode in the next episodes for this one, but considering the very big gap, I doubt they will manage to convince me.

That would make more sense if he didn't appeared so close to his ex-bully in episode 4...
I'm looking forward to the next episodes to see how they justify that, because right now the "we bumped to each others at the university so we became close again" is really weak and not working for me. ^^
And that would be worse if they have some kind of romantic relationship.

I totally disagree with that. It's only your opinion. All the grown-ups actors playing high schoolers are totally not passing as high schoolers for me. They can look young, but they don't pass as teenagers, that's my point, they totally look like 30ish years old people wearing high school uniforms, which looks very ridiculous. This is highly subjective, please don't state your personal opinion like it's a fact or a general truth.
That 12 years age gap is quite stupid, from the looks they have, but more importantly because I don't see why it was necessary to create such a big one for the story. And if there is no explication in the next episodes that can makes sense for that, it will just look like a stupid idea and a flaw to the story, at least for me.

Well, Do Hoe looks super close to his former bully, relying on him and listening to him, when he is so cold to his past lover who did everything to protect him and just looked for him and though about him for 12 years, to the point to take care of his awful dad... So I'm not surprised that Do Hoe is the one being bashed from the looks of it. ^^