My Love From Another Star Review
Two years ago My Love From Another Star (other titles: You Who Came From the Stars, You From Another Star) premiered and made a gigantic splash in Korea and across the world. The show’s popularity was incredible.
It won multiple Korean awards, including actress Jeon Ji Hyun receiving the Daesang Award for the Baeksang Arts Awards (similar to American Golden Globe awards). Fan-girls raided the internet searching for the lipstick worn by Jeon Ji-Hyun. Purportedly Yves Saint Laurent sold out of the shade from the high demand!
Heck, even I tried to look for it online. Jeon Ji-Hyun helped sell hundreds of trench coats in Korea just from wearing one in an episode. Restaurant owners stated that chicken and beer sales went up in China during the drama (it was the heroine’s favorite food).
Even my sister who watches a K-drama from time to time was hooked and binge-watched the show in a matter of days. So what exactly made this K-Drama so darn popular?
The story starts out with an alien ship landing on earth, particularly Joseon (ancient Korea) in 1609. Fast-forward 400 years: Do Min-Joon, an alien who looks very human, young and seriously handsome, hasn’t aged a day since living on earth.
He’s a professor in Korea and lives an isolated life with only one friend who’s aware of his true identity. Cheon Song-Yi is a spunky, blunt and seemingly self-absorbed actress struggling with her career and a load of anti-fans.
She moves next door in Min-Joon’s apartment complex and the sparks begin to fly, what with Min-Joon unable to sleep with his super hearing (and Song-Yi singing loudly in her apartment) to her drunkenly entering his house and falling asleep on his couch.
Try as he might to disentangle his life from the beautiful, crazy actress, they keep running into each other more and more. Things start to get dangerous as a person close to Song-Yi is a diabolical villain with deadly intentions against her.
A real romance starts to brew between the more than 400-year-old alien professor and the sassy actress – but Min-Joon is an alien who never intended to remain on earth for long. His time is coming near an end.
When Song-Yi finds out the truth of his identity, can she accept him? Or will fate even allow them to be together?
I love, love this drama! There are so many sweet, silly, funny and emotional moments all wrapped up into one adorable extraterrestrial romance. Like any K-Drama, My Love From Another Star is fully a romance and the plot focuses intently on the couple throughout the run of the show.
The beginning started out a bit slow for me but quickly built a progression that wouldn’t let go of my heart. The very best thing about this drama? The characters – and the actors who portrayed them.
Kim So-Hyun who played the alien hero, Do Min-Joon, had several hits before this. He gained a lot of popularity in his 2011 Dream High (I love that teen musical/drama show by the way, hehe) and the next year his drama The Sun That Embraces the Moon (a “teen” romance historical drama) rose steeply in ratings.
My Love From Another Star gave him another level of incredible star status, making him one of the most popular actors in Korea. Kim So-Hyun is all sorts of adorable on the screen; he has a very young look and feel that’s slowly starting to mature.
I loved his character Do Min-Joon, a mostly quiet, closed-off person who looks like he’s twenty but acts like he’s got the wisdom and experience of seventy. His grouchy complaining and annoyance with the modern world were hilarious.
Much of Min-Joon’s character growth and conflict revolves around how he’s lived his whole time on earth in a tiny, sterile “bubble” that he created – and the joy and pain that comes with connecting with someone (particularly Song-Yi).
Watching him realize how utterly lonely he had made his world was heartrending – especially as that produced longing for him to let someone in. Honestly, the alien aspect of the story was great; so much fodder for fun and crazy moments.
He had a wide range of cool and interesting abilities – super-hearing, teleportation, and more. And did I mention when he cries!??! Because on my word, when he cries (it’s gut wrenching tears people!!), you little heart will be sobbing its guts out too.
I adore Jeon Ji-Hyun so, so much!!!! Though I’d never seen her in anything else, I knew she was a popular movie actress. Though she mostly worked on the big screen, she had a couple television dramas during the late ‘90s. Fourteen years later, My Love From Another Star was her comeback drama – and seriously such an awesome comeback! Jeon Ji-Hyun brought her character Cheon Song-Yi to life perfectly. She was emotional, outrageous, hilarious and so relatable.
When we’re first introduced to Song-Yi she seems to be just a bratty star obsessed with herself. Before very long, you fall under her spell unable to help but love her. Even with her hilarious ego, her truly kind and compassionate heart are undeniable. From her laugh-out-loud rap attempts, while driving her car to her accusations that Min-Joon stole her shoes (and his hilarious frustration over such a question; and yes he did take the shoes, lol), Song-Yi shined like the unavoidable sunlight streaming in through your car window.
Even while being funny, her character was never there just for a comical moment. She struggled with the hate of her anti-fans, had genuine fears that she grappled with, longed to see her estranged father. If anything, Song-Yi is an irrepressible soul who loves with all of her heart. How she responds to the knowledge of Min-Joon being extraterrestrial was just awesome. One of the best K-drama heroines and certainly one of my favorites.
As many laughs and hilarious moments this show has, there are tears and dark emotions to match it. Lee Jae-Kyung as the villain was a lot of fun – with his expressive looks and gigantic sinister smile. I loved watching him and Min-Joon comes head-to-head on several occasions.
But the true drama lay in the conflict that only the characters could deal with themselves – the fact that Min-Joon isn’t human and that he’s never intended to stay on earth for long. With that, the show played on the emotional themes of acceptance, every person’s need for community, separation, and ultimately using the time you have well.
So what does this drama have in store for new fans? Lots of kisses, hugs, threats and death attempts from an awesomely over-the-top villain, more kisses, cuteness OVERLOAD, stolen shoe accusation arguments, dramatic heart-stopping rescues, a smoldering young professor in black, an “E.T” moment, and a finale kiss seared into the memories of K-drama fans!! And that’s only the beginning. You can watch this on Viki and Hulu.
Are you interested in seeing this awesome K-Drama? Already seen My Love From Another Star or perhaps you’ve seen these Jeon Ji-Hyun or Kim So-Hyun in other K-Dramas? I’d love to hear about it!
Photos: SBS/Dramafever
OVERALL RATING
“The stuff that dreams are made of.”
ROMANCE RATING
“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.
I have loved none but you.”
OMG faith! So excited to see u on here! This has inspired me to to watch more of this show….a friend made me watch but I never continued but it looks too good to not finish!! Also have you seen autumn’s concerto?
Thanks Amirah! This is definitely a K-drama favorite of mine! I haven’t seen Autumn Concerto’s, I’ll have to look into it!
FAITH I JUST FINISHED ALL OF IT TOOK ME 2 WHOLE DAYS BUT WORTH IT OMG DO MIN JOON STOP MY HEART
AWESOME!!! AND WOW, 2 DAYS?? I’m impressed! Do Min Joon has stolen all of our hearts FOREVER!!
Gah thank u for the last pic! I like
His eyebrows, was sad his hair mostly hid them
Yes, the last pic makes me way too happy, lol!!
How can Do Min Joon’s Balcony be on the right side when his apartment is on located before Cheon Song Yi’s apartment in the hallway?
That almost drove me nuts while I watched. But I still loved every second of it!
The only way I could avoid being driven crazy was to imagine that there are only two apartments on that floor, and they wrap around, so that you go counterclockwise from Cheon Song Yi’s front door after entering to get to her balcony, and you go clockwise from Do Min Joo’s front door after entering to get to his balcony.
I just finished rewatching this. and yes, I cried, AGAIN! TT.TT
After rewatching Crash Landing on you I had to free my heart from sepanx and caught sight of this kdrama. It’s year 2020 but OMG it could have been a bigger hit if it was marketed now! I mean, globally people are starting to gravitate towards kdrama on full swing. I used to have a “nah” attitide towards it before but thanks to CLOY i’m now super hooked, line and sinker. The man from the star/My Love from the star is truly serendipitous for me. I love, love it and even dream of a happy ever after ending for these super beautiful couple. Fiction really gives us the happy ending that reality can’t bestow.
I loved crash landing on you so much and I’m watching this now. I agree if this was made now it would’ve done so much better .i love kdramas so much. They are an emotional rollercoaster x.
It’s an amazing Love Story .. I have been watching Korean drama from starting of this pandemic .. All I learned is that life is precious and time is short we are wasting it by thinking too much we are so busy to earn money that we forgot we have people around us who wait for us who want to spend time with us… May be if your are not as knowledge as others but you are hero of your own story. We can’t change destiny and fate but we can be happy by cherish all important people and time we spend with them. .
I love all Korean drama.. Looking forward to watch more & if I got chance will travel their as well…
All the best…
A brilliant show, loved it all – I laughed and cried and sympathised with the leads.
Your review was excellent. I just finished watching “You From Another Star” and I have to agree with your conclusions. It was fun for me to see the guy who did a cameo in CLOY in this drama. I had also seen “Secretly Greatly” so he wasn’t a complete stranger. But the best thing about your review was your writing. Glad you have an outlet for your talent. I only came to Korean dramas at the start of the pandemic thanks to a phone call from a friend. I hate to think of the years I wasted NOT watching them, LOL. They are such wonderful escapism. I love Hyun Bin’s the best, but Gong Yoo’s “Guardian: Lonely and Great God” is a close second. And Kim Nam-Gil’s “Fiery Priest,” OMG! And his “Live Up to Your Name,” swoon! And Lee Min Ho, too many to choose, but maybe “King: Eternal Monarch” and “City Hunter” are two faves. Long live K-Dramas!