As viewers, we know that, regardless of our inclinations, there are always authors who lead us along the path of visualizing good works that, once taken, become indispensable to us.
Someone told me, shortly after leaving my adolescence, about a romantic writer and director, author of unique audiovisuals that leave the public with the desire to see and see more. Shortly after, he brought before my eyes the youth and romantic drama 'Where Your Eyes Linger', the series with which Hwang Da Seul began his particular exploration of LGBT+ themes.
Viewing each of its frames proved my friend right. The secret infatuation and the vibrant love story between two childhood friends and classmates, today 18 years old and high school students, one of them a playful chaebol heir, and the other, his diligent bodyguard, both lovers of Taekwondo, It became a revisited work capable of transmitting new sensations.
To visualize each scene today is to return to those impacts and convince ourselves that we are facing a work of the highest resonance in the world of BL. The bond between Han Tae Joo, son of a powerful chaebol family, and Kang Gook, "hired" by the latter's rich and conservative parents to protect their descendant and prevent him from getting into trouble, is enduring.
In this way, I immersed myself in the work of Hwang Da Seul, a young woman who graduated from the Film Department of the National University of Art of South Korea, who at only 30 years old already has several awards, such as the Excellence of the 5th Catholic Film Festival for their 2018 short film 'Spring That Summer'. I needed to discover it. I still need it.
On the one hand, LGBTQ + films and series include BL, Yaoi, Yuri, GL and other additional ones about love between people who may be of the same sex or some variation.
On the other hand, in the review, I use the acronym LGBT+, if I remember correctly, on three occasions, and always in the context of THEMATICA, not film genre. Therefore, calling 'To My Star' as LGBTQ+ is, in my view, very correct in both senses.
LGBT+ themed works are those that tell stories of members of the group made up of lesbians, gays, transgenders, transsexuals, bisexuals, intersex, queer and the rest of the identities and orientations included in the +, which tells us that the group is still constantly growth. And these are represented in 'To My Star'.
Regarding your opinion of the director and screenwriter, I do not agree with you. Her work speaks for itself: In 2023, director Hwang Da-seul attracted global attention when 'Where Your Eyes Stay', considered Korea's first BL web drama, was screened for the first time in the BL genre category on the VPB (Venice Production Bridge Screening) of the prestigious Venice International Film Festival, one of the three most important film festivals in the world.
Season 1 of 'To My Star' ranked first overall in the daily section of China's Weibo and Japan's Rakuten TV, achieving good results in overseas markets such as China and Japan. After that, 'To My Star 2' was the first BL series released in Korea after being released on television, in addition to the ratings, it ranked second in the overall category on Japan's Rakuten TV monthly chart and first undisputed place in the Korean drama category, which generated a global syndrome.
The screening schedule for 'Break the Curse of Taekwondo' was published on the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival website on June 18, to generate expectations, as the public's interest was known.
Other films by this director have similar balances, such as the drama 'The Sweet Blood', from 2021, a youthful and supernatural romance about a half-vampire who must choose between family duty and the desires of his own heart for a companion. class, and the film 'You Ghosted Me for a Week', in which he places his protagonists in a terrifying scenario caused by the tragedy of Covid-19.
Sometimes only as a screenwriter, sometimes as a director, sometimes combining these two professions, in the drama '300 Year-Old Class of 2020', a fantasy comic web miniseries, tells the story of three students from Seowon during the Joseon period who travel accidentally in time and arrive in the current Seowon in 2020, while in 'Drama Stage Season 2: Push and Out of Prison' catches the viewer with a story that mixes drama and mystery, and in 'Love as You Taste' offers a collection of love and heartbreak stories combined with each character's favorite food cravings as they all fall in and out of love.
In the series 'Blueming', from 2022, Hwang Da Seul returns to the love series between boys, to tell us a romantic and youthful story about whether good appearance defines popularity, also exploring insecurities, discovery, acceptance, shame body, and brother-sister and mother-son relationships, among other topics.
The extraordinary genius made into a television series by Hwang Da Seul is demonstrated with the two seasons of 'To My Star', from 2021 and 2022, another LGBT+ themed drama, which tells us a fairy romance between Kang Seo Joon, one of the brightest acting stars in South Korea, and Han Ji Woo, a talented chef.
Starring Son Woo Hyun as Kang Seo Joon, and Kim Kang Min as Han Ji Woo, this is one of my favorite series of all time.
Throughout eight short episodes, the young director and screenwriter returns to the LGBT+ theme and explores, in 'Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo', her most recent work, sexuality, masculinity and queerness, as well as internal conflicts, friendship, first love, separated lovers who meet again in time, homophobia, internalized homophobia and the healing power of a deep love.
The story revolves around Lee Do Hoe, a serious and quiet high school student who lives with his abusive father, a Taekwondo coach in a rural area. The life of the teenager, who despises the violent and brutal atmosphere of his home, takes an unexpected turn when the cheerful and bright Sin Ju Yeung, who dreams of going to university specializing in Taekwondo, arrives from Seoul.
According to the synopsis, after the arrival of the mischievous martial sport practice partner, Do Hoe's dark and sad life enters bursts of small and big joys, which will make his world light up. However, the oppressive culture symbolized by their father finally twists the budding love relationship of the two boys and, after an unexpected incident, they both separate, only to meet again ten years later.

HWANG DA SEOUL AND THE SIX TYPES OF ATTRACTIONS

It is fascinating how, through the dynamic established between Sin Ju Yeung and Lee Do Hoe, Hwang Da Seul makes a profound study of modern social psychology, in terms of the six types of attractions, in consensus with sexology and anthropology, based on the concept of attraction as a force that brings people together and enhances the desire to interact, know, discover, deepen ties.
With extreme and masterful acuity, the series addresses the fact that if you are attracted to someone, you feel it beyond a doubt. Defining what for depends on the factors that shape that affinity. One of them is the frequency of contact, since it is more possible to develop fascination with those who you see often. Touch makes love, says the proverb, and this makes the two protagonists fall in love with each other immediately. They both feel that unique and shocking shock for someone they have just met, while at the same time they become attached to that charismatic being because they identify with his way of thinking or his image.
The truth is that a physical, sexual, carnal, objective attraction arises between the two boys, since each of them meets the beauty requirements of the other's cultural context. The so-called aesthetic attraction or sex appeal is palpable from the first moments, because one awakens a reaction in the other in their environment thanks to their image.
And this physical, sexual and carnal attraction is much deeper and enriching, since it is accompanied by other types of attractions, such as romantic or platonic, based on an emotional affinity that privileges the bond towards carnal desire, and friendship, consolidated with the tests of the lives of the two main characters from the moment their lives intersect, and based on trust, sincerity, emotional well-being... spending time with someone and growing or having fun in their company.
But the director and screenwriter also plays with the so-called sentimental attraction, an attraction that is halfway between romantic and friendly. Both Ju Yeung and Do Hoe feel intense admiration for each other since the friction between them barely begins. They even come to see themselves as part of the same family, perhaps like the brother they never had, living under the same roof, occupying the same bathroom, one preparing food for the other...
Likewise, through the bond between the two boys, sensory attraction is manifested, that which has to do with physical contact with someone. From their body-to-body interaction while practicing sports or outside the dojang, such as when one steals a piece of ice cream from the other by snatching it directly from the mouth, in direct contact of one's saliva with that of the other, as if it were an indirect kiss, or when they touch their hands when they both hold the umbrella, both in the rain, in front of the school, when Ju Yeong surprises Do Hoe when he goes to pick him up after finishing classes, or when they heal each other's injuries after sustaining combat practices of the martial art they practice.
The mere proximity of one to the other calms, happy, strengthens with their pampering and hugs... even from listening to them, seeing them or smelling their essence.
It is extraordinary how in just one hour of the first two episodes, Hwang Da Seul, outstanding in his ability to connect with the viewer's most intimate feelings, explores the sixth type of attraction, the intellectual, that fascination with someone outstanding (or no) in some branch of knowledge, sport, art... Sin Ju Young is an excellent athlete and future university scholarship holder, while Do Hoe, in addition to being a good student, excels in taekwondo training as his father's assistant. His opinions, knowledge and philosophy of life invite his training partner to follow him closely.
Each of them believes in the duty and right to care for and protect the other. Although you know you are strong in spirit, body and character, don't you feel that the other is vulnerable and fragile in the face of the circumstances imposed by life? Has one not been expelled from school and home, and sent by his parents far from home, to a remote place, to an unknown world? Doesn't the other suffer from the physical and psychological abuse of the father? Hasn't Do Hoe had to fend for himself in the face of his mother's abandonment of the family home?

OTHER THOUGHTS

Starring Kim Nu Rim in her first leading role after appearing in several series, such as 'Once Again' and 'I will go where you are when the weather is good', and in the film 'A Girl of the 20th Century', as Lee Ho Doe, and Lee Seon in his acting debut, playing Sin Ju Yeong, it is evident from the beginning that the filmmakers strove to be as authentic as possible. This is evident in all aspects of the series, as is also evident in its depiction of Taekwondo.
In addition to the excellent choreography in the sports practices, everything is satisfactorily filmed, such as the long process before or after training, where the characters are seen warming up their muscles, seeking concentration, getting rid of their sports clothing or cleaning his wounds. In this aspect, the series gives us an intimate vision of the techniques that make up the basis of the art supported by the physical, spiritual, martial and philosophical that corresponds to the name of Taekwondo. This is the second BL series in which the director and screenwriter puts the protagonists in this sports scenario. Everything seems to indicate that he likes this sport.
And there emerges another strong point of the series: placing these two teenagers who explore sexuality in a scenario in which they must challenge stereotypical notions of manhood, as that virile and combative sport is supposed to be.
In this sense, the two protagonists will live hell trying to be true to themselves, so the biggest fight is not the ones on the streets or in the training area, but the one that comes from within each of them, so that the series is also a stunning exploration of two young men's journey toward self-acceptance in an ocean of hypermasculine and homophobic pressures.
With outstanding performances and beautiful cinematography, Hwang Da Seul has created an extraordinary drama that speaks directly to all those LGBTQ+ youth trying to define their feelings, emotions, and their place in a heterosexual world that can often feel scary and strange.
None of the series authentic qualities would have worked without the commitment of its two main stars. As seen in its first two episodes, the only ones broadcast until the moment I write the review, 'Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo' follows the protagonists' journey from beginning to end, there is no scene without them and their performances in all of them.
Their roles are deeply demanding, both physically and emotionally, as the characters go through this entire hard process of self-discovery and acceptance of their sexuality, while proving the innocence of teenage love and stopping being strangers to become lovers, in a dominant male environment. , within a complex scenario of homophobia and violence exercised both by the father of one of them, the coach of the other, and by the young delinquents who frequently persecute Ho Doe and Ju Yeong.
There are plenty of reasons to watch the series, and among these the leading roles of Kim Nu Rim and Lee Seon stand out. They are one of the best performances of the year. These guys have a bright future ahead of them.

THE MUSIC AND THE SERIES

Personally, I really enjoy the songs composed for the series by the successful musician Doko and performed, among others, by the emotional singer-songwriter Gogang'. The OST, composed of five songs, allows to increase the emotions of the drama in the audience, while leaving a deeper and more persistent impression.
"I'm Still Young" captures the incomplete emotions and awkward movements of the mind as if walking alone down a road at dawn. Jo Hwan-ji's melodious, calm yet deep voice creates a lyrical sensitivity.
For its part, "Thank You" delicately expresses the emotion that is cautiously approaching. This song, which lists one by one the tremors in a moment that feels like destiny, doubles the emotion by adding the soft and sweet voice of Yura, the main vocalist of the group Unicode.
Meanwhile, "Camino" is based on a lively piano accompaniment and contains the thought: "Just as our lives are on the path of youth, there will be a time in our lives when we will all take a path that we must travel." and 'Trunk' is a simple song based on guitar playing, Gogang's charming voice represents the desire to "pack only the necessary luggage and leave in peace to an unknown place."
Finally, "Oh Camino", is a band version of "Camino", and offers something new with a different melody, arrangement and version from a different era, to frame the passage of time in the lives of the two protagonists.