''Highway Star'' () is a 2007

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

starring

Cha Tae-hyun Cha Tae-hyun (; born March 25, 1976) is a South Korean actor, singer, television personality, radio DJ and director. He is best known for his lead roles in the box-office hit comedies ''My Sassy Girl'' (2001), ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), ''Hello ...

as an aspiring rocker who achieves success as a masked

trot The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is someti ...

singer. A

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the 1997

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese film , ''Highway Star'' was a modest hit at the box office, receiving 1,611,192 admissions and earning .

Plot

Bong Dal-ho's ultimate dream is to become a famous

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

star. To make a living in his small, rural town, Dal-ho's heavy metal rock band is forced to play

(

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

similar to

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...

, also known as ''bbong jjak'') in tacky nightclubs. One day, Jang Joon, executive of a shabby record company, sees potential in the seemingly clueless vocalist and promises to make him a star—Dal-ho realizes too late that he's been duped into signing a contract with a label that specializes in trot music. Jang believes that Dal-ho's talent as a trot singer is in reflecting the melodramatic sentimentality of middle-aged Koreans (the genre's target

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

), but Dal-ho persistently believes that trot music, along with the gaudy costumes and hairstyles and exaggerated stage movements associated with it, is outdated and trite. So on his televised singing debut as a trot singer, Dal-ho wears a mask out of shame. However, the strange strategy works; his voice rocks the nation and his album sales climb the music charts. His mysterious masked face had only increased the public's curiosity about the new star, doubling his popularity. As Jang continues to train him, Dal-ho gradually begins to see the beauty of trot, thanks to the help of his colleagues, especially Cha Seo-yeon, an attractive trot singer with a strong passion for music but little talent. Dal-ho realizes that what's important is not which genre he chooses but whether he sings with all his heart. But he also undergoes an

identity crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage theory of identity development where it involves resolution of a conflict over the 8 stages of the lifespan.(Schultz, 216) The term was coined by German psychologist Erik Erikson. The stage of psychosoci ...

, wondering if he would remain a star without the mask.

Cast

as Bong Dal-ho/Bong Pil *

Im Chae-moo Im Chae-moo (born September 2, 1949) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television series Film Variety show Awards and nominations References External links * * * 1949 births Living people South Korean male film actors ...

as Jang Joon * Lee So-yeon as Cha Seo-yeon *

Lee Byung-joon Lee Byung-joon (; born January 27, 1964) is a South Korean actor. Active in film, television and theater since 1985, Lee is best known for his supporting roles in ''A Bloody Aria'' (2006), '' Highway Star'' (2007), and ''Eye for an Eye'' (2008). ...

as Na Tae-song * Park Seon-woo as Hae-chul * Jung Suk-yong as Jo Seung-ho * Park Young-seo as Hae-chul * Jung Seong-woo as good looking guy * Ah Yong-joo as Seo Deuk-nam * Kim Hyeong-ja as Dal-ho's mother * Kim Ki-hyeon as Chairman Choi * Lee Seung-heon as Lee Dae-chil * Jeong Gi-seop as detective *

Im Se-mi Im Se-mi (born May 29, 1987) is a South Korean actress. Career In January 2019, Im signed with new agency YNK Entertainment. On February 3, 2022, Im signed an exclusive contract with Noon Company, after her contract with YNK Entertainment has ...

as Chairman Choi's daughter * Yoo Jung-hyun as music award MC * Kim Ji-young as bar girl 2 * Lee Ha-eun as bar girl 4 * Seol Ji-yoon as Madam * Da Eun as university student * Kim Ik-tae *

Lee Kyung-kyu Lee Kyung-kyu (born August 1, 1960) is a South Korean actor, comedian, MC, film producer, and screenwriter. He was the highest paid entertainer on the KBS network in 2010, with earnings of . Lee patented his instant noodle recipe ''Kkokkomyeo ...

as vocal trainer (ending scene)

References

External links

* * * *{{hancinema film, Highway_Star, Highway Star 2007 films 2000s musical comedy films South Korean musical comedy films 2007 comedy films 2000s South Korean films