''Star's Lover'' (; also known as ''Celebrity's Sweetheart'') is a 2008 South Korean television series starring

Choi Ji-woo Choi Ji-woo (; born June 11, 1975), born Choi Mi-hyang (), is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful women, she has received critical acclaim for her work in a wide range of melodramas, most notably '' Beautiful ...

and Yoo Ji-tae that aired on SBS. A love story between a star actress and an ordinary man, director Boo Sung-chul said the series was inspired by the 1999 film ''

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

''.

Plot

Lee Ma-ri (

) is a top star in South Korea and throughout Asia. The head of her management agency, Seo Tae-suk ( Sung Ji-ru), hires a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

to help transform Ma-ri's image. Poverty-stricken university lecturer Kim Chul-soo ( Yoo Ji-tae) takes the job in order to earn money to repay his ex-girl friend, who paid for his college tuition. Whilst they are in Japan he falls in love with Ma-ri. However, when the travel essay book ''Lovers in Asuka'', written by Chul-soo on Ma-ri's behalf, becomes a bestseller, Ma-ri gets caught up in the controversy generated by the ghost writing. The two lovers try to continue their relationship away from media attention, but obstacles abound: eligible young executive Jung Woo-jin ( Lee Ki-woo), who pursues Ma-ri; Ma-ri's first love Kang Woo-jin ( Choi Phillip), who suddenly vanished from her life; Chul-soo's ex-girlfriend Choi Eun-young ( Cha Ye-ryun); and the manipulative Seo Tae-suk, who seeks to control everything in Ma-ri's life.

Cast

Main characters

: Lee Ma-ri ** Jung Da-bin: child Ma-ri ** Park Bo-young: young Ma-ri * Yoo Ji-tae: Kim Chul-soo ** Kang Yi-seok: child Chul-soo * Lee Ki-woo: Jung Woo-jin * Cha Ye-ryun: Choi Eun-young

Supporting characters

* Sung Ji-ru: Seo Tae-suk,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Ma-ri's management agency * Ki Tae-young: Son Ha-young * Choi Phillip: Kang Woo-jin * Lee Joon-hyuk: Min Jang-soo, Ma-ri's bodyguard *

Jung In-seo Jung In-seo (born May 9, 2000) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her main roles in ''Store Struck by Lightning'', ''Drama Special Season 2: Duet'', and the film ''Silenced''. Filmography Television Film References Extern ...

: In-seo * Yang Hee-kyung: Lee Seung-yeon, Ma-ri's stylist *Shin Min-hee: Kim Yu-ri, Chul-soo's sister *Jung Woon-taek: Jun Byung-joon *

Shim Eun-jin Shim Eun-jin (; born February 6, 1981) is a South Korean singer and actress. She was a member of South Korean girl group Baby V.O.X. Career Shim Eun-jin launched her singing career in 1998 as a member of Baby V.O.X, one of the most prominent So ...

: Ye-rin * Ban Hyo-jung: Ma-ri's grandmother * Kwak Hyun-hwa: Lee Eun-sil * Lee Seung-hyung: Choi Seung-wook *

Yoon Joo-sang Yoon Joo-sang (; born June 25, 1949) is a South Korean actor. In 2009, he won the Best Supporting Actor award during the 2009 KBS Drama Awards for his role in ''Iris (South Korean TV series), Iris''. Filmography Film *''Cane (Hoichori)'' (2011) ...

: Professor Ahn *Lee Jong-nam: Choi Ryun-hee * Kim Ji-young: Kim Ok-ja * Kim Ye-ryeong: Lee Ji-soon *Kim Ji-sook: Bo-young, Chul-soo's mother *Bae Ki-bum: Chul-soo's father * Lee Young-eun: student (cameo, ep 1) * Gong Hyung-jin: Hong Kong movie director (cameo, ep 1) * Shin Hyun-joon: department store magnate (cameo, ep 1) * Kim Ji-seok : actor (cameo, ep 1) * Ji Jin-hee: actor, Ma-ri's ex-boyfriend (cameo, ep 8) * Lee Dong-gun: Eun-young's friend (cameo, ep 20) *Min Joon-hyun: entertainment journalist *Song Young-kyu

Ratings

Source
TNS Media Korea

Production

As of the twelfth episode Choi was reported to have worn 147 outfits, thus averaging 12 ensembles per episode, with episode two alone featuring 25 different outfits. The sheer volume of clothing and range of styles is in line with her character as a top actress. Many of the scenes were filmed on location in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

and

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. * Episode 20: Ilsan Lake Park, Janghang-dong,

Ilsan Ilsan New Town () refers to a planned city occupying Ilsandong District and Ilsanseo District of Goyang. Ilsan is located northwest of Seoul. Like other satellite cities in the Seoul National Capital Area such as Bundang, Ilsan was planned in o ...

district,

Goyang Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's Satellite city, satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, w ...

city,

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

. * Episode 8 and 19: Il Mare, an Italian restaurant, located in front of Ilsan Lake Park. *

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

: the university of Chul-soo's employment, his lectures and Ma-ri's visit to the school were filmed at the gallery, Gyujanggak, and museum roads. This is the first time the university allowed its campus to be used as a filming location. * Haeundae Beach and Dongbaek Island,

: The scene where Ma-ri confesses her love for Chul-soo and the couple takes a walk on the beach.

International broadcast

It first aired in Japan on satellite channel WOWOW beginning May 1, 2009.

Rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. The two types of reruns are those that occur during a hiatus and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word "repe ...

s followed on terrestrial network TBS from September 27 to October 22, 2010, and on cable channel KNTV from November 9 to December 4, 2009. In Thailand it first aired on Modernine TV in 2011.

References

External links

''Star's Lover'' official SBS website

''Celebrity's Sweetheart''
at SBS Global * {{hancinema drama, Celebrity__s_Sweetheart, Celebrity's Sweetheart Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas 2008 South Korean television series debuts 2009 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows South Korean romance television series Television shows set in Nara Prefecture