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Shooting Stars, starring Kim Young-dae and Lee Sung-kyun, is about a famous actor and his love for a publicist. A story that he keeps under wraps. This show’s third episode includes a song that would take any K-drama lover back to the days of bingeing on Lee Min-Ho’s hit show, Heirs. This song is ‘I’m Saying’ by Lee Hong-ki, part of Heir’s original soundtrack.
This song often plays at pivotal moments in Heirs, a show that also stars Park Shin-hye in the lead role. The two actors cemented their place as bankable stars of the Korean drama world with their collaboration. The show sees the two of them play the role of students — each of them belonging to different socioeconomic backgrounds.
The show follows the 'prince falling in love with the maid' trope. Still, it develops the story and character arcs in a manner convincing enough to garner attention and enjoy adulation from local and international fans.
Where is the song used in Shooting Stars?
'I'm Saying,' a memorable chorus that goes “Maria,” is featured at the beginning moments of the third episode. The song is not used to underline a pivotal moment. Instead, it features in the background. The subtlety with which this has been included proves that the intention has not been to call back to Heirs in itself but to remind viewers of one of the iconic K-drama OSTs ever produced.
It must be noted that not all has been well for Shooting Stars. A section of the audience has criticized the show for glorifying ‘white savior’ behavior, treating sexual assault as a joke, among other things. One of the earlier episodes features a scene in which Kim Young-dae’s character Gong Tae-sung tries to prove that he is not impotent by intimidating Oh Han-byeol (Lee Sung-kyun). He tries to unzip his pants in her presence to prove just how virile he is before one of his agency's employees stops him from doing so.
The show also features Tae-sung as a star who is away volunteering in Africa. At no point does the show indicate which country he travels to. They continue to treat a location like Africa as a whole, disregarding the different countries which make up one of the largest continents in the world.
Shooting Stars continues to be aired twice weekly, and the criticism has not fazed the show's run.
