My Love from Another Star (Hangul: 별에서 온 그대, romanized: Byeoleseo on geudae) is a 2014 South Korean Drama. It is also known as You Who Came From Another Star, Man from the Stars, Lover from the Stars, and Lover from Another Star, and stars Kim Soo Hyun as Do Min-joon, an alien who has been stranded on Earth for more than 400 years. Jeon Ji-hyun is the popular actress Chun Song-yi, whom he meets just as his ride back home is about to arrive in three months’ time.
Unmarked spoilers abound!
The series contains examples of:
- Aborted Arc: Nothing more is shown of Hwi-kyung's lowly office job once he is revealed as the son of the owner.
- The Ace: Do Min-joon has nifty alien powers, is good-looking, incredibly smart and filthy rich. Lee Hwi-kyung is this as well when he investigates the mystery behind Han Yoo-ra's death.
- Alpha Bitch: Song-yi who is the top Hallyu star.
- Answer Cut: When the detective and the prosecutor investigating Han Yu-ra's death discover that she might have been pregnant, they ask themselves who the father might be. It cuts next to Jae-kyung.
- All Women Love Shoes: Cheon Song Yi really loves her babies...
- Amusing Injuries: Song-yi banged her head when she found out her drunken antics after being dumped by Min-joon.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Yoon-jae who gets distracted with chocolate milk and telescopes in episode 16.
- What's even funnier is that Yoon-jae was trying to discourage Min-joon's relationship with his sister.
- Bait-and-Switch: Min-joon plans to propose to Song-yi by making her open his car's trunk. He quickly changes his mind and replaces all of the contents with a mop.
- Beta Bitch: Se-mi is always second place in comparison to Song-yi.
- Bifauxnen: Hae-in, the manhwa store owner and Song-yi's friend.
- Big Bad: Jae-kyung is firmly established as this, killing people left and right without batting an eye. He has also trapped his ex-wife in a mental asylum.
- Big Damn Heroes: Min-joon saves the young Song-yi from certain death via oncoming truck, and literally drops out of nowhere to stop Song-yi’s out-of-control car from sailing over the edge of a cliff.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Min-joon stops time and kisses Song-yi at her movie premiere.
- Big Eater: Song-Yi has a big appetite which she has had to rein in since she has become famous.
- Big Little Brother: Yoon-jae.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Se-Mi.
- Song-yi has her own cases too.
- Broken Ace: Song-Yi is the "Jewel of Asia" but her money is being squandered by her mother and her father was driven out due a misunderstanding, and she misses him terribly. She feels the pressure to be perfect due to the constant scrutiny of the media and the public.
- Brought Down to Normal: Min-joon’s Weaksauce Weakness can do this.
- But Now I Must Go: As soon as the plot kicks off, we know that Min-joon is going to leave Earth. Ultimately zigzagged when he leaves, but manages to come back now and then.
- Call-Back: Song-yi reads Min-joon's conversations from LINE and sees a message written "I miss you." It was the message Min-joon deleted with the help of his Mundane Utility.
- The Cameo: Bae Suzy appears as her character from Dream High to interact with her former co-star Kim Soo Hyun.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: Min-joon. He will use his powers even if there are other people watching.
- Catchphrase: Song-yi's "Sorry, okay? Sorry." line.
- Celebrity Is Overrated: Song-yi hates the superficial adoration which comes with being a celebrity. She dislikes Min-joon at first but she comes to rely on him because he is honest with her, even when she does not want him to.
- Chekhov's Gun: A voice recorder pen Hwi-kyung got from Han-kyung. Another pen of the same model is the evidence to the murder of the latter, courtesy of Jae-kyung.
- Chekhov's Skill: Song-yi's acting may be just an Informed Ability, but she uses this to get herself out of an ambush be Jae-kyung's secretary/assistant.
- Childhood Friend Romance:
- Song-yi and Hwi-kyung
- Hwi Kyung and Se-mi
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Song-yi when she saw Min-Joon with his former student.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Cheon Song-yi sometimes who tends to get drunk and Min-Joon berates her for this.
- Yoon-jae occasionally.
- Conscription: Played for Laughs. According to Min-joon, each time he changed identities, he had to be redrafted into the South Korean mandatory military service. So far he's spent a total of 49 years and 7 months in the military.
- Conspicuous Consumption: The mothers of Song-yi and Se-mi wear tacky and garish clothes bought with their daughters' money.
- Continuity Nod: The lines Song-yi said when she rejected Min-joon is the same lines Min-joon used when he rejected Song-yi when they were in a frozen lake.
- In chronological order, the method Jae-kyung used to kill Yoo-ra is the same when he killed his older brother, Han-kyung. Complete with exact lines.
- Damsel in Distress: Both Yi-hwa and Song-yi.
- Deadpan Snarker: Min-joon. Occasionally accompanied by his "Joseon jokes".
- Disappeared Dad: Subverted. Song-yi's father has been keeping an eye on his children, though he feel ashamed to meet them. In Yoon-jae's case, his mother told him that he has no father so he always believed that he never had one.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Hwi-kyung to Song-yi. Unfortunately for him, being the second male lead means it will never work.
- Se-mi to Hwi-kyung, seemingly nice at first, but Hwi-kyung rejected her.
- Dub Name Change: As usual in the Philippine dub.
- Cheon Song-yi ~ Steffi Cheon
- Do Min-joon ~ Matteo Do
- Lee Hwi-kyung ~ Winston Lee
- Yoo Se-mi ~ Lucy Yoo
- Lee Jae-kyung ~ Jackson Lee
- Jan Yoo-ra ~ Rachel Han
- The Fashionista: Cheon Song Yi, the Queen.
- First Kiss: Song-yi is under the impression that Min-joon’s first kiss is with her in Episode 8. While she isn’t wrong about it being her, his first kiss actually happens in Episode 4, in what Song-yi thought was a dream.
- Five Stages of Grief: After Min-joon tells Song-yi that he is an alien and basically breaks up with her, Song-yi deals with these. While having alternating scenes with Min-joon while discussing these five stages.
- Denial: Song-yi starts to think that it was all a joke and starts to look for hidden cameras.
- Anger: Song-yi flails around in her bed and screaming about her situation
- Bargaining: Song-yi analyzes her relationship with Min-joon and decides that he was not her type.
- Depression: Song-yi stares out while eating; Yoon-jae and another friend of Song-yi points this out.
- Acceptance: Song-yi tries to win Min-joon's heart over by exercising on a treadmill.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Song-yi is the Foolish sibling and Yoon-jae is the Responsible.
- Foreign Remake: The Chinese drama "My Amazing Boyfriend".
- Friendless Background: Both Min-joon and Song-yi to a certain extent. At one point, the two bond over their loneliness.
- Min-joon deliberately keeps his distance from humans due to his incredibly long lifespan, and after falling seriously ill due to a colleague spitting in his coffee, starts eating alone to avoid similar incidents. He does end up with a friend in Lawyer Jang, however, whose life he saved thirty years ago.
- Song-yi has Hwi-kyung and Se-Mi, but the former is a persistent admirer and the latter claims to have been friends with her because she had no other choice. Other people around her tend to be contingent on her popularity and success.
- Friendzone:
- Song-yi and Hwi-kyung who remain friends at the end.
- Hwi-kyung and Se-mi. He rejects her and only likes her as a friend.
- Genki Girl: The Obnoxious and Excitable Cheon Song Yi.
- Gilligan Cut: Song-yi watches Se-Mi's television series and predicts that it will get 8% in ratings. Cut to a scene showing a cake with "Congratulations on Breaking 20% in Ratings" from the staff of the said series.
- An inversion would be Min-joon telling Hwi-kyung that Song-yi slept in his apartment while sober, then cutting to a lecture by Min-joon about how he does not indulge in jealousy.
- Girly Bruiser: Song-yi the Fashionista and shoe-crazy actress who beat up a pervert in an elevator.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Song-yi does not handle alcohol well. She can either fall asleep or go on a bender. This becomes a Brick Joke when she remembers her embarrassing drunken shenanigans after she was dumped by Min-joon
- He Knows Too Much: Jae-kyung has been killing everyone who knows that he murdered his brother.
- Heroic BSoD: Hwi-kyung goes through one after Jae-kyung is arrested.
- Song-yi when Min-joon leaves.
- Heterosexual Life-Partner: Lawyer Jang and Min-joon. The former even helps in the latter's identity changes.
- Holding Out for a Hero: Discussed in one episode when Song-yi and Min-joon argue after seeing the UFO's. Min-joon thinks its silly for mankind to wait for aliens to solve their problems.
- Human Aliens: Min-joon. Also, the other aliens who came along to the trip to Earth.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Min-joon couldn't save Yi Hwa and it was already too late...
- Improbable Weapon User: Song-yi once beat up a pervert in an elevator using her cellphone.Manager Beom: The pervert was in a coma for 8 months. It's the first time I felt pity for the pervert.
- Inelegant Blubbering: Discussed by Song-yi in Episode 7, when she points out the differences between real and fake tears.
- Informed Ability: Song-yi's acting. You'll never see her act in the series, except for the action scenes. Until for the Chekhov's Skill.
- Innocently Insensitive: Hwi-kyung to Se-Mi (who has a crush on him) everytime he talks about Song-yi.
- Interrupted Intimacy: When Min-joon teleports onto the cruise ship, he exits out of a closet and interrupts a couple who were about to do it.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Min-joon is referred to as an "it" by people from Joseon when they find out that he is not human.
- Jerkass: Jae-kyung, Se-mi's mom
- Jerkass with a Heart of Gold; Song-yi's mom may be a mix of this along with Stage Mom but she does deeply care for her children.
- Knight of Cerebus: Jae-kyung, and how. The drama can border on Rom Com at times, but as soon as he shows up things get a lot darker.
- Lecture as Exposition: While Min-joon does his duty as a college professor, his lectures often correspond with events related to Song-yi. See Five Stages of Grief above as an example.
- Lonely at the Top: The only people close to Song-yi are her ex-manager Beom, her ex assistant, her friend Bok-ja and Min-joon.
- The Lost Lenore: Yi-hwa to Min-joon, though she may not be as lost as he thought.
- Magical Boyfriend: Min-joon to Song-yi.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Min-joon hasn’t aged in 400 years, and is either immortal or incredibly long-lived. Song-yi on the other hand, is a normal human.
- Meaningful Name: Chun Song-yi means "One Thousand Flowers"
- Middle Child Syndrome: Jae Kyung. He is not the eldest; he and Hwi-Kyung had an older brother named Han-Kyung. Jae-kyung killed him due to this trope.
- Modesty Towel: Min Joon wears a towel around his waist while showering.
- Mood Whiplash: This drama tends to follow sad scenes after funny scenes, and vice-versa.
- Mundane Utility: Min-joon occasionally uses his telekinesis to do simple things like pulling a glass of water towards him, or dancing books in the air for no reason other than because he wanted to.
- He can also cut off the electric supply of the whole city of Seoul. He only did this while he was drunk, though.
- Next Sunday A.D.: Song-yi and Min-joon are reunited in 2017.
- Not So Stoic: Min-joon seems impassive most of the time, but is sometimes expressive.
- Oblivious to Love: Hwi-kyung had no idea that Se-mi loved him.Hwi-kyung: "Call the guy right now and tell him you love him." (he answers his phone) "Se-mi, what are you calling me for?" (Beat as the realization sets in)
- Parental Substitute: Lawyer Jang acts like this whenever Min-joon needs it.
- Planning for the Future Before the End: Min-joon and Song-yi did this while in an isolated island. Includes family planning, future home, and financial issues.
- Posthumous Character:
- Yi-hwa, the girl whom Min-joon befriended back in the Joseon era. Her death affected his behavior towards human nature for centuries.
- Han-kyung, Hwi-kyung's and Jae-kyung's actual older brother.
- Pretty Freeloaders: Song-yi has to live with Min-joon for a while after her career took a hit, and then when her life was in danger.
- Priceless Ming Vase: Song-yi breaks an actual priceless vase of Min-joon. She tries to bribe him with a promise that she will replace it with a fake one.
- Product Placement: Min-joon and Song-yi communicate via a text messaging app named LINE
- Reincarnation Romance: There are hints, but nothing explicit has been confirmed.
- Young Song-yi looks identical to Yi-hwa.
- Song-yi hates the Joseon era, and feels an unexplainable sadness when she sees Yi-hwa’s hairpin, to the point of tears.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Poor Yi-hwa only made things worse for herself by coming back to her parents alive.
- Rescue Romance: Played with. While Min-joon has saved Song-yi from certain death three times already, she doesn’t know about any of them. What she does know is that he is always on hand to rescue her from less life-threatening and more embarrassing or frustrating situations.
- It's played straight with Yi-hwa, who falls in love with Min-joon when he repeatedly saves her life.
- Running Gag: A non-comedic one. Jae-kyung has a habit of asking after the health of people he plans to kill, because his M.O. is to make people’s deaths seem to be an accident caused by whatever illness they have. His concern over people’s health (“How is your diabetes/depression/insomnia nowadays? Please take care of yourself.”) is the stuff of nightmares.
- An actual comedic one. Everytime Song-yi and Min-joon kiss, the latter weakens due to his Weaksauce Weakness. Song-yi has to carry a limping Min-joon since their kisses are on inconvenient places.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Silent Min Joon and Obnoxious Song Yi.
- Sick Episode: Episode 9. Min-joon gets sick after kissing Song Yi
- Single-Target Sexuality: Hwi-kyung is Song-yi-sexual.
- Shipper on Deck: Yoon-jae to Min-joon and Song-yi, after he finds out that the former also likes astronomy.
- Shout-Out: There are quite a few littered around.
- Stage Mom: Song-yi's mother.
- Also Se-Mi's mother.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Min-joon and Song-yi are a literal example of this. Min-joon lives far longer than Song-yi and he is stuck in a different part of the galaxy.
- The Stoic: Min-joon is mostly impassive and expressionless.
- Taking the Bullet: Yi-Hwa died by shielding Min-joon from arrows.
- Time Stands Still: Min-joon's main power.
- The Stinger: These contains backstories, expositions, or funny bonus scenes.
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: Min-Joon is the Straight Man to Yoon Jae's Wise Guy.
- Tsundere: Song-yi. She is a bitch on the outside, but is really soft inside.
- Walking Spoiler: Han-kyung. His death led to the events regarding Jae-kyung's ex-wife and Han Yoo-ra and eventually Do Min-joon and Cheon Song-yi.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Min-joon cannot share blood or saliva with humans. Drinking a cup of coffee spat in by a disgruntled colleague rendered him seriously ill for a week, and kissing Song-yi gave him a high fever within three hours. He also loses control of his powers when he’s sick.
- You Can't Go Home Again: As Min-joon was caught up in the events surrounding Yi-hwa, the aliens' spaceships leave Earth without him and he ends up stranded.
- You're Cute When You're Angry: Song-yi to Min-joon after they become a couple.
