13pts

Shooting Stars

(별똥별) 2022 tvN

Set within the entertainment world, employees work for a star and try to make that person shine.

Oh Han-Byeol (Lee Sung-Kyung) is the PR team leader of a management company. She has excellent skills in speech and crisis management. Gong Tae-Sung (Kim Young-Dae) is the top actor of the management company where Oh Han-Byeol works. He is loved by people due to his image of a kind and polite person. But, Gong Tae-Sung has a different side. He has a strong desire to win and a hot temper. Oh Han-Byeol and Gong Tae-Sung bicker over pretty much everything, but their relationship develops romantically.

K-Drama Bingo Score

Using the Modern K-Drama set

Running commentary

If Call My Agent! were a Romance K-Drama…

Only 3 episodes in, with a score of 9. Doing well! Excellent bitter romantic tension/fighting/flirting between the main characters. And Yoon Jong-Hoon is great as Kang Yoo-Sung, who has his own fan club for being a "handsome agent." Good stuff.

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Cartoony FX
(1 pt)
Notes
Animal or cartoon visual and sound effects to reinforce behavior or mood
S01E02
Gong Tae-Sung has devilish thoughts
Chicken & Beer
(1 pt)
Notes
치맥, anyone?
Finger hearts
(1 pt)
Notes
Any use of finger hearts by a character
S01E03
Tae-Sung shows the love in pictures with his adoring fans
Korean Standoff
(1 pt)
Notes
Two principal characters have a serious, sometimes emotionally confrontational, conversation while standing at least 1m apart

S01E07
Han Byeol and Tae-Sung
Memorial service
(1 pt)
Notes
Funerals and memorial services
Piggyback
(1 pt)
Notes
Someone gives someone else a piggyback ride
S01E03
Ho-Young's star collapses on the beach and needs to be carried to an ambulance
Pinky swear
(2 pt)
Notes
Two characters doing a pinky swear

Touching thumbs at the end is not a thing in America (based on my terrible polling), so that gets an easy bonus point for any wannabe K-drama.
Bonus point for: Touching thumbs at the end
S01E01
Gong Tae-Sung makes a promise with Luca in Africa
Rumble tummy
(1 pt)
Notes
Audible stomach rumbling to indicate hunger
S01E03
Jung-Yeol is hungry in the crisp Korean air
The Playground
(1 pt)
Notes
Any scene taking place in a neighborhood playground
S01E07,S01E09
Si Deok's first drinking experience leads to him sleeping — in pants — in a playground, thinking he was at the dorm.
Thumbs up
(1 pt)
Notes
Two thumbs up for "Good job!"
S01E02
The PR is "two thumbs up" happy to have Gong Tae-Sung hanging around the office.
Wrist grab
(1 pt)
Notes
Dramatically grabbing someone by the wrist as they walk away
한국어학교 (Language lessons)
(1 pt)
Notes
Specifically linguistic wordplay, discussions about spelling, pronunciation, or Chinese root words
S01E01
Hong Bo-In, the new hire, gets some fancy wordplay because her name and her job title match so closely.

Unmatched Bingo Spaces

(Dis)possession
Ghosts, spirits inhabiting bodies, or body- or identity-swapping
Childhood friends forgotten
Characters knew, or at least encountered, each other in childhood, but somehow forgot
Vehicular tragedy
Someone is/was hit by a car, truck, bus, or motorcycle
Bullying
Be Best, Korea
Cramped quarters
Sleeping in a repurposed closet, or on a balcony, or in insane tiny student housing
Crushing Debt
Characters are motivated by their debt (or a family member's), including the threat of foreclosure
Middle-of-the-Road Soliliquy
Verbal musings on deep existential questions and/or tragicomic situations while in the middle of the street
Shamans & Talismans
Yellow paper talismans, written in calligraphic red ink; visits to a shaman for fortune-telling or body transfers
Son Hyeung Min
Mentions of Son Hyeung Min, or staying up to watch Tottenham Hotspur play
강한나 (Kang Han-Na)
The presence of Kang Han-Na makes everything at least 1 point better
내 친구 ("My friend…")
A character tells a story about "My friend" that is actually about themselves