In a story about pursuing dreams in post-war Korea, an ordinary village girl comes face to face with a bigger world and dreams of making it big as a theatre performer.
But the path ahead of her isn’t as smooth as she thinks. And between a picky and strict leader and a powerful rival, our village girl has her work cut out for her. Luckily, our leading lady has one cheerer-upper in the form of her new mentor, who believes in her talent.
Bunny S. watches Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born on Disney+
Opening Week Rating:
Jeongnyeon The Star is Born Opening Week Story
“Where did you learn pansori?”
Despite being an ordinary village girl with no money or connections, our leading lady, Yoon Jeong-nyeon (Kim Tae Ri), is a natural-born talent gifted at singing. However, for an unknown reason, Jeong-nyeon’s mother (Cameo by Moon So-ri) goes mad once Jeong-nyeon starts singing and threatens to shave Jeong-nyeon’s hair bald if she catches her singing again.
One day, while singing, Jeong-nyeon catches the eyes of Moon Ok-gyeong (Jung Eun Chae), a top performer at an all-women performing troupe visiting Jeong-nyeon’s village on a tour. For all her fame, Ok-gyeong feels down. Rumors circulating around are that her acting isn’t exciting anymore. Yet after coming across Jeong-nyeon, things change for her. Gifting Jeong-nyeon tickets for the troupe’s next performance, Ok-gyeong is amazed to hear Jeong-nyeon never learned properly how to sing and only mimicked what she saw others do.
Curious about the reason performers make a lot of money, Jeong-nyeon went to see Ok-gyeong’s performance. But upon watching Ok-gyeong on stage, Jeong-nyeon feels a spark inside and dreams of becoming a performer like her, spending the night mimicking what she saw and thinking about what was missing from her performance.
The next day, Jeong-nyeon goes to see Ok-gyeong. Though Jeong-nyeon’s acting isn’t as good as her singing or, as Ok-gyeong puts it, is stiff like a board, Ok-gyeong sees a glimmer of hope inside Jeong-nyeon and decides to take her under her wing. Disregarding her mother’s threats, Jeong-nyeon resolves to pursue her dream no matter what and she is thrilled to bits to hear that.
[1화 선공개] 소리 천재 정년이를 알아본 옥경🔍
매란국극단 오디-숀 준비에 열중인데..!
근데 이제 심각한 띄어 읽기를 곁들인..풀버전은 👉🏻 #tvNDRAMA유튜브 #네이버tv
소리 천재 소녀들의 뜨거운 성장기 <정년이>
10/12 [토] 밤 9:20 첫 방송 | tvN#정년이 #Jeongnyeon_TheStarisBorn pic.twitter.com/wybjltYFMp— tvN drama (@CJnDrama) October 11, 2024
“Wait! I want to sign up too.”
The troupe that Ok-gyeong works for is holding an audition to select new trainees. And with only a little time left, Ok-gyeong trains Jeong-nyeon at acting and dancing so that she can make it through. Before meeting Jeong-nyeon, she felt bored. Thus, she wants Jeong-nyeon to join the troupe and continue to entertain her.
Things were going well and Jeong-nyeon was improving by the day. But unluckily, she got caught out by her mother. One can only imagine how furious Jeong-nyeon’s mother gets, going as far as to lock Jeong-nyeon in the shed without food or water. But we have a bigger issue here. The audition is tomorrow and Ok-gyeong plans to leave for Seoul at night. With some help from her elder sister, Jeong-nyeon makes it to the place where she is supposed to meet Ok-gyeong, and luckily, they make it just in time for the audition.
드디어 ⭐국극스타의 꿈⭐을 위해
한 발짝 내딛는 정년이
꼭 성공해서 돌아갈 거야![토일] 밤 9:20 tvN#정년이 #Jeongnyeon_TheStarisBorn pic.twitter.com/1bm0kub6ee
— tvN drama (@CJnDrama) October 12, 2024
Unluckily, having sprained her shoulder, Jeong-nyeon messes up the dancing part, and it doesn’t seem the troupe leader, Kang So-bok (Ra Mi Ran), is impressed by her acting either. But once Jeong-nyeon starts singing, everyone is taken aback and Leader Kang gets reminded by a colleague she trained with, probably Jeong-nyeon’s mother, who is said to be a famous singer who disappeared all of a sudden. (I guess something bad happened to Jeong-nyeon’s mother, and that is why she quit performing and was against Jeong-nyeon pursuing singing.)
Luckily, Jeong-nyeon makes it through, albeit as an understudy, not an official trainee. Still, it wasn’t because her skills were lacking but because Leader Kang didn’t want anyone to gossip that Jeong-nyeon was accepted because of nepotism, having been trained by Ok-gyeong.
[매란국극단 입단 시험 후기]
함께 시험 보고 싶지 않은 사람 1위, 소리 천재 정년이
ㄴ 같이 시험 본 애가 소리를 너무 잘해요…[토일] 밤 9:20 tvN#정년이 #Jeongnyeon_TheStarisBorn pic.twitter.com/HZZ2F4qwfK
— tvN drama (@CJnDrama) October 13, 2024
“Are you saying you were really Bangja just now?”
Jeong-nyeon faces another hurdle after coming across elite trainee, Heo Yeong-seo (Shin Ye Eun), who got trained under a music master for 10 years on top of coming from a wealthy family. However, for all of her talent, Yeong-seo has an arrogant attitude, deeming herself superior to others. Still, Yeong-seo isn’t bad by nature, yet it is her mother’s sky-high expectations and toxic comparisons that make Yeong-seo behave like this, especially to Jeong-nyeon whom Yeong-seo deems as her rival after hearing her unique voice.
Meanwhile, Jeong-nyeon gets tricked by a cunning new trainee into trying to get her hand on the script for the troupe’s official performance. But to do this, Jeong-nyeon needs to prove her worth first and land a role in the trainees’ performance, getting further duped by Yeong-seo into agreeing to play a challenging role.
After messing up the first rehearsal, Jeong-nyeon feels conflicted about what to do. On one hand, there is no denying she isn’t ready yet to perform on stage. And on the other hand, Jeong-nyeon isn’t one to throw in the towel. Simultaneously, Ok-gyeong calls Jeong-nyeon over to her house, having prepared a little surprise for Jeong-nyeon, a copy of the script for the official performance.
What is more shocking is Ok-gyeong calling Jeong-nyeon her successor, or more precisely, her future rival. Hearing that, Jeong-nyeon gets reminded of the mean remarks Yeong-seo and the other trainees said about her joining the troupe only thanks to Ok-gyeong and not because of her talent. But we have to wait until next week to hear how Jeong-nyeon reacts. Will those comments hold her back? Or will Jeong-nyeon push through till the end? For me, I guess it is the latter.
매란의 왕자님 문옥경 뒤를 이을..
아니, 문옥경의 자리를 위협할 윤정년?! 😮[토일] 밤 9:20 tvN#정년이 #Jeongnyeon_TheStarisBorn pic.twitter.com/KC4hQUsSDc
— tvN drama (@CJnDrama) October 13, 2024
Jeongnyeon The Star is Born Opening Week Musings
I am all for this ongoing trend of female-centered stories and I appreciate how multi-layered our characters are. Ok-gyeong might be fond of Jeong-nyeon and sincere to her. But she isn’t also about to let her guard down and give up her spot without a proper fight. Likewise, Yeong-seo isn’t a caricature villain who only exists to hate Jeong-nyeon, and I hope the two girls get closer throughout the drama.
In the center of all of this, there is Jeong-nyeon, an ordinary girl with a strong will and sheer determination. For now, Jeong-nyeon’s motive might be earning a lot of money, but the more time she spends at the troupe, the more fascinated she will get by this world. Last but not least, we have Leader Kang, who seems to have a story of her own that shaped her into what she is today.
🎊<정년이> 데뷔 D-DAY 🎊
국극의 신선함과 눈을 뗄 수 없는 화려함까지!
오랫동안 준비한 무대의 막이 열립니다 ٩(˙ᵕ˙⑅๑)소리 천재 소녀들의 뜨거운 성장기 <정년이>
10/12 [토] 밤 9:20 첫 방송 | #tvN#정년이 #Jeongnyeon_TheStarisBorn#김태리 #신예은 #라미란 #정은채 #김윤혜 pic.twitter.com/vHgbgQrrKK— tvN drama (@CJnDrama) October 11, 2024
Another character I am curious about is Seo Hye-rang (Kim Yoon-hye). All we got on Hye-rang this week is her close relationship with Ok-gyeong and the fact that they live in the same house. Hopefully, Hye-rang will get a fair share of the spotlight and not lurk in the background for long.
With such good writing and impressive acting, I am already sold on the story and looking forward to tagging along these women’s journey to achieve fame, grow as individuals, and hopefully gift us an intriguing sismance.
Photos and Videos: tvN Drama
