Heartstrings is a 2011 South Korean television series starring Park Shin-hye and Jung Yong-hwa. It aired on MBC from June 29 to August 19, 2011 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 15 episodes. Heartstrings is a youth melodrama about love, friendship and dreams, set against the backdrop of a performing arts college. The drama reunited Jung Yong-hwa and Park Shin-hye who both starred in the TV seriesYou're Beautiful.
Synopsis
A series of misunderstandings causes Lee Shin, the cocky leader of "The Stupid" and Lee Gyu-won, a college student majoring in Traditional Korean Music to start on the wrong foot. Gyu-won does not understand why Lee Shin is so popular, until one day she is forced to go the band's concert with her friends, who are fans of "The Stupid". There, she sees Lee Shin performing live, and is immediately captivated by him. When Gyu-won decides to join the performance group for the upcoming 100th anniversary performance for the university, everyone sees her potential and talent, particularly Kim Suk-hyun, a Broadway composer-turned-music director. She competes with Han Hee-joo, the spoiled daughter of the Chairman, for the role of the leading actress. Lee Shin also decides to join the musical due to his crush on the dance professor, Jung Yoon-soo, who is also the choreographer and muse of the musical. As Gyu-won and Lee Shin spend more time together, they began to fall for each other. Fearing that Gyu-won might outshine her daughter, Hee-joo's mother schemes with Im Tae-joon, one of the school's administrators; and they plot to destroy Gyu-won's image to force her to quit the performance. Lee Shin works with Suk-hyun in order to clear Gyu-won's name. Meanwhile, Joon-hee struggles between his ever-growing feelings for Hee-joo and helping his friends as she threatens their university lives. When Hee-joo is found to be suffering from vocal chord infection, Gyu-won is given the chance to replace her and go on stage. However, the kind-hearted Gyu-won chooses to let Hee-joo stand on stage instead, while she sings for her backstage. When the media found out that Gyu-won was the actual singer, she was offered a chance to go overseas to record an album. A new conflict occurs as Gyu-won is made to choose between her dreams and love. At the same time, Lee Shin was suffering from a broken wrist caused by a fall he suffered with Gyu-won earlier. Worried that she might forfeit her dream to stay with him, he lies to her and insists that he is fine, even after crouching in pain during a performance with The Stupid. Gyu-won eventually decides to go to the United Kingdom to fulfill her dream, while Lee Shin undergoes surgery to fix his broken wrist.
The series initially had the working titleFestival, until broadcaster MBC announced an online contest held from March 30 to April 10, 2011 to give it a new title. Among over 4,000 suggestions submitted to the MBC website, You've Fallen for Me was chosen as the Korean title. A second online contest for the international English title was held on the digital American distribution platform DramaFever, and Heartstrings won the fan poll.
Soundtrack
The Heartstrings soundtrack was released in four installments every week starting from June 29, 2011, and concluding on July 20, 2011.
Ratings
Awards and nominations
International broadcast
Because of Park Shin-hye and Jung Yong-hwa's strong overseas fanbase from their previous drama You're Beautiful, broadcasting rights to Heartstrings were pre-sold to many countries including the Philippines, Japan, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong and North America, ahead of its premiere in South Korea. It aired in the Philippines via ABS-CBN's afternoon block from January 2 to 27, 2012 with more than 20 episodes. It aired in Japan on Fuji TV beginning July 9, 2012. To promote the drama, a fan meeting attended by both leads, Park Shin-hye and Jung Yong-hwa, was held on July 16 at the Tokyo International Forum. It aired in the Middle East on MBC 4 beginning March 23, 2014.
