Japan Bookstore Award-winning 'You, Like a Star' stars Yokohama and Hirose; Korean fan event set for 19th

Award-winning novel makes its way to the screen in a star-studded lineup that shook Japan

Japan's leading youth icons are coming to theaters in South Korea. Daewon Media, the film's distributor, officially announced on the 13th that the stars of 'You, Like a Star,' Yokohama Ryusei and Hirose Suzu, will visit South Korea on the 19th.

The film follows Kai and Akimi, two 17-year-olds the same age, as they navigate love and growing up over an extraordinary 15-year span. At its heart is a poignant story about two people carrying their own wounds and shortcomings who become soul mates before confronting choices that pull them apart. The film has already earned recognition for its strong foundation: It is based on the novel of the same name by Nagira Yuu, which surpassed 1.7 million copies in cumulative sales and won the 2023 Japan Bookstore Award.

Yokohama Ryusei takes the lead as Kai, delivering a powerful performance. He is an acclaimed actor who won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Actor for the 2024 film 'Faceless.' He is also enjoying a career peak, having been cast in the major upcoming production 'Kokuho,' scheduled for release next year in 2025.

Hirose Suzu plays Akimi, Kai's counterpart. She first made her mark on the international stage in master director Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Our Little Sister' (2015). Since then, she has demonstrated a remarkable range in major films including 'Rage' (2017) and 'Wandering Moon' (2023), and critics are eagerly awaiting the depth she will bring to this romance.

The film is directed by Fujii Michihito, who has a substantial following in South Korea. Audiences will be watching to see how his exceptional direction, which moves between sharp social awareness and delicate sensibility in films such as 'The Journalist' (2019), 'The Last 10 Years' (2022) and 'Faceless' (2024), takes shape in the romance genre.

Yokohama Ryusei, Hirose Suzu and director Fujii Michihito will speak directly with South Korean audiences at a stage greeting on the 19th at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Seoul. During an audience Q&A scheduled for the same day, they will share behind-the-scenes stories and offer an in-depth discussion of the film.

Featuring the commanding chemistry of its two young stars, 'You, Like a Star' opens nationwide at Lotte Cinema on the 28th.