This is a masterpiece you guys must read, compared to other manhwas/novels that have the same idol/celebrity thing going on, I think this is the best.

I love the plot, and the characters personality and everything they do is sooo realistic (except for the window thing), like you can really imagine it happening in real life, and I really really really love our MC too, he's smart and all like he's just perfect. It's worth my time I really recommend this novel it's 100000000000/10.

i came with high expectations because of the amazing manhwa adaptation and honestly, it lives up to its reputation as the source material. the manhwa has great art, hilarious small details, cute chibis and an absolutely adorable moondae. I'd say it did the novel justice, so I recommend reading both. which one you read first doesn't matter since both have their own charms and don't pale in comparison to their other counterpart. the novel was amazing at describing the feel and image of music videos and stage performances.

rather than a... more>> fictional novel, it's like reading the rise to stardom journey of a real life idol and his group (if you remove the debut or die system). the infamous money-grabbing production teams, and fans that go from hating to loving an idol in the blink of an eye. if you're a moderate kpop fan or even if you're not a fan at all, the events are written in a way that make you go, "yeah, I can definitely see this happening in real life."

most of the time when moondae performs I get so excited I can't help but open my kpop playlist and fully immerse myself in this realistic kpop fiction world. it's not just the broadcast channels or entertainment world's structure that seem so realistic, the characters act genuinely like humans and not braindead side characters that exist to either be moondae's fans or haters.

i especially like moondae's character. his overly cautious and calculating thoughts sort of irked me at times but if you think about it, he needs to debut or he'll literally die. I guess it makes sense he'd avoid anything that's disadvantageous to him. that's why his story is even more interesting- we can see him slowly opening up to his fellow members and accepting that performing for him was fun.

100 chapters later and ive become an actual moondae fan TT it's so touching I actually cried, it's like I'm actually watching my favorite idol... <<less

The plot establishes a well rounded idol group with realistic synergy and friction. The author sets up the story so well that I have this urge to google for their songs. You can feel both what makes fans like idols so much as well as what makes them just regular people.

The story has another regressor other than the MC, but he was driven crazy by his repeated deaths. To top it off, he does not hide his curiosity over whether he can regress again by killing another regressor (ie the... more>> protagonist). This characters keeps the tension high after the pressure from the system missions faded out. They still exist but it feels like the MC can easily achieve the goals at this point as long as he does not lose his momentum and protects his team members from scandal. The variable of a crazy man from a popular idol group with intimate knowledge of the main task adds a layer of complexity to the situation without departing from the central theme. <<less

easily one of my top 5 novels. It touches all the points of the idol industry that it makes you wonder if the author has had personal experience with it themself!

this novel isn't centered around the fact that the MC has the help of a game-like system, and he also doesn't heavily rely on it. Although it is a major plot point in the story, it doesn't overshine any other elements. With the fact that the MC is an unreliable narrator, we get to see how he grows and begins... more>> to care more and more for the people and things around him and how they treat him in return, which is extremely cute!!

every character has their own personality, and they often get arcs centered around them which continues to give them more depth. Definitely read this novel if you love the found family trope and seeing how self-love begins to come about. I haven't gotten bored of debut or die even once, and I think everyone should read it :) it's definitely a story that has way more to do than living as an idol. <<less

Story wise: 4.5/5

Translation:4.5/5

Characters: 5/5

If you like idols and zero to hero kind of stories please do give this one a try. The story is a bit confusing from the start and it is ambiguous as well but as the story moves forward it gets better. I look forward to the future chapters.

Thank you translator-nims for this gem.

Ahhh... This is actually so good... (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠) ⁠っ I'm not gonna lie, I skipped this novel in the beginning because it didn't interest me much. I was more focused on film emperor type of novels than idol ones. But I've been recommended to read this novel like crazy so I just had to come over. I never thought that I would really be hooked like reviewers said. The writing is nice and simple, not all over the place, I really like it. I like the MC's character that constantly overanalyses... more>> everything to ensure his survival (it was very realistic lol. In produce idol shows, the amount of evil editing to alter public opinions are insane). MC couldn't even sort out his true feelings for other members since he's so busy trying to increase his reputation as an idol, it was sad and touching. On one hand, he was kind and actually feels inclined to comfort other participants when needed but for the sake of his safety and to avoid evil editing, he had to hold back. MC feels very mature, which matches his age for once unlike other characters I know that are only old in numbers. The conflicts in the show as well as public's comments were very realistic, it felt as if I was reading real posts written by real fans and haters. The amount of frust I got from reading "netizen's" hate comments were just right and not too overdone. In chinese film emperor novels, the hate comments tend to over exaggerate and come accross as extremely brutal to the point it feels two dimensional (although I suppose there are some really crazy fans out there...). Other characters are nice too, they were added well into the conflicts with their respective history and background. It didn't feel like the characters were being forced and pushed into their respective roles. AHHHH I'm really not good at putting my feelings into words. To summarise, everything felt very realistic to the point I was s**ked in into the novel! Whenever Moondae's fans cheer for Moondae, I feel like cheering for Moondae. Whenever I see haters leaving hate comments for Moondae, I feel like I want to go online and defend Moondae! It felt like I was a part of the world itself and it's a magical feeling! That's it! <<less

putting this on hold since it's not complete yet, wake me up when it's done zzz.

I LOOOVE ITT!!

It's the first time i've stumbled upon a korean game-entertainment (idol) kind of novels. It's well written and there IS a plot. If u like a game-entertainment based novel then this is for u.

I love their (TeStars) interactions so much, they are aDORABLE. ;V;

anw, everyone gradually knows about our MC situation.

... more>>

Spoiler

oh also the real park moondae is in our MC's real body so like they basically swapped bodies. And the real park moondae also got those game like quests.

[collapse]

<<less

This is a gem and a masterpiece!

The MC is an architect and strategy type which breathes life into the world.

The group he is in has lots of cute personalities who are thankful towards him and care about him.

... more>> It's a very engaging novel that's also fluffy.

Update after reading chapters 118-644 on official Korean website (paid) :

The story gets even more intense and characters too. Things get a lot darker and troublesome but they prevail.

There are a lot of intense scenes that might make you anxious with them but thankfully they survive through the perilous ordeals together.

I've completed the webnovel on Kakao by translating each page image manually (for personal use only).

I am in love with the art style of the webtoon and can't wait until it's finished (hopefully) after ten years! <<less

I love this novel!! Probably one of my favs!! I am truly thankful to the translator I hope you won’t stop translating this gem!!

Absolutely the best entertainment novel I've ever read, and I've read a lot. Definitely has one of the best protagonist's ever. Like I pretty much stan him now. Moonpuppy is the best!

The other characters are amazing too! I like them a lot!

This novel actually got me more into K-pop, I actually disliked K-pop a lot before I've read this novel.

And now I listen more to K-pop, which is pretty amazing.

I highly, highly recommend this, you'll probably become a loviewer too!

So far, so good.

It's my first time leaving a review on this page. I can't help it, I just had to! It's too good, I'm telling you.

I love the plot, the characters, and all. The author must have spend great effort to create this masterpiece.👌

i've read this novel up to chapter 63 (in korean) before the webtoon released and just want to say that it is SO GOOD. I don't usually read idol novels but this one is so popular in the korean community so I could not help myself and I'm glad I did. The MC is likable, smart, and interesting, and all of the other important characters (basically the guys who debut) all have their own unique charms and personalities - to the point where you can just tell who is talking... more>> based without being told who it is. Minus the fact that its a transmigration novel, everything is also very realistic for the kpop industry (such as the behind the scenes happenings of the survival program & the netizen reactions). There is not a single dull moment. I basically binged the first season in 2 days (which is a lot for me since im much slower reading korean than english), and can't wait to read more. <<less

Because I was curious about the story while reading the manhwa, I decided to mtled the original version and it really hurt T.T. Even so, until the part I read, the story is very exciting and good.

Note: This is not typical OP main character, so maybe some of you will not like it or at least feel bored in the middle story.

I love it, this is really interesting and the protagonist is so smart. One of my fav webnovels.

... more>>

Spoiler

I love the way he's interacting with the future members and them helping each other makes me giggle like a fool💀

[collapse]

Spoiler

I knew this webnovel through the fanarts and the one character that made me read this is cheongryeo so I can't wait to see him soon.

[collapse]

also, oh my gossshhh good news GUYS this is going to get a manhwa! Kakaopage tweeted it and it'll be released on 00am 1st August 2022. They've revealed the art style and it's sooo cuteee. Can't wait to see my boysss. <<less

Genuinely one of the best webnovels I’ve read. It’s so interesting???? Like wtf???? It had me captivated ever since I read the first chapter. I’m upset that I’ll never find anything similar to this again.

I love transmigration novels, but transmigration + idols??? Mwah mwah delicious I love it so much. Enough to the point I am reading it in Korean despite being terrible at it.

It’s so interesting!! Definitely recommend to anyone who likes transmigration stuff, or people who want to get into transmigration novels.

raws are worth reading, if you dont mind using papago to translate the images. (The raws are also free on kakaopage.) amazing novel, good characters, and interesting premise. There's really nothing much to say about it. If you like idol themed novels, or likes kpop/survival shows, then this is definitely a must read.

I really like this novel it's really interesting and refreshing ｡：ﾟﾟ (´ᗜ｀✿) ･｡. Eventhough I'm not a big fan of anything k-pop related I still got hooked to this novel I haven't finished it yet but I would 100% recommend it to anyone. The MC is funny and all of his friends have cute personalities.

The author is really good at showing what it's like in the industry it felt so realistic seeing all the internet trolls it actually made me angry. Just shows how good the author is at writing... more>> d (^_^).

Sadly theres no actual translations past chater 200 hopefully someone picks it up my korean isn't good and mtl is barely understandable (⌣́_⌣̀) <<less

This novel has my whole heart and has been my fixation for months now and still is. I even experienced the pain of mtls to read this and I can say I will never do this for another story again; that's just how amazing this novel is to me.

Now you really got to grow attach to the characters to finish this novel. I read the manhwa first and loved it absolutely feel in love with the characters so I read the novels. And although there are many many things I... more>> wished the story explored more on or added, I still loved it either way. Take note on the unreliable narrator tag because it really is unreliable and you often got to read between the lines of things and can't trust the narrator because he rationalizes and downplays a lot and the reality is pointed out by other characters while still maintaining the mc's pov which I liked. <<less

Omggggggg I think I have find a gem while searching for idol manga....

Basically in idol manga we can see that MC is a all-rounder and the story revolves around him but it's different here coz all the members have their own personality and prblm. Our MC moondae (such a cutipie) is a guy with a death penalty but always wants to help coz he cares about them (but he was in denial that he was doing for team lol 😂) he is a funny guy who doesn't know how... more>> much precious he is.... I really like the fact that all the team later came to know about wht moondae going through.... <<less

The chapters 15 to 50 are so awfully translated that, without exaggeration, every third paragraph is nigh incomprehensible. The individual words make sense, but the sentence and the context do not.

If you push on, it does get somewhat better, both because their grasp of Korean improves, as well as because you will start to understand what the translator seems to think certain words mean in English.

(Honestly, their tl notes seem perfectly fluent in English, so I can only assume they were learning Korean and applied certain dictionary translations one-to-one... more>> without really knowing what the text was trying to say.)

By then, however, you'll have been bombarded with untranslated nonsense like 'Heol!' and 'cider' which is basically the same thing as people who leave 'Masaka!' untranslated.

The story is fine. Nothing to write home about, and the protagonist isn't very interesting or likeable. Actually, his real personality makes it doubly embarrassing when he does idol behaviour like using puppy emotes in his social media posts.

On the plus side, his relationships with his peers (actually people way younger) is interesting, and it's fun reading about him helping solve each of their problems. Probably just going to drop it here and see about reading the comic instead. Hopefully less narration means less cringe. <<less