My ID Is Gangnam Beauty (2018)

PLOT: Slow paced, ambitious & thought-provoking.
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This drama (as well as its source material) depicts a love story wrapped around a social critique of the often cruel role "beauty standards" play in women's daily life. Meeting those beauty standards has become a source of stress for women worldwide, but in South Korea --as this drama suggests-- not being part of the "ideal beauty" results in a harsher treatment from society. This drama also emphasizes that the expectation to look a certain way affect everyone in different ways -- with no one --regardless of whether they are considered naturally beautiful or not-- being spared.

In that respect, Mi-Rae (our female lead) isn't the shallow person the summary might imply. It takes just the first episode to understand how she became a victim of society's expectations. She didn't undergo surgery to become beautiful, she just wanted people to accept her as a "person," which is incredibly heartbreaking.

The issue that arises afterward, one which she hadn't anticipated, was that people would still judge, reject and critique her. And that's where the story takes off. We not only follow Mi Rae as she gains confidence, but also other interesting characters who'd been suffering because (or for) their looks.

It's worth noting, however, that the pacing of this show is slow compared to other rom-com dramas. I'd say it's a stretch to tag it with comedy, since the comedic moments, despite how successfully they are implemented, are few and far between. That's not to say the show is weighted down by an overload of melodrama, because it's not. Instead, this show can be described as a sliced of life focused on self-reflection which, if you're open to it, will get you emotionally invested in the characters. Be forewarned, many of the male characters in this show (and some of the female ones) will definitely rile you up on more than one occasion.

If I have one critique apart from the wardrobe, it would be the disbalance in the portrayal of the male characters. Except for a few gems, all the male characters were written like jerks and that can be off-putting. Some balanced between jerks and good guys could've helped the show feel less toxic.

MAIN CHARACTERS: Interesting & lovable
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Kang Mi Rae (female lead played by Im Soo Hyang): She's a character who's suffered all her childhood because her looks didn't meet her peer's standards. She grew up as an introvert, keeping away from people, looking at other people's lives from afar and wishing she was allowed to have fun. Her frustration drove her to seek solace under the knife and, though she now had an acceptable face in society's eyes, her insides were still bruised and broken. Mi Rae is a complex and balanced character. If push comes to shove she'll fight, but mostly she tries to fly under the radar. She's smart and almost a natural when it comes to creating perfumes, but she struggles with an inferiority complex and doesn't like standing in the limelight. Though the actress looks quite old for the role, it is worth noting that the character was conceived by the webtoon artist as having an "older girl" look, so it stays true to the original intent.

Do Kyung Suk (male lead played by Cha Eun Woo): He exists on the opposite side of the spectrum from Kang Mi Rae but also grows up feeling lonely. He's a handsome, smart, strong, kind and very straightforward guy whose isolation came as a result of presenting a front of "perfection" and "hating" anything to do with beauty (for reasons later explained). As a result, he's socially awkward, brutally honest and a harsh judge. Though, to his credit, he's a character whose pride doesn't get in the way of realizing when he's made a mistake and make amends. Though some viewers didn't like his acting, personally I found his stoic way of delivering lines grew on me more and more as the show progressed.

Yeon Woo Young (second male lead played by Kwank Dong Yeon): He's such a good character that he ends up giving Kyung Suk a run for his money. He's kind, honest, selfless and very mature. Though his character is a bit imbalanced (as in he has more strengths than flaws), he's still a lovable man who, despite his good points, doesn't come off as being "too perfect". He's a character who helps those around him without expecting anything in return, even when he's financially struggling. Overall, his charming personality earned him fans within and outside the show.

ANTAGONIST: Complex and pitiful
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Hyeon Soo Ah (second female lead played by Jo Woo Ri): She's someone stuck between Mi Rae and Kyung Suk in the spectrum of society's judgment. Though she's considered a natural beauty, she's not a stranger to suffering. Her struggles come from forcing herself to live in service of what other people expect of her. She's a character who's not only dishonest with other people, but with herself as well. Though she earned quite a bit of hate, I personally found her character very pitiful. The drama ended up brushing over her backstory, so if you're curious you can always check out the webtoon to get a better understanding of her motivations.

PORTRAYAL OF ROMANCE: Slow paced, healthy & nurturing
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I mentioned before that the show is slow-paced and this is true for the romance as well. However, that pacing allows the progression of classmates to friends to lovers to feel very natural and endearing. There's a lot of cute scenes between the leads without making it cheesy, which is a plus for me.

Some highlights of the romance:
-Their relationship is always healthy.
-Both characters are new at romance, so they take their time to find their ground and, though they stumble, they do it together.
-Both learn from each other, creating a very balanced relationship.
-They learn to communicate what they want and need so the other person can understand, making their relationship not only refreshingly endearing but also nurturing.

OVERALL: Highly Recommended (and the webtoon as well)
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This is an interesting slice of life that follows a group of characters trying to find their place in the world and build the courage to live by their standards, rather than society's judgment. Though it's slow-paced, the plot is interesting and the mood is often lightened up by warm moments of affection between the leads, their families and their friends.

Keep in mind, I saw this as it was coming out. So binge watching it might give you a different experience because the plot moves slowly and the acting can sometimes come off looking/sounding very wooden. However, this is doubtlessly a memorable show that'll give you food for thought.

If you're able and willing, I'd also encourage you to read the webtoon. There's a lot of insight to be gained that will help you get a better viewing experience. There are scenes, especially at the beginning of the drama, that'll make more sense if you know the context the webtoon provides.

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Okay, first of all, I want to address the haters out there. They are going to say that Cha Eun Woo is just another Idol who can't act. He is just a pretty face that doesn't deserve the lead roles already. They will also be saying that Im Soo Hyang is too old for the role. I have also read a few people say that the story was "too slow" and the romance "too childish".
I disagree with all of the above statements. Cha Eun Woo has some serious acting chops. I am not really a critic. Honestly, I usually think everyone is great, but all the negative comments he was getting made me pay extra attention. His character was pretty traditional stoic and standoffish. But I thought he played the part well. He would have these minute facial expressions that showed what he was thinking. And his character grew and progressed as the story went on.
Im Soo Hyang did an awesome job for the part. Because of the plastic surgery she was supposed to look more "mature" than her fellow students, so her age wasn't really a problem. The actress was excellent for the part. I can't imagine anyone else doing such a good job portraying someone who looks beautiful but feels ugly.
As for the rest, haters gonna hate.
This was a lovely show about a girl who was bullied all through her childhood for being "ugly". Before entering college, she gets plastic surgery done on her whole face in hopes that she can have a new life. But it turns out, it takes more than a new face to change your life. She has to learn to love herself and to not judge herself or others based on the way they look.
Most importantly, at least for me, the ending was perfect. It had everything I want in a drama ending. And for me that is pretty rare.

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I feel like this is probably an unpopular opinion, however I found this drama to very mediocre... For a show that keeps pushing the idea that beauty isn't everything and personality matters more, you would think they would give the two leads some pretty interesting personalities to work with. But no, the two leads were the most uninteresting characters I think I have ever come across in a Korean drama. The only "chemistry" they had, was the fact that they were both in the chemistry department at school. The male lead seemed to only have one facial expression; brooding. His only attractive quality (pretty much his only quality in general) was that he was extremely attractive. And even that was spoonfed to us each episode by characters needing to excessively point out that fact. When the two leads were in scenes together it was almost painful to watch. The only character who actually had depth was Soo Ah.

The story? There basically was none. Pretty much everything that happens in the drama is written in the description for this drama...

I also feel I need to point out that this drama seems to be being praised left and right for apparently having a strong message, but it completely fails to deliver when it has multiple product placement ads for weightloss tools such as real diet pills and drinks. What a joke.

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HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

I need to say that I don't understand the message here. Initially, I thought that it would be a drama about self-image and the importance to love yourself, and I waited for that, and waited, and waited... Then I figured out that the drama was ending and this wasn't happening. We can see Kang Mi Rae (Im Soo Hyang) showing some of this in the process, but it's insignificant in the middle of the process. Until episode 13 we still have a dialog as "I don't deserve to be with you because I'm ugly". I really didn't understand why the drama goes in this direction and didn't make a massive critical about beauty standards. It looks like if they bring the theme but hadn't the courage to do something with this. I felt a lot of frustration, I can't hide this. The message to me was "Beauty is happiness" in the entire show, and in the last episode just a turn "Oh no, you don't need to be pretty to be happy. But I am and this is everything to me". I'm writing this and getting upset again. I understand now why this show is so controversial. I think that what was missed here was the conclusion, a moment of catharsis where everyone could see the things cleary. Mi Rae's parents realizing that your daughter didn't need plastic surgery, but psychological help. Mi Rae herself understanding how confused her mind was and how her need embrace who she was with a "pretty face" or not. Kyung Suk expressing for real that Mi Rae was Mi Rae with a pretty face or not (this shows up very softly in some episodes). When you bring a problem and doesn't show a solution, you are confirming that there isn't a problem at all. This is dangerous, for me.

Talking about acting... Please, someone explain this to me: Do Kyung Suk (Cha Eun Woo) was autistic?! I enjoy introspective male leads, but this one was too much. I thought that they will put him as an autistic (this would be amazing!), but after all, he was just shy. This wouldn't be a problem if we had a strong female lead, but Kang Mi Rae (Im Soo Hyang) was just tasteless. I couldn't get involved with the romance because I feel nothing with them. They were cute in the last episodes, but everything was so stiffened, that sometimes I just felt shame watching them. We could see the difference when we watch them interacting with Yeon Woo Young (Kwak Dong Yeon) and Oh Hyun Jung (Min Do Hee), the energy was totally different. This was another thing that made me mad, Woo Young and Hyun Jung were great characters, but we couldn't saw almost anything of them. Hyun Soo Ah (Jo Woo Ri) also was a perfect "villain" for me! I never saw a villain that maintain a falseness until the end of the show, and I thought very interesting her plot, but also obfuscated by the mess of the principal message.

Yeah, I didn't like this. I know some people really love this show, and I really tried to enjoy the process, but the inconsistencies and bad choices in the script really disturb me. I could forgive the tasteless chemistry of the main couple and their personalities, but a messy plot that could sustain a wrong message about beauty and health, it's too much for me. So, at your own risk (★ ★ ★ ★). I hope see Cha Eun Woo in another role, I saw that he will be on a drama "True beauty" (again, beauty) with Moon Ga Young (that I love), so I hope to see an amazing job here. And I will put "When I was the most beautiful" (beautiful, again) on my plan to watch's list, to see Im Soo Hyang and maybe start to be empathetic with her... Let's see!

See you soon!
XOXO, Mari.

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I watched this a while ago and it was a chore to finish. To this day, I'm surprised by how high the rating is on Viki. This drama had a lot of potential, with such a hard-hitting and serious focal point. Where it went wrong? Perhaps when they decided to cast Im Soo Hyang. I'm not going to hate on her, but I will roast her character. I don't know why they decided to cast a grown woman to play the naive college freshman. It was awkward and uncomfortable to say the least.

For a show like this, where appearances are a main factor, it was executed really strangely. She's supposed to be really pretty and also noticeably worked on (uncanny-valley territory) but she's neither. She definitely isn't ugly and she doesn't look overdone like the show is trying so hard to portray. So the intention falls flat, none of the casts' reaction to her make sense, she's an average girl with a slightly off nose if anything. She also (no offense) looks her age. That isn't a bad thing at all, but she didn't look like a just graduated high-school student at all.

Looks aside, the acting is what made me want to throw myself into a wall. I'm not sure if Cha Eun Woo can't act or if the script told him to act like he constantly has a stick in his ass and has been emotionally repressed since birth. He did not have the range for this role, and I want to give him the benefit of the doubt; however, he made me so mad I subconsciously avoid his works now. Pairing him with Im Soo Hyang was like making a mayo sandwich of un-toasted white-bread. Bland. I do think this is a case of bad writing though. There was really no plot to work with here and that did not help the actors make this work. Eun Woo had more emotions as a character though so I'll give him a 5 out of 10 personally

If they made this drama into 8-10 episodes and cut out all the childish antics, maybe it would've been better. I had a hard time watching these two adults with NO chemistry force themselves to fall in love. Though, since it seems people enjoyed it, give it a chance. You'll know pretty quickly if it's your style.

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->OVERALL
I'm part of those 5% or even 0% who think this drama was just "ok"...
People were crazy loving this drama, but I didn't see anything special about it.
I started the drama because it is a school drama, and I love that type of shows and maybe because of Eunwoo too. I was curious how he would behave in a main role.

->STORY
It is different and it is about something that we don't usually see in shows: Plastic surgeries. But honestly that was the only thing that made the drama "ok" for me. And then we have the romantic side story, that was the usual couples we see in kdramas. But they focused in the romance too much.

->CAST
Failed a bit.
The characters are the typical ones in school dramas. The innocent main girl, the quiet, handsome, popular main guy, the 2nd lead guy who is nice and cute, the girl who is a bitch, the protective best friend, etc...

People were saying Eunwoo did really good and his acting is amazing, but where exactly? He didn’t change his expressions for the whole 16 episodes. We actually don't know much about his acting skills.

Im Soo Hyang//Mi Rae- Her acting was kind of ok, but she never changed her face expressions...it was so boring...
Her character was kind of off. She made a plastic surgery to be loved and feel ordinary, and there's nothing wrong with that, but she doesn't try to be loved either. Some of her actions are ridiculous. If she wants to start from zero, she needs to act like so.

Soo Ah, yes I’m going to talk about her, she was the typical bitch.
She has no developments during the drama, only in the last episodes we see her perspective.
I didn't hate her, I even think she was better that the female lead lol. But yes, she continued to be annoying.

I'm actually happy they added Mi Rae's best friend, if she didn't exist, it would have been a little boring, but it is a pity that we don't know about their friendship in the past, we always saw Mirai alone in the past...

2nd lead guy, another unnecessary love triangle...

->CHEMISTRY
Yeah, they were very cute together and lovely, but I have to admit it was kind of awkward.

->OST
Neh...it is energetic and good to listen to, but nothing more.

-> [Rewatch Value: Low just because I'm not the person who rewatches dramas, just really the ones I love]

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Started with a bang but ended with a whimper.

This drama started out promoting a very promising message but unfortunately, soon fell flat. Since I am not a fan of puppy love I didn't pick this up for the romance. I wanted to see our female lead's journey through bullying and how she conquers it. But apparently, her boy conquers for her. I feel a bit robbed cause I kept waiting for the character development that never came.

Regardless, it's a cute drama and you gotta give it effort for picking up a topic as controversial as plastic surgery. The actors are cute too and they did a good job. The best arc was probably done for the antagonist and soon she became the only interesting person on screen.

It's unclear what the core message of this drama really is. Is it promoting plastic surgery? (lol) Is it teaching self-love? Is it telling us that beauty is on the inside and self-acceptance is the key to happiness?

I would really like to know but sadly the show's focus soon turned on being your every other basic neighborhood love story and stayed there. So yikes.

A fairly enjoyable drama, nonetheless. Watch it if you don't want anything too serious.

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This show takes an interesting perspective when it comes to plastic surgery. It deals with the "after" of plastic surgery and how changing a person on the outside, doesn't change them on the inside. It's interesting to watch Mi Rae deal with the world looking like a new person while still feeling very much like the old person (prior surgery). I also love that her love interest in the show knew her prior to surgery, so it's an neat perspective that he has as well.

The acting in this is great. The only slight quibble I had is that Cha Eun Woo is noticeably younger than Im Soo Hyang even though they are supposed to be the same age. He's even supposed to be 10 days older than her. However, it's not a big enough issue to affect the show, it was just something that I noticed. Both of them did a great job with their roles as did all the cast. The two creepy guys in the show are exceedingly creepy and the evil girl is horrible, so those roles were filled well too. My favorite characters though (aside from the two leads) were probably the second male and female leads. I loved their relationship and enjoyed any time they got to be onscreen together...or even separately. They were just good characters who were fun to watch.

The music in this is really good too. It was catchy and fun.

I absolutely recommend this show. And if you enjoy a sweet romance, I think you will too.

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I wish to add content warnings on this review, no other spoilers!

First of all, I want to start with listing all the content warnings about this drama that I wish I had seen before starting it. There will be no other major spoilers of the story I swear! I just felt some of the things in this drama could be really triggering for some people, and that there should be some warnings.

CONTENT WARNINGS:
- extreme misogyny all over the plot
- a LOT of sexual harassment
- bullying (about appearance)
- eating disorders, glorifying/normalizing extreme dieting/losing weight
- man acting threateningly/violently towards a woman
- self harm attempt
- physical fights
- older men (6+ years older) chasing after young women

The story of this drama was okay, but I felt very uncomfortable a lot while watching this. I originally thought (because of the drama's plot summary) that it would be a wholesome romcom story about realizing your inner beauty, but in reality it really focuses on everything that's awful about living as a woman. I watch dramas to escape real-life problems a lot, so to see so much of women's struggle on screen made me uncomfortable, especially when I was expecting some fluffy wholesomeness. (Also see content warnings list above to see other reasons this drama made me uncomfortable.)

The cast was okay, the male lead seemed inexperienced in acting and his character was really one note. He had the exact same facial expression for like 85% of this drama. But he seems very young so I'm sure he'll be able to improve in the future if he wants to. The female lead was honestly an idiot for most of the drama, who made stupid decisions with weird excuses. But that's not the actress' fault but the writers'. The side (female) characters were the best characters in this whole drama in my opinion. I absolutely adored Taehee, Yoonbyul and Hyunjung. Kwak Dongyeon (Wooyoung Sunbae) is one of my favourite actors, but his character hanging out mostly with the freshmen main characters was a bit weird because he was so much older than them. Most of the other male characters were either creeps or just rude which wasn't very ideal or comfortable to watch.

However this drama has some very good OST songs, I might even add some of them to my playlist later.

Overall I scored this drama a 6.5 because it was just so uncomfortable for me for most of the time I was watching it. Also some of the characters' actions were really stupid and made 0 sense, which was very frustrating to watch. Not to mention that the only characters I actually really liked were side characters. If you liked this drama a lot, good for you, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

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This drama is the perfect example why you can't always judge a book by it's cover, or drama by its press pics. Knowing nothing about the webtoon it's based on, I just assumed this would be another cute makeover romance with a love triangle, based in a school. I'll admit that I don't really like school dramas because they can sometimes be a bit too silly and superficial for me, but I decided to give this one a chance. From the very beginning, the story went much deeper than expected in examing the idea of beauty standards, the pressure to be attractive and accepted, and how image and reality can contradict. Sometimes the plot got a bit too preachy when making a point, but I immediately wanted to learn more about Mi Rae and her transformation.

Im Soo Hyang plays Kang Mi Rae, a girl who's "Gangnam Beauty" looks contradict with her shy and insecure personality. I thought she did a good job making Mi Rae sympathetic, and a character I wanted to root for. Sometimes I think she played up the shyness a little too much, and at times her wide-eyed stares felt less sincere and were more annoying. She is matched with Cha Eun Woo as Do Kyung Suk, who plays the emo-est emo rich kid that ever did emo in the history of "Emodom". I thought he played his anti-social hottie role quite well, but he had some wide-eyed extra robotic moments that bordered between cute and laughably bad. Their relationship was pretty sweet, but anyone expecting romance should lower that expectation. Their chemistry is much more awkward than anything. Still cute, but very VERY awkward. Maybe the age gap had a little to do with how tentative they seemed around each other at times, but they still looked pretty good together.

The rest of the cast was good, even if some of them were typical for this kind of drama. I really loved Mi Rae's parents, and liked Do Kyung Suk's family drama. I liked the students, although some were definitely more memorable than others.

Oddly my favorite performance in this drama was Jo Woo Ri as Soo Ah. She definitely helped to keep the show interesting, even though her actions would feel a little repetitive at times. I thought she had the best role and performance.

I know my perspective is different, as an outsider to Korea, but the themes were generally universal and often relatable. I will say their ideas of who was supposed to be attractive vs who wasn't were very odd to me, but the way Mi Rae broke everyone's' looks down was a nice touch. I doubt I will ever really understand the pressure to be attractive in Korea, or how normalized plastic surgery seems to be there, but I think we all can relate to wanting to fit in, and struggling to become comfortable in your own skin when society implies you aren't good enough.

Meanwhile, I am also a person who was distracted by Im Soo Hyang's plastic appearance, but that's probably because the show brings so much attention to her looks, when I would normally just overlook it. At the same time, I loved the way they handled how she used to look, and thought that was a smart choice by the director.

Overall this is a drama that actually tries to say something important, which I appreciate, even if sometimes it was as subtle as a hammer to the brain. It may not get high marks for romance, but they do make a cute unlikely duo, and as a coming of age story I was definitely entertained. This drama also touches on topics like bullying, harassment, sexism, abandonment, image pressure, suicide, domestic violence, eating disorders... without making the episodes depressing. Just consider this a feel-good drama about becoming confident in who you are, and not letting the past dictate your future. I may not have loved it as much as others, but I certainly loved the point it makes.

Oh, and the use of PSY's "New Face" was a cheesy but nice touch!

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Interesting story plot, not your typical mushy romance show! The plot has a deep meaning behind it instead of just a plain romance television drama, As someone who has read the webtoon in 1 DAY, I am absolutely pleased with the production and the filming of this series. Not to mention, the visuals of the actors are really amazing. The plot in summary : A homely girl transforms through plastic surgery and debuts her new look at college/university. Unfortunately, she's called a Gangnam Beauty (pretty only because of cosmetic surgery), has to deal with sexual harassment, subtle bullying, and a sly rival fake-friend. The main hero intervenes in her situations, but things get complicated, because the campus beauty has her eye on the hero (who has a mysterious side).

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Toxic message and bullying abound

The story was okay, but Im Soo Hyang looked totally plastic. I think it was to emphasized all the reconstructive work she had had done, but as her expression hardly ever changed, it reminded me of a bad botox job. Cha Eun Woo had absolutely no facial expressions and his voice inflections never changed. Both characters were just bland.
So much emphasis was put on her completely making herself over, and her resultant self-esteem problems, I couldn't feel for her character at all. Was the message that you should be happy with who you are? Or was the message that you should consider plastic surgery? It was hard to tell. I didn't feel that the characters were fleshed out enough.
The body shaming in this drama was way over-the-top. A recurring question I have about Asian culture - do people just say whatever they think in front of people or is this just a cliche? ("He's so handsome" "She's so ugly") I can't imagine taking pictures of a man because he's handsome and talking to my friends about it with him standing there.
The last episode was cute though. Happy ending.

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