Basically another 'My ID is Gangnam Beauty'
^ EXCEPT only Cha Eun Woo plays a role in both dramas (also the male lead in MIIGB)*outline*
This is probably the first time I've watched a long drama and accepted it that all the scenes were worth the wait till the end. I'll admit though, the ending was sweet but I didn't like it. I feel like not all the characters got the ending they deserved. The pacing was perfect now that I've watched the entire thing, but otherwise it was a bit slow during the last few episodes. Despite it all, the last few episodes are the best episodes; they're hilarious, sweet, and you don't realize you've finished the drama until you have. ()
*thorough*
STORY : I haven't read True Beauty yet, but I'm pretty sure the story told through the webtoon would be equally as amazing as the drama. Usually, dramas based off of webtoons don't live up to our expectations, or at least mine. I'm not a harsh critic, per se, I just want the mood to be reflected? I don't know if that makes any sense :0. As I mentioned, the pacing was brilliant until the last few episodes, but I was distracted by all the funny scenes anyways so it made up for the slow ending. The confession scenes and the dates in this drama are one of the best you'll see. I had high hopes for the second male lead which didn't come true though :( so I'm a little down about that but I'll probably distract myself somehow. This drama also has the perfect amount of everything; a little bit of action, love, comedy, fantasy, music, etc
ACTING/CAST : I loved all of the characters, even Kang Soo Jin's despite what she did. She had her reasons and I totally understand that. I feel like she had it worse than any other character throughout the entire story. I didn't like Lim Ju Kyung's though. I just feel her character was unnecessarily selfish at times and kept running away from all the problems. Although she did make up for this right after by acknowledging herself. I felt really sorry for Lee Soo Ho throughout her run-aways though. Poor guy had to deal with it and she didn't even bother to talk to him.
MUSIC : I appreciated all the tracks that were played throughout the whole story. Whoever wrote the music really made me feel like they delved into the drama as though it was their own story they were trying to relay. Also, in these dramas, usually the ost track is played repeatedly and it gets to a point where it can either be annoying or you can just tell when the track is gonna be played. However, that wasn't the case here. There were many tracks that were played according to the scene. I like how they didn't just focus on one.
REWATCH VALUE : I personally wouldn't come back to this drama, it's like a one-timer for me. It's way too long, and it didn't really make a great impact on me. I didn't feel like the drama played around a little with my emotions after maybe 10 episodes in so it became a little dry until the funny scenes started again.
*recommendations*
Yes, I would definitely recommend this to a friend, whether an old or new K-drama enthusiast. Especially if they're an AROHA. Cha Eun Woo played an amazing role and it has to be called out upon.
'My ID is Gangnam Beauty' is a really good drama to watch next if you're into a similar story line. Cha Eun Woo also plays the male lead in that drama and overall, True Beauty and My ID is Gangnam Beauty are no different from each other. At all. Kinda.
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WHAT A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE!
Story (9.5/10):First off: No, I have not read the Webtoon. I only have read up to chapter three like two years ago. However, after watching this drama, I probably will have to pick up on where I left off. So I won't have insight on the similarities and differences between the webtoon and the drama.
Regardless, I love the set up of the storyline. Lim Jukyung is a girl who does not fit into society's beauty standard. The most heartwrenching part of this story is that she is well aware of it, not only that, there are plenty of people who made sure she was aware of it. Due to this, she "transformed" herself using the gift of makeup and "beautified" herself. That is the heart of the storyline. Then comes two handsome and charming boys who enter her world and things happen.
What I liked most about the storyline is that even though it follows the typical Korean drama tropes (a love triangle, rich boy/poor girl status, cold and aloof boy/warm and down to earth girl, and etc.), it wasn't boring or repetitive. Instead, I find that the storyline was very refreshing and relatable. There were plenty of tear-jerking scenes (I cried three times watching this drama) but I also laughed like crazy. The majority of this drama focused on the main girl's character development and her love story (and the love stories of the people around her).
The only thing that refrained me from giving this a full 10/10 is that even though the main characters were well written, the side characters (specifically the "villains") were lacking character qualities.
Acting/Cast (9/10): SPOILERS AHEAD
Moon Gayoung plays as Lim Jukyung, the girl who struggles to fit into beauty standards but eventually becomes a goddess. I have only seen Moon Gayoung in Heartstrings (2011) and EXO Next Door (2015). I haven't seen any of her recent works. However, in the two dramas I have seen her in, I liked her a lot. She played as the bratty but sweet sister in Heartstrings and the shy next-door neigboor in EXO Next Door. I've seen clips of her in Tempted and her acting skills really wowed me. I can say her acting has definitely improved since 2011 and she did a really good job as Lim Jukyung. I know everyone wanted Jisoo from Blackpink to be Lim Jukyung, but I honestly think that Moon Gayoung really aced this role. Besides that, I really enjoyed the character development of Lim Jukyung in the drama. It took a while, but with all the love and support she had, she overcame her biggest fears and insecurities.
Next up, Cha Eunwoo as Lee Suho. Oh my goodness, he is hot (obviously)!!! Everyone knew that Cha Eunwoo was for sure going to get this role, like come on, he is the living Lee Suho. The only drama I've seen Cha Eunwoo was in My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018) and the first half of Rookie Historian (2019). His character as Lee Suho was similar to his character as Do Kyungseok in Gangnam Beauty but very different in many ways. Some similarities are that he's hot, rich, cold, got daddy issues, and he already liked the main girl before she became "pretty". However, I would say that the biggest difference between his character in Gangnam Beauty and True Beauty is that in True Beauty, you can actually feel his character. Like, his character was more human. He showed more emotions and felt real.
Hwang Inyeop as Han Seojun, can someone grab me tissues! My, my, my. My goodness are you perfect. I haven't seen any of Hwang Inyeop's works before but I'm already a big fan. We can all agree he has taken our hearts away. From the first appearance to the last, I just keep wanting to see him. I was a Team Seojun until Suho shows up and vice versa (hey, I'm indecisive). Words can not explain how much I loved his character, especially how Hwang Inyeop portrayed his unrequited love for Lim Jukyung. This second lead syndrome was similar to the Netflix movie "To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You". Laura Jean/Lim Jukyung and Peter Kavinsky/Lee Suho are made for each other, but John Ambrose McClaren/Han Seojun are made for the fans. As a wise woman once said, "A hero has to stay with the heroine. The male supporting role belongs to all." (Chen QianQian from The Romance of Tiger and Rose).
Park Yoona as the scary Kang Soojin. Can we all agree that Kang Soojin had so much more worth than just being an obstacle for the main leads? Like, she was a very, very likable character. How could they do her dirty? But then again, from what I heard, she was the bad character in the original webtoon. She had bad issues with how her dad raised her, but besides that, she was a good character. She didn't judge Lim Jikyung for how she looked, she protected her from bullies, and accepted her willingly. Her biggest mistake was betraying Lim Jikyung out of jealousy. I remember watching Park Yoona in Hotel del Luna and every time I saw her eyes, it gave me chills. The same goes for her character Kang Soojin. When she turned "evil", her cold eyes and look of satisfaction can give you nightmares. I'm waiting for the day when Park Yoona would get her own drama as the main lead!
The side characters were great! My favorites were definitely her family, especially her siblings. They each made the story fun and diverse. Did you know the actress who plays as Lim Jukyung's sister was also in Heartstrings? I was so shocked when I finally realized it was her. She played as a cute college student in Heartstrings and seeing her all grown up now made me feel nostalgic. Seojun's sister and Jukyung's brother had the cutest side story ever! Her parents also made me laugh and cry many times throughout the drama!
Music (8/10):
I didn't pay a lot of attention to the OST's. The only time I actually listened to them was when Seojun sang them. They were cute but very fitting with the emotions during each scene.
Rewatch Value (10/10):
This is definitely my to-go-to rewatch drama. There are just so many scenes where you can rewatch and not get tired.
I remember rewatching Seojun's okie-dokie yo scene a billion times before I was satisfied (I still rewatch it to this day). I don't think I can get enough of the sweet yet funny moments. It's cringy, but it fulfills the inner girly-girl in me.
Overall (9/10):
Overall, great drama. I know some of the webtoon fans were not too happy with the deviation of the original story, but I fairly enjoyed it. The only reason I'm not giving it a full 10 is that I really felt like the villain characters lacked depth. The bullies were there to bully because they felt superior to Lim Jukyung, but why so? They showed up multiple times even after when they weren't really needed and so I was expecting more for them. Same with Kang Soojin. Yeah, I get that her jealousy got to her but I really felt that her character got played dirty. More realistically, the Kang Soojin we know from the beginning of the drama would tell Lim Jukyung that she just got her feelings messed up and is fine that Jukyung and Suho are dating (they really should have ended her jealously there, they could've used the bullies to do the "exposing" and such). However, they didn't end it there. They really brought out the darkness in her, which I found really upsetting. I think it's because I really, really liked her character and couldn't accept that she could turn "evil". I was happy that she eventually got to apologize, but it still didn't do her justice. She just left the scene and came back as a more mature woman. I really wished we got more of her side of the story.
Otherwise, I'm glad at where it ended.
(P.S. Am I the only one who's curious if Han Seojun can find a woman who he can like as much as he did with LIim Jukyung? Someone who he can actually love more than her? I sincerely hope he does find the one. Jukyung was great, but I honestly did not think they were meant to be. Not because Suho came first, but because Jukyung was not even able to develop feelings for him even after 3 years. And at that point, even if she knew he liked her, I don't think she could've forced herself to like him since Suho left such a big imprint in her life. Can we get an extra episode of Han Seojun finding the one?)
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True Beauty
for this drama, overall it is quite interesting, the plot twist is not too heavy and is suitable for those of you who might, are bored watching colossal dramas and need teen drama intake, although in terms of the story you can immediately guess the ending of this drama, but the whole is still you can follow, the shortcomings of this drama may be in terms of the story. Which is where you know, that this drama is about a story taken from a webtoon, which is not yet finished in the webtoon. So some people are quite entertained, but for myself, this drama is quite followed by episode 8. The rest of the story can be guessed at the end. ...Was this review helpful to you?
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THERE'S ONLY ONE REASON I'M HERE. FOR MR INSURMOUNTABLE OMNIPOTENT AESTHETIC KING. AKA CHA EUN WOO.
So this was trashy. Like very very trashy. I only came here for Cha Eun Woo. He's literally the only reason I watched this drama. After hearing he would star in this, I was excited to see how much he's evolved since Gangnam Beauty. And let's just say... Wow, you can see the improvements. This had so much hype... so so much disappointment was to be expected.No, I have not read the comic. Yes, I've heard many things about it. And taking what I've heard... I'm glad the drama decided to skip the Joo Gyung and Seo Jun dating part. I hate actual love triangles. Like, when the one person in the middle can't choose. Nope, those are no-goes to me. I'm big into loyalty.
Why do people feel bad for Seo Jun? He kept putting himself into situations that he knew would hurt him. He kept fighting and clawing himself into Joo Gyung's life even though he knew that she liked/was dating Su Ho. You reap what you sow. Seo Jun always set himself up for heartache. What bothers me about him, is that he was so extra with Joo Gyung when he saw Su Ho.
Example: the bus on the school trip. When Seo Jun saw Su Ho saw that he was on the bus with Joo Gyung, he intentionally put her head on his shoulder. To what? Provoke Su Ho? Hm.
Second example: the hug in front of the comic book store. As soon as Seo Jun notices Su Ho sees him hugging Joo Gyung, he suddenly pulls her in tighter.
I don't recall Su Ho ever tried to rub in the fact that he was with Joo Gyung.
Why do people prefer Seo Jun? In addition to the examples above, Seo Jun was the type to forget boundaries. I put myself in the shoes of Joo Gyung and think "What if a guy friend I had no feelings for tied a thing on my wrist while I was asleep?" or "What if a guy friend caressed my hair as I slept while he knew I had a boyfriend and that I had no feelings for him?" Seo Jun constantly pushed on his boundary as a "friend". I always understood why Su Ho was uncomfortable with Seo Jun being around Joo Gyung. Hell, if I was Joo Gyung, I would try to keep my distance! Why was Su Ho in the wrong when he was upset that Joo Gyung took those pictures with Seo Jun? Well, he's not. He had the right to be upset. Like, a warning would've been nice, Joo Gyung. Joo Gyung was very inconsiderate in that regard to Su Ho. Honestly, it must fucking suck ass tits to have everyone think that your girlfriend is dating someone else (and have everyone support them for it).
Joo Gyung's character/personality was... kinda yikes, to be honest. I hate the type that keeps things because they don't "have the nerve" to tell. Yes, for the sake of drama, whatever, but fuck is it annoying. I didn't like her. I get that the clueless female lead is like the new wave (it's been the new wave for the last ten thousand waves) but honestly, Seo Jun was so fucking obvious... like??
This drama I'd give 5.5-6 stars. BUT I think that Cha Eun Woo kinda carried this on his back a bit, so I'll give it a 6.5. It was still entertaining. Some subtle moments make me choke out of laughter. Back to Eun Woo, I hope he didn't break his back trying to carry this drama. Maybe it's not even Eun Woo; maybe it's Su Ho. Su Ho has always been the right choice. There's literally zero question about it. It's clear no matter how you look at it. I think the people that like Seo Jun only like him because of Hwang In Yeop. Like Seo Jun had two years to shoot his fucking shot—Su Ho literally tossed Joo Gyung on a silver platter for Seo Jun, and still—nothing. Why do people ship Joo Gyung with a guy she has no feelings for? That, I don't get. A guy who fucks with you when you're unconscious. Someone who constantly makes you the topic of gossip and rumours—and who doesn't refute them until you tell them to. Su Ho wasn't perfect either (the whole blackmail thing), but Seo Jun was taking every chance of "jokingly" (but he really wasn't joking) telling Joo Gyung to break up with Su Ho. Seo Jun did come in clutch sometimes as a good friend; I'll give him that much. ie. he told Joo Gyung that Su Ho was going back to the US because he knew Joo Gyung would run to him.
Way to ruin a good female friendship over a guy. You shouldn't have to choose between love and friendship. Whatever argument you can make about how love comes and goes, well so do friendships. Bros before hoes or chicks before dicks bullshit is not welcome here. If your friend doesn't respect your relationship, fuck them. If your partner doesn't respect your friendships, fuck them. Su Ho never told Joo Gyung to stay away from Seo Jun by telling her that Seo Jun was basically in love with her; he only voiced his concerns over him without telling her why. Soo Jin, on the other hand, provoked and manipulated Joo Gyung regarding Su Ho. Clearly, I hope you can tell that love > friendship in this case.
That friendship between Su Ho and Seo Jun was kinda like the fucking best. You can say a lot of shit about this drama (and trust me, I have a lot of bullshit to say), but the fact that the friendship scenes between these two were one of the best scenes you'd ever watch. They're funny, sweet, painful, and healing.
People were right about the last two episodes being unnecessary. It really didn't need to happen. But I think it just hammers in the point that Seo Jun would never be chosen. Even if Su Ho was pretty much out of the picture, Joo Gyung would still choose the ghost of Divine Su Ho over Seo Jun. But not because Seo Jun doesn't deserve it... no. But because you can't force yourself to have romantic feelings for someone. It happens or it doesn't. Stop. Shipping. People. With. Someone. They. Clearly. 100%. Do. Not. Like. Like if Joo Gyung showed at least even a tiny bit of romantic attraction to Seo Jun, go for it! Ship away! But come on? She literally worships Su Ho. Even if her heart was the size of the Earth, it would still have no room for anyone else. Su Ho is like five Earths crammed into an one-Earth space.
Would I recommend this? Well... if you're a thirst watcher, yes, Eun Woo is in this. But if you want substance? A not so frustrating storyline? Look somewhere else.
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STR8 TO THE POINT!
1. Lim Joo Gyung- learned how to love herself, how to be more confident, how to overcome her bad memories, and found a boyfriend and a future husband that loves her for who she truly is.2. Lee Su Ho- even though he grew up without a mom and his dad not being around him all the time because of his career, he still grew up with a heart full of love and warmth. He has so much love and understanding for Joo Gyung. Honestly, he is just amazing.
3. Han Seo Jun- such a sweet person in general. He is rocking that bad boy image, but he is so soft. A person with understanding and someone that will always be right by your side. We all need one Seo Jun in our lives.
4. King Soo Jin- Was living under so much pressure from her dad that she kinda lost her way of living. Happy to see her finally free and be the person she needs to be.
The support characters were amazing, from the family to the school friends. I'm honestly happy that this ended the way it should end. ( For those who wished that Gyung and Seo Jun should've ended up together, y'all wrong. Even if they did, she wouldn't love him as much as she loved Su Ho. That relationship would've ended pretty soon.)
Gyung and Su Ho complement each other and they fill up their gaps.
Moral of the story: Love yourself first before you can love someone else.
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Cute drama!
I've never read the webtoon so I can't compare how accurate it is.But as a stand-alone drama, I thought it was really cute! Amazing lead characters (the 2 male leads are such heartthrobs omg), cute side couples, great comedy... Definitely go for it if you like rom coms.
You have your typical warm second male lead and evil second female lead, but the two main leads are decently smart and mature in handling their obstacles such that the plot doesn't get unnecessarily draggy and misunderstandings don't take like 1/3 of the drama to resolve.
If you watched Extraordinary You, you'll recognize the same school as well as some major cameos by the previous actors... Keep your eyes out for those! The Kim Hye-yoon + Lee Jae-wook one was especially fun XD
I'd also like to make the point that Chani plays a falsely-accused, very misunderstood character again...
This is his 3rd time? Signal, Sky Castle, now True Beauty. Sosad...
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amazing!
i loved this drama wayy better than the webtoons! it was less complicated and had a happy ending! i hope to see inyeop in more dramas and eunwoo's acting was much better than gangnam beauty! he showed more emotions and i really loved it. what i didn't like about it was seojun being heartbroken. they didn't do anything for seojun, poor boy tried so hard to win jukyung, but the writers left him heartbroken. soojin was so much different from the webtoons, she had some evil moments, but after all she learned from her mistakes! definitely would recommend this drama, loved it even more from reading the webtoons! :)Was this review helpful to you?
Comfort Food
I know people like to call romance-oriented dramas "guilty pleasures," but I prefer to think of True Beauty as comfort food. It has all the familiar tropes of older kdramas, but it always knows how to put a fun new spin on them in order to keep viewers engaged and interested.Lim Jugyeong is a wonderful female lead, brought to life perfectly by Moon Gayoung, and her growth over the course of 16 episodes is believable and rootable. Cha Eunwoo, aside from being eye candy, gives his all to Lee Suho and really makes you feel pain and his love for Jugyeong.
Hwang Inyeop and Park Yoona may be treated very differently by the narrative in their respective second lead positions, but they are delightful and help round out a perfect cast.
In fact, every major character is memorable and exciting, with some twist or extra infusion to make them stand out from the high school drama pack. There are also fun dream sequences, bliss-tastic OST choices, and plenty of "restaurant ending" scene moments to go around.
If you love romance and kdramas, you cannot go wrong with True Beauty - as long as you don't get too invested in picking a team and instead let Jugyeong's feelings guide yours.
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The drama has no plot curve, bad sequencing, bad storyline and mediocre acting
The main issue with this drama is that it does not have any plot curves at all. It is filmed like a web comic. There's no act 1, act 2, scene 1, scene 2 etc. The drama just flows and shows every detail. Each episode does not have a particular storyline. There isn't really anything memorable about the drama, no conflict to resolve, no tension to overcome. The story is so bland, and the music that comes on whenever the male leads walk into the school, and how the rest of the students go crazy over them is extremely irritating.Cha Eun-woo is handsome no doubt, but his acting is too robotic. I do not really see much chemistry between him and Moon Ga-young.
The only upside is probably the friendship between the female lead and her friends, and her family dynamics. Else it is really not worth watching.
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Perfect balance of comedy and seriousness - I want to rewatch it right now!
Another title that I was skeptical about - was the hype real and would I like it.Short answer - I LOVED IT! So much so in fact that having finished it 3 hours ago - I want to rewatch it right away.
Don't get me wrong - this is not going to change the world in terms of cinematography or the uniqueness of its story.
Where it wins you over are the characters and their relationships - be they good or bad. It deals with bullying, the pressures of social media, abuse, and suicide - and it does all this with an element of truth and honestly - some of the bullying scenes are heart-wrenching for example.
It was the jokes though that took this drama to the next level - they were genuinely hilarious - brilliantly timed and delivered. The emotional scenes do what they need to - there was one episode where I found my bottom lip quivering before the tears came!
It's one of those rare occasions where you route for both parties equally as both are really decent guys. Who will get the girl? You'll just have to watch it to find out.
Negatives - as with most kdramas, the ending is a little rushed with a lot of story arcs being wrapped up but never the less it doesn't detract from the overall charm of this drama.
Go watch it now :). Should I rewatch it now? ?
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Second-lead sydrome hit DIFFERENTLY on this drama
FINALLY FINISHED IT!I feel numb and my heartache, but regardless of this pain from this drama I am proud of the cast, crew, directors, makeup artist, and screenwriters. They did a wonderful job making this drama possible even during this pandemic.
The way the story goes was good but I feel like it will be better if they change things around - it is indeed different from the webtoon. If you finished this, I recommend reading the webtoon as it's still ongoing, so more heartbreak and fangirling. HEhe.
Anyways, I love their acting especially my HWANG IN YEOP (Sejeon)!! He attracted me the first time I saw him!!! Since Cha Eun Woo ( Lee Suho) acted similarly to the plot of the drama-I did not really fangirl a lot with him, of course, you can't avoid him but SEJEON caught my attention from the start. Cha Eun Woo did a similar project which is 'My ID is a Gangnam Beauty'. They are very similar, but this one focuses more on makeup than plastic surgery.
Moon Ga-young though!! She was AMAZING! I first saw her on 'Tempted' with Woo dO Hwan. She was the bitchy girl who always get what she wants, and here she acted differently and she portraits it perfectly. Her crying, feeling hopeless, and powerless was surreal.
It may be a basic Korean drama to others but nonetheless, I am happy with the story and ending. Sometimes, you can't live without the old-style/fashion or korean drama you know? hahaha
Moving on is the hardest part!!! It really hurt!! I hope to see them soon in their upcoming dramas.
The SUPPORTING ACTORS AND ACTRESSES THOUGH!! I LOVED THEM!! I began to notice that some are getting their recognition from IG! THEY DESERVE IT!! ESPECIALLY MY HWANG IN YEOP!
His future IS GETTING BIGGER! I AM PROUD OF HIM!! He has an upcoming drama with JI CHA WOOK!! YAY! I AM EXCITED FOR THAT!
Overall, Really recommend this! IF YOu want something clingy, high-school romance story with a SECOND-LEAD SYNDROME. I recommend this. It may be painful too much, but every drama has that. So, if you are interested GO WATCH IT! You don't need to watch for it anymore as most people did! hahaha
2/5/21 1:30AM
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