True Beauty (2020)

Wasn’t bad, could’ve been better

Short and sweet review :’)

Honestly, I didn’t expect much, and in general I wasn’t impressed by the love triangle, but I really want to say Cha Eun-woo’s acting has improved soooo much since My ID and I’m really proud of him, people who say he can’t act, just watch his his crying scenes then argue to me he’s a “stiff board” lmao, also want to give credit to Hwang In-yeop, hadn’t seen his acting until this show and the man has got some serious acting potential for future dramas, I look forward to seeing future roles he chooses. I know the drama was based off the webtoon of the same name and obviously in 16 episodes they couldn’t fit everything but for the most part I’m impressed how well the writers paced this drama, like I was expecting some half-ass cutscene or just filler episodes that had no purpose for the plot at least halfway into the series, but it didn’t happen, so I’m happy about that, however the one thing that went remotely terrible for the plot was the classic (and every kdrama fan totally loves this ... sarcasm 101)

“1 year later” trope ...
- ughhhhhh x 1,000

And the worst thing the writers did wasn’t even the time jump, it was making Suho forget he literally ignored Jugyeong for a year, didn’t text her at all, magically comes back, follows her around, and he expects her to fall in love with him again? B— in reality I would’ve moved on by then, possibly gotten together with a fish, or Seojun since Jugyeong and the writers didn’t give two sh— about his feelings ... The writers did give both him and Suho great development of their friendship, which by the end of the series I was hoping they’d rekindle, and I’m glad they eventually did, but for this drama imo there wasn’t anything that wowed me or anything special about the show besides the acting performances, got to throw Moon Ga-young some credit, she did what she had to doooo. The plot was cliché. The OST was fine but not spectacular, pacing was great, the writing could’ve been better, I friggin love though ... LOVE how in the end Soo jin redeemed herself, love the writers did that because she was fullmetal to Jugyeong up until the last 3 episodes lol, honestly thought they were gong to forget about her, but nope, also love how we could see her character growth, from excepting she’s finally away from her abusive father and is living her life the way she wants, thank you writers for this.

In the future I hope Cha Eun-woo takes roles away from rom-coms or romance, honestly I think he’d be great in some crime thrillers or horror kdramas, just anything away from the “serious, tsundere” character he’s played in almost every drama he’s been in lol, sad but true. I look forward to Moon Ga-young & Hwang In-yeop’s future projects. If you like the “cliché love triangle” trope in kdramas, this is your drama, if not you might consider sitting this one out lol, especially if your team Seojun X’((( overall wasn’t a bad drama, just needed better writing for the last two episodes imo and a better story. Watch the drama and see for yourself! Peace!

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eye candy cast, shallow story

I was ultimately disappointed with the ending and overall message of this drama, but I knew it was going to go a certain way from episode 1. I didn’t finish the webtoon but I knew where it was headed and I didn’t want it to end differently. But perhaps I played myself for thinking that in an eunwoo drama the FL wouldn’t end up with him.
I find Um Ji Gyeong somewhat relatable with wanting to fit in and for once be considered pretty by those around her, and I understand why she lied about her identity, but she was a bit too whiny for my taste. I felt so annoyed whenever she had a sad/crying scene because it was so obnoxious to watch her sorry not sorry lol.
Cha Eunwoo’s performance as Suho was about what I expected. He played the role he always plays-the popular smart good looking guy who’s cold to everyone and only has two facial expressions. In the previews and interviews he said he feels he improved but I digress. I feel like he showed the same side of him we always see, only this time his character was a little bit more emotional. It’s clear he gets casted in these roles because of his looks, but I crave to see him play something more challenging. But maybe he only gets these types of roles because that’s all he’s capable of doing. All I know is that he really didn’t improve besides being a tiny bit less stiff, but that’s about it.
Hwang In Yeob was unanimously the breakout star and the showstopper from this drama. His role was the stereotypical bad boy with a soft heart, but I found his character way more interesting than Suho. Not only that but HIY served visuals that are unique to what I’ve seen in dramas. Looking forward to his next work! Overall I give this a 6 out of 10.

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Perfect balance between funny and emotional and pinch of reality.

This is exactly what I needed to watch, the plot really touched me since I can say I've been struggling the same way the main character did. It really has an important message that makes you think about society standars. Loved how Suho started to fall for her not because of her looks but because her personality. The bullying she received because she was "ugly" is something we can see daily everywhere. I also loved how at the lasts episodes she sometimes when out with friends and Su Ho without make up and she was comfortable with that. 10/10. I strongly recommend it ♡.

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Drop this

I’m dropping....the girl is still annoying......what’s with that character .....I thought it was a good entertaining series , what a waste of time...........what’s with the way she still talks ....c’mon is the director retarded....I’m sure she can act a little mature in the end now.....it’s a caricature , yes, but it doesn’t have to be so retarded......the screeching childlike talking, I’m sure this actress doesn’t talk like that ......I’m upset with the way this series progressed....blame on the director ....the story can be really cute but this main lead girl is annoying seriously I have to stop watching....it’s a shame ....????????????

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My heart!

I dont really care about the main leads as everyone knew who she would end up with, but why would u hurt seojun so much, it doesnt really make sense to me as he stayed with her for three years, he graduated with her, celebrated her birthdays, took care of her while suho wasnt there, they didnt even date for that long but seojun was the one who had to give up on his love. suho decided to breakup because "it would he hard on her" i mean this point itself is not understandable for me. Fine that she ended up with suho but they could have given seojun a better ending! he wasnt even at the wedding! I loved the show, the cast for the best, no one could have done it better, but the ending really ruined the whole show for me.

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I rarely experience such high as the first couple of episodes of this drama gave me. I was beyond hyped and the excellent soundtrack kept me entertained and in the mood (for dancing) the whole week. However, True Beauty ended up for me like a bottle of soda that you buy, excitedly open, drink a couple of glasses of, and you when you leave it overnight in the refrigerator all the bubbles disappear and it's simply not as yummy anymore. You finish it the next day regardless, because you know, you bought it and you are not going to just pour it down the drain. So I finished it.

The story is very intriguing and I liked all the levels it presented. I think that was also the deal breaker for me - there was so much to be explored here, filled with refreshing ideas and in the end it just turned into a cliche story with a love triangle and a mediocre villain. To be honest, I did what I almost never do and forwarded some bits of the last four episodes. What heresy!

On the other hand, the secondary characters here are superb. Even the parents of the FL are super entertaining. This drama also created a story based around family, friendships and community and I think that it should be praised for that. I personally enjoyed the subplot around the FL's older sister.

The performances of the actors are A+, the casting on this drama was done phenomenally. The most notable performance is delivered by Hwan In Yeop and he pretty quickly became a fan favourite. Cha Eun Woo grew a lot as actor, in my opinion, and I liked him here a lot. Moon Ga Young was very good as well, she created a lot of mannerisms for the character, including the best derpy smile, which I liked. It made the character of Im Joo Gyung seem very real to me. This drama also featured a lot of enjoyable cameos that makes it almost seem as a part of a bigger universe. The soundtrack is superb and I'm pretty sure that my neighbours now think I'm crazy for listening to it over and over again.

True Beauty presents a unique atmosphere revolving around a very particular age in every person's life. The quarrels between the schoolmates made me go on a trip down the memory lane and I found myself laugh out loud more often than I thought I would. On the other hand, somehow, it is also the drama's downfall. There is a good chunk of middle episodes that feel just stagnant and the tempo is greatly distorted since there is not much left to explore, since the story stayed within the basics. The drama also makes a hasty couple of ending episodes featuring an element that did not do anything for the plot at all, it just made a leap for the characters to tie everything up at a quicker pace.

That all being said, I don't regret the time I invested into True Beauty. It's a light drama that made my gloomy days a bit brighter.

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the worst adaptation in the history of webtoon adaptations

i'm not even sure this can be called an adaptation.... taking character names, their basic traits doesnt make it adaptation.
i`ve been reading true beauty since 2018 although i dont even like it anymore drama made me drop webtoon completely. basically drama and webtoon have nothing in common names and few aspects aside. story is non existent, character personalities are pretty much changed from original and i knew it will be usual highschool drama cliche from the moment it was shown that suho and jukyeong knew each other as kids. actors did pretty good job, but ones who rewrote whole story didnt do nothing better from original.

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Good but very meh

This drama starts at nowhere and ends at nowhere there is no interesting plot and how the main 2 guys were treated like they are so special different than all the other characters in the school made me cringe a lot and the way it was forced every episode was tiring i often can't take those kind of drama seriously and quite them midway but i pulled through, I don't mind a main character being special if they had character development before or afterward but this drama ends with almost non existent character development to those 2 guys disappointing i think the actors did so well and got a fan in me but the drama was meh.

Han Seo Jun ahh Seo Jun so they wanted the story to end with some painful moments where we the viewers would have emotional moments watching Seo Jun lose his loved one Lim Joo Gyung but it was all to be expected from episode 1 and the last 2 episodes were just drowning Seo Jun into deeper meaningless sorrow it was pointless i've seen 100 triangle drama's end it in a better way.

What actually made me tear up with joy was Lim Hee Gyung and Han Jun Woo the last 2 episodes they saved those 2 episodes with the other support characters.

Are you bored and got nothing to watch? just know that there would be other Drama's that would stimulate your brain better......

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an okay kdrama

final review: so i decided to finish this drama and i can say that it's just fine. nothing new and nothing fresh. personally, the ending could have been better. the second lead guy should have been more happier after respecting the lead's relationship. the resolution of soojin's character with other characters were abrupt. she disappeared then return and that's it. this kdrama would have been better if the last episode is more polished or a little more episodes were aired to develop the ending that they want. overall, this drama is okay. the ending was a little bit dissapointing.

initial review: 5/10, 6 episodes seen
"going to be a disappointment if the story continues to go around in circles"

the preview for the episode 7 proves how this drama is going around in circles. basically the plot is the guy and girl like each other but every single chance they have will be ruined by an annoying thing that will separate them apart. seriously, they keep on dragging this for a few episodes already, and when it looks like the leads are patching things up in ep 6, that ep 7 preview showed up and it looks everything will go back to the start where they will misunderstood each other and separate AGAIN. it's especially frustrating and disappointing since you have to wait every week for almost the same thing you already saw the previous week. like wtf, give us something new. and boy, cha eun woo needs some acting lessons when crying. it looks half assed. it seems he is confused of either crying completely or just doing that poker face while crying. well i guess, i'm not surprised with everything that i've said since many people have already said that the webtoon itself is cliche and goes around in circles. it's hard to make something good out of a mediocre/ bad source material. if they want to redeem this drama, they better hire a new writer/ go a different writing direction.

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Different to the webtoon but I enjoyed it

I have to say I LOVED this drama. It may not be the best story, but I enjoyed every second of it. I've been a fan of the webtoon ever since it first came out, but there are some things I liked better in the drama.Soo Jin's character didn't make much sense to me in the webtoon. She appeared from time to time to be mean to Ju Kyung but she didn't have much depth. I liked her family's story and the way she was related to Soo Ho. Her arc was amazing as well for me and I loke how she redeemed herself at the end.Ju Kyung in the webtoon is like... Character development??? Don't know her —but in the drama she finally accepted herself as who she is and even stood up for herself. She went from being a scared shy girl suffering from bullying to a happy, sensible and strong woman and I loved that. I also like how they handled the Se Yeon situation in the drama. Suicide to me is a hard topic to adapt in screen but I think they did well. I also loved how in the drama Hee Kyung and Mr.Han's relationship worked. Hee Kyung was my favorite female characters because she is just so badass like she's strong and determined and she won't stop until she gets what she wants. The Lim's family drama was okay to me as well. I don't remember reading about Ju Kyung's dad in the webtoon but her mom was just... ??? I enjoyed how, in spite of her temper, she supported Ju Kyung at the end.The only thing that I hated with all my heart is that Ju Kyung didn't give Seo Jun a chance like she did in the webtoon. I loved them as a couple in the manhwa and I don't know he's just so sweet and caring and handsome. The second lead syndrome is just too strong and it pains me that he didn't get a lot more scenes

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I don't want to be one of those, but the Mang... The webtoon did it better

Well this is my first review, and it will probably be my last because I don't actually like to write reviews, I am a nobody. BUT this drama, in particular, made me write one, just because it made me so mad.

I am a webtoon avid reader and since quarantine, I have watched so many dramas that I feel like every drama is repetitive.

I am up to date with the original webtoon of True Beauty (TB). This is not my first drama base on a webtoon, but definitely is the first one I have read the webtoon before watching the drama.

I mostly read action webtoons, but for some reason, the premise of TB interested me when Cha Eun Wo announced for the main lead. I watched ID Gangnam Beuty (IDGB) and liked Cha Eun Wo acting, especially because I follow Astro and I know his real personality, so that's why I started reading TB

First. It was a really big surprise how the TV industry it's so out of themselves to not follow the original material. Yes, a few things are kept, but the amazing story made by the original author was sent to trash and decide to just make a cookie cutter of a drama. The story is quite repetitive and almost a copy of IDGB. TB's original story is pretty good when I read it the first time.

What I liked was its original plot progression. Lim Ju Kyung never dated Lee SuHo during high school and in college, she did end up dating Sea Jun. When I read that part I was surprised because after watching so many dramas, this was the first story I have read for a Korean writer to actually give the idea of a second lead chance with the main protagonist, and no a fling, like an actual big relationship. The webtoon is still going and the story is developing in more of an American series type story. Something that I thought was impossible by Korean writers because you know in every drama the two main leads will end together, second leads are just there to look pretty.

So I was an expectation for the first time a drama to make something different. TOTALLY disappointed when they make it a cookie-cutter. Nothing new, the drama was just predictable. All my expectations went to the drain, the drama keep some original plot but it was just too spicy it a little to then follow by a "sike". I finish it just for the sake of it, and because I didn't have anything better to do.

One thing that I did like, and that is something I have to praise about drama writers is that all characters have their part and their stories no matter how small they are. For example, the roles like Ju Kyung's sister and brother, and Kang So Jin in the webtoon are just there for props. But all three in the drama had their own arcs. The one I feel the most grateful for is Kang So Jin in the webtoon I could see the author trying to make her an antagonist from the very beginning but at some point, she just vanished like Thanos just snapped her.

My conclusion is that even though dramas have gotten better in terms of cheesiness, directing, and writing since 2017-18, they are still doing the same old story just with a different path and story backgrounds.

Dramas have become just predictable. I can count with two hands the few dramas that actually can differentiate from the rest, and normally those dramas are the more mature and risky in topic dramas. And I am referring only to romance comedy. Other genres are very original.

And that just... doesn't seem right. These rom-coms can actually have a twist and be original, they don't have to follow the same formula, they can actually take a different approach in the plot to make it good. The reason why the rom-com genre has lost so much rating is that the public knows how it will end.

One drama I can call original is SEARCH WWW, wao 10/10 writing. Even though we have our typical happy ending is actually the drama was more drama than romance. The romance was just a side dish, the character development of the three protagonists was the real main dish. Dramas like this can be refreshing from time to time.

I like romantic comedy-dramas because is an escape from the suffering of the world, I have too many problems to watch super dramatic and melancholic dramas or suspense or crime dramas. But seeing the same story just with a different mask is making it hard and hard to actually keep going into rom-com dramas.

Come on Korea you are just one step closer to make a difference.

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