True Beauty (2020)

Different from the webtoon but still a lovely drama! I love you Hwang Inyeop :)

With any romcom (romance-comedy) Korean drama comes its many clichés and tropes. Though “True Beauty” has some of the most common stereotypes (love triangles, the Cinderella story, childhood friends, etc.), it has proven to nail them fairly well and even add its own twists to them.

“True Beauty” is about a high school girl, named Lim Jugyeong, who is bullied due to her bare face being “ugly.” However, she learns how to apply makeup from YouTube. When she transfers to a new high school, her classmates call her a “goddess.” The only person who has seen her bare face is the cold and handsome Lee Suho.

Story 8/10
Since the Kdrama is based on a webtoon, the show was definitely humorous and comical, but unfortunately quite unrealistic at times. That aspect never really bothered me, but it may bother other viewers. Personally, I enjoyed the cheesy and cliché moments and found them to be really entertaining. The show focuses most of its attention on the ever-so infuriating love triangle, and to add to that, the female lead is clueless about the love triangle. If you are not a fan of the common love triangle trope, then this show is not for you. As frustrating as some of the episodes ended, I still found myself eagerly waiting for the next episodes to air. Though it did feel like the ending was getting rushed and there was not as much closure to the characters as I had hoped, the storyline kept me thoroughly engaged and excited to see what would happen next.

Cast and Acting 9/10
The show did a great job at casting the actors, as each one of them perfectly embodied their characters. Moon Gayoung did an amazing job playing Jugyeong, her acting made Jugyeong relatable and likable. Hwang Inyeop’s acting was my personal favorite and he portrayed his cool yet adorable character really well. In my personal opinion, I think Hwang Inyeop and his character carried the show and made it a lot more worth watching. As a fan of Cha Eunwoo myself, I was extremely elated to see him play the lead role. Though his acting was a bit stale at times, he improved a lot with Lee Suho’s emotional scenes. I couldn’t have asked for better casting and I was overall satisfied with the acting.

Music 9/10
Typically, when I finish a Kdrama, I would find their OST (original soundtrack) album and only download a couple of songs. However, I found myself downloading almost all of the True Beauty OSTs. The songs were extremely catchy and stuck with me even after I finished watching an episode of the show. Hearing the music constantly reminds me of the wonderful moments in the show and even have me rewatching my favorite scenes.

Rewatch Value 8/10
Though the show may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I found it to be extremely entertaining, heartfelt, and comedic. Most of the scenes I would rewatch are those that had Han Seojun in them, his character and Hwang Inyeop’s portrayal of him kept me wanting more moments of him.

Overall 8.5/10
Since the ending did not go according to my unrealistic hopes for the show, I found myself feeling bittersweet knowing that the show was finally over. Although I found a few characters’ endings to be unbearable and/or unsatisfying, I would have to say that I did enjoy the journey of the show in its entirety. I also loved the message of the show; watching Jugyeong learn to love and accept herself for who she is, reminded me to do the same. The lovable characters and cast definitely played a huge role in keeping me entertained and engaged throughout the show. Though the show could have done a better job at giving closure and better endings for specific characters, I enjoyed my time watching the show and waiting for every new episode to air. Also, I just caught up with the webtoon, and though they are strikingly different from one another, just having some of the main characters and their personalities, I like to see these as their own respective artworks. I love the webtoon AND the drama! Thank you for all the wonderful memories True Beauty. <3

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Lately there have been a lot of dramas that start off great, then just fall flat in the last remaining episodes. Sadly, True Beauty turned out to be one of those dramas. By the last episode, I was skipping through every single dialogue just so I could finish the drama and get it over with.

One scene in particular struck with me in the last episode. It was when Seo Jun urged Ju Gyeong to visit Su Ho, declaring that he was leaving for America (?) again. Ju Gyeong goes to him and begs him not to leave, crying and telling him she cares for him, causing the pit in my stomach to grow bigger. Su Ho was the one who left her messages on read, couldn't express what he was feeling clearly and left her in the dust, but ultimately the female lead had to be the one begging him to stay as if she was the one in wrong?

Also, the redemption arc they gave to Kang Su Jin after illustrating her as the biggest villain of the show did not move me in the slightest. They could've just skipped that scene just as much as they should've skipped making her a villain to begin with. They introduced her to be the outstanding, noble character and as if flipping a switch turned her into a hating, venomous person just like that. On the other hand, Ju Gyeong's sister, played by Im Se Mi was a great character, but I really couldn't understand how she stayed with Ju Gyeong's teacher after all the mixed signals he sent and him not being to tell her or know what he even wanted.

However, I must say that the acting was good, Moon Ga Young was exceptional and I couldn't envision anyone else in her role. I was a little unsure about Hwang In Yeop in the beginning, but by the end he'd sold me over.

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I really empathize with HWANG IN YEOP :")

I'm really looking forward to the ending of this drama. I'm also following the webtoon "TSOA" and i like all the characters in the drama they have good chemistry. YOU GUYS DID WELL

to be honest I like this drama because the cast is Eunwoo and I also follow the webtoon. but why do I feel this is completely different from the original story on the webtoon and the drama also finishes the story first. will there be a plot twist in the webtoon ??? I think the story will be very WOW if there is a season 2, how about our seojun!? previously I watched 18 again and I thought this was the same character as Hwang In Yeop and I also felt sad. Please don't make Inyeop the second lead in the next drama: "(

When I watched it I didn't know who it would end with ,because the original story wasn't finished yet ..... and when I found out the ending in the drama why am I so ordinary ??? whether it will be different from the story in the webtoon I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS, at the end of the drama I couldn't choose but in the webtoon I chose Seojun with Jukyung.
PLEASE I WANT SEASON 2

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A good coming of age rom com!

True Beauty has it all. Humour, drop dead visuals, great cast, interesting story line, commendable acting, good music and a certain raw sweetness to it. I’ll admit that I was totally biased going into it as Mr Cha is my darling but hardly two episodes in and I’m totally into all the lead actors and supporting cast especially Hwang InYeop. That is one fine looking, talented man. I will admit that I’m extremely superficial when it comes to picking dramas as I do like to look at pretty things and nothing gets prettier then these three leads. That the villainess is pretty darn cool is a bonus too! So my advice. Sit back, enjoy and try not to judge too much. It’s a commendable, light drama that makes you feel surprisingly good! Special mention.. the female lead’s sister is the bomb! A woman after my own heart. She knows what she wants and goes out and gets it. Enjoy!

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I'm going to keep this short because I'm sure there will be hundreds of reviews for it. I had never read the webtoon, had no idea what the story was about, and rarely watch high school dramas anymore, but I kept seeing this promoted on the Viki for weeks and decided to watch an episode to give it a try. I ended up watching nine episodes over a weekend. I was surprised by how much this drama made me laugh out loud! The supporting cast is stellar and full of memorable characters, and some of the characters who felt over-the-top in the very beginning grew on me. But what surprised me were the more serious storylines, the trauma that Ju Gyeong experiences from being bullied, and the pain that Su Ho and Seo Jun feel due to their friend's suicide. There were many moments that moved me and brought tears to my eyes. The last two episodes felt disappointing to me, but overall I enjoyed this drama a lot.

Also, I have to say how impressed I was by Hwang In Yeop, who I had never seen before. He pulled off humor, attitude, and pain so well, and really made you love his character Seo Jun.

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That was cute and fun

I had a lot of fun watching this drama.
I loved the comic duo represented by the parents (sorry I am super bad with names). Both actors were really good in their previous drama, i.e Crash Landing on You and Dinner Mate.
The 3 leads were really good as well and I am having a lot of fun watching them.
Show stealer is the sister who's flipping the gender role like a queen when she's pursuing Mr. Han.
The whole cast seems to have had a lof of fun doing that and it shows.
School drama shows can be really corny but this one was filled with humour.
Massive Second lead syndrome as well! Poor Hwang In Yeop! I hope he will get a drama when he eventually gets the girl.
Casting Cha Eun Woo was a great choice as well. Sadly we don't hear him sing in the show (maybe on the OST?).
So overall, a good and fun drama to watch (and rewatch!)

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One of the best school rom-com dramas

Story:

- humor makes it different from other rom-coms
- all the relationships/friendships are so precious
- a great drama after a tiring day or to end 2020 and start 2021
- very eye-catching and charming second lead !
- liked the love triangle but also dragged the drama a lot that 'true beauty' theme was gone
- mainly about friendship, bullying, love-triangle
- more interesting how the main leads all have traumatic past
- the ending was satisfactory but wished more as it was too rushed
- Seojun....

Acting/Cast:

- PERFECT
- all the cast fit so well to their character, visually and through acting
- everyone fell for Seojun and got SLS (surprise, surprise)
- rising star HIY. he played his role out very detailed, his eyes have sm emotions. the role suited him sm
(liked him since 18 Again)
- JG's character may not be the most likable for some people but it wasn't a problem for me
- CEW acting improved so much
- CEW's character was kinda bland at first but he kinda got better at the end
- MGY is so beautiful and she played out JG reallyyy well (esp after watching her in The Great Seducer, feels very different)
- Also loved SJ's gang, his fam, JG's small group of friends, her fam, all the lil cameos (and this one particular drama reference!)

Music:

- repeatedly used the same songs but still liked it
- entire playlist is so beautiful and catchy
- first time finding out about Chani and his voice is beautiful
- HIY's deep voice allures me

Rewatch Value:

- kept rewatching episodes when waiting for the next
- will definitely rewatch, especially scenes w SJ (and his moments w JG)
- will watch to fall in love w SJ again and for more laughs!

Overall:

- loved the warm class and elegant-looking school (same school w Extraordinary you?)
- the outfits are cute af
- makeup was done beautifully
- friendships were so cute
- loved sharing opinions with the audience every wk
- the most engaging drama I've encountered in years!
- every episode was worth it and it was such a pain in the neck to wait for another episode in a week

Some people may say it's a cliche kdrama (school, bully, friendships, love triangle, cold-guy, and dumb-girl) but I personally love cliche dramas and I'd say this is one of the best, most unique cliche dramas! My thurs/fri become so exciting and I defo laughed a loooot. It REALLy depends on your taste but I really enjoyed every single episode.

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As I finally finished watching the final episode, I can gladly say that this was a gem of 2021. I cannot believe I did not like it at first, but the show turned out to be super duper enjoyable in the end.

What did we all expect from this drama to be completely honest? For those who have read the webtoon, I will just say the drama does not necessarily have to follow the storyline 100% accurately. In fact, I loved that some elements and the chemistry between additional characters have made the show into its own little thing. First off, I would call this drama a literal real-life anime. Sometimes, the acting and the scenes would be so ridiculously unreal, but it worked out amazingly somehow. Second, I loved the actors and how closely they resemble the webtoon characters. And, as mentioned before, the characters that were not originally in the comics were so essential for the drama that it was a great addition. Despite being team this or that, I felt that the female lead had greater chemistry with Suho in the end (I am on team Seojun by the way). Third, the musical touch for this drama was superb - the OST completely slaps!

It is difficult to come to terms that this show has ended, but it was a fun ride. If you loved it as well, make sure to read the webtoon for a slightly different storyline.

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In general, I really enjoyed watching True Beauty.
Honestly speaking, this drama hit close to home, since just like Lim Ju-Kyung, I was also bullied in school due to my appearance and I believe that a lot of people watching this drama will relate to it.
This drama was actually very cute, not super dramatic even though approaches some serious societal issues from suicide to the way the entertainment industry works, to the appearances-based society we live in.
I haven't read the webtoon, so I can't tell you if the drama is loyal to it or not. What I can tell you is that the acting was amazing, very entertaining although there were some parts where you can tell the overreaction in the scene, in spite of that, the drama was really enjoyable.
Something that I really loved was the presence of strong females like Lim Ju-Kyung's sister who's someone that not only can defend herself but also goes after what she wants even when it comes to romance; or like Kang Soo-Ah who can defend herself or anyone she sees in danger (although she goes "bitchy mode" towards the end due to jealousy).
Last but not least, this drama was a bit hard to watch because it's impossible to not like Seong-Joo. I wanted both Seong-Joon and Soo-Hoo to have a happy ending but obviously, that wasn't possible.

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THE BEST KDRAMA IVE WATCHED IN 2020-21

i love this kdrama with all my heart!!!! like this show is SO perfect. The romance, comedy, and the acting + the actors. this show made me cry and laugh every episode.

I never read the webtoon, so i didnt care if it was the same or not. I also believe that if the drama was the same as the webtoon, it would've flopped.

In the webtoon, jugyeong didnt have a character development - but I'm so glad I got to see that in the drama. Idk why there's a lot of low ratings but as a team suho - IM SATISFIED!!

Eun woo, ga young, in yeop and the rest of the cast were amazing. I loved every moment of the show and would definitely recommend watching it if rom-com is your thing!!!

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Love Triangle = Must Watch Rom-Com!

I don't care what anyone tells me, I have always been Team Suho since episode 1, even if True Beauty did try their very best to sway me, I still couldn't be swayed because I still held on for my man until the very ending!

To me, this drama did not disappoint me whatsoever. This drama was everything I could have ever asked for. I loved it so much, took me back to my High School years when I was cyberbullied for either being too fat or not being a good writer, so I connected with Lim Joo Gyung so well.

There were lots of laughter and crying along the way, I had my favorite scenes I could re-watch all the time. This will be one of those shows where it's a great starter. This show really was a good way to open up the door for future kdrama.

To me, I never read the Webtoon and honestly, I'm glad I didn't read the webtoon, otherwise, I would have REALLY been torn between our two male leads.

In the end, everyone got their happy ending, even if it wasn't the ending that some might have hoped for, but to me, it was everything. Thank you so much, TvN for such a rollercoaster drama.

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