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Precious Fluff with a Healthy Side of Substance
I originally wrote this review halfway through the drama, and I'm happy to confirm it did not disappoint me at all afterwards. So many kdramas become consumed by the male lead in the back half, or otherwise forgot to follow through on the female lead's story. But this wasn't the case at all here, because Gangnam Beauty was committed to Mi Rae's growth. The times that it strayed from her, it tended to follow the stories of the other women in the drama, most significantly antagonist Soo Ah's own perspective on beauty and self-esteem, but also Kyung Seok's mom and her attempts to reconnect with her children.This drama hit all the right notes for me. I was really reluctant to watch it because often stories about makeovers or plastic surgery have very negative messages which suggest either that your life will be better when you are "prettier," or else they emphasize the fat shaming and fall into the very tropes they're trying to fight against. But Gangnam Beauty did an excellent job of questioning beauty standards and showcasing the hypocrisy of a society that only values women for their appearance. I think it's only real flaw in my book is that it had what appeared to be PPL for a diet pill in one episode, but the pill was used by Soo Ah and the protagonist Mi Rae later called her out for all the methods women use to be the "most beautiful" when all they end up doing is hurting themselves. So while I would rather they never have shown it, I'm glad they turned it around after.
Anway, onto the cast: I think Im Soo Hyang and Cha Eun Woo did very well as Mi Rae and Kyung Seok. Even if the latter is a little green as an actor, he believably conveyed the subtle shifts in Kyung Seok's "coldness" and watching him warm up and become open as the drama went on was a treat. But of course, it's Soo Hyang who carried the weight of the drama on her shoulders, and she made Mi Rae's paralyzing fears very relatable while still allowing her inner strength to shine through. The side characters were all well-cast in my book, and their personalities were realistic and charming or even more realistic and infuriating as needed. I loved that the show never became solely about the romance - although the soft and slow progression of said romance was perfect for both characters - but really incorporated university life and friendships throughout.
I read the webtoon because of this drama, so I'm biased in the show's favor, but I think it conveyed the message from the comic appropriately. Adding Hyun Jung as a best friend for Mi Rae was an excellent choice in my book because it helped us understand how Mi Rae made it this far and showed that you can have a support system and still feel alone on a larger scale. Plus it set Soo Ah apart as a woman who lives for competition (even though that's something that society is partially to blame for as well) in comparison to several other girls in the show who were genuine in their intentions even if they sometimes fall short. I also like how it called out certain kdrama tropes, allowing our gallant male lead to learn more about how to respect the female lead even though he already started off leagues ahead of most men.
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Great message but delivery wasn't always there.
I enjoyed the show which is why I rated it quite high but I found the storyline a bit all over the place with no real depth.I loved the message of personality over looks, which can be shown in not only the main leads storylines but with all the characters. The "pretty people" were not all horrible and vain, while the "ugly/inadequate" were not all humble and nice. You were given a full variety of characters which made you really enjoy learning about their personality behind the "face value".
Though I will say I felt a bit disappointed with the main leads since while i did understand why they were both reserved, i was expecting their true personalities to be shown a bit earlier. I also expected more give and take between them, while it seemed like the male lead was extending himself and making a lot more changes within his life vs the female lead. The female lead seemed quite reluctant to help or extend herself to help the him but it is easily can be contributed to her insecurity and being unsure what to do in those social situations. Still the female lead did gain confidence and courage, she learned to find her own happiness that is not based on being "pretty".
In the end I just wished that we got more storyline after the main female gained her confidence, since that was when we got to really see her personality and also saw more of the male leads personality since she helped to bring him out of his shell. Still all in all it was a good series with a good message.
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I liked how it talked about taboo topics that kdrama land doesn't show often. For example,suicide,lookism and sexism,plastic surgery...etc.
I also enjoyed the feminist side that the writers added,the tshirts that the female lead wore were amazing but sometimes her personality was totally different from what they were portraying. Thank god her character slowly developed and learned not to judge someone solely on their looks because they are much more than an item to be displayed. And also learned how to stand up for herself. It was absolutely annoying when she didn't.
The acting was okay,it could've been better tho,everyone including the main leads were pretty mediocre.
Also one of the other things i disliked is that they were trying to send the message of "everyone is beautiful in their own way" but at the same time they were promoting weight loss products and saying things like "She's on a diet. She's trying to get a boyfriend" or "Let's go on a diet and get prettier together",i mean...
But overall,it was a refreshing and enjoyable story that made me squeal from time to time.
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Hypocrisy in the show
I thought a lot before giving this rating because I actually loved the story... however, I couldn't overlook the hypocrisy that was presented in the TV show.The show talks about how outer beauty shouldn't define who people are but there are many moments where eating disorders are enforced.
First of all, wile showing the wrong behavior of Soo Ah who pretends that she can't gain weight, the show shows us the name of the diet pills she takes as an advertisement... more than once. There are no warnings before they show her binging and purging either.
Second, skinny characters who are shown as normal like Hyun Jung are continuously dieting to get boyfriends???? What exactly are they trying to normalize?
These, among other things, made me give this rating despite the fact that I like the overall story.
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First couple of episodes are a bit awkward because they're focusing on all the "prettyness", pretty boys and pretty girls and even at the introduction ceremony at the university they are openly talking about how pretty the new freshmen are, it just felt a bit uncomfortable for me and I was happy it didn't last - but it did serve to set a tone initially.
The main female lead, as a child, was considered by her peers to be ugly and overweight. When she stepped up to fix the weight problem and became slim, they just found other names to call her and focused on their opinions of her face. This kind of long term bullying has a big impact on kids and you can see it has had a huge impact on her throughout the entirety of the show - any time you're thinking "oh jeez just say it already" or something, you need to reflect back on this history very carefully because it's completely undermined her way of thinking throughout her life.
As she gets older and looks to go to University she gets cosmetic surgery and completely changes her look - coming out the other side of that, she's now stunningly beautiful and that's essentially where the story kicks in.
Throughout the story, a lot of complex issues are covered, mostly those facing young women relating to cyber bullying, dieting, peer pressure, self confidence and many more.
The characters are great, even the one that starts looking like the nasty girl proves to have layers upon layers and a very detailed backstory that explains how someone gets to be the way they are today and some of the underlying non-obvious reasons for it. Towards the end when they were focusing more on that character, I was desperate for that character to just reach out and ask for help.
There is some irony that as I understand it, the female lead in reality also had plastic surgery and there are those commenters online who have been sadly shaming it. I've also seen comments that they felt the male lead was quite wooden but I actually liked the representation of that character - the put a shy guy inside a handsome body, someone who didn't know how to socialise and didn't know how to be around others because he always kept to himself. As someone who has always been that way myself (the shy bit, certainly not the handsome bit) I can only say I saw a lot of his manner reflecting my own personality and the way I would have reacted.
I also really liked a lot of the secondary characters, and the ML's mother was probably my favourite, the storyline of her reconnecting with her son and daughter was very touching and handled superbly by the author.
The OST didn't have any particularly memorable tracks to it unfortunately.
This story has a lovely slow burn romance throughout and I was utterly hooked from the start to the finish, watching it in two days flat. I totally recommend this one if that's the kind of story you're looking for.
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Kim Kardashians butt
Story- The story centered around a girl who got plastic surgery without both parents approval because she thought she was not beautiful. First of all, they wouldńt even show her actual face before the surgery so the watchers have nothing to conclude other than the fact she got plastic surgery because she was bullied. Even when she does get the surgery she still gets bullied and is unhappy so then it´s just frustrating watching her be so unconfident about something she so confidently wanted. Her overall character was just her being sad throughout the whole show and not showing much growth. The personalities of both the characters may have been why the chemistry felt so bad or maybe even the dialogue, but either way the romance aspect was so bland, which made it so hard not to drop the show.Acting- The acting was not it, the producers should have checked the chemistry between the leads. Even with a bad dialogue or clashing personalities I should still at least feel something between the actors but I just did´nt.
Music- I honestly don´t rember the music, if I ever rewatch I´ll change my rating.
Rewatch value- Not rewatchable at all.
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Second Female Will Anger You Like No Other
It's been a long, long time since I've seen this show but the one thing I do remember is that the second female was absolutely, horrendously, evil. Now, I've never seen The Glory but I've heard it's pretty dark. This is probably not even close, as I heard that is physical, but she is definitely twisted.Kang Mi Rae (Im Soo Hyang) is really sweet and after seeing True Beauty I realize they are a bit similar in story line and characters. Not to mention Cha Eun Woo is in both, and in both he plays the main lead!
I don't think I'd watch this again because I was livid throughout most of this show and then even more livid at the fact that we the audience are meant to feel sorry for the bully.
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The only minor reason I didn't give this a full 10/10 rating was because I wasn't a huge fan of the way the antagonist was dealt with. While I liked the attempt to give them a backstory and have it be in line with the message of the drama, it was basically all crammed into the last few episodes.
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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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Be ready for a slowwwwwwwww paced drama.
I got into watching this drama because some friends said it was good but despite forcing myself to watch it, there was honestly nothing special about it.An unpopular opinion but it's a drama that doesn't leave an impact on you.
The acting, other than the female antagonist in the show, was quite poor. The male lead had almost no facial expressions and the female lead was so "naive" to the point that her slow-witt got me quite annoyed.
The plot was VERY slow, as it, almost every episode it's the same thing over and over again. The male lead will chase the female lead and the female antagonist will chase the male lead but only to be turned down. I got to episode 8 and there's literally no progress.
If you're looking for a drama that can keep you hooked, this is not for you. But if you want something in the background while studying, this is perfect for you since it doesn't take as long to get what's going on.
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We're here for romance, right?
Not sure why this drama gets so much hate from some people. Perhaps they expect Korean culture to be something its not? Perhaps they hold the Mi Rae character to unrealistic standards? There are a lot of comments saying its a 'damaging message' and the leads can't act etc. I can understand that response in some people, but I loved this drama, personally.This drama starts off with an emotional bang; it's a little trite but everyone has gone through pain like Mi Rae (not maybe to the extent she has) growing up, and it hits home in a painful way. I found myself hooked and bawling after the first ep. It does such a good job of setting up the story, and the first half of the drama is good at showing the internal struggles of Mi Rae and the hateful things she endured as a teenager.
And I think this is where some people get lost. The issue is that the drama sells itself as a coming of age story about a girl who was bullied and is learning to love herself-- and yes it is totally that-- but ultimately at its core, the drama is a love story. And if you are going into it hoping that it will be a massive life-changing drama where the protagonist makes leaps and strides and grows as a person and says, 'eff society, eff beauty standards,' etc, you will be disappointed. It's not really that. I mean, it is powerful in its message, and it effectively saying that but not very directly. Yes it makes a comment on superficiality of people, and It's also about how personality trumps beauty... and characters do grow etc, but its not a massive feminist message. As for a strong female lead.... well, the lead is strong, but she is also a late bloomer and very beat down. She is incredibly stunted in the beginning and there are some 'damsel in distress' moments in this, especially in the first half of the drama, but these fade away as Mi Rae finds her courage. But if you hate damsel tropes, this is not for you, as there are many of them in this drama. There is also a lot of meek attitudes. However in the context of the society in which its taking place, the deference makes sense to me. There is a scene in the start where awful stuff is being said by seniors, and none of the freshmen speak up towards them--in the comments section of those episodes people were incredulous about this. I wasn't-- Cultural hierarchy is a big thing in Korea-- As an example, there was a tragic plane crash in Korea where the co-pilot couldnt stand up to the Captain because of this kind of cultural deference, despite the fact their lives were in peril. In that context, people not speaking up makes sense to me. Though they actually improve in this and many characters grow a backbone later on, I understand the initial hesitation. Not only are cultural and sexist roles at play, peer pressure is also a thing.
In fact, this drama benefits from people viewing it from the lens of Korean culture in general-- its not really trying to stand up against plastic surgery or anything like that. Like it or not, Korean culture is obsessed with beauty and plastic surgery-- its emphasized in the beginning where the mother and daughter walk through Gangnam station and there are massive ads for plastic surgery places everywhere. Furthermore, there are many many shameless moments of vanity by various people in the cast, not just the college going males who objectify the girls they go to school with, but even Mi Rae's mother who constantly comments on both her daughters beauty "Now she's pretty...." and the beauty of guys that like Mi Rae. This is definitely annoying, but it isn't addressed in the drama at all. I mean, why objectify men when Mi Rae herself has been judged so harsh? But in the end, it IS realistic. These are the way people view each other; it's not ok, though, and it is called out in some ways, but in the end, just like in society, objectification and judging of peoples appearances is just something you cannot eliminate. No matter what you look like you cannot escaped being judged.
So again if you want a strong feminist message, this isn't the drama for you. If you want a semi-realistic story about an incredibly insecure and stunted girl who falls in love for the first time and the cute moments that ensue because of that, then maybe check it out.
I personally enjoyed the story; though its not perfect and there are a lot of gaps in it. In the end they seem to cram a bunch of side stories to a close all at once and dont do a great job of resolving them, and there are major characters they stop using and/or only use when it suits them. This is disappointing because the cast is huge and the side characters are great; perhaps there are too many? There is a cute friend character in the beginning that you think will have a B story but halfway through you stop seeing here. All the 'B' stories kind of suck in my opinion; mostly because they don't really gain traction like they should and are executed badly. Again as I said at the beginning-- this is ultimately a love story, so in that context its understandable the other plots dont line up in a great way, but I would have liked a few solid B and C stories, honestly.
Moving on. I personally thought the acting was great; Im Soo Hyang shines as Mi Rae-- her character grows with her. At first it seems like she perhaps doesn't have much range, but I think this is intentional. Mi Rae's self esteem has been completely flattened, despite being feisty inside, and the drama does a good job of showing this. Someone said that Im Soo doesnt look like someone 'overly done' so that peoples judgments dont make sense, but I disagree. She (while still extremely pretty) does fit the ideal of a 'Gangnam Beauty' to me, and yes she looks a bit older, but in the context of the story it makes sense.
A lot of the comments criticize Cha Eun Wo's acting in this and I disagree heartily. Yes, his character is distant and wooden, but it is intentional. If you think that Cha Eun Wo can't act then you totally missed the point of Do Kyung Suk's character--he is a guy that has learned to repress all feelings and he is very direct and reactionary. The point is that he is also emotionally stunted-- despite being opposite ends of the spectrum looks wise to Mi Rae, they are actually very similar internally. His friend comments at one point that Kyung Suk has no friends as he never lets anyone in; that he is unapproachable and distant, and Cha Eun Wo does a great job showing that. His micro-expressions convey it all; especially at the beginning where he goes from blank to a flash of anger when a side character is being antagonistic towards him. His character is especially intense, and it is again, intentional-- you can tell by the fact the director gives the young versions of Kyung Suk the same blankness. Also, As Do Kyung Suk grows and such, he shows more and more emotion, and his aloofness fades somewhat.
If you take this purely as a squee-inducing love story then its a 10/10 though. This has some of the cutest moments (even if they are tropey) of any drama I've ever seen. Some bits are even cuter than my holy grail of dramas 'A Witch's Romance' -- that's the gold standard of love stories for me, haha. So this drama is really seriously cute. But the slow burn is incredibly slow, and almost painful, but worth it in my opinion. I didn't fast forward once, even though I was eagerly awaiting the cute parts. Moreover it makes sense-- these may be college students but they are shy broken and inexperienced people in various ways and it makes sense that their love will not all be immediate and smooth sailing. I also wanted more-- the chemistry is there between the leads, but they dont give it as much passion. Thats my only gripe with the love story. Its passion is hinted at only briefly, and I would have liked more.
Another niggling criticism for me, that there is not a lot of depth to anyone except Mi Rae-- you dont get into the thoughts and feelings of many of the other characters except a few. This makes it feel more like a shojo manga than anything, though it makes sense if it was based on a web toon. I would have liked more development in this area, personally. It makes everyone, especially the love interests to Mi Rae, seem kind of unreal. Even the TA character, who is extremely nice and personable, lacks depth sometimes. You know he's nice, but you dont know why or who he is really. Same with Kyung Suk; this lack of depth almost makes him feel like a mary sue sometimes.
Still, a cute drama, I recommend. I would love to see a sequel but I'm not sure how that would work, but I really did enjoy the world and the characters a lot. Check it out if you want an adorable romance between beautiful people.
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The acting:
Probably my lowest score, yes there were supposed to be two socially awkward individuals but they were trying to hard! Cha eun woo looked stiff and the role did not suit him at all! He was only "handsome" which was reminded to us every single episode!
The girl's face did really suit the Gangnam beauty description but even her acting was rather dull. Terrible chemistry between them. From all the cast I actually like the sunbae second male lead. And the evil Soo Ah acted somewhat better on portraying a deceitful innocent girl.
Nevertheless they could have done better.
Story:
Good concept though, I enjoyed reading the webtoon last year and it followed a different approach to romance, dealing with serious issues like personality and physical appearances. Knowing how Korean culture is obsessed with "beauty", I did feel it was necessary to cover this topic. Although they still kinda dumbed it down, somehow they did the opposite! When she stated "she was ugly in the past" everyone just agreed. All accept her dad just constantly reminded her that now you are pretty (i.e. you were ugly). Not a great message to be honest, and in the end beauty still prevailed.
It felt rushed and unnecessary scenes at times, but it was the acting that ruined it.
Soundtrack was ok, not the best but nothing to complain about either
Rewatch value...?? Watching it once is enough, rather you won't miss out if you haven't watched it, I wouldn't personally watch it again.
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