Lacking in certain places but makes up for 10 times over

So, I'm not going to pretend that this show was just an extremely well done masterpiece with A+ acting and story. The leads are a bit stiff and show could easily fall into the sea of school romances with cute aloof boys and wide-eyed girls. However, My ID is Gangnam Beauty makes up for the overall averageness of the show in three major ways.

1. The message: It was actually so refreshing and mindblowing the way show handled beauty standards, especially ones unique to South Korea. Plastic surgery is everywhere, obviously, but South Korea is on another level. Our protagonist is one such person who decided to undergo the knife, but show never condemns protag for her actions. She is an adult who chose this for herself and, other than certain characters bullying her for it, there's no actual message that what she did was wrong or shameful. What the show does condemn are beauty standards and the pressure for women to attain something that is ultimately unfulfilling, whether you're conventionally attractive or not. That's the true beauty of the show, how it conveys that patriarchal standards of beauty are oppressive to all women, and digs into our psyches enough to evaluate our own worth and value.

2. 2nd Female Lead (Antagonist?): I actually dislike the tendency for kdramas to try to put a sloppy resolution by showing the antagonist's trauma and having that speak for their actions. I think it's oftentimes lazy and doesn't work with the story. Plus, just because bad actions are explainable doesn't make them excusable. But I felt like show actually did a successful character arc with Soo Ah. We're first presented with her as this total b*tch who is just a bad person, but slowly we see the cracks in her own facade. We see the different ways that patriarchal beauty standards affects her life. It's revealed Soo Ah is from a very poor family, and so the bitterness she feels toward Mi Rae (in her viewpoint) buying a pretty face, when for Soo Ah it's been a "blessing" and what's gotten her what she wanted in life, is more understandable (not excusable). I think women against women is one of the strongest weapons of the patriarchy and we see it happen in this show. But, even though Mi Rae and Soo Ah will never be close friends, there is a very satisfying resolution to their conflict, with both realizing just how much of a victim they both are to oppressive beauty standards. Soo Ah is a very well written, complex "antagonist" who brings so much depth to the show. Show could have gone down the route of just letting Soo Ah be a catty mean character; instead they showed how even conventionally pretty people are trapped and unhappy when a person's worth is connected to their beauty, even if it seemingly benefits them.

3. Wish fulfillment sans jerks: The reason I could never get into shows like Boys Over Flowers or Playful Kiss was just how much the male leads actually suck as people. Like, objectively. Doesn't mean I don't like the aloof boy trope, but it typically came with the as*hole boy trope. My ID is Gangnam Beauty gives me all my wish fulfillment with cute, smart, aloof male leads but one's that actually aren't complete jerks. The bare minimum is respecting your partner, and show met this standard on both ends of the relationship. Really appreciated how OTP treated one another. Even if the acting was a bit stiff, emotions still got through and was more or less believable. Most importantly, it was all very cute lol.

The above major factors are what made this show top 5 favorite kdramas for me. Outside of the OTP (which, I still very much like and squeal over despite its one note-ness), I think there was a lot of depth in the show with its characters and themes. Not that show didn't have its faults (why is Mi Rae's beauty suddenly validated because she gets a hot boyfriend? The incredibly poor taste diet product ad placement during Soo Ah's eating disorder), but overall I just appreciated immensely how show handled the complexity of self worth through appearance. And I could go way more into it and analyze the nuances of the show and its messages (whether it's promoting plastic surgery, toxic behavior displayed by certain characters, etc), but as a seasoned kdrama viewer, it was an enjoyable college romance that packed a bigger punch than expected. The deeper exploration of the relationship between beauty and worth, and how this creates a violent environment toward women, was just really refreshing to see handled in a romcom-type drama. With shows like True Beauty that touched on similar themes, I just feel like My ID is Gangnam Beauty handled the topic with more depth and complexity (still think True Beauty is cute, just didn't love it). Overall I enjoyed this show a lot and have already rewatched it 5 times over.

Read More

Cute, short, and sweet

This 8 episode series was honestly just a delight to watch. It has a very cute romance plotline that did antagonistic romance well, and some good side plotlines as well. I really appreciated how much all the characters felt pretty flushed out, which is especially commendable to the show considering its episode count. All the characters, side characters included, really seemed like real teenagers with real problems, navigating their interpersonal relationships, and figuring out themselves.

**SPOLIERS**
I do have to say, I am pretty disappointed when we finally get Ho-Rang's full backstory. I try not to be too harsh since 1) I'm sure show didn't want to get too dark considering its breezy tone, and 2) people respond to traumas differently. However, I did feel like show could have gone a little harsher with Ho-Rang's bullying. It was just an extremely built-up plotpoint that, when it finally was revealed, you were just kind of like...that's it? Just considering the severity of the bullying we see in shows such as Who Are You: School 2015 or even True Beauty, this seemed a bit mild. But then again, I've never been bullied so I fully admit I don't have the best gauge with what can do irrevocable harm to someone. I would just have preferred a little more depth.
**END SPOILERS**

It's a short and sweet show that feels a bit like a hidden gem, as other reviewers have pointed out. I highly recommend for people who want to watch a sweet little high school romance with a light mystery plot and themes of bullying.

Read More

Why did people... like this?

Maybe I'm not being fair to this show as I didn't actually finish it, but that's because I actually just couldn't stand to watch any longer. Excepting the acting, because the actors did as good a job as they were able with the material, the plot, script, and characters were just bad. Some major issues I have with the show are:

Characters: Both main leads were difficult to tolerate, but what I really couldn't get over is how Bong Hee stalks Ji Wook for a good long stretch of episodes. I also wish if a kdrama makes a point to tell the audience that the female lead can kick some a*s, they should SHOW it. If they did later on and I just didn't get to that before I dropped, my bad. It just seems like the show wanted to have a "strong female lead" but then never actually made her be one. Not that strong female leads can't have vulnerable moments or flaws, it just seemed like Bong Hee was all flaws. I didn't find her stalking cute at all. I will say, as much as it was embarrassing to watch, I respected Bong Hee embracing her crazy ex gf status and reclaiming it in a way (until it got her to be a murder suspect whoops). Ji Wook I think I just didn't like because of how rude he was, and we share some polar opposite principles on the legal system and how it should and should not operate. That last one is just a me thing, though.

Overall Enjoyment: I'm sorry but what's happening in this show? From coworkers to murder suspect, to stalker, to business partners, to housemates...like I just was waiting for the show to be engaging and not forcibly have to watch. I think that was the problem at the end of the day was that I had to convince myself to keep watching and hoping it will get better. And I don't even mean in terms of the quality of the show or anything, but waiting until watching what was happening in the show not be tortuous and cringeworthy to witness. We literally just waited for Ji Wook to not be creeped out by Bong Hee in order for the romance to progress. And sorry but I just don't get butterflies from that type of romance.

Ultimately, I just could not keep watching Suspicious Partner. I felt like I was watching a trainwreck each episode of secondhand embarrassment. For me, nothing about the show was charming. Especially the whole cheating backstory with Ji Wook and his ex bestfriend and girlfriend. There was no character that was just fun to watch do their thing. To me, the entire main cast was just wholly unlikable and you can't really go anywhere if you don't enjoy watching any of the characters lol. I really don't understand why people liked this show so much. And this is coming from someone who was excited to watch it! But it is what it is and Chang Wook has the advantage of just standing there and looking cute for the drama to be successful. I just had to call it quits and stop wasting my time waiting to get to when I would enjoy watching the show :/

Read More

Completely took me by surprise...so good!!

Wow I really wasn't expecting a show titled "Romance is a Bonus Book" to be so good. I'll start off by admitting my bias with noona storylines since I just appreciate how many opportunities for trope subversion it provides. The noona angle, along with the fact that our protag is an older divorcé needing to get back into the workforce just felt so real.

This show is much more character driven than plot driven. It's great to see how the characters develop (mainly Dan Yi) throughout the series. It also has such a colorful cast that it never feels boring, despite not a lot necessarily happening plot wise. I will admit that Eun Ho doesn't feel like a character that ever changes, but to me I'm very okay with that. Despite the description of the show, it is about Dan Yi ONLY in my eyes. It's about her journey figuring herself out despite everything set up against her (namely, being a divorced mother with over a decade gap in her career). It's an issue that is decidedly female in the sense of societal pressure for women to quit their jobs to be the homemaker. It's just a refreshing show in so many ways, with the protag, the writing (Dan Yi actually talks casually about her sex life which is just amazing), and the conflicts (never feeling like a melodrama, just real sh*t that happens). ** MINOR SPOILER One extremely minor issue I have is how sidelined her daughter is... like they could have at least had one ep where she makes an appearance and bonds with Eun Ho, but it's a very small qualm.**

Guys, just trust me and push your way past the first episode which has a different tone than the rest of the show. If you like shows that focus on well developed female characters you'll like this one. Just overall a very warm, unassuming, quiet, and REAL show (while also being very cute lol).

Read More