This review may contain spoilers
This was a wonderful drama! Hilarious, touching, sweet, angsty... allowing the actors to truly spread their wings with various emotional scenes ranging from funny to absolutely heartbreaking. And the chemistry between the leads was simply off the charts!When you watch the BTS vids, you can see how fantastically everyone got along and it truly showed on-screen. It was a real pleasure to watch the scenes with the main three - Cha Eunwoo, Moon Ga Young and Hwang In Yeop - whether they were humorous or sad, they played off each other wonderfully. And the interactions between them were my favorite ones, both the romance and the bromance.
I think that my favorite moment out of all the great moments that this drama is full of was the one with Suho and his father at the hospital, when Suho broke down and everything he’d been keeping hidden all the years spilled out. That whole scene was just heartbreaking, the way it was shot, the fact that all the important people left in Suho’s life got to witness it... it was honestly perfect. Everything I wanted and more. And that following it, Suho and Seojun started repairing their broken friendship was a bonus!
There were so many things that I loved about the drama. The older sister and her teacher chicken of a boyfriend! The way Joogyung’s whole family finally found a common ground! Suho and his father! The mystery of Leo! Soojin’s downfall and redemption! Seojun’s family! The friendship among Suho, Seojun and Seyeon before everything went downhill! That we saw the characters grow up and become adults, start a career and find a purpose in life! All that and more.
To sum it up, I loved the drama. Sure, it took an ep or three to find its feet but I’m so glad that I stuck with it till the end. It’s definitely my favorite Cha Eunwoo series and I’m so glad that he starred it in.
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A Journey of self-acceptance and empowerment
True Beauty is a drama that resonates deeply, especially for anyone who has experienced bullying or struggled with self-esteem, like you did in your childhood. The show touches on themes of beauty, self-acceptance, and personal growth, making it not only visually stunning but also emotionally impactful. Tthis drama can serve as a reminder that beauty is much more than skin deep, and it celebrates the importance of overcoming challenges to find inner strength. The journey of the characters mirrors the real-life struggles many face, which makes it not only entertaining but also empowering.Was this review helpful to you?
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Two Kinds of Love, One Lasting Heartache
The balance of comedy and romance in True Beauty is both charming and heartfelt. While it begins with the familiar makeover trope, the arrival of two ex-best friends falling for the same girl creates genuine suspense. What makes the love triangle unique is how we witness two distinct forms of love and care directed toward Ju-kyung: Su-ho’s steady, protective devotion and Seo-jun’s warm, selfless support.Although the choice between them seems obvious from early on, Seo-jun’s unwavering love leaves a lasting impact. Viewers find themselves not only rooting for Ju-kyung and Su-ho’s romance but also yearning for Seo-jun’s happiness — a longing that carries over even into his appearances in other dramas. This makes the ending feel bittersweet: satisfying in its resolution, yet tinged with the ache of Seo-jun’s unfulfilled story.
What stands out most is the humanity of every character. There are no true villains — even Kang Su-jin, whose betrayal stems from insecurity, earns empathy by the end. Ultimately, True Beauty reminds us that love can take many forms, and sometimes the most touching stories are those that don’t end in “happily ever after” for everyone.
However, it is not the strongest rewatch drama, as the story is fairly predictable once you know the outcome. Its real strength lies not in surprise twists but in the feelings it stirs — the warmth, longing, and bittersweet ache that stay with you long after the credits roll.
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This review may contain spoilers
It is in the middle of good and bad
As a fan of dramas (whatever language it is), I have watched different storylines or you can say many of them even have identical build-ups. In this particular drama, I could say it has its own positive feels but at the same time it also has negative sides.Story
First of all, I like how fun and light this drama is. It can be easily loved by people especially the newbies in the Kdrama world. The plot is not complicated to be understood. It is typical for Korean dramas to be laid down this way and we call it clichés. Daily lives of high school students who try their best on coping up with their grading marks and lessons.
But the catch on the story is the discrimination in the female lead's physical appearance. And antagonist students do this in the way of bullying. No matter where you go, that kind of discrimination is really not that uncommon. The solution that the female lead thought of is through the use of make-up or cosmetics. Well, her mother kind of tried to consult with a Plastic Surgeon but changed her mind afterwards. This is the fundamental difference if I were to compare it to My ID is Gangnam Beauty.
Acting/Cast
At first, I watched this entirely because of Eun Woo. As an Aroha, I can't let this slip away from my watchlist, can I? But the additional team up with Ga Young and In Yeop? Definitely a new and fun team-up. I first saw Ga Young in Princess Hours which was way back 2007. She started off with supporting roles but slowly went to main ones such as in Great Seducer. She's a great actress for sure. Her expressions are in synch with Ju Kyung's role.
Secondly, In Yeop is a really perfect casting for second lead role with antagonistic behavior. Not that I am saying he is only good for being a second lead, he will also slay a main lead tho. I would like to ask this since I am here giving a review, how can he have that kind of face when he's a freakin' 30 years old? 😭 I think South Korea is the only country that can pull this off? Giving a 30-year old with a high school student role.
Thirdly, Eun Woo's acting skills are definitely improving. Besides him, we know so many Idols who have great compatibility with acting such as INFINITE's L, GOT7's Jinyoung, and EXO's D.O. Eun Woo as Lee Su Ho is perfect. He's great at portraying tsundere-type of main leads. Showing poker faces at all times and rarely smiles? It's just a walk in the park for him. Someone can say he is bad at expressing emotions but for me it's exactly the opposite. Outside of acting, he's a cheerful and funny guy.
Last but not the least, the supporting roles such as Ju Kyung's family is composed of great actors for romcom dramas such as this. But we won't forget Kang Soo Jin here. She's a badass character. She got temporarily on the wrong path but stood up and strongly faced all consequences.
Music
The OSTs for the drama are so good especially In Yeop's version of Missing You. The feels are everywhere. Starlight by SF9's Chani and Ha Sung Woon's Fall In You are in my Top 3 picks for the drama as well.
Overall, I'm only gonna rate this as 8.5 because such storyline already exists and there's nothing new except for the setting and line-up of actors. If your preferences include light stories, romcom or school dramas, this is definitely your cup of tea.
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True Beauty: A guilty pleasure.
There's absolutely nothing extraordinary about this drama, but it does a very good job at being medium. Really!Here's a few of my thoughts (no spoilers)
Writing - It's a shame that the bullyng and the characters traumas weren't really developed. It had a lot of potential, but they just covered it with comedy. So even though the drama has interesting and important topics, they weren't explored as they should.
Also, why so many embarrassing scenes? I never skip scenes but this button was definitely used on this drama.
Couples - The drama focused so much on the romance that at some point people forgot about the first plot, Lim Jun Kyung problem with her appearance and the bullying.
The whole "Who's she ending up with" wasn't necessary and made the story worst in my opinion. But I liked the final couple, so I'll give them that.
Acting - None of the actors showed a award worthy performance but they didn't disappointed me as some people said they would. It's decent.
OST's - I loved every single song in this drama!
True Beauty made me laugh, tear down, made me angry, sad and root for the characters. It's worth watching and I recommend if you're looking for a funny, silly, easy watch drama.
Overall it's pretty decent although I wouldn't watch it with my friends who aren't part of this kdrama world cuz it would be embarrassing. A true guilty pleasure.
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now i know my taste in dramas and i am always going for the one with an amazing and gut wrenching plot with plenty of various elements and genres thrown in, but i do also love dramas that are easy and funny to watch. which is why, albeit its lack of depth and in all of its shallowness, i wholeheartedly love true beauty.
i've rewatched probably 7 times already--it's become my background show when eating or when i'm bored or when i want to distract myself! and if i had the choice to rewatch it for the first time, i would absolutely make that choice a million times over.
however, the storyline is somewhat weak (the webtoon's story was better developed, likely because it took practically four years to complete and this drama was meant only for 16 episodes, but still, and also i'm biased because the webtoon did my boy seojun justice whereas the drama did not!!!) and the acting is mediocre, but probably largely due to the fact that these roles simply cannot display one's full skillset. anyway stan true beauty and cha ni's vocals and astro and sf9 :p
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neomu BeAuTiFuL
so first of all , i wasn't going to watch this drama but my friend told me to give it a try and here i am satisfied . this drama was everything , funny , sad , romantic and in some type of a way heartwarming . the cast was on point , every actor and actress did their job perfectly and i'm saying this to those brats that be saying that eun woo can't act . bruh just because he is handsome and pretty doesn' tmean he should suck at acting . there's so many funny scenes that made me wheeze in the middle of the night while everyone is sleeping lmao . i foundit a bit exaggerated how she was afraid and anxious if her classmates about her wearing makeup cuz whats the big deal but than thats korea so maybe thats the case there idk . i was team suho all through the drama so i was completely satisfied with the ending but team sejun on the other hand... of course he doesn't stand a chance cuz he's just a second lead what did u expect ?the high school vibes made miss my high school days .
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All cliches in one drama but still a fun watch.
I love the message of the drama. But as time went the story lost its focus and all focus was on the aggravating love triangle, and at that point the characters just looked pathetic. To make it worse, the FL is so clueless it's frustrating. Anyone can watch this but I definitely think the drama is geared towards younger audiences. The best thing I love about the drama is the characters, some of the characters had so much depth and shined anytime they appeared on screen. They really elevated a story full of cliches.Now as for the love triangle, as someone who never gets second lead syndrome this was very hard to watch. Writers need to stop this trope where the second male lead is left sulking for the girl even after time jumps. How about introducing another love interest, at some point it gets tiring to watch and I hope they never make another drama regarding that. I was stupid enough to expect some kind of change in the last two episodes, but it had the same cliche ending. Overall, this wasn't a bad watch, I love how they wrapped up everything.
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"True Beauty: A Heartfelt Blend of Romance, Comedy, and Self-Discovery"
Review of True BeautyTrue Beauty is a captivating South Korean drama that masterfully blends romance, comedy, and themes of self-acceptance. Based on the popular webtoon by Yaongyi, the series delivers an engaging high school story filled with heartwarming moments, relatable struggles, and endearing characters.
The story follows Lim Ju-kyung, a kind-hearted yet insecure high school student who has faced years of bullying due to her appearance. Determined to reinvent herself, she becomes highly skilled at makeup, transforming her look and gaining newfound confidence at her new school. However, she lives in constant fear of her bare face being exposed, leading to moments of tension and self-doubt.
A significant part of True Beauty’s appeal lies in its well-developed characters. Moon Ga-young shines as Ju-kyung, portraying her insecurities and growth in a relatable way. Her journey is not just about external beauty but about learning to love herself beyond her appearance. Cha Eun-woo plays Lee Su-ho, a reserved and seemingly cold student with a hidden warmth and painful past. Hwang In-yeop brings Han Seo-jun to life, a rebellious yet kind-hearted character who adds depth to the story. The chemistry between the leads is strong, making the love triangle both compelling and emotional without overshadowing the drama’s central themes.
Beyond romance, the drama explores self-esteem, bullying, and the unrealistic beauty standards often imposed by society. It sends an empowering message about self-acceptance and inner beauty, making it more than just a typical high school romance. The balance between lighthearted comedy and emotional depth keeps viewers invested throughout.
Visually, True Beauty is stunning, with well-executed makeup transformations and vibrant cinematography that enhances the storytelling. The soundtrack also complements the mood, featuring songs that perfectly capture the emotions of the characters.
Overall, True Beauty is a well-rounded drama that offers romance, humor, and meaningful life lessons. It’s a must-watch for anyone who enjoys high school dramas with a strong message about self-worth and confidence.
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Felt my brain cells atrophy with each episode
Watched this because of Cha Eun Woo. Could not finish it.It was so predictable and stupid. The protagonist's problem is not so much that she is ugly but more so that she is dumb. She has the voice of a preschooler and just comes across as an absolute bimbo. If I could retitle this show it would be "A Schoolgirl's Manual for Transformation into a Date-Rape Target". She comes across as self-absorbed and lacking in any self-preservation mechanisms for her own safety. Going on blind dates with older men while dressing up as an older woman; giving her number to strange men just because he asks for it; letting men invade her private space; having an imbalanced response to just being a victim of upskirting. If I had a teenage daughter, I would keep them away from this show or at least let them know this is brain fluff and not to be taken seriously. At all.
JG's voice grated the entire time. She is immature, does not care about anyone at all except her own issues. Sure, it's to escape bullying and such, but having achieved her objective of being allowed to live her own life and not be bullied, one would think that someone in that situation would at least spend that time on SOME amount of planning for her future. Hell, no. She has no mental ambitions at all and is quite happy to have her grades be as low as her skirt is short as long as she is considered pretty. Why bother being left alone when you're not going to do anything with your life? Even Han SJ's younger sister has more ambitions than her. I watched on because I was fascinated with her cool older sister but the r/ship with the teacher was unnecessarily angsty and weird that it wasn't enough to keep me invested.
Pretty much every episode has a kdrama romcom formulaic slo-mo clumsy moment from the protag that involves falling and getting caught by the handsome male lead and then this time-stood-still stupid, googly-eyed stare at him. Once in a while is tolerable but this was nearly every. Single. Episode. On some episodes, any close contact with the male will lead to her having heart palpitations while in others, she's quite naive to invading their personal space and being oblivious to their reactions i.e. with Han SJ. Like, really?! Very convenient. Who goes around roaring like an idiot up close to the guy? Bimbo JG, apparently.
The mother's treatment of the father was appalling as well. Flip the genders around and see a husband treat the wife the way the mum treated the dad and what would one think? She's unsupportive, verbally and physically abusive. She puts him down when he's trying out new ideas and having new interests. She's the type of partner that wants to keep the other one meek so she has the upper hand in the r/ship. She's shallow AF and so is her bimbo daughter.
I can't believe this got as high a mark on MDL as it has. Cha Eun Woo reprised his role as a tsundere handsome boy in My ID is Gangnam Beauty but that show has 100x more depth than this absolute... WTF.
Immature. Shallow. Stupid. Formulaic. Don't waste your time on this.
Addendum:
Regarding viewing this show as just a brain fluff, easy watch, yes, I totally went into it knowing that it is just such a show. There wasn't an episode that went by that I didn't roll my eyes but I reminded myself that, "it's just brain fluff. Just for a brain turn-off watch". And I accepted the rules that were set that in this parody-esque romCOM dictating that the protag would be the "norm" for cute and desirable. The problem I had was that even the writers didn't stick to their own rules so why should I?
Part way through they intro'd a new char of Go Woon, the bad boy Han SJ's younger sister. GW is the cliche char that's meant to showcase the vulnerable side of the bad boy tritagonist and also provide multiple excuses for the protag to be in close proximity to SJ whilst having the setup be construed as totally innocent and coincidental i.e. she just happens to be at their home when SJ is prancing around, headphones in ears, in nothing but his underwear and a loose robe; convenient. And predictable. As a third function, GW is also the mirror image of JG, sharing the same "wounded" background as JG, albeit younger. JG is able to save her in a way that she was never saved herself and this helps to soothe her own past wounds. The problem with GW is that she is superior to JG in every way.
When we get intro'd to her r/ship with SJ she is maternal and independent. She cooked her own ramen and SJ loves her cooking and commented that it was delicious. When next we meet them in a family setting again she is with the mother, the matriarch of the family, and she is shown to have folded the clothes and instructed her brother to take his underwear and head off to the room in a very un-younger-sibling-like way. She is mature, has ambitions (wants to get into Music Academy) and, unlike JG, only uses makeup for the stage and her performance, not to maintain a duplicitous life. She is aware of the benefits of makeup for its effect on an audience and does not need it in real life, not even in school. When the part-time job comes up at the comic store, she's there in a flash, securing an income before JG does even tho the latter frequents the shop more often than she. In terms of guys, she knows what she wants and doesn't want and has strong boundaries and knows how to set them. Most of all, she has a normal speaking voice and does not have a predilection to trip over herself every episode so we can get the cliche time-stood-still-slomo catch/rescue from a guy. In fact, I doubt she really needs a guy to rescue her. When her bro wants to sort out her bullies, she insists she'll deal with her problems herself. Even had JG not have stepped in, I believe she would've found a way to do so. Maybe she'd have missed that one performance but her eyes will still be set on the Music Academy. What's the use of a small high school performance when she'd be unhindered in a larger platform later on? It's obvious that the teacher recognised her talent. She would've had no problems getting recognised at the Music Academy later on too.
At the same time, we get the parallel to JG. She decides that she doesn't like the baseball player and starts to kinda set her boundaries, in a much less confident voice than GW and only, if I recall correctly, after seeing Lee SH set his boundaries with someone who'd known him in the past (that no one knew or have seen and have seen after). I don't recall ever seeing her do something adult like cook in all the 9 episodes. She only stepped in for the family and did the cleaning once the dad was gone and when he was around, she was daddy's girl and princess and did not do any cooking of her own. Tho an older sister, her r/ship with her younger sibling seems to be more like she's his younger sibling. He always seems to have the power, using his upper hand to blackmail her into things and they are constantly bickering . She showed no initiative in getting a p/t job until later even tho she would've passed the job sign at the comic shop often and she only got her job through SJ's help. She also never had any ambitions until later, in fact, it's not till after she's met GW that cosmetology crystalises in her mind. In all these ways, she is inferior to GW and the show itself got changed in tone because of this juxtaposition. As a viewer, I now have the option of something "normal" and superior in GW. The problem is she's only a side char with the role of fulfilling a bridge function for the WTF protag. Her romance arc would've been either that she rejects JG's brother totally or that she gets charmed by his sincerity in the end or, worst yet, she might've been subjected to having a crush on a yet unknown pretty boy char so that the stereotypical love triangle can be expanded to a love decahedron to fulfill the quota for the kdrama romcom theme of it's-not-as-much-about-love-as-it-is-about-how-many-trophies-of-alpha-males'-hearts-you-can-get. Gawd knows they tagged on the Kang SJ love interest to make it a love pentagon (along with the baseball creep) when she'd been pretty ok with a friendship with Lee SH for TEN YEARS. They even changed her capacious char to be a conniving, manipulating wench just to fit this pentagon arc. WTF. I couldn't bear to watch GW's char be subjected to a cliche in the short moments that I'd get a glimpse of her.
Because of these reasons, that the writers showed it was possible to get a normal, functional female char, the show pushed itself out of being just a brain fluff, easy watch offering into something that needed to be considered properly. In those terms it failed miserably.
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Shallow and repeatedly tedious
I don't know what I honestly expected from a series focused on such a shallow character and premise, but I suppose it was - character development. There were no changes to the people, no character development, no communication, and no reason to continue watching.I expected her to grow as a character, and get better, but instead, I felt myself wanting to smack her and both the male leads. Each arc, each new drama, was tedious and forced, and was then fixed within an episode, which led me to wonder why they needed so much drama in between it.
I honestly don't know why I expected anything less, honestly. Considering it's about 100 chapters into the webtoon and the MC is still just as shallow and conceited as she is in this show in the manga. (Fun fact: the mc has the audacity to complain that people around her are "fake" and catfishing her on blind dates. What the eff is she doing then? Can you spell hypocrite?)
The ONLY reason I got to episode 13 is that I wanted to see if their relationship when it was finally here was worth the tedious leading up to it. And it was not. Even with the brilliant, hard-hitting actors that I've thoroughly enjoyed in other things. Even they couldn't save this train wreck, and I'm genuinely not sure why people seem to enjoy this waste of a show.
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The webtoon times 10
The show and drama are both ongoing. So how is it possible to come to the conclusion that the drama is ten times better than the webtoon?Is it because I dislike the webtoon. No, infact i love it.
Is it because I'm Team Suho in the drama? No, infact I'm team Jugyeong and whoever makes her happy. [ In the webtoon I was completely in love with her wholesome beautiful relationship with Seojoon, and I was SO happy she got to be experience true love with him. But in the drama Suho is clearly the one for her, what with the the length he will go to protect Jugyeongs secret, to make her happy, to help her study, to defend her honour, to encourage her while she’s down. ]
Is it because of the change in plot? Partly. I like not knowing which direction this show is going to take. I like drama Sujin. I have a girlcrush on Heegyung who was wallpaper in the webtoon. I like seeing glimpses of my favourite moments and costumes in the webtoon brought to life. I like all the other show parodies and cameos by actors.
Is it because of the stellar cast? YES! EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER has been cast to perfection in this drama. It's like they were made for these roles.
Is it also because of the depth of characters and intersecting storylines?? YES. YES. YES. I cannot tell you how rich and well fleshed out the drama characters are. They pale in comparison to the ones in the webtoon.
It's also also because this show is light, fluffy, embarrassingly funny, totally over the top and exactly the kind of crack i needed to end 2020 on a high and begin 2021 with a bang!!
PS: To those who are disappointed because it's different from the webtoon. This is how I see it. They’re distant cousins. Like your mother’s-fathers-brothers-sons-daughter. They have the same roots and foundation but are intrinsically different. It doesn’t make one better than the other. They’re both special in their own way. Comparing them is pointless because they were never meant to have the same personality. You realise this from the get go. Right from the way Suho and Jugyeong meet, to the harsh bullying Jugyeong was treated to, or the early introduction of Seojoon. They are both unique. The more you compare the more disappointed you’re likely to get. Enjoy the two for who they are. Individually. I mean who likes to be compared to their cousins am I right??
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