Romance 101 (also known as The Right Love Guide) shares a strong structural and stylistic DNA with True Beauty, beginning with the fact that both are live-action adaptations of widely popular, brightly colored Naver webtoons centered around youth culture. Narratively, both dramas follow an endearing, somewhat socially naive female lead who is fiercely trying to navigate a new chapter of her life—while Ju-kyung in True Beauty is overcoming severe insecurity through the art of makeup, Ba-reum in Romance 101 is trying to overcome her clinical lack of romantic experience by treating dating like a hyper-organized academic club project. This setup naturally plunges both protagonists into classic romance-comedy territory, complete with a high-stakes, heart-fluttering love triangle that pairs them up with two distinct, captivating male leads. Most notably, the connection is cemented by actor Hwang In-yeop, who famously brought a captivating, effortlessly cool charm to True Beauty as Han Seo-jun. In Romance 101, he steps right back into that familiar webtoon-heartthrob dynamic as Na Yu-yeon, once again playing a strikingly handsome campus crush who balances a seemingly cool or distant exterior with a supportive, protective green-flag energy.
Romance 101 closely mirrors My ID Is Gangnam Beauty by fully immersing viewers in a relatable, slice-of-life university campus setting built around a specific academic and social circle. Both dramas are adapted from mega-hit digital webtoons and share a narrative focus on a socially inexperienced female lead trying to navigate the daunting world of college. While Gangnam Beauty's Mi-rae struggles with severe self-doubt after altering her appearance through plastic surgery, Romance 101's Ba-reum struggles with romantic insecurity because her life is rigidly governed by planners and strict routines.The core romantic dynamic is also deeply similar. In both series, the female lead joins a tight-knit campus group—a chemistry department in Gangnam Beauty and a programming club in Romance 101—where she encounters a tsundere-style male lead. Just like Cha Eun-woo’s character Do Kyung-seok, who is famously blunt, observant, and fiercely protective of the female lead despite his quiet exterior, Hwang In-yeop's character Na Yu-yeon acts as a reliable, direct, and incredibly wholesome "green flag" love interest. Ultimately, both dramas steer clear of heavy, dark melodrama, choosing instead to focus on a slow-burn romance that emphasizes personal growth, modern youth culture, and learning how to step out of your comfort zone.
Romance 101 and Cheese in the Trap are both acclaimed university webtoon adaptations centered around hyper-organized, fiercely independent female leads. Rather than passive rom-com heroines, Hong Seol and Jung Ba-reum are academically driven model students who govern their lives with meticulous schedules and color-coded planners. For both women, entering the dating world represents a chaotic, unscheduled disruption to their highly structured routines.The narrative in both dramas progresses through the realistic lens of a specific campus group—highlighting the friction of group projects, senior-junior dynamics, and navigating friendships under academic pressure. While Cheese in the Trap leans into psychological mystery and dark manipulation, Romance 101 strips away the dread. It takes those exact same hardworking student archetypes and places them in a fundamentally wholesome, emotionally safe environment.


