Noidz

I could watch My ID is Gangnam Beauty more than a hundred times and Cha Eun Woo and Im Soo Hyang still nail it like they were born for the role. I was in middle school and could relate to Mi Rae with her anxiety and both her and Kyung Seok with their awkwardness (Mi Rae's being more about social situations, Kyung Seok simply being the outcast). I also had a difficult time and it became a comfort drama that I kept rewatching. A stoic character has nothing to do with bad acting and when you don't express yourself like other people this is as comforting as it gets. Looking good isn't enough, you need to play on subtle emotions, restraint, charisma. Eun Woo himself graduated from acting and claiming he's bad based on this, while he has a bubbly personality in real life and more expressive roles even in his past dramas like Hit The Top is ridiculous. (Also, acting like he doesn't have plenty of various roles with even stronger acting. None of his roles is the "same.") Yet, his acting in this drama is stronger. You can see the affection in his look even when he recognizes Mi Rae at the university, remembering her dance moves, looking at her from afar and the chemistry whenever they get close. They are one of my favorite introverted couples. Helping her to grow and feel confident, directly and indirectly confronting her to her insecurities and mindset. He was charismatic, serious, smart and full of warmth. I also loved when he got angry. Having his own family drama in the story, there was even a scene that impressed me where he had to cry while containing himself with anger. Mi Rae's character development and her relationship with Kyung Seok, Su Ah, Mi Rae's mother, Kyung Seok's mother, Mi Rae's best friend. This drama had such a great cast of female characters, depicted the experience of many women in society, gave awareness about the Korean society, and influenced the Hallyu wave. The only thing that sucks is how they changed New Face by PSY into some random music which almost ruins the scene where Mi Rae dances to it. (Here's the original scene in the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5i_3E7hyUY)