True Beauty (2020)

I rarely experience such high as the first couple of episodes of this drama gave me. I was beyond hyped and the excellent soundtrack kept me entertained and in the mood (for dancing) the whole week. However, True Beauty ended up for me like a bottle of soda that you buy, excitedly open, drink a couple of glasses of, and you when you leave it overnight in the refrigerator all the bubbles disappear and it's simply not as yummy anymore. You finish it the next day regardless, because you know, you bought it and you are not going to just pour it down the drain. So I finished it.

The story is very intriguing and I liked all the levels it presented. I think that was also the deal breaker for me - there was so much to be explored here, filled with refreshing ideas and in the end it just turned into a cliche story with a love triangle and a mediocre villain. To be honest, I did what I almost never do and forwarded some bits of the last four episodes. What heresy!

On the other hand, the secondary characters here are superb. Even the parents of the FL are super entertaining. This drama also created a story based around family, friendships and community and I think that it should be praised for that. I personally enjoyed the subplot around the FL's older sister.

The performances of the actors are A+, the casting on this drama was done phenomenally. The most notable performance is delivered by Hwan In Yeop and he pretty quickly became a fan favourite. Cha Eun Woo grew a lot as actor, in my opinion, and I liked him here a lot. Moon Ga Young was very good as well, she created a lot of mannerisms for the character, including the best derpy smile, which I liked. It made the character of Im Joo Gyung seem very real to me. This drama also featured a lot of enjoyable cameos that makes it almost seem as a part of a bigger universe. The soundtrack is superb and I'm pretty sure that my neighbours now think I'm crazy for listening to it over and over again.

True Beauty presents a unique atmosphere revolving around a very particular age in every person's life. The quarrels between the schoolmates made me go on a trip down the memory lane and I found myself laugh out loud more often than I thought I would. On the other hand, somehow, it is also the drama's downfall. There is a good chunk of middle episodes that feel just stagnant and the tempo is greatly distorted since there is not much left to explore, since the story stayed within the basics. The drama also makes a hasty couple of ending episodes featuring an element that did not do anything for the plot at all, it just made a leap for the characters to tie everything up at a quicker pace.

That all being said, I don't regret the time I invested into True Beauty. It's a light drama that made my gloomy days a bit brighter.

Lire davantage

the worst adaptation in the history of webtoon adaptations

i'm not even sure this can be called an adaptation.... taking character names, their basic traits doesnt make it adaptation.
i`ve been reading true beauty since 2018 although i dont even like it anymore drama made me drop webtoon completely. basically drama and webtoon have nothing in common names and few aspects aside. story is non existent, character personalities are pretty much changed from original and i knew it will be usual highschool drama cliche from the moment it was shown that suho and jukyeong knew each other as kids. actors did pretty good job, but ones who rewrote whole story didnt do nothing better from original.

Lire davantage

Good but very meh

This drama starts at nowhere and ends at nowhere there is no interesting plot and how the main 2 guys were treated like they are so special different than all the other characters in the school made me cringe a lot and the way it was forced every episode was tiring i often can't take those kind of drama seriously and quite them midway but i pulled through, I don't mind a main character being special if they had character development before or afterward but this drama ends with almost non existent character development to those 2 guys disappointing i think the actors did so well and got a fan in me but the drama was meh.

Han Seo Jun ahh Seo Jun so they wanted the story to end with some painful moments where we the viewers would have emotional moments watching Seo Jun lose his loved one Lim Joo Gyung but it was all to be expected from episode 1 and the last 2 episodes were just drowning Seo Jun into deeper meaningless sorrow it was pointless i've seen 100 triangle drama's end it in a better way.

What actually made me tear up with joy was Lim Hee Gyung and Han Jun Woo the last 2 episodes they saved those 2 episodes with the other support characters.

Are you bored and got nothing to watch? just know that there would be other Drama's that would stimulate your brain better......

Lire davantage

AMAZING!! MY THING!

I watched true beauty last year, here I am writing a review... I rewatched true beauty 5-6 times... I am and will never ever be tired of it. It gives me literal ✨FEELS✨ while watching. The reason I wanted to write this review is cuz I want to thank TRUE BEAUTY, because it just makes me happy whenever I watch it, If I mean, Whenever, I mean anytime, literally, anytime. Ok, now, I will go through my rating, reasons..

So first, the story. It was amazing! The perfect school concept. The webtoon vibezz!! The main part of this drama was the Love Triangle! I obviously gave the rewatch value a 10 because.. you know... I've watched it and can keep on going. The story was where Ju-Kyung was bullied at her school, she transferred and started using make-up as a disguise, becoming the goddess of the school. She then continues to live in the disguise. Falls in love with Su-ho, the *1* of the school. Su-ho, also, liking Im Ju-Kyung, starts dating. Problems arise with Kang Su-jin, who also liked Su-ho. Su-ho himself has a different story with his own problems. I don't wanna spoil it anymore.
Then is the acting/cast. They were so perfect! Eunwoo and In-Yeop with their handsome visuals, Ka-young with ther visuals and their personalities on and off cam was nice!
Now, for the music, OST, I have to say a single word, Extraordinary, I can even listen to it on daily-basis. I love not one or two, but all the songs from this drama. I definitely recommend listening to it. Definitely!
Overall, I love True Beauty. I love it!!! Definitely recommend watching it!

Lire davantage

an okay kdrama

final review: so i decided to finish this drama and i can say that it's just fine. nothing new and nothing fresh. personally, the ending could have been better. the second lead guy should have been more happier after respecting the lead's relationship. the resolution of soojin's character with other characters were abrupt. she disappeared then return and that's it. this kdrama would have been better if the last episode is more polished or a little more episodes were aired to develop the ending that they want. overall, this drama is okay. the ending was a little bit dissapointing.

initial review: 5/10, 6 episodes seen
"going to be a disappointment if the story continues to go around in circles"

the preview for the episode 7 proves how this drama is going around in circles. basically the plot is the guy and girl like each other but every single chance they have will be ruined by an annoying thing that will separate them apart. seriously, they keep on dragging this for a few episodes already, and when it looks like the leads are patching things up in ep 6, that ep 7 preview showed up and it looks everything will go back to the start where they will misunderstood each other and separate AGAIN. it's especially frustrating and disappointing since you have to wait every week for almost the same thing you already saw the previous week. like wtf, give us something new. and boy, cha eun woo needs some acting lessons when crying. it looks half assed. it seems he is confused of either crying completely or just doing that poker face while crying. well i guess, i'm not surprised with everything that i've said since many people have already said that the webtoon itself is cliche and goes around in circles. it's hard to make something good out of a mediocre/ bad source material. if they want to redeem this drama, they better hire a new writer/ go a different writing direction.

Lire davantage

Different to the webtoon but I enjoyed it

I have to say I LOVED this drama. It may not be the best story, but I enjoyed every second of it. I've been a fan of the webtoon ever since it first came out, but there are some things I liked better in the drama.Soo Jin's character didn't make much sense to me in the webtoon. She appeared from time to time to be mean to Ju Kyung but she didn't have much depth. I liked her family's story and the way she was related to Soo Ho. Her arc was amazing as well for me and I loke how she redeemed herself at the end.Ju Kyung in the webtoon is like... Character development??? Don't know her —but in the drama she finally accepted herself as who she is and even stood up for herself. She went from being a scared shy girl suffering from bullying to a happy, sensible and strong woman and I loved that. I also like how they handled the Se Yeon situation in the drama. Suicide to me is a hard topic to adapt in screen but I think they did well. I also loved how in the drama Hee Kyung and Mr.Han's relationship worked. Hee Kyung was my favorite female characters because she is just so badass like she's strong and determined and she won't stop until she gets what she wants. The Lim's family drama was okay to me as well. I don't remember reading about Ju Kyung's dad in the webtoon but her mom was just... ??? I enjoyed how, in spite of her temper, she supported Ju Kyung at the end.The only thing that I hated with all my heart is that Ju Kyung didn't give Seo Jun a chance like she did in the webtoon. I loved them as a couple in the manhwa and I don't know he's just so sweet and caring and handsome. The second lead syndrome is just too strong and it pains me that he didn't get a lot more scenes

Lire davantage

I don't want to be one of those, but the Mang... The webtoon did it better

Well this is my first review, and it will probably be my last because I don't actually like to write reviews, I am a nobody. BUT this drama, in particular, made me write one, just because it made me so mad.

I am a webtoon avid reader and since quarantine, I have watched so many dramas that I feel like every drama is repetitive.

I am up to date with the original webtoon of True Beauty (TB). This is not my first drama base on a webtoon, but definitely is the first one I have read the webtoon before watching the drama.

I mostly read action webtoons, but for some reason, the premise of TB interested me when Cha Eun Wo announced for the main lead. I watched ID Gangnam Beuty (IDGB) and liked Cha Eun Wo acting, especially because I follow Astro and I know his real personality, so that's why I started reading TB

First. It was a really big surprise how the TV industry it's so out of themselves to not follow the original material. Yes, a few things are kept, but the amazing story made by the original author was sent to trash and decide to just make a cookie cutter of a drama. The story is quite repetitive and almost a copy of IDGB. TB's original story is pretty good when I read it the first time.

What I liked was its original plot progression. Lim Ju Kyung never dated Lee SuHo during high school and in college, she did end up dating Sea Jun. When I read that part I was surprised because after watching so many dramas, this was the first story I have read for a Korean writer to actually give the idea of a second lead chance with the main protagonist, and no a fling, like an actual big relationship. The webtoon is still going and the story is developing in more of an American series type story. Something that I thought was impossible by Korean writers because you know in every drama the two main leads will end together, second leads are just there to look pretty.

So I was an expectation for the first time a drama to make something different. TOTALLY disappointed when they make it a cookie-cutter. Nothing new, the drama was just predictable. All my expectations went to the drain, the drama keep some original plot but it was just too spicy it a little to then follow by a "sike". I finish it just for the sake of it, and because I didn't have anything better to do.

One thing that I did like, and that is something I have to praise about drama writers is that all characters have their part and their stories no matter how small they are. For example, the roles like Ju Kyung's sister and brother, and Kang So Jin in the webtoon are just there for props. But all three in the drama had their own arcs. The one I feel the most grateful for is Kang So Jin in the webtoon I could see the author trying to make her an antagonist from the very beginning but at some point, she just vanished like Thanos just snapped her.

My conclusion is that even though dramas have gotten better in terms of cheesiness, directing, and writing since 2017-18, they are still doing the same old story just with a different path and story backgrounds.

Dramas have become just predictable. I can count with two hands the few dramas that actually can differentiate from the rest, and normally those dramas are the more mature and risky in topic dramas. And I am referring only to romance comedy. Other genres are very original.

And that just... doesn't seem right. These rom-coms can actually have a twist and be original, they don't have to follow the same formula, they can actually take a different approach in the plot to make it good. The reason why the rom-com genre has lost so much rating is that the public knows how it will end.

One drama I can call original is SEARCH WWW, wao 10/10 writing. Even though we have our typical happy ending is actually the drama was more drama than romance. The romance was just a side dish, the character development of the three protagonists was the real main dish. Dramas like this can be refreshing from time to time.

I like romantic comedy-dramas because is an escape from the suffering of the world, I have too many problems to watch super dramatic and melancholic dramas or suspense or crime dramas. But seeing the same story just with a different mask is making it hard and hard to actually keep going into rom-com dramas.

Come on Korea you are just one step closer to make a difference.

Lire davantage

Doesn't deserve the hype.

I enjoyed watching the first 3-4 episodes, but as i kept watching i kept losing interest.
I dropped this drama after about 11 episodes because of a few reasons:
1. The female lead started getting really annoying.
2. I hated it when her friend (i don't remember her name) suddenly switched up and started acting mean because of jealousy. I expected her to be a supportive and mature friend but i was disappointed.
3. I HATE love triangles.
4. The plot is boring and predictable
5. This entire drama is just dumb in general. (That sounds really mean but it's how i feel)

I guess if you're a person who likes clichè and fluff high school romance with not much to the plot then you might like it, but this drama is not my cup of tea and i don't see myself ever giving it another chance.

Lire davantage

The cheesiness can cause cardiac arrest

I only read a few episodes of the webtoon so i cant make a comparison between the webtoon and the drama.
However, the drama was so-so, the acting was good and the story was cute BUT the cliché was over the top and too many. A little here and there would have been okay but i found it was too unbearable to watch some scenes, it made me cringe. The episodes were predictable and i knew how this was going to end, i did not really enjoy the drama as a matter of fact i skipped a lot of scenes from various episodes.

If i had to compare this with My ID Gangnam beauty, Gangnam beauty takes the cake.

This drama was not to my liking, however, if you like cute girly romancy lovey dovey chessy drama, then this one is for you.

Lire davantage

A nice way to spend your evening

I really liked this drama. It was cute and all.
It was one of the few times where I had a somewhat second lead syndrome. Loved Seo Jun but never really hoped he would end up with Ju Kyung and I think it's for the better that they didn't have a relationship during the time jump because she was not over Suho and that would make him a rebound and he didn't deserve that. He is precious.
Honestly I was team Suho from the start, maybe somebody who read the webtoon would feel like they destroyed the story but as someone who didn't let me tell you I was not disapointed with the outcome.
The music was amazing, the more upbeat songs got me kinda dancing in my seat and the more slow and heartbreaking songs got me sentimental.

Lire davantage

It's fine

I have to say that this drama kept me glued to my seat for say like 12 episodes ,after that it went downhill. The plot overall for the starting episodes was really really interesting, but as I went forward with this drama I lost my interest. I have to admit that i really had a great laugh watching it but it was quite unrealistic to some extent. It was just heartbreaking for me to see how a person who was there for her always got heartbroken, i expected some kind of change in plot in the last two episodes but no it had the same cliche ending. Second lead left heartbroken and the first lead getting the girl. The ending according to me was quite rushed, the directors gave no justice to seojun's character and made it all about suho and jukyung. If you have read the webtoon and are here after reading it, don't watch this drama, it will disappoint you just the way it disappointed me. They followed almost nothing from the webtoon and gave most of the scenes of seojun to suho. And to the people saying that seojun got a happy ending , no he didn't , are you guys blind or something lmao. I loved the cast and the acting though. At last i wouldn't recommend you guys to watch this IF you have read the webtoon. Otherwise go ahead and watch it you'll have a great laugh.

Lire davantage

With dramas like this, I don't know how useful it is to critique them based on any sort of serious metric. True Beauty was never going to be deep-thinking or artistically minded or particularly focused on it's writing, and you're setting yourself up for disappointment by taking it too seriously. So while it ultimately doesn't have very much depth, I'm not upset about it. I just wish I'd been able to finish the drama with the same level of enjoyment as when I started.

Unfortunately, the reality of dramaland is that for some dramas, the first half feels one way and the second half feels another, and you don't know how to feel about the drama as a whole, and that's definitely what True Beauty was like for me.

The first half was my jam. It wasn't stellarly written, by any means, but it did all of the things I wanted it to with a cast of likable characters, and that was enough. But the second half was equal parts plodding, occasionally frustrating, and sometimes even boring. The theme of confidence and self-acceptance and what beauty really means really takes a backseat. There are a number of genuinely moving moments, but the drama ultimately doesn't do a very deep, or consistent, exploration of these issues. And then the last two episodes not only have very little to do with any of this but they also focus on secondary issues that don't make sense being so far in the forefront of the story.

If you want a drama that broaches it's topics with thoughtfulness and some level of depth and consistency, you're better off watching a drama like My ID is Gangnam Beauty. While not perfect, ID understands it's subject matter and commits to it while True Beauty mainly uses it as a means of getting it's leads together. If you're not concerned with any of that and just want something fluffy and teen-angsty and cute and pretty, then by all means, watch this drama. You'll probably like it well enough.

Ultimately, True Beauty is a surface-level teen drama, and it knows it and does it well.

Lire davantage