Everything you need to know about it & 5 reasons to start watching it right now!
True Beauty is a 2020 Korean drama (named The Advent of a Goddess in Korean) , starring Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun woo and Hwang In yeop. This 16 episode Kdrama was first aired on December 9, 2020 and is currently at its 8 episode successful run. It is created by Studio Dragon and TVN being telecast on every Wednesday and Thursday.
This Korean drama is based on a webtoon, written by Yaongyi in 2018. It dominated the No.1 position on the webtoon charts for a long time.
True Beauty tells the story about a regular high school girl Lim Jukyung (played by Moon Ga young), who is bullied & humiliated at school because she is considered to be ugly looking by other students. She transforms into a “beauty” after discovering the magic of makeup. She binge watches makeup tutorials and masters the art. Thus, transforming her real self to a dazzling looking girl.
She gets lucky when she has to change school because her family has to shift locations and move in to their old house; thanks to their broke father! She finds friends in her new school, thanks to her “Goddess of Beauty” look! The makeup transformation not only elevates her status among peers but importantly her
self esteem too.
Things get interesting when her class mate and school heartthrob, Lee Suho (played by Cha Eunwoo) happens to see her without makeup. To make it worse, she has a crush on him! To complete the picture, we have the “school bad boy” and her other class mate, Han Seojun(played by Hwang In yeop) who develops a liking for her and is Lee Suho’s former best friend!
Youtube trailer :
Now let’s tell you why you should start watching it :
1. The storyline is simple, yet deep. It is a simple story of how society perceives and prefers beautiful looking people and accepts them easily. Incidentally South Korea is the 9th largest cosmetic market in the world and also known for its high beauty standards. It also talks about school bullying, again something that is not uncommon. This story will sure make you ponder a bit into the above facts!
2. The characters are a good mix of real and the surreal/out of a novel. The lead character Lim Jukyung (played by Moon Ga young) is your usual teenager with two sides. She is a typical teenager who loves horror comic books and listening to hard rock music. Her other side is the more vulnerable one that craves for acceptance among her peers. The main male lead Lee Suho (played by Cha Eun woo) is again a typical out of the novel hero, who has it all – looks and the brains & almost a perfectionist. However there is the other side of him where he carries a guilt secretly and suffers alone. He also struggles to mingle with others freely. The last character is the dark horse of the series; in the second lead Han Seojun(played by Hwang Inyeop). He carries the typical school “bad boy” image but is a total “softie” when it comes to his mother and sister. This character is most likely to get you hooked; with his, “typical boy” attitude who is daring and does not really care about girls. He simply rules the world he lives in!
3. The humor quotient is unquestionably the best! Moon Ga young will have you in splits. The comic scenes get better when she interacts with Cha Eun woo, especially in the initial misunderstanding scenes between the two. Then there is Moon Ga young’s elder sister (played by Im se mi) who falls for her school teacher and goes all out to woo him. She conveniently takes the lead; and you will laugh at how the roles get reversed as you secretly cheer for this new age woman! The scenes between Moon Ga young & Hwang Inyeop, that are simple and so relatable if you are in high school. Hwang In yeop supposedly is dreaded at school but with Moon Ga young, his chemistry is unpredictably energetic and full of teenage fun!
4. The casting is almost a perfect dream cast, with the lead characters looking similar to the webtoon. Take a look below – don’t you agree!
Fans have been curious about the casting since the time it was announced of being made into a TV series. There have been numerous online forums asking fans to vote for their preferred cast. Big names like BLACKPINK ‘s JiSoo, BTS’s Jin,Stray Kids’s HyunJin,ChaeSooBin, AOA’s SeolHyun were also suggested by the fans. The final casting with Cha Eun woo, Moon Ga young & Hwang In yeop had satisfied fans.
Cha Eun-woo’s role is a bit similar to his role in the hit Korean drama My Id is Gangnam Beauty, where he plays the very handsome and cool but a bit unsocial lead. This is Moon Ga young’s third role as a lead actress, after successful roles in the Kdrama series Tempted and Find me in your memory. She had previously won excellence awards for both these roles. Hwang In yeop as the second lead of the series comes as a exciting surprise as this is his first major role in a Kdrama series.
5. The love triangle is as knotty as it can get. Both the male leads as so cool in their own ways, its hard to pick one! We definitely have the, “second lead syndrome” in Hwang In yeop. Ironically Moon Ga young has a cute pairing with both. Enjoy this cute confusion while you mentally decide with whom she should finally end up with.
Fun facts
• True Beauty webtoon originated in the year 2018 and is still on. You can read it here
• Goodreads.com readers have some interesting reviews and comments about the webtoon. Check the same here , in case you want to read the webtoon a bit before you watch the series
• Yaongyi, the author of this webtoon is a 29 year old young cartoonist and former model. She considered herself when creating the protagonist Lim Jukyung in the webtoon.
This is a high school Korean drama with all the innocence, fun and purity of teenage friendship, woes & first love! It will surely charm you with an excellent cast and engaging script. You do not want to miss this one!
You can catch it on Viki Rakuten with English subtitles.
