True Beauty

True Beauty is a beautiful high school romantic comedy. This drama was one of the most talked-about and popular Korean Dramas released in 2020. True Beauty is based off of a web-drama and consists of 16 episodes each ranging from 69 to 80 minutes long. This drama is definitely a binge-worthy show that you could finish in a weekend if you set your mind to it, which is how I prefer to watch my dramas! True beauty is a feel-good high school coming of age love story which is an easy watch and good for middle schoolers and older. The only advisories that I would issue are bullying and suicide, there are not any dark themes or plots, which makes this show a great and family-friendly drama.

The three main characters of True Beauty are Im Joo-kyung, (Moon Ga-young), Lee Su-ho (Cha Eun-woo), and Han Seo-jun (Hwang In-youp). Joo-kyung is a high school girl who has always been told by everyone around her that she was not pretty, which led her to think of herself as ugly at a very young age. When she was younger, she tried to fit into societal norms by dressing up cute like all little girls did. However, she was always bullied and was told she was ugly and scary. Then, she decided to embrace her ugliness by turning to horror comics and films as a way to entertain herself, since she had no friends. In high school, she is bullied mercilessly by being called ugly and used as a “dumpling shuttle.” When her bullies catch her attempting to confess to her crush, they ambush her by dumping food on her head and telling her she is too ugly to live or have a crush on someone. In addition, they recorded the whole incident on their phones. This event marks the end of Joo-kyung’s limits as she goes to the top of a tall building and plans to jump off of it and commit suicide. She later decides not to commit suicide, instead she transfers schools and learns how to perfected her makeup. Later, she becomes the “goddess” of her new school due to her beautiful looks.  

Su-ho is one of the main male leads. He is a quiet and borderline antisocial high school student. Growing up, Su-ho’s mother past away. His relationship with his father was nonexistent due to the fact he saw his father sleeping with another woman on the day his mother died. He lives alone and does not socialize with the students at school because he believes he does not deserve to be happy or have friends. One of his best friends, Yoon Se-yeon, committed suicide by jumping off the roof of a building prior beginning of the drama. Su-ho blames himself for Se-yeon’s death resulting in him isolating himself from all of the other students. Thus, feeding to his thoughts and beliefs that he does not deserve to be happy because he was not there for his friend when he needed him. 

Seo-jun is the other male lead. He is ex-best friends with Su-ho, whom he also blames for Se-yeon’s death. He hates Su-ho and mentions to him that he does not deserve to be happy until he meets Se-yeon again in the afterlife. Seo-jun used to be a trainee to become a K-pop star along with Se-yeon, but dropped out after Se-yeon’s death. Seo-jun has a reputation of being a “bad boy” at school, while Su-ho was the icy “good boy” heart throb. Seo-jun also had to drop out of school for a while, so he could work and pay the family bills after his mother became extremely ill and required a kidney transplant. 

Joo-kyung and Su-ho first meet on the roof top from where Se-yeon jumped. Su-ho stops Joo-kyung from jumping off the building. She later does not recognize Su-ho after meeting him for the second time at her new school, as her glasses broke from when he pulled her from the side of the roof. Additionally, Su-ho doesn’t recognize her because of her makeup. When the two finally recognize one another, they start to form a friendship that blossoms into love. Joo-kyung meets Seo-jun when she saves him from getting beaten up by some kids he used to hang out with. When he realizes that Su-ho likes Joo-kyung, he starts hanging around her and trying to “steal” her from Joo-kyung. Seo-jun later realizes he has real feelings for Joo-kyung and continues to try to win her over in earnest. 

True Beauty is overall one of my favorite Korean dramas. The character development is incredible and the high school love triangle keeps you engaged and bouncing between who you want Joo-kyung to end up with. The drama is a lovely story about friendship and blossoming first loves. The ending is endearing and lighthearted. True Beauty is a show that you could watch more than once and still be entertained. Overall, I give this drama a 10/10, must watch!