My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018)

Before I get started, I want to address why I personally liked My ID Is Gangnam Beauty. This was a light drama overall, although it did have it's heavy moments. It's not the best I've ever watched, nor is it certainly the worst, but I don't believe it was meant to be a Korean drama of the year like Goblin, but more to stand up against the stigma around plastic surgery, and to show that no matter how you look, real beauty is always on the inside.

STORY:
As I mentioned beforehand, this drama isn't heavy or dark or violent, but nor is it light and fluffy. I believe it somehow hangs in the balance of both. We see a lot of sweet interactions between Kang Mi Rae and Do Kyung Seok, as well as between Mi Rae and her family and friends. Throughout the drama, we watch as each character develops and becomes a better version of themselves. Kyung Seok learns how to be kinder towards others and not as antisocial, whilst Mi Rae battles against those who label her a Gangnam Beauty, and with the help of Kyung Seok and others, begins to 'live' again. In contrast, the darker tone of this series relies solely on the antagonist that is Hyun Soo A. There are many interactions between Soo A and Mi Rae, and as the series progresses, we instead see Soo A's character progression getting darker and darker, compared to the other characters, but somehow throughout all of this darkness that embodies her, Mi Rae and Kyung Seok always managed to bring some light. :)

ACTING/CAST: (MINOR SPOILERS)
Portraying a college student and acting alongside Cha Eun Woo, who is 7 years younger, is a feat in itself; and to keep the chemistry alive is an even bigger achievement. I had my doubts when Im Soo Hyang was casted as the role of Kang Mi Rae, but looking back, I have no idea why. The age gap is fairly significant, but boy, would you not know. The chemistry between the leading couple maintained all the way to it's finale, and each episode they had seemed easier and more comfortable. Im Soo Hyang expressed amazing emotions and cried when she needed to cry, laughed when she needed to laugh, and above all, she loved. The experiences Mi Rae had gone through broke my heart, and to see her still feeling like she was not good enough or beautiful enough even after getting a face she had always desired, was the saddest thing I have seen. Though, my heart was soon mended as I witnessed her growth from a shy, insecure girl to a confident woman who stood up for herself and made justice.

However, Mi Rae couldn't have done it alone. Throughout her side was the only one that had ever seen her for her true beauty, Do Kyung Seok, acted by Cha Eun Woo (who is so handsome *drool*). There was no single moment where I didn't swoon over his good looks, manly brooding and occasional smiles that could melt a heart. However, sometimes I felt there was no emotion there, but as I delved deeper, I begun to realize it was all part of his character development. Although I felt uncomfortable at times with his lack of emotion and occasionally, acting that fell flat, I cannot mistake his relationship with Mi Rae. One thing I loved the most about Kyung Seok was his ability to realize who people really were beyond the facade they wore. This was the exact description of Hyun Soo A, and his interactions with her were the best thing witnessed. Kyung Seok was blunt, unyielding in his love and proved time and time again, that there was more to the character than a stern (but handsome) face.

And finally, Jo Woo Ri. I could applaud the acting of her time and time again. She portrayed the character of Hyun Soo A perfectly, even to the point we all hated her face. But, as I like to remind myself, the actor is different to the character. And a good thing that is too, for Hyun Soo A was a pretty girl with an ugly personality. She manipulated people and felt a strong desire to be seen, as shown through her endless clinging to Do Kyung Seok, even with the knowledge her only had eyes for Mi Rae. Although we found out that this stemmed from a traumatic childhood and a lack of parental care, nothing could excuse how she treated Kang Mi Rae and the people around her. Only towards the final few episodes of Gangnam Beauty, did my opinion slowly begin to turn. I felt a pity for her, which intensified in the semi final and final episode, where she repented for her actions and seemingly changed. Again, I applaud Jo Woo Ri for her superb acting of Hyun Soo A, who was so brilliant to the point that netizens and k-drama lovers hated the character.

MUSIC:
To be fair, I don't have much to comment on this as I wasn't truly invested in the music with this kdrama as I have been in past dramas (note: Descendants of the Sun). It was okay, but nothing special, and instead I focused on the characters themselves.

REWATCH VALUE:
I can imagine myself rewatching this sometime in the future, if I have nothing else to watch. I certainly would go back just to see the developing relationship between Mi Rae and Kyung Seok, to see Mi Rae grow in confidence, and also for Cha Eun Woo's handsome face (which I have probably mentioned 3 times now). Although I would rewatch this drama, it wouldn't be in the top number to rewatch, but maybe when I feel an urge to watch it, or a boredom I cannot alleviate.

OVERALL:
I'll keep this short as I've already made this review too long. The relationships between the main characters drew me in and made me fall in love with them all over again. From their middle school encounters to meeting again, to going through many tribulations and hardships to reach the happy place they are now, I have found all a priviledge to watch. This drama was one of the few that I could relate to; through my life, I have always struggled with my appearance and anxiety regarding it, and to see Mi Rae experiencing similar hardships, made me feel less alone. I will forever thank the producers and the writer of the webtoon for creating such a masterpiece that fights against stigma and reminds others that we are all beautiful in our way.

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I wasn't expecting to, but I actually really enjoyed this drama. I think the message that is being conveyed is good. Beauty standards are not often addressed in this way in Dramas. I've only seen Eun Woo in Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung, but I'm excited to see him in True Beauty. I've been reading that webcomic, and after seeing him in this role, I think it would be a good fit. His acting so far seems subtle, but I'm hoping he gets cast in more versatile roles in the future. I also enjoyed that the second ML in this drama wasn't whiny/mopey/pining after he got rejected. It made me like his character a lot more. The only downside to this drama I found was that the FL was so docile and it could be a bit annoying. I definitely did feel like the romance was sweet and cute, despite the age gap in the casting.

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Right so now that the drama is finished I can write this review. The story is about a girl called Kang Mirae who has experienced bullying her whole life due to her appearance. Her insecurities have limited her life and affected her deeply, therefore she decides to get plastic surgery. I like the way the director never showed young Mirae’s face entirely because what is the definition of ugly? Beauty is subjective, people just tend to label people who look different to what society’s standards are, as “ugly”.

This drama entails the life of Mirae post surgery and all the obstacles she faces even though she is now considered pretty. It shows how one can still be insecure even if people call you pretty, because when you’ve been bullied and looked down on your entire life, you need time to accept and love yourself regardless of what others think. As the title states, Mirae is called a Gangnam beauty (meaning someone who has had a lot of plastic surgery) and is still judged. Even after she’s become “pretty”, she is still insecure.

I loved how awkward Mirae and Kyungsuk were and their relationship. He helped her a lot to come to love herself completely.
There are some parts of the drama that are a little unrealistic, for example the fact that the majority of the guys were pretty shit people. Most of them only cared for looks and had no respect for females, and were desperate for Sooah. That annoyed me because the college is full of other girls yet most of the guys only had eyes for her. I personally thought it was unrealistic.

The acting was alright. Cha Eun Woo did improve as the drama progressed imo. There are a few blank stares and he seems to take a while to speak lmao but I guess it adds to his character.
I think Im Soo Hang portrayed the character of Kang Mirae pretty well. I haven’t read much of the webtoon but I think she did Mirae justice. She made it easy for you to believe the character had a lot of insecurities.

The music wasn’t anything to remember. It fit with the scenes and the OST was fun but nothing amazing.

Overall, I think the drama did portray a good image of someone who is insecure and has to overcome her own demons and love herself first. It has it’s cliche moments as many rom coms do, but the leads’ chemistry made it cute. I do feel like the ending was a bit rushed though. I would’ve liked to see more about what happened to Kyungsuk’s parents, his mother in particular. There wasn’t really any closure between his parents; their scene in the last episode felt random and rushed.
Also what happened to Wooyoung and Hyunjung? I also would’ve liked to know more about what happened to Sooah. I hate open endings. This drama isn’t perfect, there are a few things that could be improved but I think there’s also a few things that people can take away from this drama.

Most people will watch this for Cha Eun Woo, if that’s the case you’ll probably like it. If you’re looking for a serious drama about plastic surgery, you may not like it as it is a rom com. However, if you want to watch a drama about young people and how society can affect them and force them to do certain things, then I’d say give it a try.

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It’s an important story to tell, but so far no one in the production is up to it. The problems are the fault of writer and director. Examples: Everyone walks v e r y s l o w l y; the actors, especially the lead, constantly stare blankly; far too many scenes are dead air. CEW never changes expression: in 10 eps I have no idea if he can even act. There are also lots of poorly executed moments like treating a wound through the jeans and repeated scenes to fill time. College students behave like middle school mean girls and bullies, and drink like fish. Much KDrama is all fake chaste about sex, but sloppy drunkenness is just fine. Hypocritical. Half way through, this remains a slow-moving, often boring, mediocre series at best.

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The drama deals with some interesting themes, like focusing only on looks and people getting plastic surgery only to be bullied again for having one. However, the story was just boring to follow and the whole message that the drama wanted to come across just disolved into a luke warm romance, that wasn't that good as the chemistry between the couple was just so so. Also, I don't know if in the webtoon that this drama was based on the male lead was so emotionless, but in the drama, nevertheless, he was. Finally, the ending was pointless, as they didn't give us a nice conclusion for all the characters.

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I didn't have high expectations for this story and to be honest I don't think many people had. But this drama completely opened my eyes to different things. The main idea of the story is to tell the beauty comes from within and even though your appearance changes you're not changing who you are and for that Im Soo Hyang was perfect for the role. Her portrayal of Kang Mirae, a timid girl with low self esteem despite getting plastic surgery to be prettier told something important from the start. Though Korea as a country is very obsessed with good looks and beautiful women, the characters in the drama were completely normal and looking like your average classmates in school. And Kang Mirae being timid and insecure shined new light to people’s expectation and stereotype on what pretty women are like. Some people go through a hard time because of their looks and even though she didn't have a choice in order to live a normal life it reflected all the way in the drama. Not until Do Kyung Seok, played by Cha Eun Woo from Astro changed her view on life and on people. Their relationship progress was cute and awkward, but as they both were always single before meeting each other the whole progress of life, love, relationships, friends and family was joined really well in the drama. I was reading the webtoon at the same time and noticed immediate differences, but the flow in the drama was much better as things made sense and was put out in a more realistic way. Overall this drama is really good to open eyes on how you start to look at people. Your view of what beauty is differs from another people and that there is someone for you out there that would accept you as you are. A wonderful drama with a warm story with a little bit of thrills on the side was a nice bonus so it wasn't all the same and for so plain.

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My rating will change as the drama progresses but I'm loving it so far. I'm following the webtoon too and the two are definitely a little different, but I don't mind - it keeps things interesting. They're giving Mirae more character depth here (with her dancing skills, clashing views with her father, and a best friend) while Kyungsuk is a bit more approachable, with more to his character than just a dark past and straightforward personality.

It's intriguing to see how a person doesn't change overnight even if her face does. This drama has also given me a new perspective on plastic surgery, removing the stigma around it. I actually quite like the chemistry between the main leads. Eunwoo is doing great considering this is his first main role. And the soundtrack! I died hearing The Truth Untold playing at a pub scene (yes I'm an army).

Super excited for the upcoming episodes! Do watch this drama :)

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Actually is my first time am writing a review,Am personally not fun of writing,I usually keep my thought to myself as i read others,lol. So writing this review show how much this drama means to me.

This is officially my favorite drama! I love the feeling that came with it. I was always looking forward for the next episode, I would count down the days,and even the hours. With this drama I was re-watching the episodes while I waited for more. Lol not to mention the number of times I repeated some scenes!

I find the sorry and the message it puts across very interesting. I enjoyed the main leads together with side characters. It was sooo refreshing watching all of them.

The music was a on whole new level for me in a sense that some background music that was played in some scenes caught my attention. I even searched and downloaded some. I am aware of K-pop but with this drama my interest has grew. D-day by jungigo is my favorite OST and is currently my ringtone. I have also introduced songs like MELODRAMA by IKON,FAKE LOVE by BTS, and ALWAYS YOU by ASTRO to my playlist. I know the latter,ALWAYS YOU wasn't played in the drama,I found it as my obsession with Cha Eun Woo began and I totally love it ,and his group members as well.
Over all,this drama came with good and positive vibes and Am glad I watched it, and it will forever be in my memory !!!

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i love this series

I love this series so much, the story, the acting, the leads, everything.

Kyungseok gave me higher standards for what a male lead should be. He was always so supportive of Mirae and was on her side in every situation. He basically flat out ignores nearly everyone else in the show, but from the start he has an obvious crush on Mirae and treats her well. It's so nice to see after countless dramas where the male leads treat the female leads horribly.

When i saw the trailer I thought it would be a typical "boy treats girl like shit, but then she has a glow up and he suddenly likes her." But he always likes her no matter what basically. And he immediately figures out the villain and despises her.

The FL was great too. I like how she's feminine but always stands up for herself in her own way, it took her maybe a bit too long to figure out the villain, but I liked how once she figures it out, she cuts her off and confronts her.

The social commentary on beauty and the lengths people will go for popularity is also thought-provoking.

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Too boring and slow!

I have not read the webcomic, so I don't know if the original story is like this boring as the drama. The pace is so slow that I fast forward many scenes in order to finish this drama. The ML has a poker face with zero emotion all the time, and the FL have a constipated face the entire show. Maybe it's based on the original story where the actors need to portray that kind of boring personality, or these two actors really need to improve a lot their acting skills. I don't know how they could fall in love, they have no chemistry. You won't see any romance until the last 2 episodes, but still feel very bland and no much development.

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