True Beauty

Stuck with one problem

Honestly, I really liked this drama in the beginning, but later on, I felt kind of bored. I like the message of the drama, is where the title from, but I think that wasn't in the centre. In the latest episodes, the story circulated around the two guy leads and the main character. It was their triangle drama. I didn't like the way Seo jun is the one who makes soo ho and Ju kyung's love deeper. I think there could have been another option. Soo ho liked Ju Kyung from the beginning and I think it would have been well with only 8 episodes. And why bring Seo jun in all this?

In the beginning I wanted or I was very sure about giving a 10, but now I will only give 5. I recommend "extraordinary you" over this drama which has the same director. The beginning "True beauty" matches with the title, but the last episode matches with a title like "You and me forever" haha. The message of "true beauty" was not strong enough. I felt the drama showed us more about the triangle drama.

One thing I loved was the OST. The songs are good. I really enjoy listening to them. It reminds me of the drama, but the beginning of the drama (Episode 1-6).

The last thing is fate. They know each other since they were kids so of course they meet in the future and got together. Seo jun does not have a chance. I would love to see a kdrama without fate. Even if it's a fate I would like to see that fate is not always true. I mean that your life partner does not have to know you since before. True beauty, weightlifting fairy Kim bok joo, strong woman doo bong soo, you who came from the stars, what is wrong with secretary Kim and many more. To all the writers, can we get something real? Fate is not in real life. And also if anyone has any tips for dramas without the fate thing, please write. Thanks :)

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True Beauty; “ A Love And Hate Relationship”

Let’s be honest. The original webtoon of “ True Beauty” has always had either a “ love and hate” relationship even amongst fans; the main heroine has little character growth, her relationships and decisions are questionable ,and the storyline hits a major snag after the halfway point as well.

Respectfully we should always try to take a step-back when watched a drama adapted from an original webtoon, novel or a reboot as a standalone production; writers often make very different decisions ( whether for better or worse) than the original creator with either storyline, themes or characters, and it is certain to say that writer Lee Shi Eun , did make some necessary and unnecessary changes in TVN’s latest eponymous drama adaption of the webtoon.

The biggest change to note is the predominant setting of the drama on our female lead Lim Ju Kyung ( Moon Ga Young) in high school for a major proportion of the series. Whilst naturally this did see the series brush over some notably darker issues of bullying, abuse and academic pressure, this also gave writer Shi Eun more playing ground with the joys and delights of intrinsic “ teen angst” and overused teen drama cliches. From the evident love interests of Suho ( Cha Eun Woo) and Han Seo Jun ( Hwang In Yeop) for our female lead, to other issues of bullying and love rivals on top, Shi Eun pulls at all the stops to make True Beauty, an overly cliche and “ sugarsweet” romance drama with more and more ridiculous tropes and scenarios as the episodes progress.

Nonetheless it is wrong to write off that the show didn’t do anything well either, in particular towards our actors.
Whilst Ga Young did have a couple of questionable acting moments, for a major proportion of the series, she perfectly captured the awkwardness, humour and more angst-ridden moments of our female lead. Similarly whilst Eun Woo is certainly a fairly veteran actor within romances , some of his past “ leading man” performances have come off as a little “ wooden” and lacklustre . It wouldn’t be lying to say that his role as Suho doesn’t not stand out as much as some of his previous works , however, it is prominent that Eun Woo did add a level of genuine heart and comedy to his role as Suho as well. Notably rising star Hwang In Yeop ‘s performance as Seo Jun has caught a lot of attention by viewers and fans with a surprising level of awkwardness, emotion and angst behind Seo Jun as a fleshed-out character, something which certainly must be given praise for as well.

This of course does move on to the show’s tackling of characterisation throughout the series, with some notably mixed results by the ending . The biggest elephant in the room must be addressed through the character of Kang Soo Jin ( Park Yoo Na). Similar to her original webtoon character, Soo Jin is sighted as a “ natural beauty” who lives in an abusive household and has a complicated relationship with Su Ho, however, the most notable change from the webtoon occurs within her 180- degree personality change in the beginning from a conniving social media influencer in the webtoon , to a studious and angelic friend for Ji Kyung during the drama. Honestly, Soo Jun’s character introduction had a lot of potential in comparison to her webtoon counterpart , with a seemingly strong of morality and strength by notably helping Ji Kyung out from an awkward situation during their journey to school on the bus before even getting to know her.

As most romantic cliches have proven, however, female animosity is the adored cliche of screenwriters, and it soon provides a downwards slope for Soo Jin as both a character and an individual as well. It is important to advocate that it is not necessarily Soo Jin’s feelings towards Soo Ho which make her suddenly a “ terrible person” over the course of the series, but rather how screenwriter Shi Eun unevenly mismatched Soo Jin’s later actions and decisions ( especially towards Ji-Kyung) near the finale.Whilst Shi Eun attempted to amend this in the final episodes, the damage had already been done quite irrevocably, possibly making Kang Soo Jin, the epitome of writing a terrible second female lead.

On a more positive note, however, the most prominent praise for characterisation must be given to Ju Kyung’s development as our heroine ( especially in comparison to the webtoon). Although it was a little painful that Ju Kyung did not talk out about her more dire decision in episode 1 to her family and still retained oblivious naivety at times ( stereotypically to Soo Jin’s feelings) , she did gradually begin to learn to grow more self-confidence and respect for herself as an individual ; something which is an important stage for any healthy relationship.

Equally Suho upon first glance, was intrinsically cliche and effectively a “ Mary- sue” of the drama and webtoon world ; overly” good-looking” , stylish and intelligent, however, alongside Seo Jun, Suho had some notable character growth as a character passed off as “impassive and aloof”, to being a notably non-judgemental individual towards physical appearances, but rather assessing someone based upon their individual personalities and actions . ( Perhaps the one aspect which would have intrinsically explained this more to
watchers, would have been to have the included the key aspect of Suho’s background as a ‘ half Japanese-Korean’ , resulting in him often being bullied from a young age and determining physical appearance as meaningless ; something clearly left out of the show in order to avoid controversy by Shi Eun.) From opening up about some aspects of his difficult past and childhood, his buddying friendship to blossoming feelings for Ju Kyung as well as refreshingly partially- reconciling with Seo Jun, did allow Suho to have some decent characterisation(despite the array of cliches that the show threw in our way) .

So, this leaves us on the big question; is it actually worth watching? True Beauty will always have a love-hate relationship with drama and webtoon fans - the storyline is sugary sweet ( with little sense of realism or grittiness despite the “ angst” apparent in the storyline), the tropes overtake actual story investment and some of the characters are fairly abandoned by the ending of the drama. Nevertheless there are some good things to note about the show; the OST is fairly catchy, the cast help to flesh- out all of our characters and the majority of our main protagonists have some deeper character development over the course of the series. Therefore it is fair to say that it really depends what you are seeking from this show; a cute, fluffy and unoriginal teen drama which you can binge watch? Then, definitely. Something to actually invest time into an original portrayal of the difficulties of romantic relationships as students? Then, probably not as there are certainly better dramas out there to consider.

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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.

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Even I'm not sure if I liked it or not.

Okay, let me tell you first thing it's typical kdrama filled with full of chlichès, lots of cringy moments, and the really heartbreaking love triangle. So if you are finding something different than this then it's not the right place but it does have so many hilarious scenes that'll make your stomach hurt, the bromance though it's not much even little is amazing, and also some character development.

The first episode isn't that impressive cause it's just built up the base and also explores Ju Kyung's backstory. Then it gets more interesting and hilarious the tension between Seo Jun and Soo Ho was great to watch, okay till this I was enjoying the show but then it's just changed its genre to melodrama with the typical evil second female lead. I was liking that character very much, they messed up with her character and then I was pissed with this.

Seeing Han Seo Jun getting hurt was almost heartbreaking to see. I'm not against the pair it was sure from the start that who's with she's gonna end up and she never had romantic feelings towards Seo Jun but the thing is why do you have to drag the whole love triangle until the last episode there was no need of it. Still, I'm happy that Seo Jun at least pursued his dream so it's not always necessary to get the girl, in the end, it's okay to let him be single than pairing him with any random girl in the very last episode. So I'm happy for him.

The thing I really liked was the character development in Ju Kyung in the last she accepted herself it was the best thing. The side characters especially their friends and the secondary couple was amazing. I really like the second half of the last episode it was really good.

Overall it was okay for me not something amazing but it's an entertaining rom-com. Not must watch for me...

Warning: If you decided to watch this then prepare yourself for SLS it's really overbearing here.
P.s: I'm now head over heels for Han Seo Jun gosh he's so perfect.

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true beauty is overhyped but does not deserve the hype ❤

i just don't understand why people likes this drama like well yes they are funny but the plot is very boring. it is so predictable and it was just a simple drama that revolves around jugyeong and suho. does some of you guys just like it bc of the young and beautiful casts :(

i regretted my decision watching true beauty bc i thought it is not just a typical drama but has lots of plot twist BUT I AM WRONG awh don't watch this if you doesn't like dramas that has a boring plot, you will just waste your time! the only thing i like about true beauty is their osts lol ngl

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With awful writing comes a disappointing route.

The anticipation of True Beauty made the show worthy of the hype it received in the first couple of episodes. Episode 1 & 2 settled a cheerful school vibe. But moving forward, you see the show focuses more on unnecessary elements that are not important to what message it's trying to portray. The love triangle became a higher priority than the development of its characters. The show used some important characters and damaged them for the benefit of the main couple. This show was supposed to be about an insecure teenager struggling with her beauty. It would've been nice to see more concerning her anxiety and trauma but instead, there were only a few parts of development and the show never tried to flesh it out more. She is a very flat character and it is hard to build a connection with her since the main focus of the show was a relationship. True Beauty had so much potential on being amazing. It is not a bad show, the comedy is what saves it. The show also brings up some cases of mental health. Being in a high school setting, it would've been nice to see more elaboration with that concept since it affects the characters. But the drama never showed the process of healing, rather help was never mentioned. The show gets realistic at times which is why it's best to watch True Beauty with an open mind. Don't come to this drama as a critic. There are many problems with this series that the writers never tried to solve. I believe the writers played the safe way with this series but the problem with that is making a show about a serious insecurity but not making the whole show revolve around it. Acne is a very sensitive facial feature that many are not fond of. This is why the series could've been so impactful in making people feel more proud of their true beauty. Instead, I'm leaving this drama feeling nothing at all.

In terms of characters. The majority of them I liked, but too much time was wasted on characters that aren't essential to the narrative. True Beauty has too much filler. They bring on an interesting side character and toy around with it to benefit the leads. It follows a simple formula: character good, we like character, now we're going to make character suffer to make the leads' relationship stronger! Ah forgot to redeem them...uh... here they showed up for 5 seconds anyways here's the leads' relationship again~ I find it ironic how the drama made me dislike characters I loved in the webtoon and like characters I hated in the webtoon. All I can blame it on is bad writing.

The only lessons I learned from this show is that friendships mean nothing if the person doesn't see you as a priority, and pinning on someone is a waste of time. True Beauty could've been the most magical high school drama to ever live but sadly it remains a lighthearted show that avoids proper development and a compelling end for everyone.

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I mean it's good and would recommend it.

I liked the show. I think it's very good all though there were parts that I cringe, overall I enjoyed watching this show. All though I do prefer the Webtoon better. The show was very good, but I did have some issues because most of the parts in the webtoon when Ju young was with Seojun were all replace with Soho. The acting was great and I think they found perfect actors for characters, but I do find the beginning very interesting until I got bored when the show goes on. One thing I had a problem with was how Seojun was forgotten in the drama. I, also think how Seojun didn't have a chance in the show, but I was kinda disappointed at the ending. I would rewatch this again and I do find this very funny, but I would want some changes to show.

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Cliché & Cringe

As a fan of the webtoon this was such a horrible adaptation. I will admit I’m biased towards SJ. This drama started to annoy me when they gave SH a bunch of SJ’s scenes. His personality is so dry. Their chemistry is so dry. Their chemistry doesn’t even compare to SJ & JK. That’s why they had to give SH scenes from SJ and also create this childhood backstory. Even with the scenes that didn’t belong to him their relationship was so flat, boring, & cliché.

He leaves for 2 years while SJ is there for her and he comes back & gets the girl back almost instantly. Barf. SJ who did more for her than SH ever did gets left broken hearted. While SH the wet blanket gets the girl with barely any effort after breaking her heart. This drama was so cliché & predictable. As soon as the childhood scenes & stolen scenes it was so clear who she gonna end up with. It’s like they didn’t even try. They could if at least given SJ his real part and made it really unpredictable as to who she was going to end up with. Even if she had ended up with SH after all that I would of given this a much better rating bc at least SJ got his fair chance like in the webtoon. I only finished it because I started it with my sis- in law & she made me finish it with her. If it wasn’t for her I was fine with never watching the super cliché & predictable final episodes of this drama.

The only good thing about the drama was the cast. I think they picked perfect actors that really portrayed the characters great. Too bad the writers / director really dropped the ball with the story. I’m so sad how this drama destroyed SJ amazing character. I’m so confused as to why everyone loves SH so much. Even in the webtoon he’s such a weird, awkward, & boring guy. His pretty face is the only thing he has. SJ has a pretty face and a bomb personality. #TeamSeoJun ALWAYS!

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The Typical Story Drama!!

Please tell me where and why you agree and disagree with me after reading this review.
Suggestions are welcomed.

BE CAUTIOUS, SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Getting to the drama~
I have actually dropped it at episode 15 but I guess my review might still be helpful.

Story: 4.5 ＞﹏＜
So, this was a typical high school drama with two male leads chasing a beautiful female lead, the two male leads used to be best friends but after the death of their third friend they decided not to talk to each other due to some misunderstandings, the best friend of the female lead was in love with the first male lead, the first male lead was undergoing misunderstandings with parents, the second male lead's mother was very ill, the second male lead has dreams he doesn't want to fulfil due to damned reason, the female lead is misunderstood by her mother, the female lead's best friend undergoes many hardships such as being tormented by her father and all.
Too typical of a drama.
The 4.5 points are only because of the good imagination of the director/producer or whosoever for some scenes, like the scene from extraordinary you. (Thanks to this drama, I'll be watching that next).
So for me, this storyline was very humdrum.

Acting/Cast: 7.0
⨠Moon Ga Young as Joo Gyung, her acting was quite fine as an overall, although in some scenes it seemed lame, I guessed it's her acting that's lame because I quite liked the webtoon.
⨠Cha Eun Woo as Lee Su Ho, his acting was pretty alright as well, he seemed expressionless all the time but this time I think it's the character.
⨠Hwang In Yeop as Han Seo Jun, the badass boy and the little caring side to the cute shy boy (in some scenes including the underwear thing) was very well played. I would say I had the second lead syndrome throughout the drama.
⨠Park Yoo Na as Kang Soo Jin, I totally loved her acting as the strong lady with soft heart. The brightest smiles have the deepest secrets, she fits this motto really well.
And
I would like to especially appreciate the acting of a support actor:
⨠Kim Min Ki as Joo Young or Joo Gyung's younger brother, he totally rocked the naughty brother role.

Music: 7.0
The music was quite alright throughout.

Rewatch Value: 3.0
Since the storyline isn't that beautiful, the rewatch value totally sucks. Though you can still replay the particular scenes of the couple you ship.

Overall: 5.0

But still go ahead and try watching it since the tastes of each person is different, maybe you'll like it.

Hope it wasn't boring.
Lots of Love <3

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At first, I really liked it BUT too much changed from the original story, things were handled messily, the end felt incomplete, and it lost its meaning. It was altogether disappointing because it had so much potential that was wasted and overtime some main characters began to annoy me.

- Seojun was treated like a side/therapy character with one-sided love who never got anything in return
- Suho never got the help he needed and became some toxic-possessive-stalker but it was played off as being "okay" since he was the girl's destiny
- Jugyeong was overly dense and made into a character that needs a man's validation

The whole thing was just so unrealistic and sloppy, especially the rushed ending due to them dragging things out. So many scenes were taken and given to different characters and the whole plot was practically changed. It felt as if the writers just took the idea of True Beauty and re-wrote it into something completely different when they could have made the drama far more fair. It definitely didn't feel like an adaptation. There are just so many things that were wrong with it I'd practically be writing an essay, but I hit some main points. (If you want to know some things I may have not hit, @hiycatboy made an "everything wrong with true beauty" thread on Twitter) Overall, the drama was a disappointment for me, especially if you've read the webtoon.

Now, you may like this drama if 1) You enjoy cliche's 2) You're fine with predictable endings 3) You enjoy cringy love moments 4) You're part of a younger age demographic.

One thing I must admit that they did right: choosing the cast. They were all so loveable and amazingly talented, but I honestly don't believe this drama deserves the hype or views. However, if you are what I listed above or just want to waste your time then go for it lol

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it's not bad, but it depends on your taste.

I am an avid True Beaty webtoon reader, and although I must admit that I am not a big fan of the webtoon, but I think this drama is pesonally... alright?

This drama is honestly, in my opinion, better than the webtoon. They made the characters more relatable and lovable, and it was quite different compared to the webtoon. The pairings were pretty interesting, and there were many funny and cute moments.

I think the casting and acting was great because they really portrayed the characters well! But the story... was really cliché and predictable. I found myself cringing a lot while watching. Not to mention the fact that there were so many stereotypical characters.

Overall, I didn't enjoy it very much, but it depends on your taste. If you love sappy and cliché dramas, go try this out! (my sister quite enjoyed it, so you might too, if you have the same taste as her)

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Started out good but ended up cliche and unrealistic

So this drama is okay I guess. But in terms of story wise the female lead is stuck between two leads (apparently blind to Seojun) and the writers really push Suho and Jukyung so much that Seojun is just click bait at this point despite being literally the best character in this drama. Soojin also was given no closure or redemption arc which sucked big time. I’ve read the WEBTOON and the importance of Seojun is forgotten in the drama. If you like cliche boring romances with the chemistry of the main leads so dry and boring then I guess you will like this. Major Second lead syndrome and it’s for a good reason... Seojun chemistry with Jukyung is so good they washed the potential. Also many of Seojun’s scenes are given to Suho from the WEBTOON so that speaks by itself. Have fun if you’re gonna watch this, you’re in for a sappy cliche high school story with unnecessary drama. It is funny though.

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