Overview of True Beauty
‘True Beauty’ is a South Korean television series that aired on TVN from December 9, 2020, to February 4, 2021. Starring Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun-woo, Hwang In-youp, and Park Yoo-na in lead roles. The show received a lot of love for its heartwarming, eccentric, and comic storyline.
‘True Beauty’ is a rom-com Korean television series based on the popular webtoon by Yaongyi. Beyond the story of bullying, insecurities, inferiority complex, and anxiety, it showed us that self-love starts at home. Without self-love, you will constantly have troubles.
A high school girl, Lim Ju-kyung, experiences harsh bullying for being ugly, and she always blames her flawed face, which she thinks to be an inescapable fate. The story gives us meaningful insights into reconciliation, friendship, acceptance, and letting go with the hope of seeing a favourable future and becoming a better version of oneself.
Profile
- Drama: True Beauty
- Director: Kim Sang-hyeop
- Writer: Lee Si-eun
- Network: tvN
- Episodes: 16
- Release Date: December 9, 2020 – February 4, 2021
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Cast
- Moon Ga-young as Lim Ju-kyung
- Lee Go-eun as young Lim Ju-kyung
- Cha Eun-woo as Lee Su-ho
- Lee Seung-woo as young Lee Su-ho
- Hwang In-youp as Han Seo-jun
- Park Yoo-na as Kang Su-jin
Supporting
- Jang Hye-jin as Hong Hyun-sook
- Park Ho-san as Lim Jae-pil
- Im Se-mi as Lim Hee-kyung
- Park Seo-kyung as young Hee-kyung
- Kim Min-gi as Lim Ju-young
- Park Ju-hwan as young Lim Ju-young
- Jung Joon-ho as Lee Joo-heon
- Yeo Joo-ha as Han Go-woon
- Park Young-soo as Columbus Park
- Seo Hye-won as Park Ji-hee
- Seo Sang-won as Kang Jun-hyuk
- Yoo Dam-yeon as Kim Ji-yeon
- Kang Min-ah as Choi Soo-ah
Synopsis
Lim Ju-kyung (Moon Ga-young) is a high school student living as a school outcast and a favourite bully in her class because of how poor she looks. Growing up, her mother kept telling her to just study hard so that she would at least have good grades.
School bullies caused her so much pain and trauma, and with unbearable humiliation, Lim Ju-kyung decided to commit suicide by jumping from the rooftop. While standing on the rooftop ledge, she notices a billboard with words of love for an actress who recently passed away. She immediately halts her crazy plan of suicide with a better plan in mind.
Later, when she reaches her home, she notices a chaotic living room and finds that her family is shifting to a new place. Elated at the news, Ju-kyung plans to start a new life, changing herself completely, thinking that she will have friends and they will love her when she’s pretty.
She masters the art of makeup in order to hide her true face and went from an ugly duckling to a beautiful goddess using makeup. Ju-kyung finally makes friends in her new high school and rises to fame as everyone admires her looks. The response she receives from her classmates is different from what she experienced earlier at her previous school.
Although she made up her confidence using the skillful application of cosmetics every day, she still carries a fear of people finding out her facial flaws underneath all the cover-ups. She has to make sure no one finds out about the secret to her beautiful transformation.
However, this backfires when a handsome guy named Lee Su-ho (Cha Eun-woo) attends the same school as her. Ju-kyung starts to worry as Lee Su-ho is the only person who has seen her without makeup, and she is worried that her true face will be revealed in front of others and her new world will crumble down.
A dysfunctional family background and a tragic incident turned Su-ho into an aloof and asocial person who hates attention and doesn’t let people in. The dashingly handsome Su-ho, with a talent for basketball, has captured the hearts of all the girls in high school.
However, Ju-kyung is not the only one with secrets; Su-ho has a few of his own secrets from his past. Eventually, these two not only begin to uncover each other’s secrets but also learn more about their true selves, finding affection for each other.
However, she also gets tangled up with a handsome and equally popular student, Han Seo-jun (Hwang In-youp). He is a former idol trainee and had a close friendship with Lee Su-ho. A tragic incident made this soft and loving person completely unfriendly, and he severed his friendship with Su-ho.
Han Seo-jun also starts to develop feelings for the goddess Lim Ju-kyung, thus forming a love triangle, whereas Ju-kyung only has feelings for Lee Su-ho.
Su-ho’s father suddenly fell into a coma as a result of bleeding in his brain, and Su-ho left for the United States. When he was planning to fly back, the health of Su-ho’s dad continued to deteriorate. Whereas Lim Ju-kyung patiently waits for her boyfriend to return.
Feeling guilty and uncertain about when he would be able to return, Su-ho unceremoniously ended his relationship with Ju-kyung. Ju-kyung wanted to hang on to their relationship. Both Su-ho and Ju-kyung fought to accept the reality of their situation.
Ending Explained
Ju-kyung learns to accept herself as she identifies her true potential. She follows her dream of becoming a makeup artist and becomes close friends with Seo-jun. Han Seo-jun has spent the past two years being friends with Ju-kyung but is unable to confess his true feelings to her. Finally, he lets go of his true love, knowing Ju-kyung is meant to be with Su-ho.
She was so heartbroken over the breakup with Su-ho, and to stay apart from her love gives mental torture to her. Lim Ju-kyung had promised Lee Su-ho years before that they would meet at the first snowfall. As fate has it, Ju-kyung bumps into Su-ho, and the two loving souls are reunited.
Theme
The drama reflects youth problems while fondly navigating the joys and pains of teenhood. The story highlights Lim Ju-kyung using make-up to change her appearance and puts forth a strong message: how the physical appearance of a person affects their life if they do not look according to the standards set by society.
In a world where beauty is defined by what’s on the outside, it is very challenging when you are judged or bullied for not having the same conventional features.
‘True Beauty’ gives the message that outer beauty is not the thing that always matters; a vibrant personality and inner beauty can win anyone’s heart. Your inner self is what is reflected most when your outer beauty fades, and the best thing we can do as human beings is to represent our true selves.
More than a sweet narration of young love, it covers self-esteem battles faced by young people, and the series also encourages you to do whatever you feel passionate about. Lee Su-ho discovered Lim Ju-kyung without makeup and fell for her personality. Not everybody has a Lee Su-ho to cheer us on and love us, even with our insecurities. At the end of the day, it’s solely your choice to love yourself.
Lim Ju-kyung finally learned to accept herself and tried to overcome her own insecurities, which made us realize that confidence does not depend on a person’s beauty. The drama ‘True Beauty’ addresses sensitive topics such as cosmetic surgeries, scams, and bullying, which are massive issues in South Korean society.
Awards
- Indonesian Hallyu Fans Choice Awards – 2021
K-Drama of the Year- ‘True Beauty’
Interesting Facts about True Beauty
- Since the drama is based on the Naver webtoon of the same name, the actors were cast to look pretty similar to the animated characters.
- The original soundtrack album of ‘True Beauty’ ranked 5th position on the prestigious weekly Gaon Album Chart.
- Hwang In-youp played the role of a very young and vibrant Han Seo-jun as a 29 year old.
- Yaongyi, the writer and illustrator of the webtoon have a giant fandom and often praised her for her gorgeous looks and remarkable works.
- The drama ‘True Beauty’ was the third most-viewed series on webtoon in 2019.
- The director changed some aspects of the character Lee Su-ho’s story from the webtoon to highlight his loneliness.
- The graphics used in the scenes in which Lim Ju-kyung discovers the world of make-up are extremely engrossing.
- Unlike other K-dramas, ‘True Beauty’ offers beauty tips and also hints at the effective use of skincare.
FAQs
- Who are the writer and director of ‘True Beauty’?
The drama is written by Lee Si-eun and directed by Kim Sang-hyeop.
- What is the genre of ‘True Beauty’?
The drama falls into the romance-comedy, slice-of-life, and coming-of-age genres.
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How many episodes are in ‘True Beauty’?
‘True Beauty’ has concluded a successful 16-episode run. - Is the K-drama ‘True Beauty’ worth watching?
It’s a must-watch, a cute and fun drama with interesting trivia that will rejuvenate the audience. - What is the Instagram ID of Moon Ga-young?
m_kayoung is the Instagram ID of Moon Ga-young. - What is the Instagram ID of Cha Eun-woo?
eunwo.o_c is the Instagram ID of Cha Eun-woo.
