“True Beauty,” starring Cha Eun-woo and Moon Ga-young, is well on its way to episode 5 this week, and here’s what we think about this newest webtoon drama from tvN.
The beginning
“True Beauty” tells the story of high school student Im Ju-kyung (Moon Ga-young), who’s been suffering from an inferiority complex. Since she was a child, she’s been led to believe that she’s “ugly” unlike her other siblings. Im Ju-kyung is even more bullied at school by students obsessed with looks. After another bullying incident, Im Ju-kyung contemplates taking her own life by jumping off a building.
Meanwhile, Cha Eun-woo is Lee Su-ho, a good-looking student who’s on top of his class. He sees Im Ju-kyung and stops her from falling from the building. He tells her off for wanting to take her own life, as someone might live in guilt forever for not being able to save her.
“There’s nothing you can do for a dead person. So don’t die.”
Cha Eun-woo as Lee Su-ho
At home, Im Ju-kyung’s father has been victimized by an investment scam. The family is forced to move out of their rented home and to move back to their old house. Despite this, Im Ju-kyung is happy to start anew in her new school. She learns more about how to apply make-up and ditches her glasses for colored contact lenses.
On her first day in her new school, Im Ju-kyung makes a good impression, and students are in awe of her looks. She immediately makes friends with Kang Su-jin (Park Yoo-na), and Choi Soo-ah (Kang Min-ah). Im Ju-kyung bumps into Lee Su-ho, but she doesn’t recognize him at first because she lost her eyeglasses the first time they met. Everything seems to be going well with her until she bumps into Lee Su-ho again, this time sans make-up, in a comic book store.
‘True Beauty,’ Cha Eun-woo and makeover dramas
From “My ID is Gangnam Beauty” to “True Beauty,” Cha Eun-woo seems to like dramas that tackle Korea’s obsession with beauty. Both are also K-drama adaptations of popular webtoons. While his other drama deals with the topic of extreme makeover through cosmetic surgery, both dramas discuss Korea’s extreme standards of beauty.
Cha Eun-woo’s role as Lee Su-ho is also similar to Do Kyung-seok of “My ID is Gangnam Beauty.” Both are aloof and carry a heavy weight on their shoulders because of their past. It would be interesting to see how Cha Eun-woo portrays Lee Su-ho differently from his previous role.
Is ‘True Beauty’ a must watch?
This newest tvN K-drama may not be for everyone, as it mostly caters to those who appreciate school setting dramas and comedy bordering on slapstick humor at times. I have not read the original “True Beauty” webtoon, so I am not sure how fans would appreciate the show. One thing’s for sure, there’s a whole lot of suspension of reality for you to appreciate this drama. And oh, much love for the ever wonderful Cha Eun-woo.