My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018)

think before u do

I want to write a review .. here it’s probably better not to criticize nationality because people are different everywhere, but I noticed a strange thing among koreans, from the position of a victim they always strive to forgive the offender ... wake up! Life has not yet taught u in all of history that if the offender does not suffer punishment, then evil, roughly speaking, will never stop! The fact that someone supposedly “forgives” someone will not make him/her better, he/she will look even more pitiful than before and will not learn to fight back!
In this case, it’s about Mirae and Sua, some kind of sadomasochism, honestly! Well, u don’t like the person, u’ve finally realized how bad he is, move away from him or take revenge, why continue to help!? What does Mirae expect that Sua will change and suddenly stop envying her? Sua had the same bad life only in a different direction, but it was her own fault that she programmed herself for the result she got! But it would be better if she had acid on her face.. then she would understand how bad Miras life was! Although this is relatively all, she is so stupid that she would hardly stop .. just like Mirae... Mirae has a boyfriend and she cares more about other people’s opinions than about him! So she directly insults him! She wants to be treated well, but she behaves badly towards those who treat her well! If I were GenSok, I wouldn’t date her at all or leave her...trauma is trauma, but don’t forget that there are people around u just like u and constantly reproaching other people’s feelings to please urself is not good...so I think this drama is great will teach those who doubt themselves how not to behave so as not to have what Mirae had, and people like Sua will understand that what they ridicule in others can happen to them too... although of course the strange korean mentality... this it’s not the culture, but the mentality, a little sick, not healthy... I can’t understand how this can be popular there... I’d like to hope that there are adequate people there too..

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It is definitely not one of my favorites but it is really good!
The story is unique but cliche at the same time. I like the message of this drama, that it's okay to have plastic surgery.
It was really slow at some parts and you kinda get bored but it's worth it. The main lead was realistic, she was still insecure about her looks and that's totally understandable. I liked that they told Soo Ah's(second female lead) backstory that really changed our perspective about her at the end. It was a pretty realistic drama.
The actors were good, even though Cha Eun Woo's acting was a bit emotionless(he's so handsome btw). Im Soo Hyang portrayed Mi Rae well.
If you like heartwarming and realistic dramas then I would recommend!

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Well-developed, thoughtful, heart-melting romance

One of the most well-developed, thoughtful story lines and cast of characters I've seen in a while.

Some random thoughts while I was watching and after:

- People judge each other so openly about their appearances, and it seems almost expected by the one being judged. Like the overweight girl in their circle of friends was barely fazed (at least externally) when the guys started commenting quite blatantly and harshly about her weight and needing to go on a diet. I feel like that would never be socially acceptable in the US. People do judge each other but it's not done so openly or set up on this high pedestal of ultimate importance like it is in Korea.

- I love all the other side stories and relationships. There are so many cute couples that are easy to ship.

- The show has perfect pacing with the story and character development, and I was impressed by how the writers were able to organize it to include satisfying side relationships alongside the major one.

- Do Kyung Seok is ultimate boyfriend goals. And can I just say, his mom is like "coolest mom of the year" award-worthy?

- My only complaint about this show is that it ends too quickly. I felt like it could've gone another 1-2 episodes to completely wrap up the side plots. And of course I could've done with more of Kyung Seok and Mi Rae and their adorableness overload! But overall it was a very satisfying ending.

Best quote:
"She's neither pretty nor ugly. She's just herself." -Do Kyung Seok

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MY ID IS GANGNAM BEAUTY is an amazing college drama, one of the best in the difficult task of showing how girls live the hard competition for getting boys attention, and how they use many methods, from innocent lies up to plastic surgery. The theme of lying is explored in all contexts, from politics to divorce, but in the end sincerity, symbolized by perfume, prevails in all of them. A lot of psychology is used in writing this screenplay, and the direction is unprecedented for the detailed reproduction of human emotional engagement, making each emotion to show in every scene in a way that is at the level of the best anime. The cuteness of the romance between the two leads at some point remembered me of anime masterpieces like Kimi Ni Todoke, and that is probably the greatest compliment you can do to a school drama. Awesome.

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This drama is one of the most progressive Korean drama I have seen. Talking about various mental health issues, beauty standards, feminism, body shaming, invasion of privacy, stalking this drama started out really well.

What really made me watch the show were the interesting storylines and the secondary characters. Sua, the second lead, Mi Rae's best friend, the class rep, their seniors, all of them had really interesting stories. I personally loved Sua's story. Very rarely you get to see such 3 dimensional antagonists.

What I don't like is the exact same reason. The secondary characters were so great that I felt least interested in the main leads. The main guy, never had a personality apart from being "Good Looking". His other moods were - Emo, brooding, or getting angry whenever our girl talked to any other guy.
I liked our main girl Mi Rae, she was still relatable and I understand that the whole point of the show was to develop a certain feeling of self love and show that as character development. But seeing her act stupidly, and wide eyed really made me cringe and skip forward a lot. They were seriously bland for most of it. If you make me least interested in the main leads then what is the point of the drama?

Some of the college scenes were nice, but I still felt that inspite of having progressive themes, the attractive male lead was shoved in our face. Anyways all the points is mostly for story and deducted for acting. Plus 1 for Sua.

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I really liked the plot, which I feel sent a very meaningful message to viewers, and caused me to become reflective as well. The main reason why I thought this drama was good is because of its message and story that it tells. Though some felt that Cha Eunwoo's acting was bad, I personally feel that he was just portraying his character's stoic and rigid personality, and it is not that he is unable to express emotions. Kang Mi Rae grew on me as well, even though I did not particularly like her at the start, the actress did a good job at portraying her character as well, and it allowed me to become understanding of her character. I also think that the other actors did good jobs as well.
TLDR, I'd recommend this drama mainly because the plot is meaningful, but also because the acting is good.

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Im Sohyung's play was really not weak!

Im Sohyung's play was really not weak!
Meera was a girl who suffered from severe lack of self confidence and this was completely understandable.
Mirae's self confidence and character were eaten and humiliated in all the years of his life! You didn't expect that would be sociable after the beauty procedure and start talking and laughing with everyone?
Like many of us, she has built a safe fence around herself and placed herself behind it. she is afraid of being judged. Mirae was only nineteen years old and her only lifelong friend was Hyun Joong. Now she has entered a bigger environment with a new character and her dark past has caused her to behave strangely. easy to trust, hesitate to defend her right and be polite in public. In difficult situations, he would leave the group and hide behind his safe fence.
We saw the growth of Mirae's character during the series. At the end of the series, Mirae had more social experiences.she did not run away from her problems and her self confidence had increased.
This is a correct evolution of personality.
Im Soohyung portrayed this evolution very well and it was tangible for me.
Please don't look so shallow

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Light-hearted and fun drama

To be honest, I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this series. It did take me over a year to finish (just took a break from watching kdramas at all) but I'm really glad I continued watching. Though the story isn't something very grand or complicated, it's really enjoyable to watch. It contains some serious themes surrounding appearance, (self-)love, friendship, etc. without diving too deep into them, which makes it very light-hearted overall. Before this I had just finished watching World of the Married which often left me feeling very upset regarding the heavy topics it discusses, so if you're looking for something that does the opposite I really recommend watching My ID is Gangnam Beauty.
The acting is good, nothing really outstanding but the actors are capable of making everything seem very believable. However, I kept in mind that this story is based on a webtoon so this results in the story and characters seeming a bit unrealistic/cartoonish at times (especially their obsession with looks and their ridiculous reactions where you'll just laugh at how silly it is).
I however LOVE LOVE the OST. It's so dreamy and it's one of those osts that doesn't make you feel annoyed any time it repeats.
I also consider this drama having quite a good rewatch value. Though the story is calmly paced, I can imagine putting this on on a rainy day and watching it with my bf.

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I thought this drama was excellent. Although the main character is a girl that got plastic surgery, the drama addresses issues about beauty and prejudice.

The plot is very interesting. The main couple is very cute together. They are so shy and awkward. You will definitely find yourself shipping them together. Aside from their love story, there are several other pots going on at the same time. There is a more sinister storyline with the character Soo Ah.

I think the characters were perfectly cast. I loved Im Soo Hyang and Cha Eun Woo as Kang Mi Rae and Do Kyung Suk. It was my first time seeing them in a drama. I will definitely check out their other work. Cha Eun Woo did a great job of acting as the aloof yet shy Do Kyung Suk. Im Soo Hyang really portrayed the heartache of being bullied from a young age. I did find myself crying during some scenes while watching this drama. If I cry during a drama then I will consider it good.

The music in this drama is so good. If you listen to K-pop then you will like the music in this drama. Artists that you can hear in this drama include MOMOLAND, HEIZE, BLACKPINK, EXO and BTS. The playlist is really catchy and I have already downloaded on Spotify.

I would definitely rewatch this drama. The main couple is so cute together, the other characters are not so annoying that you can't stand them, and the plot is very interesting. I would recommend this drama if you like school/college- based dramas like Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo.

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Everything about this drama captivated me. From the story to the characters. This drama did a very good job expressing the complex emotions of outward beauty that run our species. Everything about it was really well done.

The main leads were phenomenal. Every second the actress playing Mi Rae was on the screen, me heart melted. She was perfect for this role. Her whole appearance shouts sexy, but her character is not that. She is a shy, adorable girl. This alone is a great way to express one of the major themes of the drama, that appearances aren't always related to who that person is.

It's essentially taking the theme of Frankenstein, but adding a new twist to it. Instead of the monster being killed, what would of happened if he suddenly became beautiful? He would be the same person on the inside, but no longer shunned. How would that play out?

This drama is one of me top 3 favorite dramas right now. I still randomly think about it to this day.

I highly recommend this drama.

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To be honest, I didn't have particularly high expectations going into this drama and was pleasantly surprised. It's possible that my rating is a bit higher than it deserves because it was so much better than what I was expecting. I did enjoy it, though some of it was pretty rough around the edges story-wise. It was an interesting conceit: Young woman who grew up being teased for being ugly fixes the outside, but still has all the same insecurities and problems on the inside that she had before the surgery. Therefore, she has no coping skills/mechanisms for her new life as someone pretty enough to garner regular attention just for her looks. The story kept /almost/ introducing plots and then abandoning them very quickly, like they were afraid to full commit. Poor Cha Eun Woo. So much flat effect. I was not particularly familiar with him prior to this show but having seen him on promotions in some variety shows, I feel like the choices to make his character so flat effect don't really give him any time to shine here.

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Boring but I had fun

It was boring at times but generally entertaining. I think it gave a good message but I hated the part where the male lead was legit bragging about "not liking pretty girls" and flat out called the female lead ugly. That is not a flex?? It was a simple problem that could've been fixed with him saying, "You are beautiful to me. You just aren't the beauty standard." Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. the villian was extremely interesting and the actress portrayed her very well, I wanted to punch her and comfort her at the same time. I also liked how it was a turned into a revenge fantasy against self entitled nice guys every women has to deal with. Overall it was boring though, it got too mundane at times that I watched some parts by speeding up, so no rewatch value. The selling point is the message it gives and the lovely cast.

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