My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018)

Hi everyone, I was on YouTube watching MVs to see what I should watch next, and I came across this drama, the MV looked really good and I really like the male main lead. However, I couldn’t find the drama anywhere, so I didn’t bother watching it. A few weeks ago, Netflix released this drama and I was really really excited. But tbh now I’m just really disappointed! I admit it’s shows the reality on plastic surgery and stuff and how it is for girls and their “beauty”, and it’s not the storyline I hate but the female main leads character. I’m not a negative person, and I hate talking about people negatively. I always give good reviews because I like being positive. But this drama, it’s kind of hard. The male main lead is brilliant, I disagree with what other people are saying about him being a kpop star with no talent. That’s all false in my opinion, he’s a young kid who’s trying new things out and sculpting his career path. But the female main lead, I’m meh about her, I feel like she didn’t do her job properly. But I’m not sure. The story is interesting and it’s interesting to see the reality in Korea about this stuff (if that makes sense) , but I’ll definitely not rewatch it in the future. To all the people thinking about watching it, I think you should watch the MV first and decide. If you have and you’re still unsure then, poop???? >.<

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I never expected myself to actually sit and watch this drama simply because I never could get behind the plot device of the MC having such low body-image and self-esteem that she resorts to plastic surgery in the hopes of improving her life. This morally goes against everything I believe in.
I too was *that* girl in school harshly ostracized and bullied for being the unattractive one. It was humiliating, degrading, and infuriating. And sure, numerous times I daydreamed about life-altering, body changing procedures in the hopes of being "perfect" in the hopes of becoming accepted, but as I aged and became a full grown adult (finished with college working in the professional career world) I matured and came to appreciate my differences and find myself beautiful. It was hard. It took a long time. Honestly, as we all do, I still have low days, but I was also fortunate enough to come to develop relationships and surround myself with the right people who love me with all my flaws and imperfections. These people help lift me up when I'm at my lowest.
There are still people, people related to me, who view me as undesirable because of my physical imperfections, constantly trying to recommend something I can do to improve myself and compare me to others they deem more attractive.... and after much deliberating, I chose to cut these toxic people out of my life because all they did was tear me down mentally. It wasn't healthy for me.
We all experience this in some form. Every single person does. It's the nature of humans all looking different and having opinions. And therefore, we all have our insecurities...

I say all of this because I really tried to give this drama a chance. I watched 8 whole hour long episodes! But the writers just couldn't seem to get it right.

My biggest gripe in this whole plot that I just can't excuse (even though I know it happens in real life) was the support the mother had in allowing her underage daughter to undergo such extreme plastic surgery. Now, I know that plastic surgery in South Korea is very common, but it is not common for plastic surgery to go to these extremes. If it was simply a double lid surgery, fine, I could get on board. But the fact that she was essentially given a whole new identity and no one, not even her father, could recognize her goes too far. It's denying who she is. Her genes. Her frickin identity. Her father had every right to feel so upset when he found out. I understand that the mother was trying to support her daughter and help her become happy, but obviously, by altering her face, she didn't help her accomplish happiness, as we see through the progression of the drama. What the poor child needed was help. Changing schools, seeking support in the schools (especially for bullying), seeking medical help for her suicidal tendencies, joining support groups, finding hobbies and extracurriculars that would foster happiness and passions through other facets in her life, experimenting with different make-up techniques to increase confidence, etc.
I don't think that the mother did her due diligence in supporting her daughter in finding happiness in a healthy way. By signing off on such extreme facial plastic surgery, it was like she was hoping to slap a bandaid on an infected wound and hoped it healed without a hitch.
**Please do not misunderstand, it is not plastic surgery itself that I necessarily have a problem with. I have a really hard time accepting the extremes of this particular instance of plastic surgery due to the circumstances of the girl's life.

Now, moving away from the female MC... I feel like I need to mention this because it got under my skin...
I was very happy to see some variety in female characters who were not the stereotypical thin and beautiful through the introduction of Kim Tae Hee who was classified as "chubby" and therefore deemed unattractive. I was really looking forward to her added view on the message of the drama. Which is why it really bothers me how the writers handled her story. She stood up for herself finally, starts to apparently date the kind senior and then the frickin bitch Soo Ah sweeps in with her egotistical and narcissistic tendencies to try to cause the new boyfriend to lose interest in Tae Hee. How unrealistic and insulting to men.
Men, unlike common stereotypes, do not simply ogle anything that breaths. They too have standards and characteristics that they gravitate towards (both physically and psychologically). So for the writers to imply that the senior boyfriend would have any interest in a woman like Soo Ah after making it so clear that he prefers woman like Tae Hee (ex, he even says he prefers rounder women at the festival!) is just an insult to male intellect. A little bit of attention isn't enough to sway the average man unless he's a pig, which the senior was not (he was portrayed as a very kindhearted, older brother-like figure).

Now, to discuss acting:
I do have to agree with the common opinion that the acting is very wooden in this drama, particularly with the MCs. I've not seen Im Soo Hyang in anything before, but I am not impressed with her acting - I hope it was her dry role in this drama and not a true demonstration of her skills.
Cha Eun Woo - I cannot be more depressed about how poor CEW appears as an actor in this drama. For those of you who haven't seen CEW before - he is a wonderful actor when playing more energetic roles. This was a horrible role for him. He didn't do a "bad" job, but he, as an actor, appears to struggle to demonstrate stoicism well. He simply hasn't mastered the facial expression nuances to portray different emotions while remaining stoic. This was a huge disappointment because in Hit the Top (The Best Hit) and Sweet Revenge (Revenge Note) (both of which came out before this drama) he did so much better with his roles - animated, sweet, engaged, tender, smiling, talking more. *sigh* Please don't let this 1 drama destroy CEW...

OST
I notice OSTs because they can really make or break scenes in a drama, especially emotionally ones. I cannot hate this soundtrack overall more. The instrumentals were alright, but the main OSTs were HORRIBLE. I nearly muted the TV every time they came on. In particular I hated Something by George and Kang Hyein the most - the tune and eeriness made me cringe and my skin crawl. D-Day by Junggigo was okay. The OST just didn't seem well placed/paired with the tone and atmosphere of this drama.

Aside from the moral issues mentioned above, the overall plot was lacking...
This drama moves reallllyyyyy slow. Nothing really progresses as the episodes go on. It actually leaves you feeling dissatisfied due to the lack of accomplishment....College life has so much more going on with so much more they could have displayed in their lives to mix things up a bit beyond mediocrity. If the writers were trying to produce a slice-of-life feel, they failed miserably. NOTHING happens of note. And there SHOULD be SOMETHING happening aside from the over dramatized banter between characters.

One thing I think the drama did well was illustrate the concept "the grass is not always greener on the other side." Everyone has a picture of what perfection is and society/people will try to impose those visions onto others. And when we finally embrace those standards and try to meet them you realize that the other side isn't greater. Having what others have does not make you happier. Happiness comes from within. This, the drama did demonstrate well. But, after 8 episodes, I'd seen enough of the drama to grasp that and drop it for it's above mentioned flaws.

Anyways, I know that this review will likely not see light under the 100 some odd other reviews of this drama, but since I have such an unpopular opinion compared to the overwhelming raging reviews, I just needed to put my 2 cents in the pile for those of you who need it. Hope this provides comfort for those people dissatisfied or unhappy with this drama.

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I am one of the few who found this to be a not so great drama...the topic was good bc its something Koreans are known for...cosmetic surgery and bad self esteem and vanity issues...but the actress was just horrible. The story it self was boring n dragged out unimportant part way to long. . i didnt see the chemistry between the leads...they looked very unnatural n uncomfortable to me. I saw the male lead in other dramas so i know he was capable of better acting ..so maybe the writing was just bland and uninteresting. I dont recommend it to anyone who want romance or a great story line and acting.

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Entertaining enough but some gripes stop me from taking it too seriously

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty is definitely a watchable romcom drama. I'm not the biggest fan of romcoms but picked this up because of the premise, which is very appropriate for modern Korean culture. I just couldn't help but notice a couple glaring issues and inconsistencies that stopped me from really loving it. Overall, it falls suspect to a lot of Korean romcom tropes and inconsistent characterization.

1) In the very first episode, the chad is automatically drawn to the main female character for no reason. The whole premise is that he is NOT superficial nor really interested in most girls. So there is no reason for him to even look at her. Somehow, she is special JUST BECAUSE
2) Guys are made to look like assholes and creeps. Younger ones are desperate, older ones are ruthlessly superficial
3) Chad (main love interest) has a dull personality. Hes just good looking. His three modus operanti are to stand still, walk like a runway model, and act protective.
4) Probably unintentional, but the girls are just as badly portrayed as the men in this show. Most of the girls are drawn to Chad only for his looks and treat the other guys like they are invisible or clowns
5) They are clearly trying to paint one of the characters as the villain, but it feels forced. In one episode, the villain invites the “orc” bully from middle school to help instigate a scene with the MC. No real explanation into her motivations aside from the obvious (she likes chad also)
6) The whole things where chad’s mom was the one that stopped the MC from committing suicide is the stupidest thing ever. There are almost 10 million people living in Seoul, and she just happened to be in the same place at the same time?
7) Chad acts like looks aren’t everything and lectures the MC on not judging people on looks. Yet, he’s unaware that he is privileged because of his good looks (and family's status and money). Its like a tall handsome guy telling a shorter, ugly guy "dude just be confident! Just be yourself. Looks don't matter"
8) Chad has very shaky moral standards, despite his character being one who never lies, etc. Chad gets on guys for any little reason (protective chad), yet tells his little sister “getting bad grades isn’t a bad thing.” No, that's wrong. Being an underachiever is a terrible thing!
9) Very woke teachings. “Its okay for men to cry!” They are making chad's dad look like a bad parent for trying to toughen his son up. In reality, this is exactly how men are expected to behave in society. Men who cry all the time are not taken seriously.
10) EVERYONE in the school is gossiping about either SUA, MC or Chad. Its like their lives revolve around these three people. None of these people are celebrities or accomplished anything amazing
11) Older sunbae (Chan Woo) gets younger students together and tries to haze them in broad daylight, and is not expelled. This would never happen in reality.
12) Chad’s mom lost her sense of smell (and her career) because her olfactory nerve got damaged during a domestic altercation. Domestic abuse is wrong, and I get why the show is trying to portray it as such, but one slap isn’t going to stop someone from smelling stuff.
13) The “comic” duo: not sure why the shorter one is still hanging out with the taller one, who’s creepy, mean and bossy.
14) Characters who are legitimately pretty, like the shorter best friend, or the tomboy, are never pointed out to be pretty.
15) The show is teaching us that it wrong to fat shame women to meet men's standards, yet in the chubby girl's side story, she is trying to pair up with one of the taller good looking sunbaes. This sunbae of course is not allowed to judge her based on her looks.
16) MC's actor is pretty limited. Most of the time her expression is to look like a surprised goldfish
17) Chan woo is SADLY the best character of this show, having a genuine redemption arc while also comically trolling the **** out of side characters (tokbokki feeding scene with chubby girl and her sunbae)

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I'm on episode 10/16 and I'm pushing myself to keep watching because I love all the character except for the female lead. Is it me or does it feel like everyone else has more lines than the female lead? When she talks she doesn't say much, she's always lost and has very low self- esteem even after the surgery, I would like for here to speak up more and be more outgoing. Her character makes the show drag on because she literally drags on I was looking for a Romantic drama and I guess you can call this that but again the female lead really throws things off with this show she is so clueless. I just wish the storyline for the female lead was written better. I LOVED the music featured in the show and how progressive the show was for women in general. I enjoyed the female lead was going to school for chemistry and wanted to be a perfumer which was different. I'm going to keep watching because I'm still trying to find the overall kick with this show I haven't found it yet

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I mainly started to watch this drama because my bias from ASTRO, Cha Eun-Woo, is in this drama and the plot genuinely sounded quite interesting! JTBC dramas never fail to satisfy me with their acting, plot, and their style of cinematography! Hello, My Twenties is my ultimate favorite drama and its from JTBC! This drama has been really good so far in my opinion. Although I have never read the webtoon and I have only been a few episode into the series, the characters seem to fit the roles they were meant to played in my eyes, and the acting is also great too! I recommend giving this drama a try, maybe because I really have a bias towards JTBC dramas, hehe!

P.S. The song that plays in the credit roll, True - By: RUNY is a super fun and catchy song, can't wait till the whole OST is released and available because I really love this song, and I want to hear more!

Update: I read the webtoon up until the very latest chapter which I believe is 61 and now that I can sort of compare the webtoon with the few episodes I've watched I would say I really like the additions/changes the drama made to the webtoon to make this drama, I feel like it will add more to the series!

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I technically placed this show on hold a while ago because I wanted to pick up another show, and I wasn't really feeling this one. I finally decided to move the show from on-hold to dropped because I realized I'm not interested and don't really care too much to see what happens to the characters. I want to say that the message of this show is extremely important and real and is the main reason I was hesitant to drop it. You don't really see storylines like this one in K-dramas, and that was why I was first drawn in. This show focuses on bullying and talks about how appearance isn't really everything. The main girl had surgery done and changed her entire face to become "normal" she didn't do it to become pretty but rather to be accepted by society. The truth is even with all the surgery she had done, society will always be cruel and mean, and she's still bullied and looked down on. The reason I didn't connect with this show is because of the way the characters are written. I could not for the life of me connect or feel the emotions of the characters. I wanted to like the FL and ML, but I felt they were so one-sided and hollow. I applaud the creators for diving into and discussing an important topic and hope they make more shows with this topic, but with better characters and more depth.

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I honestly just came here to see if anybody else think the same way that Cha Eun Woo is a terrible actor. He was so bad i couldn't enjoy the show even when i want to Throughout the drama i kept thinking how good the premise was, and how it could be a whole lot better with a new actor (and actress, i have a hard time accepting Im Soo Hyang to be a junior in University too). In certain scenes, i kept imagining if other actors i knew acted out the scene, how heart fluttering and impactful it would be)

The show could be better but in lots of the scene you fail to feel the sadness becaise of the male lead

Im sorry he is a kind soul and his look is no joke, but his acting is way too awful. Overall, the story is quite okay. And it brings a good message too

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"You think we're products displayed in a showroom?"

This drama was such a swirl of feelings for me. I loved the message and the overall story that it tells of loving yourself and finding the beauty in YOU, but I feel like it took a long time to even come off with that message if it even did at all... While you never see her old face, it takes until literally episode 15 for her to accept that she looks the way she does and feel comfortable in showing that to everyone. So it doesn't even feel like in the entirety of the show that she truly loved herself. It just screamed the message looks are everything and if you don't like yours change it. I wish we could've gotten her finding love for herself and keeping that, or even realizing that looks aren't everything in a person even if it's your own looks.

The acting in this drama is also such a hit or miss. While I can see that she is playing an awkward character who has never been in social situations like these before... I just found the acting of the FL super flat. She never really shows any range of emotions, it's always linear and no emotion almost. I'll have to check out some of the other dramas she was in to see if that is her or just how she was playing Mi Rae.

I did love Eun Woo's acting in this a ton, even if he also just stares and has a quiet and shy character as well. He showed more range of emotions and definitely was the piece that got me invested in the overall story. I loved seeing this after I watched Island because you can really see how much he has grown as an actor.

There were such good messages written into the script though about body image and how people view women and the way they look. I wish that was pushed more instead of the plastic surgery aspect of the story. One of them that really stuck with me was: "We're all forcing ourselves to cheer up and carry on."

Overall, I think this drama was a pretty good watch but I wouldn't rewatch it. Just beware that really nobody in this drama has character development at all, it's all just settled and moved on from to finish the show on a happy note.

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where you can watch in hindi

hi everyone this drama is so good if you want to watch in hindi you can watch it on MXplayer for free . read till this much because this app is saying I should write 500 letters so I will write something only thank u for reading my review. yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj yfjshdkdbdkjehfjdhfjdhdjhfhxjsjdjdjjjjjjjdjdhdkfjekdhodfbhfhttttttttttbbdkenrbodjejdkjj

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