Gangnam Beauty

This is deeper than what I had expected. If young people really bully and ostracize ugly peers as depicted in this drama, parents can't be faulted for encouraging beauty-challenged offsprings to undergo plastic surgery.

Aside from the life change the female lead experiences after being prettified, this drama shows that life is not a bed of roses for pretty people either. It also shows that when it comes to lasting relationships like love, inner beauty trumps external beauty.

Cha Eun Woo shines as "face genius" Do Kyung Seok whose not-so-perfect family life made him shun society. Im Soo-hyang's depiction of Kang Mi Rae is less impressive. Her short shorts and other provocative clothes are inconsistent with her sensible and self-effacing character. And what's with the cutesy, babyish way of talking? It's a good thing Cha Eun Woo has enough charisma to make up for the flaws of other cast members.

This show was so good. Just reading a review and the synopsis of it made me want to watch it. It's mostly about inner beauty which is the most important thing. It doesn't matter how beautiful you look on the outside, it's whats inside that counts and that's the moral of this show. It teaches us lessons that we can use in life especially in this day and age. I highly recommend it, only plight was two annoying characters that try to cause trouble for our main leads. Other than that it's really enjoyable and if you enjoy dramas this is worth watching.

A strong EIGHT stars if this is meant to be a satire, lampooning life in Korea.

• A scathing satire of alcohol consumption - A scathing satire of beauty infatuation - A scathing satire of predatory dating - A scathing satire of politics before family - A scathing satire of weight concerns - A scathing satire of...well...just about everything.

It works, because it is obviously poking fun at ridiculous behaviors and how easily common situations could end up vastly different (usually better, much much better) if the characters behaved in a rational manner. You'll laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all.

HOWEVER...

If this was NOT meant to be a satire, but a serious and believable romantic dramedy, it FAILS MISERABLY. The continued self-loathing and insecurities FAR beyond what even a mentally ill person would experience, if not meant to be satirical, is just grating to the nerves. Other reviewers give great reviews because of the "Heavy Message". But that's the problem. It is not realistic. It is artificially heavy in a cartoon-like sort of way, that again, ONLY works if this is meant to be a satire and not a believable underdog story.

Then, in typical KDrama fashion, the last two episodes come off like they were directed by someone entirely different. They are a collage of small short-attention-span set pieces that transition jarringly and never really mesh into a coherent flow. The last 30 minutes of episode 16 are the worst. This is typical of Korean shows and their infatuation with epilogues once the main threat has been resolved. But it is far more conspicuous here and so overly emotional in one direction or the other, that you don't have time to digest any of it.

Last gripe: The continued KDrama reliance on a stalker/creep (usually male) to deflect some of the blame from a wholly unlikeable female character, and to excuse some of her past behaviors. It doesn't matter that she ruins relationships and causes chaos in her wake, she has to be seen in a pitying light because of her backstory and the fact that she drew unwanted attention to herself. Well, I'd like to tell the writers: Everyone has a sob story in their past. It doesn't make present day behaviors anymore excusable. So, as usually, no accountability for damages caused.

8 stars as a Satire. 4 stars if not. So, an average of 6 stars.

Because of its name and its ratings I honestly expected this show to be really superficial and full of clichés, just a typical college rom com, you know?

But it's FAR from it.

This show's main message is: Stop comparing yourself with others and stop caring what other people think. Appearances aren't everything. And I LOVED it. Because let's be honest, appearances unfortunately still matter in today's society. This series truly made me overthink some of my own habits and thoughts.

Here's what I can say about the show from my point of view:

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What I loved

• the MESSAGE: I already mentioned a few things about the message of the show but it's really deep and so important! It really needs to be talked about more. We all catch ourselves judging others based on the way they look without even trying to look behind the facade. And that's just really sad and not fair to either of us. And while it will be hard to completely stop doing so, it'd be a good start to realize when we do it and telling ourselves to be more open and kind to others, no matter what someone looks like, what their background is or where they come from.
• the CHARACTERS: I loved most of them. There's always the evil one or whatever you wanna call it, but all in all I basically fell in love with the majority of them: Kang Mi Rae (except for 1 episode lol), Do Kyung Seok, Hyun Jung, Yeon Woo Yeong, Eun, Na Hye Sung, Choi Jung Boon, Woo Jin... like, can I have them in real life please?
• the CAST: they chose the actors and actresses so well! Everyone fit perfectly into their role.
• the ACTING: since this show is about general appearances, you get to see the way the characters act in front of others vs. when they're by themselves or with really close friends and no matter who it was, you really bought whichever mood they appeared to be in and in my opinion that just shows what an amazing job the actors did!
• CHA EUNWOO & KWAK DONGYEON: I love them both ok?? They're the reason I added this show to my watchlist. And they're amazing actors (and singer).

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What I didn't like:

• Well, I can't say I didn't like it but I did think about it once or twice: this show is really slow paced when it comes to the main couple. You gotta wait forever until something's happening or evolving between them. Just saying. But it just underlines the message of the show and the side effects of their mental health issues/complex.
• And at one point I didn't understand Mi Rae's actions, at least not all of it, and it was kind of frustrating. But it was actually just on one episode so it wasn't so significant, either.

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Conclusion: It's a MUST-WATCH!

Never have I seen a more annoying and irritating Female Lead than In this Kdrama! First of all Im Soo Hyang was simply too old for the college Freshman's role and then all she could do was go around stiffly...make weird faces and speak weirdly when spoken to!!! Every other actor played their parts well except her🙄. Yes, her character went through lot of anguish and pain as a kid but now that she had got plastic surgery her character needed to develop in some positive way but I didn't see that growth all through the drama! And, how can a person in today's day and time be sooo clueless that when a guy is trying to be so nice and supportive to you that you don't understand his feelings for you... no matter how low a self esteem one may have?!

I kept giving up on the drama...would start watching something else but then am a big fan of Cha Eun Woo so kept going back for him and he is the only reason that I've given 6 stars to the drama otherwise in spite of being a great subject I found it lacking a lot😒. I REALLY wish they had chosen a younger and better actress than ISH....