We’re kicking off the first episode of the anticipated web-based cartoon turned teen drama, True Beauty! From the teaser release, we inferred that it would touch on Korean’s beauty standards.

And from the first couple of minutes, we can already see the turmoil. Neighbors are snickering at the main character, Joo Kyung (Moon Ka Young), when she was younger for being ugly and instead of consoling her, her mom whispered in her ear how she should focus on getting good grades – not being beautiful. 

Fast forward to high school and at the sound of the bell, the girls in her classroom are jumping in front of the mirror, fixing their makeup, but Joo Kyung is reading her scary book and listening to heavy metal music. The popular girls don’t let her too this quietly though as they start making fun of her looks – Joo Kyung’s nickname is Mandu (Korean dumplings) because of (1) her rosacea and acne and (2) the girls bully her into buying them mandu.

Body and appearance positive

I’m just going to stop here and make a comment as someone who has been extremely self-conscious and body-conscious my whole life – this is not easy and I know this is common not just in the Korean culture but in every culture. Granted, I find that the Korean’s standards are extremely higher than any other’s. But please know that if you are struggling with this, you are not alone and watching and reviewing this drama together can hopefully help you in the right direction. 

We learn early on that Joo Kyung has a huge crush on Hyun Bin, an oppa that works at the school cafeteria, and plans to confess her crush to him with a cute present of cookies and a card … until the popular crew finds her present and ruins it. This leaves Joo Kyung absolutely heartbroken, and who wouldn’t be? These students are absolutely ruthless and big bullies!

It becomes more tragic because these students actually filmed the rejection and shared the video with the rest of the students. TW: the next part of the post may be triggering for those with thoughts of self harm. Joo Kyung finds the bullying so intolerable that she even thinks about ending her life and stands on the edge of a building ready to jump. However, in the end, she decides that she is worth too much. But as soon as she is about to head home, a boy runs towards her and pulls her back onto the roof deck. And you guessed it, it is the male main character Soo Ho (Cha Eun Woo).

Joo Kyung loses her glasses in the process so she is left to tag along Soo Ho. Remember, she never sees his face because she loses her glasses! They both safely get to their respective homes and while Joo Kyung’s family is dealing with their own drama, Soo Ho can be seen to come from a family of wealth – who wears a bathroom like that, dang!

Joo Kyung’s ‘aha’ moment comes when she sees a Youtube creator showing how one girl had a makeover using only makeup, turning her into a completely different looking person. Seeing this, Joo Kyung then thinks she can do the same! She goes to tons of beauty stores and ends up buying tons of products. She also ends up shaving her brows for the first time – but a little too much! Raise your hands if you’ve been there! Also the following sun cream was advertised as PPL and found it here: has anyone tried it? It’so a coincidence that Joo Kyung’s family has to move back to their hometown because after she plays with her makeup she goes to a new high school and literally e veryone is drooling over her look.

To the point where they are naming her the beauty goddess (여신). Of course, Su Ho goes to this school and they end up sitting right next to each other. Su Ho does not recognize her and neither does Joo Kyung (remember she lost her glasses?)

Towards the end of the episode, you might think, “Where on earth can this go wrong?” Well, Joo Kyung goes to a store late at night without any makeup and ends up running into Su Ho again! This is where the episode cuts off.

If you want more see more episodes to be reviewed, check them out at kshowtime!

Disclaimer: screenshots are from tvN