Finally one of my all time favorite drama is streaming on Netflix. My ID Is Gangnam Beauty, in my opinion is the best high school / college drama to come out of the Korean entertainment industry. We live in a world where people are more obsessed with the way we look than the kind of person we are, and often we let others opinion of us dictate how we feel about ourselves. My ID is Gangnam Beauty teaches us the importance of cherishing ourselves, because until we learn to love ourselves for who we really are, we can never be truly happy. What makes this drama so special is the many characters that bring this story to life.
A girl who was bullied all her life for looking ugly struggling to regain her self-esteem after a cosmetic surgery, a natural beauty with an insecurity that makes it impossible for her to deal with people liking anyone more than her, a rich-handsome guy from a broken home who does not know how to socialize, and a successful businesswoman who craves for the simpler things in life, these are just a few of the people that make up the world of Gangnam Beauty. Each one of them feels that the other has a much better life. Kang Mi-rae (Im Soo-hyang) is the girl who is bullied all her life for being ugly. The bullying is so bad that she even tries to commit suicide. It isn’t until she gets a cosmetic surgery just before starting college that her life takes a turn for the better. However getting used to the new face after having her self-esteem broken with years of bullying, and hiding the truth about her past is not at all easy. The only good things in her life are her parents who love and adore her, and her one best friend. She believes beautiful people like Hyun Soo-ah (Jo Woo-ri), Do Kyung-seok (Cha Eun-woo) and Na Hye-sung (Park Joo-mi) have the perfect life. What she doesn’t know is that being beautiful is not enough to be happy, and that everyone has their our own problems to deal with.
My ID is Gangnam Beauty is Im Soo-hyang’s show all the way and she owns it. I can’t help but be in awe of her for not only nailing every aspect of the character, but also for being brave enough to take up a role such as Kang Mi-rae. While we know cosmetic surgery is pretty common, especially among celebrities, not every one is willing to go on record to accept that fact, let alone do a full fledged role that puts them in the spotlight as someone who has gotten extensive work done. So hats off to Im Soo-hyang for making this drama possible by taking up this very challenging role. Equally impressive is Jo Woo-ri as Soo-ah. Bullying is such a sensitive topic around the world, especially in South Korea, so to accept a role that might make everyone hate you is not easy. Soo-ah is the best character in the drama besides Mi-rae and Woo-ri does an amazing job of bringing her to life. Another character that I really loved in the drama was Do Kyung-seok. From his thoughts and views, to the way he treats Kang Mi-rae and others around him, and his judgement of people, everything about him is perfect. Cha Eun-woo definitely surprised me with his portrayal of Do Kyung-seok. I believe this is his best drama till date.
The only complaint I have with this drama that is currently streaming on both Netflix and Viki is that Psy’s New Face song that Kang Mi-rae dances to in the first episode has been replaced. There was a reason the makers of the drama chose New Face for this particular scene. So, it was very disappointing to see the song being replaced, not to mention how out of place the steps felt with the replaced song. Check out the link below to see the dance the way it was meant to be.
Do not miss My Id is Gangnam Beauty that has been on Viki for a while and is now streaming on Netflix. It is a show that will shatter all your preconceived notions and prejudices in regards to beauty and image. It is a must watch, especially if you have a high-schooler who most likely will either go through some of the things that the students in this show face or will come across someone who will.
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