True Beauty and My ID is Gangnam Beauty: Cha Eun-woo’s heartwarming romances are all about finding pure connections in a cruel world

True Beauty follows the story of a bullied schoolgirl who is rescued by Cha Eun-woo’s Lee Su-ho, just as she’s about to take her life. They form a close relationship, and eventually fall in love, as he sees her for who she is, with or without make-up. She has a difficult time accepting herself, but slowly, with Su-ho by her side, she gradually comes to terms with her looks. Considering that childhood connections are a favourite trope in Korean shows, there’s one that has been shoehorned into True Beauty as well. Su-ho is so earnest, warm and affectionate that he seems a little good to be true sometimes, although he does attempt noble idiocy for the sake of unnecessary conflict. Needless to say, there’s a severe second lead syndrome with this show, to the extent that the fandom remains divided to this day about whether Su-ho should have ended up with Moon Ga-Young’s Lim Joo-Kyung instead. Moreover, True Beauty’s portrayal of healthy friendships overrides all plot contrivances. You can watch 16 hours of three very endearing people who have great chemistry with each other, because why not? 

Bullying is central to many Korean shows, and in My ID is Gangnam Beauty, we see a schoolgirl so brutally harassed for her looks that she undergoes plastic surgery. But this only attracts further attention. Oscillating between humiliation, shame, and deflating self-worth, Mi-rae meets her old schoolmate,  Eun-woo’s Kyun-Seok, who isn’t at all like the character he played in True Beauty. Here, Eun-woo is fabulously stone-cold and rigid, to the extent that you wonder whether he is actually a robot. But he isn’t, he is flesh and blood, with his own baggage of trauma, stemming from a broken family. He is drawn to Mi-rae and at first, he cannot seem to understand why she chose to go for plastic surgery, because he had never thought of her as ugly. In a sweet moment, it is revealed that he had once seen her at a bus stop in school, in a rare moment where she was happy, and watching her had made him smile. The two find comfort in each other, in this cruel world. 

While True Beauty was explosively emotional, My ID is Gangnam Beauty is more restrained. But both shows are making the same points: you are worth more than your physical appearance. Bullying is a recurring theme in Korean shows, and the issue often comes up in most discussions about Korean pop-culture. My ID is Gangnam Beauty also has its share of sweetness, but somehow, Eun-woo’s frozen expressions work well in the odd-couple relationship. The second lead suffers once again, but that’s what they’re made for right? 

True Beauty and My ID is Gangnam Beauty aren’t cerebral, but they’re thoroughly enjoyable and addictive. They’re perfect for Valentine’s Day.