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True Beauty (South Korean TV series)
2020–21 South Korean television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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True Beauty (Korean: 여신강림) is a South Korean television series starring Moon Ka-young, Cha Eun-woo, Hwang In-youp and Park Yoo-na. Based on the webtoon of the same title by Yaongyi, it centers on a high school girl who, after being bullied and discriminated against because of being perceived as ugly, masters the art of makeup to transform herself into a gorgeous "goddess".[3][4][5][6] It aired on tvN from December 9, 2020 to February 4, 2021 every Wednesday and Thursday at 22:30 (KST).[7]
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Plot
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Lim Ju-kyung is a high school student who has always had a complex personality towards her appearance since childhood, since she was badly bullied by her classmates for her face. Struggling with insecurity and ridicule, she decides to transfer schools to escape her past and start fresh. To overcome her low self-esteem and avoid further bullying, she masters the art of makeup, using it to transform her appearance. Her excellent makeup skills enhance her beauty so much that people at her new school believe she is naturally stunning, earning her the title of a "goddess."
Before transferring, however, Ju-kyung reached a breaking point due to relentless bullying and once attempted to commit suicide and jump off a building. At that moment, she was saved by Lee Su-ho, a wealthy but cold high school student. However, since she was not wearing her glasses at the time, she couldn't see his face, and Lee Su-ho didn't recognise her later either.
At her new school, Ju-kyung crosses paths with Lee Su-ho again, but neither of them realises their past connection. Meanwhile, she also meets Han Seo-jun, a rebellious yet talented student, forming an interesting dynamic among the three. One day, while visiting a comic store near her house without makeup, she runs into Lee Su-ho. Terrified that he might discover her bare face, she panics. However, Lee Su-ho recognises her as the girl he once saved, and they slowly develop a friendship. As time passes, he uncovers her secret about wearing makeup and continues to befriend her, accepting her true self.
Alongside Lee Su-ho, another student, Han Seo-jun, also befriends Ju-kyung and as he slowly begins to experience feelings for her ,it leads to a love triangle between the three.Through ups and downs throughout her high school life, Ju-kyung struggles to keep her bare face a secret, but eventually, the truth about her appearance is exposed. Despite facing initial embarrassment and fear, she grows stronger, learning to embrace herself as she is. In the end, she pursues her dream of becoming a cosmetologist,[8] turning her passion for makeup into a career and proving that beauty is about confidence rather than just appearance.
Through all the ups and downs, Lee Su-ho and Ju-kyung support each other and grow stronger together. Eventually, they find happiness in each other, cherishing their love and embracing their true selves ,while Seo-jun gives up his feelings for Ju-Kyung.
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Cast
Main
- Moon Ka-young as Lim Ju-kyung[9]
- Lee Go-eun as young Ju-kyung
- A newcomer student of Class 2-5 recently transferred to Saebom High School. Having been constantly discriminated by her family and bullied by her peers in previous school due to being perceived as ugly, she masters to wear makeup by binge-watching tutorial videos in the internet and her makeover proves to be transformative as she quickly rises to fame and her peers in new school call her a "goddess", unaware of her real appearance. Ju-kyung prefers reading horror comic books and listening to heavy metal music.
- Cha Eun-woo as Lee Su-ho[10]
- Lee Seung-woo as young Su-ho
- A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School. He is very popular for his handsome looks and being the top of his class. His dysfunctional family and a tragic incident from a year ago have turned him into an ice-cold boy who hates being the center of attention. He is formerly best friends with Seo-jun. Su-ho shares Ju-kyung's penchant for horror comic books.
- Hwang In-youp as Han Seo-jun[11]
- A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School. Seo-jun is a handsome and equally-popular student at his school who, despite being tough-looking, is a kind, loving and soft person, especially to his mother and sister. He is formerly best friends with Su-ho and a former idol trainee, but a tragic incident a year ago leads to him abandoning his path to stardom and severing his friendship with Su-ho, with whom he has since become extremely hostile.
- Park Yoo-na as Kang Su-jin[12]
- A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School. She is Su-ho's childhood friend who becomes close friends with Ju-kyung, but is being forced by her parents to excel at school, and is always being compared with Su-ho.
Supporting
- Lim Ju-kyung's family
- Jang Hye-jin as Hong Hyun-sook
- Lim Jae-pil's wife and mother of Hee-kyung, Ju-kyung and Ju-young. She is the matriarch of the Lim family who owns a beauty shop named Pandora which is popular among older women.
- Park Ho-san as Lim Jae-pil[13]
- Hong Hyun-sook's husband and father of Hee-kyung, Ju-kyung and Ju-young. He lost a great sum of money to a dubious investment which leads to his family moving back to their old house.
- Ju-kyung's older sister. She is adored by the family for being pretty and intelligent. She works at Move Entertainment and develops feelings for Han Joon-woo.
- Kim Min-gi as Lim Ju-young
- Park Ju-hwan as young Ju-young (ep. 1)
- Ju-kyung's younger brother. He harbors a crush on Go-woon after hearing her sing.
- Lee Su-ho's family
- Jung Joon-ho as Lee Joo-heon[15]
- Su-ho's father. He is a famous actor and CEO of Move Entertainment who is quick to find a new woman after his wife died, much to Su-ho's resentment.
- Han Seo-jun's family
- Yeo Joo-ha as Han Go-woon
- A student at Saebom High School and Seo-jun's younger sister. She has great singing talent, but is bullied by her peers for being perceived as ugly. She befriends Ju-kyung after Ju-kyung saves her from bullies.
- Park Hyun-jung as Lee Mi-hyang
- Seo-jun and Go-woon's mother and an acquaintance of Hyun-sook. She suffers from an illness requiring a kidney transplant.
- Kang Su-jin's family
- Seo Sang-won as Kang Jun-hyuk
- Su-jin's father, who is a professor and doctor-in-charge of a medical school. He is teaching Su-jin to be competitive by mentally and physically abusing her.
- Yoo Dam-yeon as Kim Ji-yeon
- Su-jin's mother. She is passive with her husband's abuse at first. She later divorces him and leaves Korea with Su-jin.
- Saebom High School
- Oh Eui-shik as Han Joon-woo
- The homeroom teacher of Class 2-5 and a literature teacher in Saebom High School. He falls in love with Hee-kyung.
- Kang Min-ah as Choi Soo-ah[16]
- A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School, Ju-kyung and Su-jin's best friend and classmate, and Tae-hoon's girlfriend.
- Lee Il-jun as Yoo Tae-hoon
- A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School and Soo-ah's boyfriend. Tae-hoon often seeks Su-ho's approval and later befriends him.
- Lee Sang-jin as Ahn Hyun-gyu[17]
- A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School.
- Han Yi-young as Ha Ji-young
- A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School.
- Lee Woo-je as Kim Cho-rong
- A student in Saebom High School and Seo-jun's friend.
- Kim Hyun-ji as Kim Si-hyun
- A student in Saebom High School.
- Kim Myung-ji as Jin Hee-jeong
- A first-year student in Saebom High School and a webmaster of school's online community. She bullied Go-woon once.
- Kim Byung-chun as the vice-principal of Saebom High School.
- Yongpa High School
- Shin Jae-hwi as Lee Sung-yong[18]
- A student in Yongpa High School. He is a bully who formerly acquainted with Seo-jun.
- Jeon Hye-won as Park Sae-mi[19]
- A student of Yongpa High School. A popular girl with pretty face, she used to bully Ju-kyung before she transferred to Saebom High School.
- Oh Yoo-jin as Joo Hye-min
- A student in Yongpa High School who later transfers to Saebom High School after being bullied tremendously at her old school.
- Seo Hye-won as Park Ji-hee
- A student in Yongpa High School and Park Sae-mi's friend.
- Others
- Im Hyun-sung as Wang Ja
- The owner of Prince Comics, a comic book store that Ju-kyung and Su-ho frequently visits.
- Park Young-soo as Columbus Park
- A man who tricks Ju-kyung's father out of his money.
Special appearances
- Kang Chan-hee as Jung Se-yeon
(eps. 1, 4–5, 11–12, 16)[20]
- Su-ho and Seo-jun's late best friend. Se-yeon was a member of a boy group under Move Entertainment. A victim of harsh online shaming and fake scandals, he committed suicide by jumping off a tall building. His tragic death becomes the center of the broken friendship between Seo-jun and Su-ho, Seo-jun's animosity towards Su-ho's father, and Su-ho's life of immense guilt.
- Go Woo-ri as Selena
- A famous makeup-artist whom Ju-kyung idolizes and later works for.
- Lee Tae-ri[21] as Wang Hyun-bin (ep. 1)
- A handsome nutritionist of Yongpa High School's canteen whom Ju-kyung had a crush on.
- Ok Joo-ri as a neighbourhood woman (ep. 1)
- Cha Young-ok as a neighbourhood woman (eps. 1–2)
- Lee Jae-eun as Su-ho's housekeeper (ep. 3)
- Song Hoon as a history teacher (ep. 3)
- Uhm Tae-yoon as a customer (ep. 3)
- Kim Jeong-hak as Joo-heon's associate (ep. 3)
- Jang Young-hyun as a guy at the convenience store (ep. 3)
- Moon Hak-jin as a guy at the convenience store (ep. 3)
- Ham Tae-gyun as a guy at the convenience store (ep. 3)
- Kim Hye-yoon[21] as Eun Dan-oh (ep. 4)
- Baek Kyung's classmate and fiancée and Ha-ru's girlfriend from Extraordinary You, whom Suho mistakes as Jugyeong[c]
- Lee Jae-wook[21] as Baek Kyung (ep. 4)
- Dan-oh's classmate and fiancé from Extraordinary You, whom Suho mistakes as Woo-hyun and Jugyeong's blind date.[c]
- Jung Gun-joo as Ryu Hyung-jin (ep. 7)[22]
- A baseball star playing for Seonil High School who has a crush on Ju-kyung and asks her out.
- Woo Hyun as a camping site manager (ep. 8)
- Kim Jae-wook as MC Jaerong (ep. 8)
- A recreation host.
- Jung Ye-nok as the head of imaginary bullies (ep. 9)
- Lee Han-wi as Min Jae-joon (ep. 13)
- A plastic surgeon.
- Kim Young-dae as Oh Nam-joo (ep. 15)[23][d]
- A stranger whom Ju-kyung runs into at the Namsan Tower, and she mistaken him as Su-ho.
- Lim Da-young as Chae-ni (eps. 15–16)
- A celebrity under Move Entertainment.
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Episodes
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Production
In July 2019, it was announced that Line Webtoon's True Beauty would be adapted into a television series.[40] In August 2020, the production team confirmed the casting of Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun-woo and Hwang In-youp in the lead roles.[41] The first script reading session was held in October 2020.[42][43] Filming was temporarily halted in late December 2020 after Kim Byung-chun tested positive for COVID-19.[44] The first stills from filming were released on November 10, 2020, one month prior to the series premiere.[45]
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Release
The series was originally made available for streaming through Viu and Rakuten Viki.[46] It became available on Amazon Prime Video from October 21, 2021.[47] In 2023, the series became available on Netflix in selected territories.
Original soundtrack
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True Beauty: Original Soundtrack
The following is the official track list of True Beauty: Original Soundtrack album, which was released by Stone Music Entertainment on February 5, 2021.[2][48] The tracks with no indicated lyricists and composers are the drama's musical score; the artists indicated for these tracks are the tracks' composers themselves.
The album peaked on number 5 on weekly Gaon Album Chart. As of March 2021, 40,786 copies have been sold.[49][50]
Singles
The following is the track list of singles from True Beauty: Original Soundtrack.
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4
- Part 5
- Part 6
- Part 7
- Part 8
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Viewership
True Beauty : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)
Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea[59]

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Awards and nominations
Listicle
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Notes
- The end themes used vary per episode but are all singles from True Beauty: Original Soundtrack. See the list of singles for details.
- See True Beauty: Original Soundtrack for the names of all involved musical score composers.
- The character appears in a short crossover scene alluding Director Kim Sang-hyeop 's previous work Extraordinary You, where the character originally appeared.
- Kim Young-dae's cameo role alludes to his role as Oh Nam-joo in episode 32 of Director Kim Sang-hyeop 's Extraordinary You.
- Original song by The Nolans, released in 1979.
References
External links
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