Main Cast: Im Soo-Hyang, Cha Eun-Woo, Kwak Dong-Yeon, Jo Woo-Ri

Summary

My ID is Gangnam Beauty is a South Korean drama that follows the lives of Kang Mi-Rae (played by Im Soo-Hyang) and Do Kyung-Seok (played Cha Eun-Woo) during their first year of college at Korea University. Before attending college, Mi-Rae faced constant school bullying due to her “ugly” appearance. With harsh nicknames like Kang Orc, Mi-Rae has a timid personality and assumes that everyone is talking about her face. Before starting a new chapter at college, Mi-Rae undergoes plastic surgery in hopes of changing her life with a new face. Although she is still shy around her new classmates, Mi-Rae is finally happy as she finally feels accepted by her classmates and hailed as a school beauty. 

Despite being incredibly intelligent and handsome, Kyung-Seok rarely interacts with his fellow classmates and remains cold and distant with them. However at the school year kick-off party, he suddenly sees Mi-Rae dancing and recognizes her dance moves and name. After asking her if she attended their middle school, Mi-Rae confesses that she was his former classmate and received plastic surgery. Kyung-Seok promises to keep Mi-Rae’s plastic surgery a secret, however, things quickly change after Hyun Soo-A (played by Jo Woo-Ri), their fellow classmate, “accidentally” exposes that Mi-Rae underwent plastic surgery. As a result people insult Mi-Rae and refer to her as a “Gangnam Beauty”. Rather than allowing Mi-Rae to suffer the rude comments in silence, Kyung-Seok silently defends and protects her. As Kyung-Seok and Mi-Rae continue to bump into one another through class and general affairs the two slowly grow closer and begin to have feelings for each other. 

Thoughts

Although My ID is Gangnam Beauty was released in 2018, this drama has quickly become one of my favorites! The series is a quick and fun watch that makes you curious for each episode. It’s entertaining to watch Kyung-Seok expertly defend Mi-Rae from Soo-A’s calculating and malicious actions. Cha Eun-Woo also does a great job at playing Kyung-Seok; although he maintains his icy demeanor with Mi-Rae I could definitely tell that he genuinely cares for her and liked her, even before she received plastic surgery. Im Soo-Hyang also does a great job in portraying a feisty, yet timid character. Throughout the show you could see her visibly struggling with the scars and trauma from her past bullying, however she is actively attempting to live a new life. As with any Korean drama, My ID is Gangnam Beauty has a phenomenal soundtrack. Not only does the music perfectly capture the characters’ emotions, but the music is so catchy and enjoyable. 

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the series due to it’s well executed plot and characters. Not only does the series call out the prejudice and societal expectations to be beautiful, but it also highlights the inequalities and challenges that women face due to their beauty. I would definitely recommend watching My ID is Gangnam Beauty, all episodes are out on Viki!