Okay so this drama was set in Hankook College’s Department of Chemistry with the primary aim of bringing awareness about the physical, emotional and psychological damages that body shaming causes to young women.
The issues the writer tried to explore include; negative body image, verbal bullying, eating disorders, sexual harassment, gender inequality and self love. And due to my interest in issues like that, and the interesting way the drama began, I had high expectations.
I was curious to see how the writer was going to address such sensitive issues and the particular message that the writer wanted people to take with them at the end of the day. So, as soon I started to watch the drama, I felt the urge start my first Korean drama review with it.
And honestly, at the end of the whole watch, the drama didn’t meet my expectations to a point where I was satisfied or to the point where I got a really convincing or deep message. The drama could have definitely done better with reasons I will talk about.
So without further ado, let’s begin the discussion!
MEET THE MAJOR CHARACTERS
Kang Mi rae
The drama’s major character Kang Mi rae is a timid and insecure young 20-year old lady who suffered from terrible verbal bullying and ostracisation throughout middle school due to her ‘extremely’ ugly face.
Due to inability to no longer withstand the ridiculing and derisive side talks that led to self isolation, she was helped by her mother to get a full facial plastic surgery without the consent of her taxi driver father.
Do Kyung seok
Do Kyung Seok is Kang Mi Rae’s love interest, the major male character who is baptised with extremely good looks that caused a lot of girls in the drama to lose their wits each time he came into view.
He is a quiet 20-year old with a cold and unapproachable demeanour but he is in fact cutely socially awkward. His unfriendly and broody attitude is tied to the secret scar he bears from being abandoned by his wealthy and successful perfumer mother at a young age for another man. A lie that had only been concocted by his politician father.
Hyun Soo – a
The other major female character is Hyun Soo – a, the 20-year old divine beauty of Hankook College’s Chemisty deparment, who leaves every male student, whether hoobae (junior) or sunbae (senior) star struck.
However, due to being abandoned by her parents and having her high school crush snatched by a close friend who underwent plastic surgery; she foxily goes after every female’s love interest in her department secretly just to retain all the special attention she gets from being beautiful.
WHAT I TOTALLY DIG ABOUT THE DRAMA
I. Cha Eun woo playing Do Kyung seok. Apart from his brimming handsomeness and the ingenious curves of his beautiful face, which my eyes were being blessed with for the very first time; Eun Woo’s natural delivery of lines, his melting gaze, his boyish hair cut, his calm yet manly voice, his height, his dignified waking steps, and those checkered shirts of his made him a total eye-pleaser. I practically had my eyes on him all the damn time.
I also loved the different thing that the writer did with the typical Korean drama, “the rich cold guy with a painful past” male leads. Do Kyung seok wasn’t unnecessarily arrogant or nasty and he was given smart, witty and sharp lines that is assured to bring pleasure to all viewers.
While I watched him deliver his lines, especially to the sly Soo a, who feigned romantic interest in him, I always felt this deep satisfaction in the pit of my stomach. It’s like he says the exact same things or maybe even more that the viewers would want said to a character like Soo a. I definitely lived for his smart and calmly sharp retorts to her.
Do Kyung seok’s character made it clearly known who he liked and who he hated without any sort of hesitation or care for feelings. Also, he wasn’t made to look conspicuously nice at heart like the typical “damaged boy with the big heart”. I loved this unconventionality.
Rather, the writer only used a few inconspicuous scenes here and there to show that he was definitely nice at heart, particularly to people that he liked and respected (Such scenes include – the awfully cute teeth washing scene between him and a drunk Woo Young; how he respectfully responds to his home’s housekeeper, his checking up on his sister after he left home and his concern and care for her after she left home, his few good advices to his close friend, Yoo jin and his worry for Soo a after he got inauspicious about her safety despite his dislike for her).
Finally, Do Kyung’s Seok’s boldness, effrontery, unwavering mindset and encompassing love for Mi rae were outstanding. His high kicks against annoying backs and the way he threw strong blows across jaws that verbally bullied and sexually harassed Mi rae were fantastic too.
II. Im Soo-hyang did a cool job playing Mi Rae despite 8-year gap between her age and Mi rae’s. I could sincerely feel Mi Rae’s insecurity, intimidation, disappointment and pain that ugly people who have been bullied their entire life would feel. I could feel her crave to lead a simple normal life free of dramas. And even though Mi rae’s character has familiar inhibitions, I loved that the writer gave a latent fierceness to her.
Her fierceness came out even when she was still ugly (her outburst to Kyung seok in middle school while they were sweeping about why he would be mad that she was wearing perfume).
I also loved that as the drama progressed; Mi Rae grew more into her real self and let out her fierceness to whoever deserved it. I also love that she knew how to have fun too (the crazy karaoke session with her doting father and her impressive dancing to Psy’s ‘New Face’ on the day of her orientation).
III. Mi Rae’s father was another bonus for me in this drama.
I loved how shamelessly proud he was of his daughter. I particularly loved how an indifferent passenger had to sit through a ride in his cab, listening to him brag about his intelligent and pretty daughter who was studying Chemistry at a prestigious university and his total oblivion to the incredulous look on the passenger’s face when he finally took a glance of his daughter’s picture and saw that she wasn’t as pretty as the beautiful actresses he had compared her to.
The painful part however, was that Mi Rae’s father did this while he had no clue that his cool daughter had redone her face. I felt his hurt and pain when he found out and I loved how he still came around and found a way to love and accept her despite being sad that he would never get to see her former face again.
He being totally oblivious of Mi rae’s perceived ugliness and his total pride in the face that had looked beautiful to him was heart warming. It really thought me what true love is. I definitely loved the aspect of the drama. Woo hyun did an amazing job playing the role of this unconditionally loving father.
IV. I also love Kyung seok’s mother and her formally sleek, chic and stylish fashion sense. Her styling was impeccable. For a 47-year old character, Do Kyung seok’s mother had an incredibly young and beautiful face that matched her personable and pure character. She was utterly pleasant. I loved this character and her role as a mother who truly loved her children. Everyone deserves a good mother like that.
V. Now Woo young!
Urrgh! Could there really be a perfect man like Woo young???? He was an exemplary senior and young man.
I loved what the writer did with his character. He was specifically used by the writer to show how men should always treat women with dignity and respect no matter what (for instance, his franticness and deep worry on how to respectfully and nicely respond to the tomboyish junior who confessed her interest in him with a love letter- P.S: this was funny and melting to me at the same time).
Woo young was a caring, selfless and considerate Masters student, who helped the elderly cheerfully, stood up for women and somewhat played the role of a big brother to a runaway Kyung seok who tried to navigate independent life away from a wealthy home as a 20-year old undergraduate.
His noble qualities are really great qualities that every young man should strive to imitate.
VI. I also liked Mi rae’s roommate and shorty best friend, Hyun jung. I love how she offhandedly loves and supports Mi rae regardless of how ugly she had been or the full facial plastic surgery she got. I was really looking forward to her romancing Woo young because they would have fitted each other so well. Besides, she obviously had feelings for him, but the writer decided to just tease us and didn’t merge them as one in the drama.
VII. I also loved the inclusion of a chubby girl and a tomboyish character in a drama dealing with body image. It allows for diversity and relatability.
I loved how the chubby girl charismatically told off her cheating, indecisive ex-boyfriend when he came back asking for a second chance after having his senses played by Soo a. No girl should ever bend for a guy that is fickle about the woman he wants no matter her size or what she looks like.
I also loved how the tomboyish character never tried to be girly or look more feminine despite being made jest of by her friends and classmates. I loved how she refused to change her true self for anyone; not even her romantic interest in Woo young made her pretend to be what she was not.
She presented her true, straight-forward bare self and I loved the message it sent out to me. Even when she was turned down by Woo young, I loved how she didn’t drown in self-pity. Rather, she didn’t regret any of her actions. She tried to be confident and positive as always.
VIII. I loved the smart use of contemporary K-pop hits by the drama. I loved this tactic. For a drama trying to attract young viewers, trendy kpop playing in the background of bars and cafes was a smart move. They played a lot of popular songs, especially a lot of BTS’ music (yeah my bias group for life). I could also recognize songs from Twice, Psy, Momoland and Blackpink. Awesome move!
IX. They were honestly a few funny scenes that got me cracking my ribs hard and I love a good laugh. The particular episode of watching Do Kyung seok wade through life as a broke and hungry 20-year old undergraduate honestly got me seriously cracked. Also, the CCTV threat to Kyung seok by Mi Rae’s father was out rightly funny.
Watching Kyung seok get worked up and have a restless night over the unsuspecting lie that he was being recorded by a secret CCTV Mi Rae’s father was monitoring was both cute and hilarious.
X. And of course the main romance!
I loved it. Though the romance came at the later episodes, I still enjoyed the chemistry between Mi rae and Kyung seok (despite the real life age gap between the actors).
I loved how Kyung seok loved Mi rae completely without even caring to hide it. I especially loved the awkwardness and shyness that came with two smitten young couple new to the dating experience. It was cute and fun to watch.
I especially cherished this scene where they shared passionate short kisses and warm, comfortable embraces while Kyung seok insinuated that he was going to marry Mi rae later on. How cute!
In this scene, they clearly look more relaxed in each other’s arm as they’ve passed the stage of shyness and awkwardness in their relationship. How cute again!
P.S: I’m sorry to say, but in some scenes, Mi rae looked like an Ahjumma (old woman) in contrast to Kyung Seok’s small, pretty face; thus causing them to look mismatched on screen at times. It even made me question if Im Soo hyang really got plastic surgery in real life.
Then, I didn’t that know Im Soo hyang was actually a lot older than Cha Eun woo in reality. And surely make-up must have been at play too.
WHAT I DIDN’T DIG AT ALL
Despite the things I enjoyed about the drama, there are quite some aspects that did not sit well with me all.
I. Shooting Your Major Message in the leg to Satisfy Sponsors
In a show that is trying to bring awareness about the damages caused by body shaming, the writer has no problem making one of her characters call belly fat “gross” just to sell a sort of sliming drink product of one of their sponsors (check Ep14).
This expression was used by Hyun Jung when she chided Mi Rae for finishing a particular drink (the body sliming drink) without replacing them. I get that this can be a natural expression between young ladies. No girl will ever love belly fat, fine. But I expect that in a show trying to shame body shaming, there will be a form of retort from Mi Rae to Hyun Jung that belly fat shouldn’t be called “gross” or any other thing demeaning. It could even be any other thing that corrects Hyun Jung’s wrong labelling of belly fat.
Instead, Mi Rae laughs with Hyun Jung saying she would replace the drink while Hyun Jung ends the conversation by saying they should “both stay pretty together”. I was disappointed by this dialogue. I felt like it contradicted the primary message that the writer/director was trying to get the drama to pass across just because they wanted to input an ad message. This is wrong. Just wrong.
II. Echoing Too Much Pretty than Louding More Acceptance
Throughout the drama there was a lot of echo on being pretty, staying pretty, loving pretty people, and being able to do anything as a result of being pretty. I felt an ugly person would hardly get any concrete consolation from watching the drama. If anything, they would try to look for ways to get pretty so they can become a cynosure of all eyes too and finally get to do what they cannot do if they remain ugly. Overall, there was too much noise on the cons of being pretty and seeking a way to be one for the sake of one’s happiness than on how a physically unattractive person can truly shun the haters and enjoy life if they stay true to their natural selves.
I get that young women who got plastic surgeries due to being unable to withstand bullying or being unable to do whatever they liked that still get bullied for fixing their faces can be consoled through Kang Mi Rae who didn’t initially feel any significant difference after getting pretty due to the same bullying she was plagued with in the past. However, the drama also gave the impression that Kang Mi Rae slowly grew into being herself and could now do whatever she wanted (cheering on the basketball court, having out in cafes with her boyfriend, being able to freely dance and let loose) because she got a full facial surgery. So this leaves me with the question, what about the ugly girls that have no choice but to remain ugly? How do such girls whose parents cannot afford plastic surgery deal with their shame and pain after watching a drama that sets out to address body shaming yet ironically places so much glory on being and staying pretty? Do they steal money or what? (P.S- Mi Rae’s mother had to take out a loan to pay for Mi Rae’s really expensive surgery even without the awareness of Mi Rae’s father). What is their real consolation or what do they resort to doing? The drama really leaves me hanging on these questions.
III. Rushed, Unconvincing Pasts
The drama tried to make up for its gaps by using Soo A and Do Kyung Seok’s mother’s character to show that being pretty does not necessarily guarantee happiness but to me giving these characters scarred pasts that were not even so convincing felt too convenient for me (especially Soo A’s past). From the way I saw it, Kyung Seok’s mother lost her sense of smell due to an unsupportive husband however she still remained successful with her job as a perfumer and she ended up finally being happy with her kids again and as for Soo A…
Soo A’s obscure past is one thing I really disliked about this drama. Soo A’s attention-seeking character was common to me but hers was a unique one that snatched her fellow friend/classmate’s men by pretending to have feelings for them and forced herself to throw up each time she ate; so I knew that she definitely had this hugely sad past that affected her mentally. But the ending where we were finally given a glimpse into why Soo A acted the way that she did felt rushed; thus making the atrocities Soo A committed not really empathic or understandable.
The writer gave her this rushed past of being abandoned by her parents without even bothering to tell us why she was abandoned or bothering to explain why she coldly refused attention from her grandmother that was briefly introduced to us as someone who definitely cared for her granddaughter. The only part of her past that truly felt touching and convincing to me was how she had truly made sure to come across as unassuming, nice and friendly to people not to be pretentious but to remain loved like she had been since middle school in order to retain all the love and attention she gets from being pretty. Nevertheless, the writers could have given her more empathetic excuses and a detailed story of her past so that viewers could truly empathise and try to understand why she acted in such evil ways and ultimately not hate her so much. A solid background could have totally convinced me of the message that the drama tried to relay- (even pretty people have hidden pains and scars too so don’t feel like you are miserable because of your ugliness). But pretty Soo A was just too purposely mean to justify those rushed flashacks and humanely portray the essence of that message. This brings me to my next point.
IV. There was too much focus on unnecessary supporting cast. A perfect example is Kyung Seok’s close friend Yoo Jin and the girl that helped with his bar, Jung Boon- they were completely inconsequential to the story yet they enjoyed a number of special onscreen-time that could have been spent developing Soo A’s background story. In place of Yoo Jin, Woo Young was to me a better confidant and big brother. And Kyung Seok father’s political campaigns took more onscreen time than necessary though they were not boring to me. In fact I found them somewhat funny nevertheless; focus was placed unnecessarily on them. Even the sunbae lady who ended up making Soo A confide in her didn’t feel that necessary in the drama to me. For all I cared, Soo A could have as well confided in Mi Rae if the drama’s climax and resolution had been properly plotted. At least the drama made me believe it was veering towards that part at the latest episodes. However, I kind of liked the non-judgemental and caring attitude of the sunbae lady and her silence even when everyone else gossiped about Soo A and she knew these gossips were truthful. Young girls can take lessons from her mature character.
V. I disliked the fact that Mi Rae’s mother was overly excited about the fact that her daughter got plastic surgery and acted as if her daughter could now get a life because she was now pretty. I also hated the triviality with which she treated the issue of Mi Rae’s father’s drowning in sadness over the loss of his daughter’s former face. But the writer made up for this by making her realise that her daughter’s surgery didn’t particularly stop people from ridiculing Mi Rae’s surgery and referring her new face as monstrous and common. I only truly stopped disliking the mother when she finally cried after realising how hugely impactful what she had helped Mi Rae do caused to Mi Rae’s father.
VI. And is it only me that thought that this scene where the senior guys made the girls wear sexy outfits was over-exaggerated to be lewd and inappropriate (the writer’s lazy and weak attempt at the objectisation of women) meanwhile, Kyung Seok and Soo A wore extremely short gowns, short jean skirts and ripped bum shorts as well as sexily cut tops for the most part of the drama? For God’s sake the only difference with the outfits they were made to wear was the bold colour of red yet they placed so much emphasis especially on the short lengths of the skirts that even looked longer to me than what they wore on a normal day in the drama. LOL.
VII. Lastly, I was disappointed that the drama started on a promising note when it came to showcasing Mi Rae’s dancing skills and Hyun Jung’s rapping skills. I anticipated seeing Mi Rae become a dance star on campus or blow up later in the entertainment industry while for Hyun Jung, I expected to see her learn how to drop hot bars from already famous rappers that were shown to us and become hot cake. But no, the writer seemed to have totally forgotten or otherwise ignored these aspects we were led on with at the earlier episodes of the drama. Instead, with Mi Rae I felt forced to be immersed with her obsession for perfumes just because a perfume brand (Atelier Cologne) was one of their major sponsors. Things this show would do to make their sponsors pleased. In fact, at some point I got tired of seeing the same brand of perfume everywhere and the name of the perfume itself urghh! And with Hyun Jung, she was suddenly demoted to a character that was made to hopelessly crush on Woo Young and dish out love and dating related advices.
FINAL FEELS
Watch if you don’t have any other interesting thing to watch; if you’re interested in what the writer did with its interesting themes; and if you have a thing for college dramas. But all in all, the drama is an average drama that didn’t particularly get me excited/satisfied or feeling like I’ve learnt something strikingly new/deep.
The issues could have been explored fully and deeper; and with more sensitivity to hit home and truly offer youths a new sense of strong self-acceptance and freedom.
Anyways, I would only be going back to this for my cute couple🥰🥰 and to relish the whole relatable college setting.
RATING: 58.5%