Gangnam Beauty
Gangnam Beauty
is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Im Soo-hyang, Cha Eun-woo, Jo Woo-ri and Kwak Dong-yeon. Based on the webtoon of the same name published in 2016 by Naver, it centers on the life of a college student who had cosmetic surgery to evade ongoing derision from her bullies. However, her decision seems to backfire as her peers ridicule her artificial look. The title of the webtoon and of the TV series alludes to the Korean word gangnammiin, a derogatory term in South Korea for people who are attractive but look as if they went through a number of plastic surgeries for a pretty face, a hot body or both.
The series aired on JTBC from July 27 to September 15, 2018, every Friday and Saturday at 23:00. It garnered praise for its portrayal of issues affecting South Korean society, particularly on its superficial beauty standards and discrimination on the basis of physical appearance.
Synopsis
Kang Mi-rae decides to get plastic surgery after years of being bullied because of her looks. Her "rebirth" seems successful at first, but as her life at the university unfolds, her plan starts to backfire. The pressure of being a "pretty girl" begins to get to her and, worse, those who can see through her surgery ridicule her and tag her as the "Gangnam plastic surgery monster". Mi-rae tries to recover her self-esteem as she gets to know her former middle school classmate Do Kyung-seok who is quite cold to others but very affectionate towards his sister Do Kyung-hee.Cast
Main
- Im Soo-hyang as Kang Mi-rae
- * Jeon Min-seo as young Kang Mi-rae
- Cha Eun-woo as Do Kyung-seok
- * Shin Jun-seop as young Do Kyung-seok
- * Moon Woo-jin as child Do Kyung-seok
- Jo Woo-ri as Hyun Soo-ah
- * Lee Chae-yun as young Hyun Soo-ah
- Kwak Dong-yeon as Yeon Woo-young
Supporting
People around Kang Mi-rae
- Woo Hyun as Kang Tae-sik
- Kim Sun-hwa as Na Eun-sim
- Min Do-hee as Oh Hyun-jung
People around Do Kyung-seok
- Park Joo-mi as Na Hye-sung
- Park Sung-geun as Do Sang-won
- Kim Ji-min as Do Kyung-hee
- Lee Tae-sun as Woo-jin
Chemistry students
- Park Yoo-na as Yoo Eun
- Jung Seung-hye as Choi Jung-boon
- Jung Hye-rin as Lee Ji-hyo
- Kim Doh-yon as Jang Won-ho
- Kim Eun-soo as Kim Sung-woon
- Oh Hee-joon as Kim Chan-woo
- Ryu Ki-san as Goo Tae-young
- Baek Soo-min as Go Ye-na
- Bae Da-bin as Kwon Yoon-byul
- Lee Ye-rim as Kim Tae-hee
- Choi Sung-won as Song Jung-ho
- Seo Ji-hye as Noh Min-a
- Kim Il-rin as Yeo-woo
- Ham Sung-min as Jung Dong-won
- Kim Min-ha as Sun-mi
Others
- Jung Myung-hoon as Young-mo
- Ji Sang-hyuk as Lee Soo-hyun
- Ha Kyung as Yong Chul
- Yoo In-soo as Park Rae-sun
- Cha Bo-sung as Ye Joon, a freshman
Special appearances
- Lee Young-ae
- Um Hong-gil
- Ahn Sang-tae as Taxi passenger
- Junoflo
- Jeon Jin-ki as Priest
- Yoon Bo-ra
- Tiger JK
- Bizzy
- Han Hyun-min
- Abhishek Gupta
Production
- The series is written by Choi Soo-young.
- The first script reading took place on May 30, 2018 at JTBC building in Sangam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.
- On December 26, 2024, the show will have a Japanese adaptation titled I'm a Cosmetic Surgery Beauty, with the leads portrayed by Kyoya Honda and Anna Ishii.
Reception
The series garnered much praise for its cryptic portrayal of the main character's childhood. Viewers applauded director Choi for his thoughtful representation of the characters.The series was a commercial success and garnered critical praise for asking questions about the emphasis that society places on appearances and about the true meaning of happiness and beauty.
The cast and staff of the drama went on a reward vacation to Cebu, Philippines for 4 nights and 5 days on October 19, 2018.