Kang Mi Rae has suffered from bullying and low self-esteem her entire life due to not being conventionally attractive. Before entering college, she gets radical plastic surgery that changes her appearance from "ugly" to "beautiful." Unfortunately, she discovers that changing the outward appearance doesn't automatically change her inner self and she continues to experience crippling insecurity. This changes when she runs into an old school mate, Do Kyung Seok, who knew her as her "old self" and still seems drawn to her. Her relationship with him, however, threatened by a number of outside influences including (but not limited to): Kyung Seok's extreme reserve stemming from family dysfunction, classmates' criticism of her plastic surgery, and the duplicitous behavior of a new classmate, Hyun Soo Ah, who seems determined to subtly undermine Mi Rae at every opportunity.
One has to accept the well-used cinematic technique of the "informed attribute" and accept the series' classifications of certain characters as "attractive" and others as less so. The reality is that nearly every character is above average in attractiveness. Certainly, the actress playing Soo Ah is lovely but it seems just a bit off that she is considered the "campus queen" in terms of beauty when nearly every other girl in the picture is just as nice-looking. Indeed, the only actor that meets his character's estimation in terms of attractiveness is probably Cha Eun Woo (playing Kyung Seok). No exaggeration needed there. In addition, there are so many narrative threads running through the series that it is inevitable that they are short-changed. The last episode doesn't do a very good job of wrapping all of these up.
But these are minor details. Ultimately, it's a great series that explores how outward appearance cannot compensate for inward deficits. Mi Rae and Soo Ah are interesting to compare. Mi Rae's traumatic experiences have caused her to turn criticism on herself and despite being very beautiful remains timid and uncertain but kind and warm towards others. Soo Ah, we discover, experiences similar kinds of rejection in her life but her trauma results in her aggressing outwardly with a neurotic need to upset the lives of others who threaten her position as "most beautiful." The difference? Mi Rae has loving and supportive parents (two of my favorite characters in the series actually) and a loyal friend. Soo Ah has no friends and little family support. The climactic confrontation between Mi Rae and Soo Ah triggers important changes in both girls.
The series sounds a bit more dramatic than it is. Certainly it starts and ends on dramatic notes but in between there is plenty of light-hearted moments, romantic interactions, and awkwardly comic scenes. But the series never strays far from its criticism of cultures (Korean and others) that mindlessly elevates the beautiful to higher status and pushes down all others.
One has to accept the well-used cinematic technique of the "informed attribute" and accept the series' classifications of certain characters as "attractive" and others as less so. The reality is that nearly every character is above average in attractiveness. Certainly, the actress playing Soo Ah is lovely but it seems just a bit off that she is considered the "campus queen" in terms of beauty when nearly every other girl in the picture is just as nice-looking. Indeed, the only actor that meets his character's estimation in terms of attractiveness is probably Cha Eun Woo (playing Kyung Seok). No exaggeration needed there. In addition, there are so many narrative threads running through the series that it is inevitable that they are short-changed. The last episode doesn't do a very good job of wrapping all of these up.
But these are minor details. Ultimately, it's a great series that explores how outward appearance cannot compensate for inward deficits. Mi Rae and Soo Ah are interesting to compare. Mi Rae's traumatic experiences have caused her to turn criticism on herself and despite being very beautiful remains timid and uncertain but kind and warm towards others. Soo Ah, we discover, experiences similar kinds of rejection in her life but her trauma results in her aggressing outwardly with a neurotic need to upset the lives of others who threaten her position as "most beautiful." The difference? Mi Rae has loving and supportive parents (two of my favorite characters in the series actually) and a loyal friend. Soo Ah has no friends and little family support. The climactic confrontation between Mi Rae and Soo Ah triggers important changes in both girls.
The series sounds a bit more dramatic than it is. Certainly it starts and ends on dramatic notes but in between there is plenty of light-hearted moments, romantic interactions, and awkwardly comic scenes. But the series never strays far from its criticism of cultures (Korean and others) that mindlessly elevates the beautiful to higher status and pushes down all others.