True Beauty

Plot

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 and told that she was ugly. 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 time, 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 does not recognise her because of her new look.

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, 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.

Cast

Main

Moon Ga-young as Lim Ju-kyung

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

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

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

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

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.

Im Se-mi as Lim Hee-kyung

Park Seo-kyung as young Hee-kyung (ep. 1)

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

Su-ho's father. He is a famous actor and CEO of Move Entertainment who was once seen with another woman by young Suho the time his mother was ill, leading to a long-term misunderstanding and resentment from his son towards him.

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.

Production

In July 2019, it was announced that Line Webtoon's True Beauty would be adapted into a television series. In August 2020, the production team confirmed the casting of Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun-woo and Hwang In-youp in the lead roles. The first script reading session was held in October 2020. Filming was temporarily halted in late December 2020 after Kim Byung-chun tested positive for COVID-19. The first stills from filming were released on November 10, 2020, one month prior to the series premiere.

Male main character inspiration

In an interview, Yaongyi revealed that she created and drew the male main character Lee Su-ho with actor and singer Cha Eun-woo in mind.

Release

The series was originally made available for streaming through Viu and Rakuten Viki. It became available on Amazon Prime Video from October 21, 2021. In 2023, the series became available on Netflix in selected territories.

Original soundtrack

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. 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.

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

Awards and nominations