K-Drama Review: Birth of a Beauty

Hey guys, I just finished watching Birth of a Beauty and I've decided to write a review on this drama. Birth of a Beauty is a 21 episodes SBS drama starring Han Ye Seul, Joo Sang Wook, Wang Ji Hye and Jung Gyu Woon. Before I started watching this drama, I heard that this drama was boring as it got really draggy half-way through the drama. Nevertheless, both Han Ye Seul and Joo Sang Wook won the Best Couple Award as well as the best actor and actress for the mid-length drama category during the SBS Drama Awards 2014. Thus, I decided to watch this drama as it has been a very long time since I last watched a drama with Han Ye Seul. Furthermore, I enjoyed watching Joo Sang Wook's acting in MBC's Cunning Single Lady last year. 

Birth of a Beauty is about Sa Geum Ran, portrayed by actress Han Ye Seul, who gets plastic surgery and decides to take revenge on her husband. Geum Ran used to be fat and ugly, and is not liked by her in-laws who always treats her very badly. Her husband, portrayed by actor Jung Gyu Woon lied to her about being abroad, while she takes care of his family, where she cooks and cleans the house. One day, she found out that her husband had lied to her about being abroad and was having an affair with another woman, Gyo Chae Yeon, portrayed by actress Wang Ji Hye. Geum Ran became sad and depressed upon learning that her in-laws knew about the affair and did not do anything to stop her husband. Instead, her mother-in-law favored Chae Yeon over Geum Ran because of her appearance and ahjuma personality. One night, Geum Ran got into an accident and she was believed to have committed suicide by everyone else. However, what everyone didn't know was that she had survived the horrific accident and underwent a full body plastic surgery. 

On the other hand, Han Tae Hee, portrayed by actor Joo Sang Wook is a lost heir to a large company,Winner Group. His parents were killed in an explosion at a factory when he was 10. He went missing and was brought in to live with Chae Yeon's family, where they grew up together. Ever since, Tae Hee has been having a one-sided crush on Chae Yeon, while Chae Yeon only treats Tae Hee like her own brother. After the death of Sa Geum Ran, both Chae Yeon and Kang Joon are now getting married. Tae Hee has a heart syndrome, and gets chest pain and heartache whenever he recalls back the explosion accident and about Chae Yeon. Thus, Tae Hee decides to help Geum Ran to take revenge on her husband in order to get Chae Yeon back from Kang Joon. Both Geum Ran, who is now known as Sara and Tae Hee works together in getting revenge on her husband. Sara also finds out the truth about her own death as they went on with their revenge plan. The story starts to unfold and get interesting as Tae Hee finds himself slowly and unexpectedly falling in love with Sara, aka Sa Geum Ran. 

PROS:

1. The plot and story line of the drama is quite interesting. The flow of the drama was good in the beginning parts of the drama. The writer managed to convey a very important message about appearance and plastic surgery and the harshness of society. There is also mystery and thriller as to the death of Sa Geum Ran in the first half of the drama, and the writer also managed to add in the comedy and romance theme in the drama. 

2. The chemistry between Han Ye Seul and Joo Sang Wook is daebak! They managed to make my heart flutter with their on-screen chemistry. Both Han Ye Seul and Joo Sang Wook won the best couple award during the SBS drama awards 2014. After watching this drama, I can't help but ship these two in real life as well, however Han Ye Seul is currently happy and in love with her current real-life boyfriend, Teddy, who is a songwriter. I hope Joo Sang Wook will find someone soon and get married too! :) 

3. The drama's ost is really good as well. I enjoyed listening to the soundtrack of this drama. The ost genre ranges from a melo to upbeat music which are really addicting to listen to and fits in well with most of the drama scenes! 

4. I liked that during the ending of some of the episodes, there is a narration of meaningful quotes about life. I find that very inspiring and makes the episodes a lot more meaningful as these quotes signifies the reality of life. Another notable thing about this drama is the message the writer is trying to convey to us, which is: "appearance doesn't matter and it's what's inside that matters at the end of the day". 

5. Thumbs up to Han Ye Seul and Joo Sang Wook for their great acting in this drama as well. I became a fan of Joo Sang Wook after watching Cunning Single Lady last year, where he acted alongside actress Lee Min Jung. Before this drama, I never really enjoyed watching Joo Sang Wook's drama because he somehow always portrayed a cold and heartless character, for example in Good Doctor and Thorn Birds. However, after his portrayal in Cunning Single Lady and Birth of a Beauty, I am officially a fan of actor Joo Sang Wook! :) I really enjoyed watching his comical side in dramas, especially his portrayal as Han Tae Hee in this drama. As for actress Han Ye Seul, it has been a long time since I last watched her drama, and I really enjoy watching her acting as well! I find her voice very unique and nice to listen to among of the other actresses. She managed to portray an ajuhma who is bubbly and innocent. 

6. Last but not least, I would also like to comment on actor Jung Gyu Woon's acting in this drama. I've always watched Jung Gyu Woon acting as a nice and kind person in dramas thus far, and I am quite impressed with a totally different side of him portraying a villain in this drama. 

CONS:

1. As this drama is a 21 episodes drama, it's normal for mid-length drama to become draggy as it progresses towards the ending of the drama. As for this drama, I felt that it only got draggy towards the later part of the drama. The drama was very addicting to watch up until about the 10th episode,where Sara and Tae Hee were solving the mystery of her death. However, after that part was solved, the story kind of trailed off and became a bit boring, and I kind of struggled to finish watching the drama. 

2. One of the glitches of this drama will be the fact that the story progressed a little too fast during the first few episodes. For example, we found out that Sara's ex-husband was involved in her accident within the first 6 episodes of the drama.The writer had rushed through the first 10 episodes of the drama. As a result, the later part of the drama got a bit boring as one of the main plot of the drama had more or less been revealed. 

RATINGS: