A Self-esteem Journey: What is this so-called True Beauty?

Korean Drama (K-drama) fans have gone head over heels on Start-Up (Korean TV Series) leaving them debating who should the female lead end up with. A heated debate between the two fandoms sparked—bickering whom among the two lead male actors deserves to be the female lead’s end game.

It was not just a simple exchange of sarcasm or normal fan wars that is part of Korean Fandom culture. The fans of Kim Seonho (Han Ji Pyeong in Start-Up) were deliberately caught bashing Nam Joohyuk (Nam Do-san in Start-Up) including the female lead Suzy Bae (Seo Dalmi in Start-Up) expressing their sadness on how their best pick did not end up with the female lead.

It has gotten worse to the point that they were expressing their mere disappointment in a way they should not. Fans of Kim Seonho openly expressed their anger towards the couple (Dosan and Dalmi) on a fan cafe for Kim Seonho.

It was actually heartbreaking to not be chosen despite the efforts of showing affection to the female lead. Second Lead Syndrome is a deceitful potion, that at first, it was enticing to try, then at the end you’d end up cold all by yourselves.

A great strategy is to actually twist the plot, make the people look forward that finally, someone would be breaking the stigma that not all second lead will end up mourning over unrequited love. Although, it only brings devastation to the viewers.

Another cause of debate has risen. It was actually one of the most anticipated K-drama Series since the last blossom of 2020. It made the K-drama geeks excited when it was announced that the webtoon ‘True Beauty’ will be adapted into a Television Series.

A lot of fans of the famous webtoon have started making their own conspiracy on who would take their favorite characters. The expectation towards this project is undeniably high.

True Beauty (여신강림) is a South Korean TV series adapted on the well-known webtoon from Line Webtoon of the same name by Yaongyi. The series was first released on December 9, 2020, which fans considered as the best gift they could ever ask for amid the pandemic.

The drama immediately rose to fame that even people who hate watching on-going series (like I do) were enticed to do so. It piqued everyone’s interest, eventually became popular among webtoon adaptations like Mystic Pop Up Bar, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, Itaewon Class, Sweet Home, and a lot more.

Even when it was not yet adapted as a drama, the webtoon itself has drawn the readers to fall in love with its plot and content. It’s not your cliché romantic love story, it’s actually wrapped with precious lessons that one should learn from.

It perfectly illustrates all the colorful factors that make a drama worth watching. From school drama, romance, friendship, betrayal, and a slice of life—everything just perfectly fits in the frame.

The production itself including the casts was already perfect enough to make the drama become a head-turner.

Lee Suho (Cha Eun Woo) depicted and proved that humans are vulnerable by nature in a manner that when one stumbled upon a trial, it seems like it’s so impossible to recover. Suho showcased his nature as a gentle and selfless man. Also, he definitely broke the stigma of people’s perspective that guys use ‘beauty’ as a standard or a reason to fall in love. Despite the flaws that Ju-kyung had, he embraced and loved her wholeheartedly.

Lim Ju-kyung’s (Moon Gayoung) story highlighted one’s insecurity that kills the wholeness of the self-esteem that a person has. Her character embodied the stories of thousands of students/people who have been bullied because of society’s sickening standard when it comes to beauty. Ju-kyung’s story reaches out to the viewers’ hearts, leaving them weeping about how she went through hard times during her high school life. Although, her character development is something that everyone should take as an inspiration—accepting your own flaws, who you are, and what you are. She tried reclaiming her confidence through a brand new Ju-kyung.

Han Seojun (Hwang Inyeop) left the fans who root for him heartbroken with the unreciprocated love he has for Ju-kyung. He has been missing chances to tell what he really felt for Ju-kyung, so he has been loving her from far away. Although it was already painful enough for him to realize that he does not really stand any single chance—he still chose to look after Ju-kyung closely. He is often misunderstood as a bad boy due to his vibe and hostile attitude towards other people but he is actually soft on the inside. He was actually never ready to confess, although he gave her yellow tulips (meaning: stand for hope and cheerful thoughts) hoping this time she’d finally accept Seojun as a man. However, in the end, just like other second leads, they’ve accepted defeat and let go of the woman they love. Han Seojun’s character is the most notable one for me, not because I am empathizing with his pain—it’s because he has chosen friendship and happiness for the woman he loves. You know, sometimes, some people who are madly in love learn that what matters is the happiness of the person they love.

Kang Soojin (Park Youna) received empathy rather than hate from the fans when she has chosen to hurt Ju-kyung and throw away their friendship over a guy who could not love her back. It’s actually cruel how love can ruin a precious friendship. If you were in her shoes, would you rather dump your best friend who is dating the guy you like or you’ll do the other way round? What she did prove is that love is indeed powerful among emotions or sentiments that a mundane may feel. Love…when became untamed, it may hurt the person who owns the emotion and the people around her/him.

What really made the drama a lot exquisite and something that people should look forward to? It is the unyielding friendship of Suho, Seojun, and Seyeon. It initially revolved around them aside from the struggles of the female lead, Ju-kyung. The unique friendship of these three young lads is something people should remember.

Although they seem to be hard to separate, however, this strong bond actually made Suho and Seojun fall apart after the death of Seyeon. However, the string of friendship that tied them together has brought them to reconcile and resolve the long time misunderstanding that caused them to bicker whenever they see each other.

Also, Seojun was able to finally achieve his dream (with Seyeon), becoming a singer. His debut was actually emotional for the both of them, as they remember—Seyeon would really be proud of what they have achieved. Or it could have been better if the three of them are pursuing music together.

This is not your typical romance school drama that begins in bullying and ends with getting revenge, or the female lead meets the male lead and they’ll fall in love with each other. This drama has taught me how painful it would be to let go of someone whom you dearly love for someone whom you actually care for.

As well as, #TeamSeojun and #TeamSuho were created—many fans definitely fought over who should be Ju-kyung’s end game. As Seojun chose to motivate Ju-kyung to go to Suho, he walked away heartbroken snatching the crown for the greatest second lead from Kim Seonho (Han Ji Pyeong of Start-Up).

True beauty…is not something that can be seen by judging eyes or on the physical aspect of a person. The true beauty is what is within us.