Korean Drama Review: You're Beautiful

Title: You're Beautiful 
Director: Kong Sung Chang 
Screenwriters: Hong Jung Eun & Hong Mi Ran 
Network: SBS
Originally Aired: October 7 - November 26 2009 
Number of Episodes: 16
Starring: Park Shin Hye, Jang Keun Suk, Jung Yong Hwa, Lee Hongki & Uee 

Plot Summary: 
Go Mi Nyu has never really known a world outside the convent she was raised in.  Her main aspiration in life is to become a nun.  Her training is interrupted when her twin brother, Go Mi Nam, is forced to go to the United States to fix botched plastic surgery.  Go Mi Nam has just been selected to be the new lead singer in the super popular band A.N. JELL but if he doesn't meet the band soon his career will be ruined before it can even begin.  Mi Nyu agrees to pose as her brother while he is in the United States after his manager begs for her help.  This brings Go Mi Nyu into close proximity with the other members of A.N. JELL who she now has to live with while pretending to be her brother.  It isn't long before the other members begin to suspect something.  Will Go Mi Nyu be able to keep her secret until her brother comes back? 

What I Liked: 

1. The Nun/Cross Dressing Concept: I know, the whole "girl pretending to be a boy" thing has been done quite a few times in Korean dramas before and it isn't entirely realistic.  But it's still a fun concept that I enjoy.  Plus Go Mi Nyu training to be a nun (and failing quite miserably it seems) of course reminded me of The Sound of Music which is one of my all time favourite movies.  

2. Kang Shin Woo's Initial Relationship with Go Mi Nam: When Go Mi Nam first joins A.N. JELL she has a very hard time fitting in so it was nice to see her relationship with Shin Woo.  He's a very caring and considerate person and takes on a sort of "silent protector" roll for Go Mi Nam that I thought was very sweet.  Jun Yong Hwa did a great job in portraying this aspect of his personality.  

3. Jeremy: He's just so cute! He's sweet and a bit childish and it was a lot of fun watching his reactions towards Go Mi Nam.  

4. Go Mi Nam and Hwang Tae Kyung's Relationship: At first I didn't like this aspect of the drama at all because I found Tae Kyung to be too irritating.  But he grew on me overtime and I liked watching his character grow a bit and the relationship between the two of them develop as the drama progressed. The two share a lot of really funny and sweet moments that I enjoyed a lot.   

5. Yoo He Yi: I won't say too much but I just found her personality to be really entertaining.  I also liked how her character grew and changed a bit over the episodes as well.  I mean, the change wasn't drastic, but it was there.  

6. Choi Soo Eun & Kim In Kwon: I loved A.N. JELL's stylist.  She's quirky and isn't afraid to boss around Kim In Kwon, Go Mi Nam's manager.  While I found the manager annoying at times, his interactions with Choi Soo Eun were hilarious.  

7. The Fashion: This comes as no surprise I'm sure!  Half the fun of watching Korean dramas is checking out the fashion and this drama didn't disappoint.  I loved the edgy, rock/punk inspired clothes that popped up throughout the drama.  

What I Disliked: 
1. The Relationship Between Jeremy and Go Mi Nam: Again, I won't go too much into this but for me their relationship wasn't developed enough.  This meant that incidents that occur in later episodes didn't have that much of an impact on me and I was actually surprised by some of the things that occurred later on.  It seemed really out of place.  

2. The Limited Interactions Between A.N. JELL Members: This really surprised me actually.    I expected the members to be closer than they were since they lived and worked together and I got the impression that A.N. JELL had been around for a few years.  But they hardly ever interacted to the point that I was confused as to whether they even liked or disliked each other.  There were a few scenes where we get to see them interact with each other and I really enjoyed them.  So I wish there could have been more of that.  Instead, the only one that any of them ever seem to befriend is Go Mi Nam.  

3. Shin Woo's Character Development: In the later episodes Shin Woo's character changes quite a bit which really surprised me.  To me his actions in later episodes totally contradict his initial attitude towards Go Mi Nam.  It confused me and Shin Woo actually became one of my least favourite characters by the end of the drama.  

4. Tae Kyung's Pouty Face: Okay, maybe we're not supposed to like this one...or maybe it's just me but seriously! Every time he made that face I wanted to punch him.  Repeatedly. 

Overview:
Overall I liked this drama.  It was a lot of fun to watch which I mainly attribute to the characters portrayed by Park Shin Hye and Jang Keun Suk and their relationship.  A lot of the characters were enjoyable to watch and the music and fashion really added to the drama.   There were some aspects that were contradictory and confusing at times but overall I enjoyed watching it.  If you're a fan of dramas that feature cross dressing or boy bands with gorgeous members than I would recommend this to you! 

Rating: 3.5/5 

So have you seen You're Beautiful?  What did you think of it?  What's your favourite Korean drama about music?  Let me know in the comments below!