South Korea · Drama · 2020
True Beauty
Binge Brief
- tvN aired all 16 episodes from 9 December 2020 to 4 February 2021, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:30 KST.
- Adapted from Yaongyi's webtoon, which ran on Naver Webtoon from April 2018 to June 2023.
- Episode 15 drew the highest nationwide Nielsen rating, 4.579%, against a series average of 3.794%.
- Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun-woo and Hwang In-youp were confirmed as the three leads in August 2020.
- Eight OST singles came out between 10 December 2020 and 3 February 2021.
- Netflix added True Beauty to its US library on 11 December 2025.
Synopsis
True Beauty is a 2020 tvN romantic comedy about Lim Ju-kyung, a high school student mocked for her looks since childhood. After she transfers schools, makeup skills learned from online tutorials hide her bare face so well that classmates call her a goddess. Moon Ga-young plays Ju-kyung in this K-drama of 16 episodes.
The story opens with Ju-kyung at her lowest point. Worn down by years of bullying, she tries to take her own life by jumping from a building, and a boy stops her. She has lost her glasses, so she never sees his face.
He is Lee Su-ho (Cha Eun-woo), the top student in Class 2-5 at Saebom High School. Wealthy and cold, he keeps everyone at a distance because of a broken family and a tragedy in his past. At Saebom, the made-up Ju-kyung is popular from her first day, and neither of them realises they have met before. Then Su-ho sees her without makeup at a comic book store and recognises the girl he once saved. He accepts her as she is, and the two bond over a shared love of horror comics.
The third point of the love triangle is Han Seo-jun (Hwang In-youp), a Class 2-5 student who looks tough and turns out to be kind. A former idol trainee, he has been estranged from Su-ho since a tragedy. Their late best friend, Jung Se-yeon (Kang Chan-hee), was a boy group member who died after online harassment and fabricated scandals. Seo-jun befriends Ju-kyung and falls for her.
Home gets as much screen time as the classroom. Ju-kyung's mother, Hong Hyun-sook (Jang Hye-jin), owns the Pandora beauty shop, while her father, Lim Jae-pil (Park Ho-san), sinks the family into money trouble with a dubious investment. Her older sister Hee-kyung works at Move Entertainment, the agency run by Su-ho's father, the actor Lee Joo-heon. Kang Su-jin (Park Yoo-na), Su-ho's childhood friend, has parents who push her to measure up to him, and a father who abuses her.
The drama mixes romantic comedy with heavier material: bullying, family debt, online harassment and an abusive parent. Kim Sang-hyeop directed from Lee Si-eun's script, and the drama keeps asking how long Ju-kyung can protect her secret, and what happens if the school finds out.
True Beauty webtoon: the comic behind the drama
The drama adapts True Beauty, the webtoon written and drawn by Yaongyi, the pen name of Kim Na-young. It ran on Naver Webtoon from 2 April 2018 to 28 June 2023, which means the comic was still being published for more than two years after the tvN series ended in February 2021.
Official translations arrived early. Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, English, Spanish and French editions launched between May 2018 and December 2019, so the story was available in six other languages before any actor was attached.
A television adaptation of the Line Webtoon title was announced in July 2019. Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun-woo and Hwang In-youp were confirmed as the leads in August 2020, and the first script reading took place that October. Yaongyi has said she created and drew Lee Su-ho with Cha Eun-woo in mind as the actor.
Why it still gets watched
It keeps turning up on new services. Outside Korea, True Beauty first streamed on Viu and Rakuten Viki, Amazon Prime Video took it on from 21 October 2021, and Netflix added it to its US library on 11 December 2025, the first time it had been in that library.
It also keeps landing on lists. KOFICE placed it third in its 2023 ranking of Korean content on OTT platforms, and Marie Claire put it third among the 25 best K-dramas on Viki.
True Beauty cast
Best scenes
Spoilers aheadThe moments people come back for, and where to find them. Episode numbers and outcomes are named, so come back to this one after watching if you would rather not know.
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Extraordinary You crossover Episode 4
Kim Hye-yoon and Lee Jae-wook appear as Eun Dan-oh and Baek Kyung, their characters from the director's earlier drama Extraordinary You, and Su-ho mistakes Dan-oh for Ju-kyung.
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Namsan Tower mix-up Episode 15
At Namsan Tower, Ju-kyung mistakes a stranger, Oh Nam-joo (Kim Young-dae), for Su-ho.
Filming locations
Visual design and costumes
Moon Ga-young said she worked with the director to design two distinct looks for Lim Ju-kyung, aiming for a visible contrast between her bare face and her made-up appearance rather than a single glamorous style, and tried several versions before settling on a look that would read clearly on screen as a before-and-after transformation. Cha Eun-woo described the same design process as a group effort between the cast and the director rather than a fixed brief handed down to the actors.
Hwang In-yeop prepared for Han Seo-jun's tough-looking exterior beyond styling as well, getting a motorcycle license and training at an action school so the character's biker look and physicality would hold up in the show's action scenes rather than resting on wardrobe alone.
Themes and messages
Director Kim Sang-hyeop has said the script read as funny and true to life when he first took it on, and that he wanted Lim Ju-kyung's ordeal to feel universal, resembling everyday unfairness rather than a fantasy of transformation. He built the supporting cast of family and friends specifically to draw out each lead's most appealing qualities, casting several newcomers to sharpen those relationships rather than treating them as background.
Read against a plot in which Ju-kyung ultimately trains as a cosmetologist, the drama keeps returning to the idea that what changes her is surviving the bullying, not the makeup itself. The English Wikipedia entry on the series separately notes it was named the best Korean drama of 2021 by Forbes, a sign the coming-of-age framing the director described landed with viewers beyond the romance.
Interesting facts
- Filming stopped for a time in late December 2020 after Kim Byung-chun, who plays the vice-principal, tested positive for COVID-19.
- tvN aired no episodes on 30 and 31 December 2020 because of year-end holiday programming, so episode 7 followed on 6 January 2021.
- The first production stills came out on 10 November 2020, a month before the premiere.
- Hwang In-youp sings "It Starts Today" on the soundtrack.
- The two-disc OST album was released on 5 February 2021 by Stone Music Entertainment, peaked at number 5 on the Gaon Album Chart and had sold 40,786 copies by March 2021.
- Forbes named it the best Korean drama of 2021.
Remakes and other versions
The webtoon behind True Beauty has been adapted again since the tvN drama. An animated series aired from 7 August to 30 October 2024. Crunchyroll announced it would stream the anime, English and Japanese dubs followed, and U-Next began streaming its own Japanese dub on 5 October 2024. A second season of the anime was announced on 4 January 2025.
Japan also made a live-action version as two films, True Beauty: Before and True Beauty: After, released in March and May 2025.
Episodes
| Ep | Title | Air date | Status | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Errand Girl Bullied for her looks and blackmailed by her own brother, Lim Ju-kyung nearly jumps from a rooftop until a stranger named Lee Su-ho pulls her back, and days later she teaches herself makeup from online videos well enough to be hailed a goddess on her first day at Saebom High School. | 9 Dec 2020 | Aired | 3.573% |
| 2 | With or Without Make-Up At the comic book store Su-ho recognizes bare-faced Ju-kyung as the girl from the rooftop, but at school the next day he shows no sign of remembering her, while returning classmate Han Seo-jun realizes she is the girl who once rode off with his helmet. | 10 Dec 2020 | Aired | 3.626% |
| 3 | Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Once Su-ho admits he knows her secret, Ju-kyung offers to run his errands to keep him quiet, then spends the episode hunting through her room for Seo-jun's missing helmet. | 16 Dec 2020 | Aired | 3.813% |
| 4 | Ju Kyung Goes on a Blind Date A cafeteria brawl between Seo-jun and Su-ho, triggered by memories of their late friend Jung Se-yeon, drags in Ju-kyung and starts love-triangle rumors at school, and Su-ho grows visibly unsettled when Soo-ah sets Ju-kyung up on a blind date. | 17 Dec 2020 | Aired | 3.586% |
| 5 | If He Has Feelings for Me When Seo-jun's younger sister Go-woon is bullied over her looks before a school festival, Ju-kyung defends her and applies the same makeup skills that saved her own reputation, while a posthumously released song forces Su-ho to confront his past and lets Ju-kyung finally place him as her rooftop rescuer. | 23 Dec 2020 | Aired | 3.859% |
| 6 | Ju Kyung Runs into Bullies Saebom High School buzzes over the surprise visit of Su-ho's actor father Lee Joo-heon, while across town Ju-kyung runs into the bullies from her old school and Su-ho steps in when he spots them cornering her. | 24 Dec 2020 | Aired | 3.333% |
| 7 | Mutual Feelings of Love The whole rescue party is punished at school for the earlier brawl, Soo-jin panics over falling grades, and Su-ho, rattled when baseball star Hyung-jin confesses to Ju-kyung, asks classmate Tae-hoon for dating advice. | 6 Jan 2021 | Aired | 3.892% |
| 8 | Misunderstanding On a class trip to the countryside, Su-ho buys jewelry meaning to confess to Ju-kyung, but she overhears something that convinces her he actually likes Soo-jin, and the misunderstanding keeps the two apart even as Seo-jun draws closer to her. | 7 Jan 2021 | Aired | 2.909% |
| 9 | Secret Boyfriend Overjoyed after Su-ho's confession, Ju-kyung accidentally lets Soo-jin see her without makeup and swears her to secrecy, then asks Su-ho to keep their new relationship hidden out of fear of his fans, while Seo-jun takes her on as a part-time modeling partner. | 13 Jan 2021 | Aired | 4.265% |
| 10 | Between Love and Friendship Ju-kyung's father Lim Jae-pil catches on that Su-ho is dating his daughter, Soo-jin's admission of her own feelings makes Ju-kyung uneasy about keeping the relationship secret, and at Move Entertainment her sister Hee-kyung discovers that Se-yeon's unreleased song has been used, without permission, as another singer's debut single. | 14 Jan 2021 | Aired | 3.411% |
| 11 | The Truth About Se Yeon Right after Su-ho uncovers the fabricated scandal that drove Se-yeon to suicide, he and Seo-jun are hurt in a car crash, and while Ju-kyung finally tells Soo-jin about dating Su-ho, former classmate Hye-min transfers into Saebom High School to escape the same bullies who once tormented Ju-kyung. | 20 Jan 2021 | Aired | 3.850% |
| 12 | Transfer Student Lee Joo-heon resigns after going public with the truth about Se-yeon's death and the stolen song, Su-ho and Seo-jun visit Se-yeon's grave now reconciled, and Ju-kyung starts to doubt how long her disguise can hold after topping an online beauty poll she never entered and being named the school's promotional model. | 21 Jan 2021 | Aired | 3.418% |
| 13 | Only Fools Judge Others Once photos of Ju-kyung without makeup spread on social media, new bullies target her, Su-ho searches the city for her while Seo-jun works out who leaked the photos, and her mother finally understands why her daughter became so obsessed with makeup. | 27 Jan 2021 | Aired | 4.000% |
| 14 | Trip to the Sea Ju-kyung goes to school without makeup for the first time and lets everyone know she and Su-ho are together, mends things with a hurt Soo-ah, and pushes Su-ho to get Soo-jin to apologize, before news arriving from overseas puts real strain on Ju-kyung and Su-ho's relationship. | 28 Jan 2021 | Aired | 4.125% |
| 15 | Unexpected Encounter Worn down by a long-distance relationship, Su-ho breaks up with Ju-kyung, and the story jumps two years ahead to find her working as a makeup assistant and Seo-jun on the verge of his singing debut, with a surprise waiting for her at Namsan Tower on the first snow of the season after Seo-jun admits his feelings. | 3 Feb 2021 | Aired | 4.579% |
| 16 | Happy Ending Ju-kyung and Su-ho get back together while Seo-jun accepts that his feelings will stay one-sided, Soo-jin, finally free of her father's abuse, apologizes to Ju-kyung, and Seo-jun debuts with the late Se-yeon's finished song before Su-ho and Ju-kyung kiss at the comic store where they first met. | 4 Feb 2021 | Aired | 4.458% |
Soundtrack
Starting the player loads Spotify, which sets its own cookies.
| Track | Artist |
|---|---|
| Call Me Maybe, Part 1 | SAya, 10 Dec 2020 |
| I'm in the Mood for Dancing, Part 2 | Yuju (GFriend), 17 Dec 2020 |
| Happy Ending, Part 3 | Car, the Garden, 7 Jan 2021 |
| I'm Missing You, Part 4 | Sunjae, 13 Jan 2021 |
| Starlight, Part 5 | Chani (SF9), 14 Jan 2021 |
| Fall in You, Part 6 | Ha Sung-woon, 21 Jan 2021 |
| Before Today Is Over, Part 7 | Hyojin (ONF), 28 Jan 2021 |
| Love So Fine, Part 8 | Cha Eun-woo (Astro), 3 Feb 2021 |
Awards
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Asia Artist Awards | Emotive Award, Actor | Cha Eun-woo | Won |
| 2021 | Asia Artist Awards | Emotive Award, Actress | Moon Ga-young | Won |
| 2021 | Brand Customer Loyalty Awards | Best Idol-Actor | Cha Eun-woo | Won |
| 2021 | Brand Customer Loyalty Awards | Best Rookie Actor | Hwang In-youp | Won |
| 2021 | Brand of the Year Awards | Actor of the Year (Idol) | Cha Eun-woo | Won |
| 2021 | Indonesian Hallyu Fans Choice Awards | K-Drama of the Year | True Beauty | Won |
| 2023 | Anugerah Drama Sangat | Oppa Pilihan Tonton | Cha Eun-woo | Won |
Frequently asked questions
What is True Beauty about?
True Beauty follows Lim Ju-kyung, a bullied high school student who learns makeup from online tutorials, transfers schools and is treated as a goddess while she hides her bare face. A love triangle forms with her classmates Lee Su-ho and Han Seo-jun.
Who is in the True Beauty cast?
The True Beauty cast is led by Moon Ga-young as Lim Ju-kyung, Cha Eun-woo as Lee Su-ho, Hwang In-youp as Han Seo-jun and Park Yoo-na as Kang Su-jin. Jang Hye-jin and Park Ho-san play Ju-kyung's parents.
Who plays Seo-jun in True Beauty?
Hwang In-youp plays Han Seo-jun in True Beauty, a former idol trainee in Class 2-5 who befriends Ju-kyung. He also sings "It Starts Today" on the drama's soundtrack.
Which role does Cha Eun-woo play in True Beauty?
Cha Eun-woo plays Lee Su-ho in True Beauty, the top student who once saved Ju-kyung and later finds out her secret. He also sings "Love So Fine", Part 8 of the OST, released on 3 February 2021.
Is True Beauty based on a webtoon?
Yes. True Beauty is adapted from the webtoon of the same name by Yaongyi, published on Naver Webtoon from 2 April 2018 to 28 June 2023.
How many episodes does True Beauty have?
True Beauty has 16 episodes of about 70 minutes each. tvN aired two a week, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 9 December 2020 to 4 February 2021.
Where to watch True Beauty, and is it on Netflix?
True Beauty streams on Netflix, which added it to its US library on 11 December 2025, and on Rakuten Viki. Amazon Prime Video picked it up in October 2021.
Will there be a True Beauty season 2?
The True Beauty drama ran for one season of 16 episodes on tvN. The season 2 announced on 4 January 2025 is for the True Beauty anime, not the live-action series.
Is there a True Beauty anime?
Yes. A True Beauty anime based on the same webtoon aired from 7 August to 30 October 2024, and Crunchyroll announced it would stream the series.