K-Drama Mini Review: My ID Is Gangnam Beauty

Image via Viki. Watch My ID Is Gangnam Beauty on Viki here.

If you’ve check out my About page, you know I’m more than a casual fan of k-dramas. In an attempt to share more about why I love them, and to catalogue what I’ve watched, I’ll be sharing mini-reviews.

---

I totally get it.

• How this drama is one of the highest-rated ever.

• Why everyone is obsessed with Cha Eun Woo.

• And finally just how obsessed South Korea is with beauty.

I came across My ID is Gangnam Beauty on a twitter suggestion thread for k dramas to try. Recently my favourite kinds of dramas feature a strong female lead, who isn’t obsessed with her male costar. But it’s totally okay if her male costar is obsessed with her. *swoon*

Gangnam fulfils this concept perfectly, but where it really excels is in its overall message. Strong, evolutionary, female friendships that support strong, moral women, while still showing the everyday physical and emotional insecurities that college women face. I especially love how the perfume storyline was a metaphor for the character’s social interactions, in group settings it was all about beauty on the outside, where perfume, and to an extent scent, represents beauty being more than what you can see.

Once “Gangnam Beauty” is defined, it makes total sense how much time the drama spends talking about plastic surgery. True, it’s the catalyst for the entire plot, but once the characters stories and arcs start to take over half-way through, our lead, Kang Mi-rae’s surgery takes a backseat and the drama starts to hit its stride. The romance, the family politics, the message and the villain storyline really start gelling, to the drama really hits its stride in the message, the romance, the family and villain departments.

Gangnam also has one of the better drama villains in all of dramaland. Early on, it’s hard not to get the spidey sense that Hyun Soo-a is evil wrapped in a pretty package, with more and more characters becoming sceptics to her schemes. Just like Mi-rae’s insecurities are peeled away throughout the story, Soo-a’s insecurities start to appear, hidden by her schemes. Her downfall is heartbreaking to watch, and when Mi-rae comes to help her, you can’t help but notice the symbolism at play.

While the two ladies, rightfully so, deserve most of the screen time, we can’t forget our handsome Do Kyung-seok. Strong, steadfast and independent, he takes his own journey throughout Gangnam to discover his family and adulthood, becoming and support system and cheerleader that Mi Rae deserves. And while never directly said between the two of them, the story does allude that Kyung-seok had a crush on Mi-Rae way back in middle school, long before her transformation, making their coupling all the sweeter.

My ID is Gangnam Beauty is a perfect comfort, a show full of confidence and heart, that is guaranteed to make you feel better after viewing.

The A List: 4.29.16

alist-4.29

After a week full time back to blogging, I'm loving the sense of accomplishment I feel after writing each day. I'm also loving all of this stuff on this week's A list.  Here's a look at my weekly picks:

Quick Snap Vol 1 - Victoria McGinley She self admittedly doesn’t blog much anymore, but i still love visiting Victoria’s site every week. Between sharing really thought provoking links, or her beautiful product layouts, she behind my recent inspiration to try and resurrect this little corner of mine on the internet again. Her latest series she introduced is genius, Quick Snap. It’s a play on the popularity and authenticity of snapchat, with the greatness of a true behind the scenes story. It truly does peel back any superficiality the social network may have, and tells a great personal story to go along with it.

Fresh Black Tea Firming Mask My skin has been under serious torture this week, from dehydration, to lack to sleep, to a super bad diet. Seriously, I’m ashamed of myself. My skin's one saving grace has been a week long sample of Fresh’s Black Tea Firming Mask that was bundled with my last Sephora order. I’ve been applying a daily dose of it nightly to my overworked skin and each morning waking up refreshed, like no abuse happened at all the day before. If this stuff is doing this when my I can’t get my act together, I can only imagine the results for my after a "normal week”. Hey Sephora, I see another purchase in the near future.

The Girlfriend Experience I first heard about this Starz drama from The Globe and Mail and was curious as to where specifically the series films in my hometown of Toronto. It’s full of amazing shots of T.O’s financial district, but unlike the super sleekness of Suits, it’s a darker, sexier version. And the actual series lives up the visuals, helmed by Steven Soderbergh, it’s seductive, mysterious and creepily gripping, with a great “blank” performance by the lead, Riley Keough. Each episode packs more drama than the next, I can’t wait to see where it builds for the finale.

& Other Stories Candles I was lucky enough to be in NYC for work back at the end of February and had a few hours to kill before having to “clock in”. I ventured up to Soho for a quick stop IRL to some of my favorite stores, including & Other Stories. Stories is already one of my faves for cool, quirky affordable jewelry and shoes, but I was delightfully surprised to see the middle of the store was dedicated to beauty and candles. I sniffed every candle they had on display multiple times (to weird stares from others) and each of the scents are so gorgeous I can’t wait to pick up more. They instantly transform a room to smell like a Paris salon and will have you daydreaming of the City of Lights. (And if you’re in NYC, pick up some of their nail polish. The colors are awesome - I’m still kicking myself for not doing so).

Korea! Lately, a lot of the entertainment options in my life seem to be revolving around one culture, the culture of Korea. From my obsession with Korean beauty (toner, essence and sheet masks are my new skin savers) to watching (and re-watching) Aimee Song’s recent trip to the Peninsula on snapchat, I’m can’t get enough of Korean’s way of life. Perhaps my favorite piece of k-culture is the korean drama, I just finished Oh My Venus and it was adorable. Seriously, I could watch So Ji Sub and Shin Min Ah flirt back and forth for days, they’re chemistry onscreen was fantastic. Note to self: keep expanding my Korean palate next to food, and get planning on my bucket list trip to Seoul. I’m sure it will be life changing.