You’re Beautiful – K-drama Review

It’s springtime! The time when flowers bloom, bees buzz, allergies attack, and Beth watches Korean Dramas.

This lovely banner, crafted by Kindly Master Phil is my announcement to the fact that I am going to review the dramas I watch. This could be a terrible, terrible idea, but from my perspective it’ll be quite handy to look back and remember why I should or shouldn’t re-watch one of the many Korean dramas I plan to see. :) And there are many. So… so many.

So far I’ve topped 30 hours of K-drama watching. This does not make me an expert on the subject, but if you’re like me, you like me, or like to like what I like, you may enjoy reviews from this “all-Amerkin” girl who often gets asked if she’s Asian–by Asians. Mostly Japanese ladies, not Koreans. But still.

Since this is my blog, I’m deciding on what categories to rate each drama on.

Naturally, I chose only the most important things: Characters, Hilarity Per Episode, Tear-Drama, Soundtrack, Sleep Deprivation, Eye-Candy, and Ending.

How excited are y’all? :D

Hangul Title: 미남이시네요
English Title: You’re Beautiful
Romanized Korean Title: Minami Shineyo

The floating people surrounded by sparkles IS, in fact, what drew me to this drama.

Synopsis: Postulate, Mi Nyeo leaves her sheltered life in a convent to pose as her brother, Mi Nam, who was prepared to join the sensational pop group A.N.Gell when a botched eye surgery prevented him. Tae Kyung, the lead singer of A.N.Gell is convinced the new member is nothing but a troublemaker and instantly dislikes “Minam.” The other members are wary, but more accepting of the newcomer. As time goes on and secrets threaten to surface, Mi Nyeo finds herself drawn deeper into the complications of the charade and her developing feelings for a certain member of their group.

My Rating: PG for awkward gender situations, Tae Kyung’s innuendo, and a brief locker room scene where nakedness is covered by clouds. Which is actually quite funny. :P

Inferior American Counterpart: She’s the Man

Characters: ☺☺☺☺☺

Minami Shineyo presents a brilliant array of colorful characters. The lead character, girl-Minam, can sway from adorably naive to dumb-in-the-noggin, but she was raised in a convent so it’s perfectly reasonable to expect some of that.

The three established band members have distinct personalities that play off each other in the most entertaining ways. There’s the leader, Tae Kyung, a serious, brooding, egotistical neat-freak with a penchant for put downs; Shin Woo, observant, supportive, caring, and thoughtful, and Jeremy, (Jehdamee ^.^) the ever dramatic, loudly affectionate, happy-go-lucky life of the party. Trouble is, I love all the guys so much, it’s difficult when she has to pick one.

Our drama’s villain is an actress who wreaks havoc on the lives of the main characters out of jealousy and spite. I don’t think she’s all that pretty, but maybe it’s her evilness that makes her ugly. There are also many laughs to be had through the antics of Minam’s agent, Mr. Ma and his wild imagination.

Hilarity Per Episode: ☺☺☺☺☺

The drama definitely has serious moments, but not an episode goes by without granting me many tears of laughter. Episode 11 is especially great for that, as is the end of Episode 5 which has me snorkle-laughing every single time. Just remember the key words; supermarket scene, and taser troubles.

Tear-Drama: ☺☺☺☺

About those serious moments…

Ultimately, I’d classify this as a comedy, but that does not negate the tear-flow. In fact, the contrast between the lighthearted hijinks and sob-worthy moments make it more emotional. Some prime examples include Mi Nyeo’s recording of “Without Words,” Jeremy’s song on the bus, (SO MUCH SAD!!!) and Tae Kyung’s “What Should I Do?”

Which brings me to the song part.

Soundtrack: ☺☺☺☺☺

[The only reason I give it a four instead of five smileys is because a couple main songs repeat a lot. I happen to appreciate this because it gives me the chance to memorize bits of Korean in song, but it does seem strange that they don’t feature a larger diversity of songs being recorded or sung when the plot revolves around a band. The songs we do hear are great, and if you take the time to look up the English translation, they mean even more.] After watching the series four and a half times, I retract my previous rating, give it a full five stars, and shake my head at past-self who was dumb. The music is quite diverse, I just wasn’t skilled at listening enough to pick all the songs out. But every one is fantastic, and I can listen to them over and over again and never tire.

Sleep Deprivation: ☺☺☺☺☺

If I can easily take a break to prevent dehydration, or if Hulu ads don’t make me shout at the screen, the drama has failed me in some way. “You’re Beautiful” has deprived me of many luxuries such as food and sleep; it has not failed me. Each episode is funny and engaging throughout, and most–if not all of them–end on a cliffhanger to force the watching of another right after. Parts can get frustrating in terms of communication problems, but after a couple times watching it, the level of angst grows less irritating rather than more.

Eye-Candy: ☺☺☺☺

The Korean pop star style, although madly amusing, is not the most attractive to my eyes. However, face-wise… *smirky smirk*

“It’s true, Minam. We wear hideous clothes in public to avoid the fan swarms. Excuse the ugliness of my shirt and Tae-Kyung’s hoodie”

Tae Kyung is suddenly a knockout on the rare occasion we can see his face under the emo hair and eyeliner. When he smiles, sunbeams erupt in my head, anime style.

Shin Woo is consistently a dreamboat, and Jeremy is so cute I want to squeeze the life out of him. But in a non-harmful way. :P

I had never wanted to pinch a person’s cheeks before I saw Lee Hong Ki as Jeremy.

Ending: ☺☺☺☺

It ends happy. To me, that’s not a spoiler, that’s the only reason to watch a Korean drama. The show is about young people so it’s not going to end with marriage and babies, (more’s the pity) but we’re given togetherness and left on a happy note. My one-smiley-less is for a slight hiccup in the togetherness, but it’s something we have assurance won’t keep the lovebirds apart for long.

So you should watch this one. Definitely. I’ve enjoyed it so much I’m forcing Phil to watch it with me, and will probably wheedle my brother into doing so next.

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