Earlier this week, I was looking back over the past few months of posts, trying to decide which drama to feature for this week’s Friday Night Drama and I was mortified to find that I had yet to say anything about one of my most favorite dramas in the whole wide world, the delightfully fluffy, idol-filled treat, You’re Beautiful. So here I sit, ready to dive into what has to be the most influential drama I have ever had the pleasure to watch… Are you ready?
Written by my favorite drama writing duo, the Hong Sisters, You’re Beautiful originally aired on SBS from early October to late November, 2009. While the drama didn’t get the highest ratings when it aired, it has certainly garnered a large international following and has inspired remakes in both Japan (Ikemen desu ne, 2011) and Taiwan (Fabulous Boys, 2013).
The story-line of You’re Beautiful reminds me quite a lot of something you’d find in a manga, which is probably why I like it so much. The story follows the adventures of Go Mi Nyu (Park Shin Hye), a timid, nun-in-training who is approached by a rather desperate band manager, Ma Hoon Yi (Kim In Kwon), with a very strange request. You see, Mi Nyu’s twin brother, Go Mi Nam, has just signed a contract with a major music label and is set to become the fourth member of the incredibly popular idol group, A.N.JELL. The problem is, Mi Nam has had a little cosmetic surgery mishap and is in the States, recovering but he needs to be in Korea, preparing to join the band. Not wanting to face the wrath of the label’s CEO, Manager Ma beggs Mi Nyu to pretend to be her brother, just until Mi Nam has fully recovered and can take his place in the band.
As one would expect, Mi Nyu isn’t keen on the idea of pretending to be her brother, especially not since she’s about to fly to Italy and take her orders but Manager Ma points out that the whole reason Mi Nam wanted to join this band in the first place was in an attempt to find the mother that abandoned them both, years ago. Unable to resist such a request, Mi Nym agrees to become her brother and before she knows it, she’s caught up in the wild and crazy world of an idol, surrounded by fans, anti-fans and three of the hottest guys in Korea, the members of A.N.JELL, Hwang Tae Kyung (Jang Geun Suk), Kang Shin Woo (Jung Yong Hwa) and Jeremy (Lee Hong Ki).
Now I could spend a very long time, talking about everything that happens in You’re Beautiful but if I did, you’d have no reason to watch it and let’s face it, with a cast of characters this amazing, you know you’re gonna want to watch it for yourself so I’ll stop here. To be perfectly honest, You’re Beautiful is another one of those delightfully fluffy dramas that doesn’t really have a lot of depth but the characters are so undeniably adorable that you can’t help but love them. The drama itself follows the basic Hong Sisters’ format, starting off all hilarious and fluffy before morphing into a more serious drama in the middle, that eventually leads to an ending light enough to leave you with a smile. As in the case with most dramas, there’s quite a bit of ridiculous that you have to overlook and if you’re one of those who watches a gender-bending drama and spends the entire time frustrated because you can’t figure out why none of the characters can see that the girl-pretending-to-be-a-boy is actually a girl, you’re probably going to want to throw things as you watch but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a go.
Honestly, I can tolerate quite a lot of fluff and ridiculousness in my dramas because well, it’s a drama and that’s just of how things go. I don’t care if things are believable as long as I’m entertained and You’re Beautiful kept me delightfully entertained throughout its sixteen episodes. Sure, there were moments of frustration but when you’ve got an excuse to drool over watch Jang Geun Suk, Jung Yong Hwa and Lee Hong Ki all at the same time… Well, there’s really nothing you can complain about. (Yup, I’m a fangirl!)
So why would I call such a fluffy little drama one of the most influential I’ve ever watched? I’m so glad you asked! My reason for being so dramatic is quite simple. You’re Beautiful is one of the first dramas I ever watched (I believe it was my third, actually) but it was the one drama that solidified my addiction to, not only dramas, but K-Pop and second leads as well. Until I started watching You’re Beautiful I had never bothered to look up any of the actors starring in the dramas I’d watched. (Well, okay, I did look up Kim Hyun Joong after watching Playful Kiss but I never really got into SS501 so it doesn’t count.) However, as I watched You’re Beautiful I began to think to myself, “You know, the members of A.N.JELL look way too natural on-stage to be just actors. I bet they’re musicians as well.” And wouldn’t you know it, I was right! I think it was because I suffered from such a bad case of second lead syndrome as I watched this drama, I happily followed Yong Hwa down the rabbit hole that led me into the wonderful world of K-Pop and I’ve been living here, in perfect bliss, ever since.
So there you have it. My take on one of my favorite dramas and the history of my journey into the Hallyu obsessed world I now call home. I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who loves this drama (or who suffered SLS because of Yong Hwa’s character) but I suppose I could be… Whether I am or not, I’d love to know what you think of You’re Beautiful so be sure to leave me a comment below!
My very first K-drama! I fell in love with the characters as well as the genre. This is definitely one of my very favorites. I fell hard for YoungHwa (I was thrilled to see him matched up again with the same actress in Heartstrings) and there was no turning back!! I, too, looked up the musical groups and enjoyed CN Blue and FTIsland. They were a nice addition to the dancing boy bands who don’t play instruments on stage that I’d previously associated with K-pop. I was horrified to see the weird music video GeunSook was in as part of Team H(not my thing). It took me a while to forgive him for that. Haha! But I’ve gladly watched him in other dramas.
Ah…sweet memories.
I never really decided how I felt about Geun Suk’s Team H work. It was a bit, unexpected, I guess is the right word to use. I’d seen some of his individual music videos and such but Team H is just a whole different ball of wax. I guess if he’s happy, I’m happy but it’s not something I’m going to be rushing out to buy… Ever. However, I’ve been in love with CNBLUE and F.T. Island for forever, thanks to Young Hwa and Hong Ki’s roles in You’re Beautiful. I fell in love with both Shin Woo and Jeremy and have been a fangirl of both idols ever since.
I did enjoy Heartstrings but it never reached the same level of amazing that You’re Beautiful did for me. I thought it was a cute story and I liked the music a lot but it kind of fell flat. I think a lot of that had to do with the atrocious final kiss, to be honest. It was undoubtedly the worst kiss in Drama Land history and that’s saying something because there have been a whole lot of bad ones! It was seriously the worst!
I think that out of all of the dramas this lovely trio of actors have been involved in, Hong Ki’s Bride of the Century would have to be the best. I absolutely loved that drama and his acting was so good, it just made me love him even more. Honestly, I think he’s probably the best actor of the bunch and I really hope he takes on another drama soon!
I also loved watching Hong Ki in Bride of the Century. It was a pleasant surprise. I joined DramaFever as a premium member solely to get early access to the newest episodes of it when it first came out! I wasn’t sure how he’d pull it off, but he was amazing. Very sincere and all grown up. A completely different role than Jeremy, yet he was wonderful in both.
Young Hwa was very sincere in Marry Him if You Dare and showed a mature side of himself, but the drama was just so disappointing that I felt it kind of cancelled his good work out.
No matter what, this is a great drama. I LOVED it!! I hope some new people will give it a try. (And then watch Bride of the Century if you haven’t already.)
“if you’re one of those who watches a gender-bending drama and spends the entire time frustrated because you can’t figure out why none of the characters can see that the girl-pretending-to-be-a-boy is actually a girl, you’re probably going to want to throw things as you watch but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a go.” That is totally me! I’ll take “Bride of the Century” any day over “You’re Beautiful” or “Heartstrings.” I can’t really deal with how meek Park Shin Hye’s character was in this drama. It is definitely a unique role for her though, which I appreciate. I just have a hard time watching each episode. It’s on my turtle speed list. I haven’t even gotten around to the love triangle yet, which everyone talks about in this drama. Usually, I don’t mind that plots are not that realistic, but this one is too improbable for my liking. I actually hate women-pretending-to-be-guys plots in general. On the other hand, I am actually enjoying SBS’s 2012 drama, “To The Beautiful You,” where actress/singer Sulli pretends to be a boy in order to inspire her idol, played by Minho, to high jump again. I am watching it at moderate speed. The plot was more interesting and the boys there are so much fun and cute to watch! Despite bad ratings and my initial prejudice, I actually enjoy “To The Beautiful You.”
I’ll see how I feel about “You’re Beautiful” after I finish it.
How is it you always manage to bring up the next drama in my Friday Night Drama line-up? You have some crazy mad skills my friend! (You’ll get why I’m freaking out when you see what drama I’ve written about in this week’s FND, as if you can’t figure it out already. Ha!)
I’m not really sure why I loved You’re Beautiful as much as I did, it’s just one of those dramas that made an impression on me. Perhaps it’s because it’s the first drama I ever suffered second lead syndrome while watching? I’m not really sure, I just fell for Yong Hwa’s character and have never been the same since. kekeke This is the drama that hooked me on my Hallyu addiction so it’s just special to me. I’m sure we all have our special dramas and this one is mine. 🙂
Wo-ho~ Coincidence? I just saw the last FND. Eh, I still have to finish both dramas. Haha. I just go with the flow and watch something. I can’t wait to see what you mean by falling for Yong Hwa’s character.