To
The Beautiful You (2012)
Grade: B+
16 Episodes
Goo
Jae Hee, a Korean girl who grew up in America, decided to join track
as a means of boosting her self-confidence, all because of famous
Korean high-jumper Kang Tae Joon. She then finds out that her idol
sustained a serious injury and has lost his own confidence. As a
means of repaying this stranger, she decides to return to Korea and
infiltrate his all-male boarding school, disguising herself as a boy
and figuring out how to help him fully recover. She is hiding her
secret well until her older half-brother Daniel comes to visit, and
once he realizes Jae Hee's plot, Daniel demands that she return home
to America. Tae Joon overhears everything, but realizing she did all
of it for him, he decides to keep Jae Hee's secret. Meanwhile
classmate and friend Cha Eun Gyeol is starting to develop feelings
for Jae Hee, not knowing she is actually a girl. Will Tae Joon jump
again? Will Jae Hee keep her secret?
*I
LOVED the quality of cinematography for this drama – it felt and
looked like a high-quality film, especially with the smooth camera
movements and angles. The music was more so-so, but overall it is
higher-caliber than usual for the Korean dramas I've watched. It was
interesting seeing a white person as a main character in a Kdrama,
too (the half-brother from America). Eun Gyeol's character is
especially endearing, and while it does drag in the last few
episodes, it's fun, upbeat, and almost cartoonish at times. Top 5 for
film quality, top 10 because it drags toward the end.*
