This series is about Lim Ju-kyung, a high school student who always had a complex about her appearance since childhood. To hide her bare face, she started to wear heavy make-up. Her excellent make-up skills helps in enhancing her beauty, and persuade others that her beautiful, goddess like, made-up face is her natural appearance. She befriends her high school mate Lee Su-ho, a wealthy, but cold boy, and Han Seo-jun, an aggressive student with good talents. This plot follows Ju-kyung and her crazy highschool life while trying to hide her real face as she navigates her daily life and her goal of becoming a cosmetologist.[8]
A newcomer student of Class 2-5 recently transferred to Saebom High School; having been constantly discriminated by her family and bullied by her peers in previous school due to being perceived as ugly, she masters to wear makeup by binge-watching tutorial videos in the Internet and her makeover proves to be transformative as she quickly rises to fame and her peers in new school call her a "goddess", unaware of her real appearance. Ju-kyung prefers reading horrorcomic books and listening to heavy metal music.
A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School; he is very popular for his handsome looks and being the top of his class. His dysfunctional family and a tragic incident from a year ago have turned him into an ice-cold boy who hates being the center of attention. He is formerly best friends with Seo-jun. Su-ho shares Ju-kyung's penchant for horror comic books.
A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School; Seo-jun is a handsome and equally-popular student at his school who, despite being tough-looking, is a kind, loving and soft person, especially to his mother and sister. He is formerly best friends with Su-ho and a former idol trainee but a tragic incident a year ago leads to him abandoning his path to stardom and severing his friendship with Su-ho, with whom he has since become extremely hostile.
A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School; she is Su-ho's childhood friend and becomes close friends with the transferee Ju-kyung but is being forced by her parents to excel at school and always being compared with Su-ho.
Lim Jae-pil's wife and mother of Ju-kyung's siblings, Hee-kyung and Ju-young. She is the matriarch of the Lim family who owns a beauty shop named Pandora which is popular among older women.
Hong Hyun-sook's husband and father of Hee-kyung and, Ju-kyung and Ju-young. He loses a great sum of money to a dubious investment which leads to the family having to move back to their old house.
Ju-kyung's older sister; she is adored by the family for being pretty and intelligent. She works at Move Entertainment and develops feelings for Ju-kyung's homeroom teacher Han Joon-woo.
Su-ho's father; he is a famous actor and CEO of Move Entertainment who is quick to find a new woman after his wife died, much to Su-ho's resentment.
Han Seo-jun's family
Yeo Joo-ha as Han Go-woon
A student at Saebom High School; Seo-jun's younger sister. She has great singing talent, but is bullied by her peers for being perceived as ugly. She befriends with Ju-kyung after Ju-kyung saves her from bullies.
A student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School; Soo-ah's boyfriend. Tae-hoon often seeks the approval of Su-ho and later becomes friends with him. He is a funny guy.
Su-ho and Seo-jun's late best friend. Se-yeon was a member of a boy group under Move Entertainment. A victim of harsh online shaming and fake scandals, he committed suicide by jumping off a tall building. His tragic death becomes the center of the broken friendship between Seo-jun and Su-ho, Seo-jun's animosity towards Su-ho's father and Su-ho's life of immense guilt.
Teased by her family and bullied by her peers because of her looks, 18-year-old high school student Lim Ju-kyung contemplates suicide and goes to the rooftop of a high-rise building, but she stops herself at the last minute and decides to move on with her life. Just in time, a handsome boy pulls her away from danger and tells her to consider how her loved ones will suffer had she jumped to her death. Days after, she starts learning how to use makeup through tutorial videos in the Internet and masters the art just before transferring to her new school. The makeover proves to be transformative as her peers call her a "goddess".
After encountering her handsome classmate Lee Su-ho at the comic book store in her bare face, Ju-kyung struggles with keeping her true face a secret to her peers. She realizes later that Su-ho does not recognize her yet at school as the ugly girl from the comic book store. Meanwhile, tough guy Han Seo-jun returns to school and recognizes Ju-kyung to be the girl who ran away with his helmet.
Su-ho reveals to Ju-kyung that he recognizes her. Ju-kyung offers herself to Su-ho as his errand girl in return for keeping her true face a secret from their peers. Later, she searches her bedroom for Seo-jun's helmet but it is nowhere to be found.
Reminded of Jung Se-yeon's tragic death, Seo-jun picks up a fight against Su-ho at the cafeteria, with the innocent Ju-kyung in the middle of the clash. The incident puts Ju-kyung in an uncomfortable position as rumors of a love triangle between her and the boys spread in the school. Su-ho becomes bothered when Soo-ah arranges a blind date for Ju-kyung.
Ju-kyung runs into Seo-jun's younger sister Go-woon being bullied by her fellow music club members for taking the lead role despite being ugly. Reminded of her past suffering, she defends Go-woon against the bullies and uses her makeup skills to transform her just before the club's performance during the school festival. As Seo-jun's rebuke and a posthumously released song remind Su-ho of his tragic past, Ju-kyung recognizes the boy who rescued her at the rooftop.
Despite Su-ho's loathing, his celebrity father Lee Joo-heon goes to school for a parent-teacher conference and gains a lot of attention. Seo-jun expresses his gratitude to Ju-kyung for helping his younger sister. Ju-kyung runs into an unlikely visitor at the Im family's residence. One day, she bumps into the person she fears meeting the most and is kidnapped later on by Seo-jun's enemies. Seo-jun and Su-ho team up to rescue her as Soo-jin, Soo-ah and Tae-hoon discover where Ju-kyung is held captive.
Ju-kyung and the rescue party receive punishments at school for being involved in the brawl against Seo-jun's enemies. Soo-jin is in distress as her grades drop after the exams. Su-ho gets upset as a popular baseball player gets attracted to Ju-kyung and starts to pursue her. Su-ho later learns a few dating tricks from Tae-hoon.
The students of Saebom High School go to a school trip in the countryside. Ju-kyung tries to keep herself distant from Su-ho, while Seo-jun makes himself closer to Ju-kyung. Su-ho plans to confess to Ju-kyung but seems to lose his chances.
After Su-ho confessed his feelings for her, a thrilled Ju-kyung accidentally reveals her bare face to Soo-jin. As Ju-kyung wishes Soo-jin would keep her real face a secret from everybody, she also asks Su-ho if they could be clandestinely dating because of her fear of retaliation from Su-ho's fans. Ju-kyung attempts part-time working as a model with Seo-jun, while Su-ho and Soo-jin meet with their high-class families.
Lim Jae-pil discovers that Su-ho is already dating his daughter Ju-kyung. After Soo-jin opens up to Ju-kyung about her feelings for Su-ho, Ju-kyung starts to have qualms about her and Su-ho's secret relationship. The competition between Su-ho and Seo-jun heats up when they are, by chance, both invited to the Im family's residence. At Move Entertainment, Hee-kyung discovers that the late Se-yeon's song has been used as a debut single of another artist without due permission.
Su-ho and Seo-jun are caught in a car crash moments after Su-ho discovers to his shock the horrible truth behind the fake scandals that led to Se-yeon's suicide. Ju-kyung opens up to Soo-jin about her relationship with Su-ho. Joo Hye-min, a former classmate of Ju-kyung from her previous school, transfers to Saebom High School to escape from the same bullies that once tormented Ju-kyung.
Joo-heon steps down from his position after revealing to the public the truth about Se-yeon's death and the plagiarized song. After recovering from their injuries, the reconciled Su-ho and Seo-jun visit Se-yeon's grave together. Ju-kyung starts questioning how long she can maintain her disguise and popularity as she keeps running into Hye-min at school, ranks first in an online beauty contest of which she is an unwilling contestant and becomes the school promotion model.
Judgmental eyes and a bunch of bullies target the distressed Ju-kyung after the truth of her makeup-less face gets revealed in social media. As Ju-kyung runs away from her new tormentors, Su-ho tries hard to search for her while Seo-jun deduces who is the culprit behind the malicious online exposé. Class 2-5 gets reprimanded for being insensitive to Ju-kyung's plight. Ju-kyung's mother finally realizes the reason behind her daughter's obsession with makeup.
Ju-kyung resolves go to school in her bare, makeup-less face and makes her relationship with Su-ho known to everyone. She reconciles with Soo-ah who felt betrayed for not knowing the truth sooner. Su-ho tries to convince Soo-jin to apologize to Ju-kyung, knowing that something other than mere jealousy must have brought her to maligning Ju-kyung. A shocking news from overseas puts Ju-kyung and Su-ho's relationship to the test.
The hardships of a long-distance relationship pushes Su-ho to break up with Ju-kyung. Two years later, Ju-kyung and her classmates have graduated from Saebom High School. Ju-kyung works as a makeup assistant while Seo-jun is nearing towards his debut as a singer. After Seo-jun's confession of his feelings for her, a surprise awaits Ju-kyung at Namsan Tower under the first shower of snow.
Ju-kyung and Su-ho reunites as Seo-jun comes to terms with his unrequited love. Soo-jin, free from her father's abuse, formally apologizes to Ju-kyung. Su-ho offers the final version of Se-yeon's song for posthumous publishing, to be performed by Seo-jun on his debut.
Production
In July 2019, it was announced that the Line WebtoonTrue Beauty would be adapted into a television series.[40] In August 2020, the production team confirmed the casting of Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun-woo and Hwang In-youp in the lead roles.[41] The first script reading session was held in October 2020.[42][43] The filming was temporarily halted in late December 2020 after Kim Byung-chun [ko] tested positive for COVID-19.[44] The first stills from filming were released on November 10, 2020, one month prior to the series premiere.[45]
Release
The series was originally made available for streaming through Viu and Rakuten Viki.[46] In 2021, it became available on Amazon Prime Video from October 21.[47] In 2023, it became available on Netflix in selected territories.
The following is the official track list of True Beauty: Original Soundtrack album, which was released by Stone Music Entertainment on February 5, 2021.[2][48] The tracks with no indicated lyricists and composers are the drama's musical score; the artists indicated for these tracks are the tracks' composers themselves.
The album peaked on number 5 on weekly Gaon Album Chart and as of March 2021, 40,786 copies have been sold.[49][50]
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
This drama airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).
No episode aired on December 30 and 31 due to the broadcast of a special year-end holiday program.[60]
^Lee, Jung-hyun (August 12, 2020). 문가영-차은우, tvN '여신강림' 주연 [Moon Ga-Young and Cha Eun-Woo, starring tvN 'Goddess Advent']. Yonhap (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^"기획 의도: 여신강림이란?" [Purpose of the Program: What is "True Beauty"?]. tvN (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^"WATCH CJ ENM". watch.cjenm.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
^Kim, Jinseok (June 23, 2020). [단독]문가영, tvN 드라마 '여신강림' 주인공 [[Exclusive] Moon Ga-young, the main character of the tvN drama 'Goddess Advent']. Naver (in Korean). Sports Daily. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Kim, Jinseok (April 23, 2020). [단독]차은우, 드라마 '여신강림' 주인공 [[Exclusive] Cha Eun-woo, the main character of the drama 'Goddess Advent']. Naver (in Korean). Sports Daily. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Moon, Ji-yeon (July 14, 2020). [단독] '웹드계★' 황인엽, tvN '여신강림' 주인공 전격 발탁 [[Exclusive] Hwang In-yeop is selected as the main character in tvN 'Goddess Advent']. Naver (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Moon, Ji-yeon (August 14, 2020). [공식] 박유나, tvN '여신강림' 합류..문가영X차은우와 호흡 [[Official] Park Yoo-na joins tvN 'Goddess Advent'... Breathing with Moon Ga-young x Cha Eun-woo]. Chosun Ilbo. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
^Kim, Joon-seok (September 1, 2020). 박호산, tvN 새 드라마 mdjmwlsmucms' 출연 확정…문가영과 '부녀 케미' 기대 [Park Ho-san confirmed to appear on tvN's new drama'The Goddess Advent'… Expectations of Ga-young Moon and 'Woman Chemie']. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Moon, Ji-yeon (September 16, 2020). [공식] 강민아 tvN '여신강림' 합류..문가영과 절친 호흡 [[Official] Kang Min-ah joins tvN 'Goddess Advent'.. Moon Ga-young and best friend breath]. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Ho, Sung jung (September 2, 2020). 이상진, '여신강림' 캐스팅 첫 드라마 데뷔..차은우 친구+모태솔로 [공식] [Lee Sang-jin, 'Goddess Advent' casting first drama debut.. Cha Eun-woo friend + mother-in-law [Official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Chosun Ilbo. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Lee, Ji-hyun (September 3, 2020). [공식]신재휘, tvN '여신강림' 출연 확정…황인엽과 톰과 제리 케미 [[Official] Shin Jae-hui confirmed to appear on tvN'Goddess Advent'… Hwang In-yeop and Tom and Jerry Chemie]. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Ha, Soo-junh (September 9, 2020). 전혜원, '여심강림' 출연 확정..문가영 괴롭히는 용파고 여신役 [공식] [Jeon Hye-won confirmed to appear in 'Goddess Advent'...]. OSEN (in Korean). Chosun Ilbo. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Lee, Song-hee. "[단독] SF9 찬희, tvN '여신강림' 특별 출연…연기돌 활약 이어간다" [[Exclusive] SF9 Chanhee, special appearance on tvN'Goddess Advent'… Continue acting as an actor]. X-Sports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
^ abcKim, Ga-Young (November 30, 2020). "[단독] 김혜윤·이재욱·이태리, '여신강림' 총출동…'어하루' 의리" [[Exclusive] Kim Hye-yoon, Lee Jae-wook, Italy,'Goddess Advent']. E-daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
^Lee Seung-gil (January 5, 2021). "정건주, 김혜윤·이재욱·이태리 이어 '여신강림' 특별출연…'어하루' 의리" [Jung Kun-ju, Kim Hye-yoon, Lee Jae-wook, and Italy, followed by a special appearance in'The Goddess Advent'… 'Oh day' loyalty]. Mydaily (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
^Park Soo-in (January 22, 2021). "여신강림' 측 "김영대 특별출연, 2월 초 방송"(공식입장)" ["Goddess Advent" side "Kim Young-dae special appearance, broadcast in early February" (official position)]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
^Park, Phanseok (August 12, 2020). '여신강림' 문가영X차은우X황인엽, 웹툰 찢은 비주얼..2020년 하반기 방송[공식] ['Goddess Advent' Moon Ga-young x Cha Eun-woo x Hwang In-yeop, webtoon ripped visuals.. 2nd half of 2020 broadcast [Official]]. Daum (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^Sun, Mi-kyung (October 12, 2020). '여신강림' 문가영x차은우x황인엽, 첫 대본리딩..유쾌+청량 케미 예고 ['Goddess Advent' Moon Ga-young x Cha Eun-woo x Hwang In-yeop, the first script reading.. pleasant + refreshing chemistry preview]. Daum (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^ abc"여신강림 OST" [True Beauty OST]. Melon (in Korean). February 5, 2021. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
^"True Beauty OST" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. March 7–13, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021 – via Gaon Chart.
^2021년 03월 Album Chart [March 2021 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.