She Was Pretty - Drama Review

May Contain Spoilers

"She Was Pretty -  그녀는 예뻤다" is a romantic comedy which aired in Korea from September to November in 2015. Hwang Jung Eum, Park Seo Joon, Go Joon Hee and Choi Siwon are the main actors in this drama.

PLOT SUMMARY:

"A romantic comedy about two past acquaintances who meet again after they've gone through a reversal of fortunes and appearances, set in the backdrop of a fashion magazine's publishing office. 

Kim Hye-jin was a very pretty girl from a rich family. After her family's publishing company went bankrupt, she experienced hardships then lost her beauty too. Ji Sung-joon was an unattractive boy with low self-esteem, but grows up as a handsome and successful editor. 

The two decided to meet again as adults, but Sung-joon was unable to recognize Hye-jin. Ashamed to meet her first love and ruin his perception of her, Hye-jin asks her attractive best friend, Ha-ri, to appear in her place. Things, however, soon get complicated as Hye-jin was assigned to work at The Most magazine publishing office where Sung-joon is the deputy chief editor. He openly mistreats and belittles her for her clumsy nature, not knowing that she was his real childhood friend. Ha-ri also continues to meet Sung-joon, and soon develops feelings for him. On the other hand, Hye-jin finds a good friend in her workplace, Shin-hyuk, who slowly falls in love with her."  (Wiki)

MAIN CAST:

 Hwang Jung Eum as Kim Hye Jin

 Park Seo Joon as Ji Sung Joon

 Go Joon Hee as Min Ha Ri

 Choi Siwon as Kim Shin Hyuk

RATING:

☂☂☂☂    4 red umbrellas out of 5

PERSONAL THOUGHTS:

I just finished watching this drama and I personally give it a thumbs up! After watching it I can see why this drama was so popular. ☂

Actors and Actresses: I really liked the chemistry between Hwang Jung Eum and Park Seo Joon. I think Hwang Jung Eum, Park Seo Joon, Go Joon Hee and Siwon all did an awesome job on portraying their characters. It was a nice surprise since I haven't seen most of the dramas they have starred in other than Park Seo Joon and Siwon. I also liked the little bro-mance Park Seo Joon and Siwon had in the drama too. 

The first drama I saw Park Seo Joon was in Dream High 2 which I didn't even realize until I looked him up (no wonder he looked really familiar). He sure has grown up. I guess Sung Joon forgot all the vocal training he got from Dream High. haha

I've only heard of Hwang Jung Eum and Go Joon Hee from We Got Married where they were paired up with Kim Yong Jun and 2AM's Jinwoon, respectively. I know they are both popular and good actresses so thumbs up! 

Plot: I believe we all go through something similar to what Kim Hye Jin experienced. Meeting your first love after many years and realizing that you might not live up to their expectations. To be embarrassed about how you've changed and/or grown up is quite realistic. Though this is a drama, so of course everything works out at the end with Hye Jin and Sung Joon ❤️. Plus Hye Jin's character is overly nice so forgiving Ha Ri at the end was inevitable. 

One thing I liked about the drama was that Kim Hye Jin didn't stay "pretty" till the end. After leaving Most Korea her appearance revered back to her old self, no make up or straightened hair, with minor changes to her outfits which is taken from her new self. It seems like after leaving Most Korea, her character changes into an upgraded version of herself; a combination between her old and new self. People learn and grow to like her inner qualities, other than her appearance, and I think she herself does too.

One of My Favourite Scenes: Not sure why but the ending where Sung Joon walks with their daughter, Yeon Woo, was really cute.

 

Favourite Quote: Kim Hye Jin's dialogue at the end of the drama.

"One Day, I started thinking about something. I started thinking that main characters were not only in dramas or movies. In reality too, there are people who live like the main characters, and some who live as supporting characters... 

But now, I have this thought. Maybe it was me who decided that I was one of the supporting characters. Giving up so easily by letting life dictate your path, wasn't it I who turned off the spotlight that was shining down on me...

People often say that life is not a fairy-tale. But sometimes like a child, and sometimes like a fool, how about dreaming of a life that's like a fairy-tale? 

If you don't turn off the spotlight, and you don't give up on your dream, maybe then, something that's even more fairy tale-like than a fairy-tale might happen.

Such as, the first love that was thought to never come true comes true, or a childhood dream which was pushed aside into your distant memory comes true. Miracle-like things could really happen."

PICTURES OF THE CAST: