Im Soo-hyang, right, and Cha Eun-woo from Astro pose at a press conference for JTBC's new drama "My ID is Gangnam Beauty" at Amoris Hall in Time Square, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of JTBC



By Kang Aa-young



Plastic surgery has become part of daily life in Korea. Anyone can easily find subway ads featuring images of women with big eyes and sharp noses. These ads also come with a message that says "you can look this way, too," in the country with the highest per capita rate of cosmetic surgery in the world.



The new JTBC drama "My ID Is Gangnam Beauty" explores the two sides of having plastic surgery in Korea ― becoming more beautiful and being pointed at for beautification.



The webtoon-turned-drama's lead character Kang Mi-rae, played by actress Im Soo-hyang, goes through multiple plastic surgeries after being constantly bullied for her looks, referring to herself as "orc," a disparaging term for an ugly woman.



After the cosmetic surgeries, Kang is "reborn" and finally able to meet the social standards for beauty. However, she is shocked that her new schoolmates at university still mock her ― this time for being a "Gangnam Plastic Surgery Monster," a derogatory term referring to women who went through surgery to achieve good looks.



The drama follows Kang's path of recovering her self-esteem as she gets to know Do Kyung-seok, a handsome but cold classmate played by Cha Eun-woo from K-pop group Astro.





Scenes from the drama "My ID Is Gangnam Beauty" / Courtesy of JTBC