Han Ye-seul struts as a sexy ajumma for Birth of a Beauty
by javabeans
Shooting has commenced on Birth of a Beauty, and Han Ye-seul has glammed up to the nines to play its lead. With a plot that sounds like a drama version of 200 Pound Beauty, the drama is about a woman who slims down drastically and finds that her life changes as one of the pretties. To which I say, Duh! What world are you living in where that’s a surprise?
This plotline always sounds icky to me on paper (where beauty automatically equals a better life), but I will admit to quite enjoying 200 Pound Beauty. It had its problem points too, but that movie was buoyed by a winsome performance by Kim Ah-joong and preserved the sweetness and personality of the heroine. I can see this drama working its way around some of the potential pitfalls given the right approach, so I hope to see it manage the story well.
The heroine is described as a loud ajumma before her new image, so that in itself sounds hilarious. Han Ye-seul is best in these bold comic roles; Fantasy Couple really made her career. Her character has a romantic loveline with the hero (Joo Sang-wook) who brings about her makeover, which… okay, fine, is another iffy bit for me, but Pygmalion and My Fair Lady are well-loved stories, right? Maybe it’ll work. Maybe it won’t be weird.
Birth of a Beauty will be an SBS weekend series to premiere on November 1.
Via Asiae
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Tags: Birth of a Beauty, Han Ye-seul
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1 fab
October 22, 2014 at 7:22 AM
Those shoes! Did she trip in that scene?
I am really curious to how they gonna make her a loud unattractive ajumma.
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believed
October 22, 2014 at 7:36 AM
They have a different actress playing her "before."
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kimchikay
October 22, 2014 at 9:11 AM
Well what's the point in that...Han Ye Seul acting points just went down for me....
On a side note, I hate what this drama is attempting to say, that being beautiful and thin will bring you love, otherwise you'll a forever alone crass ajhumma -_-
Bring back Kim Sam Soon ya'll!!!! *sniff sniff* She found love with a curvy body and kick ass personality to boot.
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Dr. Hwata
October 22, 2014 at 9:19 AM
Or the lesson may simply be: No pain, no gain. And, when you've got it, flaunt it.
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kimchikay
October 22, 2014 at 9:43 AM
I have no qualms about working hard for what you want and being confident in what you've achieved, I just think this whole concept is fueling the notion that beauty=success. If you're beautiful you will get that dream man, be popular and etc.... to some extent it may be true since our world seemingly places external beauty above all however I'd like to think producers/directors have one of the biggest tools to change that thought process, aka television medium.
Any way, let's watch the drama first before debating this topic any further shall we?
Annie
October 22, 2014 at 2:30 PM
@Kay,
No amount of TV dramas will change that unfortunately... men don't watch them anyways.
mia
October 23, 2014 at 1:44 AM
Yea...women are different from men. We women go for the trustworthy salt of the earth. Give me a tall sexy man, with chocolate abs ( ... Lee Sang Woo !) and gorgeous white-teeth smile, why, I will not only reject him, I will not even spare him a glance ( vain idiot !). I will totally go for the plodding, short and sloppy-shouldered guy, with crooked yellowish teeth and beady eyes and who prefers to grunt whenever he gives out a greeting....so manly !
Like I said, we women are deep, unlike those animals males who only see the outer appearance, lol
Beng
October 23, 2014 at 2:59 AM
well it would be nice if she found no happiness or find it burdensome to have such beauty. Then decide to return to her old-self =).
If the fat lady will be different, i would love Lee Guk-joo (the comedian in Roommate 2) to play the part. She will be so hilarious.
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Clinton Bensom
October 23, 2014 at 4:39 AM
hey i am a man. and i watch dramas too
fab
October 22, 2014 at 10:38 AM
Ohhh you've got to be kidding me??
This is actually worse than dressing her in a fat-suit. Or I'd rather them go for the bad hair and old clothes, you know very ajumma-ish, with a little bit of low self-esteem to booth...
I feel cheated. I already know that I'd like that comedienne way better than HYS. But I bet they'll use the first just in an episode or two.
So Joo Sang Wook is in this?? This is hard...
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iatetoomuch
October 22, 2014 at 7:40 AM
HYS won't be playing it, they are bringing in a woman comedienne to play the role. I can't remember her name though, sorry. She can be loud in whatever way she wants, but I hope the script will not regurgitate the lame jokes on fat women.
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Nessie
October 22, 2014 at 2:34 PM
Is it Lee Guk Joo? She's really popular right now, and kinda fits the description you just mentioned.
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bibapr57
October 22, 2014 at 3:23 PM
Nope it's Ha Jae Sook, she was in Protect the Boss and in Pasta. She's funny, but I sort of wish the same actress was playing both roles...
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Beng
October 23, 2014 at 3:00 AM
totally agree on Lee Guk Joo! she's quite hilarious and she does it naturally =).
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2 crazedlu
October 22, 2014 at 7:27 AM
That hair! Love it.
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Denali
October 22, 2014 at 7:42 AM
*nods*
PS: where's the "like" button when I need it? Should I "blame" Ghostery for its disappearance? >.<
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Beng
October 23, 2014 at 3:02 AM
i was thinking of having a haircut this weeken, then decided against it when i saw the HYS's hair. Quite lovely!
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3 Mandy
October 22, 2014 at 7:35 AM
How could she possibly be made 'unattractive'?
Anyway, I hope she attended lots of acting classes in her hiatus so I don't get turned off as soon as she's on my screen. This looks kinda different - which means if it's successful, we'll probably see about 6-8 dramas of the same theme following suit.
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Trina
October 22, 2014 at 8:16 AM
Yup, I agree with you.
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4 Bex
October 22, 2014 at 8:49 AM
I'm really looking forward to this I hope it's really funny and light
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sogazelle
October 22, 2014 at 10:35 AM
Me too...she is looking fabulous!...love her.
I can,t wait...
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Pipit
October 22, 2014 at 5:17 PM
This is the drama that I'm waiting for. Love Han Ye Seul and totally in love with Joo Sang Wook.
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YY
October 24, 2014 at 12:55 AM
Hi Pipit!! Yes, I love Han Ye Seul too! So happy she's back. She was hilarious in Fantasy Couple, one of my fav dramas of all time.
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5 trekkie
October 22, 2014 at 8:53 AM
"where beauty automatically equals a better life"
After watching Abnormal Summit, I imagine most Korean do believe beauty makes a difference. I guess that is why they have plastic surgeries at very early age!
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kanz
October 22, 2014 at 9:01 AM
This! Korean obsession with beauty and plastic surgery is borderline crazy!
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JoJo
October 22, 2014 at 9:33 AM
I don't know...if I had a few bucks, I might go in for a tuck here and there.
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Megumi
October 22, 2014 at 11:31 AM
Trust me countless numbers of foreigners go there to fix their face, that is also one of the reason why Korea is counted as number 1 in that category, foreigners are also counted as Koreans in the database these statistics companies release.
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bd5
October 22, 2014 at 10:45 AM
Think Manhattan, LA, Dallas, Miami.
The majority of the Korean pop. lives in and around a few urban areas and it is hyper-competitive.
So, unfortunately, looks/appearance is one of the few ways one can stand out from the crowd.
Same goes for HK and the large cities in China (as well as Japan).
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And
October 22, 2014 at 11:37 AM
And those plastic faces have many fans/big fandom or whatever you called it.
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mia
October 23, 2014 at 1:54 AM
You think actress like Halle Berry comes with NATURALLY with those huge knockers, that petite nose and lighter skin tone ? You think Indian actress Ashwraya ( spelling ?) comes NATURALLY with that cute nose ? Her high school pic had her with a big nose, just exactly like her brother's nose. And the list goes on....with all the international stars in the West or East. Except that in S Korea, almost 100% of the stars have some sort of job done...with the unfortunate effect that most time, one just can't distinguish one from the other, so similar are their looks.
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Clinton Bensom
October 23, 2014 at 4:41 AM
I am pretty sure halle berry was beautiful from birth...she has high school to college photos. stop hating
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anais
October 23, 2014 at 9:59 PM
A good number of non-Korean stars do get plastic surgery. Some are obvious - late Meg Ryan, late Melanie Griffith, fairly early Megan Fox, Jane Jackson, Cher. However, the best surgeries are the less noticeable, more subtle ones - early Michelle Pfieffer, etc. The Korean surgeries are not little improvements but major makeovers, so plastic surgery seems far more rampant in S. Korea than it does elsewhere.
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6 Chandler
October 22, 2014 at 9:44 AM
Damn it. I really like this pairing. But I really hate this premise. What do I do?!
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Pipit
October 22, 2014 at 5:18 PM
Give it a try. Most of the time it all depends of the execution. I don't like the premise either but what can I say I love them both enough to endure crap.
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7 ilikemangos
October 22, 2014 at 11:10 AM
Most of us will just be watching it for the guilty pleasure that it is than for the message it sends. We all know beauty does not necessarily mean successful but makeovers are always fun to watch. Ye seul looks amazing for her comeback and this pairing will be cute methinks.
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8 museofmanymasks
October 22, 2014 at 11:11 AM
Huh I was wondering why JSW picked this up but with the My Fair Lady comparison I can see him being Henry Higgins...not sure that's a good thing or not but I see it so clearly.
Errr I used to watch Gag Concert...some of the skits...if that's any indication of how they are gonna handle the body image hurdle...I'll be watching with one eye closed-though its a weekender so I may not watch it at all.
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9 minathens
October 22, 2014 at 11:37 AM
I suspect the "before" lady would have been way more fun. This whole premise sounds pretty ick, but I could be wrong. I'm really just saying that to be nice, though. Pretty sure it's gonna be ick.
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10 vanillasalt
October 22, 2014 at 12:16 PM
She rocks that red dress!
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11 Perrie
October 22, 2014 at 1:17 PM
I'm going to watch because I love Joo Sang Wook in rom-com and I do like Han Ye Seul too (not feeling that hair though). Hope they have it on viki
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12 jam
October 22, 2014 at 2:47 PM
ehhhh. not really feeling the storyline even tho i like HYS..:/
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13 canxi
October 22, 2014 at 5:01 PM
She looks great! I'll give it a go for something light and breezy and more care-free Joo Sang Wook. Who knows how it'll actually play out.
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14 Stuart
October 22, 2014 at 6:48 PM
@Annie "men don’t watch them anyways" Damn, and here I've spent my whole life mistakenly thinking I'm male! Thanks for putting me straight.
As for the Drama itself, the concept is troubling, but it's also a realistic reflection of the way society works, sadly. I'm interested in checking this one out primarily as a (very) symbolic gesture of support for her stand against K-Drama working conditions in Myung Wol.
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15 Thea
October 22, 2014 at 11:07 PM
I want to watch for Joo Sang Wook and Jung Gyeo Won. I ever imagine if the leading lady was Sung Yu Ri... It must be double reunion.
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16 amara
October 25, 2014 at 2:54 PM
so weird how fat women can't be beautiful or have lives relationships any fun at all ever idek why we live!
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17 Bored panda
October 25, 2014 at 6:05 PM
It would've been better if they just made Han Ye Seul play both roles (before and after). Ditch the "fat ahjumma" part and just make her look like an old maid, plain, non-fashionable loud ahjumma. I think she can pull off that role pretty well considering how she nailed Na Sang Shil in Fantasy Couple. That way, we can more love the new version of her without having to think of the old one who is totally a different person.
But oh well, since they involved plastic surgery in the plot then I guess it does make sense that they use a different actress for the "before" part. *pfft* Okay my rant ends here. :p
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18 grace
October 28, 2014 at 3:34 AM
for some reasons i dont like her... though i like the drama plot.
is it me or she is shapeless??.. btw i hope she plays it well and she grows on me
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19 Camille Amor
October 28, 2014 at 5:26 AM
She is so beautiful!!!
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