Must-Watch K-Dramas With Beauty Makeovers And Transformations
A good Korean makeover drama is irresistible. Here’s proof!
In some K-Dramas that we love, before the nerd can be the popular girl, before the down-and-out divorcee gets her life back on track, or before the girl can get the attention of the guy she is majorly crushing on, something major needs to happen.
There needs to be a sequence full of determination and self-improvement, brand new clothes and beauty products—what we're trying to say is, there needs to be a makeover. And luckily, we all enjoy and feel inspired watching them! Not to say that one has to be someone else in order to find happiness—the common message we love in these stories is the empowering energy a makeover or transformation has in one's life! Remember the time you finally dared to wear red lipstick? It felt great didn't it?
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The K-Drama makeover is such an aspirational storyline, it’s a testament to the idea that you can be anything you want to be if you have the will. From hairstyle changes, weight loss, clothing style upgrades, and sometimes plastic surgery, check out the gallery below to see the most dramatic makeovers done in popular K-dramas:

K-Drama Beauty Transformations
K-Drama Beauty Transformations
By Metro.StyleDecember 08 2023, 3:38 PM
She Was Pretty (2015)
This story centers on Ji Sung Joon (Park Seo Joon), who overly romanticizes his memory of the prettiest girl in school when they were kids, Kim Hye Jin (Hwang Jung Eum). The plot gets tricky when they meet in the future in a magazine company, and Kim Hye Jin isn't the pretty girl he once knew. Embarrassed by her unglamorous appearance and afraid to admit her true identity, Hye Jin makes her beautiful best friend pretend to be her.
Photo Credit: Dramabeans
METRO.STYLE RATING:
She Was Pretty
The plot gets complicated as expected, but once Hye Jin decides to own who she is and undergo an upgrade, things start falling into place. Oh, and as a bonus, Choi Si-won stars as another one of her love interests in the show too.
Photo Credit: Dramabeans
METRO.STYLE RATING:
Oh My Venus (2015)
Kang Jo Eun (Shin Min Ah) used to be known as the 'Daejeon Venus' in her younger years because she was so beautiful. But after becoming an attorney, she let herself go and became overweight.
Photo Credit: Soompi
METRO.STYLE RATING:
Oh My Venus (2015)
But with the help of Kim Yeong Ho (So Ji Sub), a fitness coach and her love interest in the series, she manages to regain her figure, and her life!
Photo Credit: Soompi
METRO.STYLE RATING:
My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018)
This K-Drama looks at the life of a young timid woman, Kang Mi Rae (Im Soo-hyang), who was bullied and rejected in school because of her appearance. Before she begins life anew in the university, she undergoes plastic surgery, in the hopes of looking like a 'regular student'
Photo Credit: Soompi
METRO.STYLE RATING:
My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018)
The surgery was successful in the sense that there is no resemblance to her previous self, and actually looks almost model-esque. But throughout the story, Mi Rae’s beauty also attracted unwanted attention and envy among other girls.
Photo Credit: Soompi
METRO.STYLE RATING:
Birth of a Beauty (2014)
Birth of a Beauty opened with the pitiful story of Sa Geum Ran (Ha Jae Suk), an overweight housewife, who loyally cares for her husband’s grandmother and family. The sad tale of Geum Ran is juxtaposed with the life of Sara (Han Ye Seul), a vivacious and beautiful women who believes she has just arrived in Korea from the United States.
Photo Credit: Dramabeans
METRO.STYLE RATING:
Birth of a Beauty (2014)
As the plot unravels, it is revealed that Sara and Geum Ran are the same woman. After a motor vehicle accident, Geum Ran is believed to be dead, which enabled her to undergo full-body plastic surgery and assume the identity of Sara.
Photo Credit: Dramabeans
METRO.STYLE RATING:
The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)
Jung Gal-Hee (Jin Ki-Joo) has been working as a secretary for a nearly a year for Do Min-Ik (Kim Young-Kwan), who has face blindness. But then, she was fired without a valid reason.
Photo Credit: Soompi
METRO.STYLE RATING:
The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)
As opportunity arises, she manages to start working for him again, with his boss not knowing that she is one and the same person. But this time—with better makeup, straightened hair, no glasses, and much more stylish clothes!
Photo Credit: Soompi
METRO.STYLE RATING:
Lead photos from Dramabeans, Soompi and AsianWiki. Background photo via The Honest Company on Unsplash
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