True Beauty is a romantic-comedy / slice-of-life / coming-of-age comic that has been published weekly on Webtoon since 2018. I started reading it early on; I got sucked into Jugyeong’s world, and have been following her ever since. When I saw NetGalley was offering an eARC of the first volume, I jumped at the chance to read and review it early!
Jugyeong Lim is just an average ugly girl, mistreated by her family and bullied at school. She thinks that if only she could be pretty, all her problems will be solved. So she teaches herself how to use makeup by binge-watching Youtube tutorials. She slowly masters the art of makeovers, and her dramatic transformation leads to her overwhelming popularity and fame, but what will it all cost her?
Living in a society where people are judged based on their physical appearance, Jugyeong navigates both high school (and the series follows her to college) life, while her self-esteem, romantic life and career are constantly in flux.
It has been a joy to watch Juyeongs character arc. She has come a long way since the beginning of the series, and she is an MC I love to root for.
For Jugyeong, ugliness was a barrier, locking her out. But prettiness can be a cage, too—I love this series because it explores beauty standards and the cost of beauty, how beauty creates a hunger for praise and approval, the pros and cons of social media, and so much more!
The artist Yaongyi is one of my favorite comic artists right now. Her digital art style is not only beautiful but also very unique. She blends semi-realistic drawings with mild, photograph-like coloring, creating a stunning and recognizable style.
True Beauty Volume One will be available November 8, 2022. Remember, Pre-Orders Matter!
New episodes are uploaded to Webtoon every Wednesday.
True Beauty also was adapted into a K-Drama, which you can watch on Rakuten VIKI.
Thank you to NetGalley for offering me an early eARC of this title. All opinions are my own.
MANDY'S READING LIST 