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Baby-Faced Beauty: Episodes 1-4

I know, I’m way behind on weighing in on Baby-Faced Beauty, with it almost halfway done with its 18-episode run. Most of the time if I fall behind on a drama, I’ll just let it go, but I’ve been finding this one sweet and charming — and incredibly pretty to look at — that I wanted to give it a proper introduction, at least.

The drama, like many others past and present, is based on one lie that snowballs out of control, which in this case is about age/identity. The show therefore plays a lot with the concept of age, seniority, and rank in the workplace, which is an interesting motif upon which to hang a story since age is one of those things that plays a huge part in the social fabric of modern Korea. It’s a part of every introduction between people, and built into every interaction big or small, since the very language used between people is determined by one’s age/rank relation to the other. The drama manages to work in the topic without being too heavy-handed about it, which I appreciate, and Jang Nara does a good job being cute, conflicted, and compelling as the 34-going-on-25 heroine.

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THE STORY: Episodes 1-4

Jang Nara plays LEE SO-YOUNG, a 34-year-old who has worked for 14 years at the same fabric company. Her dream is to become a fashion designer, and upon graduation of high school she’d been accepted into the design department of a university — if only her family hadn’t fallen into debt.

Unable to send herself to school and support them at the same time, So-young joined the workforce, her mother working late hours at a pojangmacha (street food tent) while her bratty younger sister SO-JIN (Oh Yeon-seo) had continued her spoiled, selfish ways of buying expensive clothing (ruining So-young’s credit) and flitting around being an insufferable social butterfly. Yes, we hate her. No, we don’t have to feel conflicted about it.

Now So-young’s longtime boss tells her apologetically that financial times are rough, and he has no choice but to let her go. Yet when she returns to beg for her job back, she finds that he’d lied — he’d actually just replaced her with a young thing fresh out of school, the kind of new employee all the older men love for her novelty and cuteness, no matter that she has no experience or competence with the job.

So-young grits her teeth and continues on her job-hunt, only to be turned away for reasons beyond her control — one boss is 33 and doesn’t want to hire a subordinate older than him, while another professes to care nothing for age but won’t hire people with bad credit. She manages to land a lowly position doing alterations for a neighborhood seamstress — but her sister takes advantage of this and swipes a customer’s Chanel jacket (to borrow, not that that makes the theft any better), and that gets her fired.

Then there’s CHOI JIN-WOOK (Daniel Choi), a marketing director at The Style, a fashion design company run by the sharp, stoic JI SEUNG-IL (Ryu Jin — So. Hot.). Jin-wook is roommates with one of the senior designers at the company, and loves his new car with a passion normally reserved for sentient beings.

There are hints that he’s from a wealthy background, but he regularly turns down his parents’ offers of money — he’s determined to make it on his own. Ah, I know the feeling, having once been that kind of stubborn brat convinced that accepting money from Mom meant I was failing to be independent. Maybe Jin-wook will grow out of it too.

Anyway, Jin-wook’s hyung takes him to a club, and think they’ve scored the jackpot when the hot, model-eque So-jin starts chatting them up. In actuality, she’s using them to hide from So-young, who’s followed her here and is chasing her down to retrieve the jacket. Long story short, So-young ends up in a tug-of-war with Jin-wook over the jacket, and tumbles into an oversize, decorative martini trying to fetch it back.

That, alas, is not nearly as fun as it sounds, and she winds up both tipsy (from glugging accidentally), and stained red. Jin-wook helps her climb out, and the force sends the glass tumbling to the ground — landing them squarely on the hook for club damages, to the tune of 20 million won (approximately $16,000). So-young and Jin-wook nearly manage to escape together, but when it looks like they’re going to get caught, So-young ditches Jin-wook and runs away alone. Jin-wook is left with the fine and repair bill, and with great gnashing of teeth (and muttered curses about So-young), he sells his beloved car to pay for it.

So-jin promises to pay her sister back, but true to her irresponsible ways, she learns that the fitting model job she scored is harder than anticipated, and dumps it on her unni. So-young, reluctant to give up the pay, goes along and takes her sister’s place, figuring it’s only for a day.

So-young belatedly finds out that the job — which pays peanuts and involves being the errand girl — is actually for a week, and although she’s on edge from the fear of being outed as a fraud, she bears with it. Even though the designer’s studio is populated by snooty, hateful people like Nara, who orders her around like a slave.

To So-young’s surprise, people aren’t at all suspicious of her supposed age — 25 — and treat her with a stunning lack of respect in accordance with what they believe to be the natural, age-determined pecking order. She bears it all stoically, even though the “advice” the designers sling her way stings of condescension — not to mention irony, since she’s actually one of the oldest of the bunch.

At first, when Jin-wook discovers that she’s the new temporary employee, he tries to demand her half of his settlement fees, which is only fair since they were both involved. However, she has no money to give him, and advises him to think of this as “a very expensive life lesson.” So Jin-wook takes to following her around, making her buy him drinks and lunch, determined to get his money back even if it has to be in dribs and drabs.

One ill-advised money-making method he picks up is to return a knockoff of a luxury bag to a store and demand a refund. He sends So-young to do it, not telling her it’s a fake, and she has to bear the ignominy of being assumed to be a grifter. Worse yet, a posh young woman (whom we’ll come to know as KANG YOON-SEO, played by Kim Min-seo) can’t find her wallet in the store, and the shopkeepers accuse So-young of stealing it.

The indignity is too much to bear, and So-young storms into the cafeteria to have it out with Jin-wook for setting her up. He’s dressed in a particularly nice suit today, because his sloppy fashion sense has been noticed by boss Seung-il multiple times, and he fears that he’ll be given the boot if he draws that kind of attention yet again. So he’s just spent a small fortune on a suit he can’t afford, which means it’s particularly infuriating when an enraged So-young dumps a bowl of kimchi all over him.

He retaliates by throwing a bowl of soup at her, but she ducks out of the way, and it sails into the boss’s face instead. Oops.

Jin-wook sinks into a pity party, sure he’s going to be fired after the soup incident AND the lack of a decent suit for his important presentation today. Feeling sympathy for him, So-young offers to help him fix the situation, in exchange for settling their mutual debts once and for all. With that, she gets to work — she borrows a sewing machine and scraps from the patternmaking studio, and quickly fashions a new jacket for him.

The result…is not something Jin-wook can wear with confidence — it’s a capelet, way too fussy and offbeat for him to pull off. But to his surprise, both Seung-il and the senior managing director eye it approvingly and ask to borrow it, to use as inspiration (for a woman’s cape, lol).

But just as soon as one crisis is solved, another pops up: The designers’ sample gown has disappeared. It’s senior designer Ki-hong who’s responsible — So-young had given it to him while he was half-sleeping on the job — but he blames her to save his own skin. In everyone’s haste to cover their own asses, Nara ends up being the scapegoat, and she in turn blames So-young, slapping her angrily.

Seung-il enters the designer’s studio at the tail end of this confrontation, and asks everybody who’s responsible. And while he absolves So-young of any blame in the matter, his explanation is even more crushing: He tells her she’s so insignificant that she has no right to be held responsible.

He gives the designers three hours to find the dress, and they scatter to try to salvage the situation. So-young is dismissed from the mess and the job, but she decides to make one last attempt to help, and requests to use the sewing machines. Curiosity piqued, the head of the patternmaking division, Director Baek, gives her permission and watches as So-young gets to work re-creating the dress entirely from memory.

When Seung-il brings Director Baek the cape So-young had also made, the director is impressed. And that’s how So-young, dismissed as errand girl, is offered the job as The Style’s newest, “youngest” designer.

Problem is, all week long people have assumed she’s her sister, 25-year-old So-jin. She’d have to tell the truth of her identity to be put on the official payroll…but telling the truth would probably get her fired. And this is her dream job, finally! What to do?

She waffles back and forth in a flurry of indecision, afraid of being caught for lying but also sorely tempted to let herself achieve her dream, even if for a short time. She’s paranoid that she’ll get caught every step of the way, but as it turns out, nobody cares that much about the photo on the ID card (her sister’s), and that’s that.

One added complication, however, comes in the form of new team manager Yoon-seo — the lady who’d sorta-kinda-accused her of stealing her wallet.

Yoon-seo’s on good terms with Seung-il, and also happens to be the daughter of Director Hyun, who has a senior management position. To be fair, Yoon-seo has the talent and the credentials for the job, but all her connections surely don’t hurt, either. She’s also got her sights set on Seung-il, doing her best to ingratiate herself with his young daughter.

She seems like a generally smart, fair person — but where So-young’s concerned, they just get off on the wrong foot. Plus, there’s the sneaking suspicion Yoon-seo has that So-young’s piqued Seung-il’s interest, despite how ridiculous that seems on the surface; there’s just something odd about the way Seung-il reacts when So-young’s involved.

Because this is a K-drama, Jin-wook also happens to know Yoon-seo, having had an adolescent crush on her before she moved to study in the U.S. When he spots her in the street, he even drives off after her, leaving So-young stranded in the street. (He has to wheedle his way back into her good graces, once he recovers his senses.)

The Style holds a design competition for amateur designers, which briefly captures So-young’s attention. But she can’t enter as herself, so she puts the idea aside — but So-jin doesn’t. In particular, the large cash prize grabs her attention, so So-jin submits one of So-young’s designs…which wins, naturally.

Since So-young can’t claim the award when everything thinks she’s So-jin, her sister takes it upon herself to pass herself off as the winning designer, using Big Sis’s ID to claim the prize. Yeah, this isn’t gonna get complicated, is it?

A complication arises with one of the company’s distributors, Rosemary Department Store, and The Style is in danger of losing their account with them, which would be costly. Jin-wook’s contact there suggests that there’s one way to keep The Style in the loop…if they could find a way to satisfy Manager Ahn, who’s on the hunt for a twentysomething girlfriend.

Led by Jin-wook, the designers push So-young into being their sacrificial lamb, dressing her up in one of their own sample gowns and sending her on the blind date. Manager Ahn is thrilled to be dating a pretty young thing, and So-young grits her teeth through the encounter.

The date has to get cut short when the designers receive word that Seung-il wants to see the sample dress tonight, so So-young and Jin-wook race to his apartment that evening to make the hand-off. Of course, So-young can’t go in wearing the sample, so she borrows a uniform from a cleaning lady, and heads home.

Alas, she’s forgotten her cell phone in the dress pocket, so she has to return to Seung-il’s apartment to ask for its return. Only, she’s dressed like a janitor and dripping wet from the rain, and also manages to drop the contents of her coin purse all over his immaculate floor. Loath to upset him, she cautiously asks him to pick up the coins for her (he’s barred her from entry because she’s dripping), because she needs bus fare. She’s anxiously looking for the 500 won coin (about 50 cents), while he does a cursory sweep that returns mere pennies.

Somewhere in the course of this exchange, Seung-il has found a little humor in the absurdity, and when he later spots the 500 won coin, he pockets it with a smile, and makes sure to return it to her at the office the next day. Yoon-seo witnesses both scenes, senses something in the air, and turns even colder than usual toward So-young as a result.

So-young’s date with Manager Ahn has been a hit, but the problem is, it was too successful and now the ajusshi wants to date her. Jin-wook pleads with her to drag it out just a little longer, just till they can secure their account with the store again, but So-young angrily puts her foot down and tells him to “clean up your own crap.”

Jin-wook starts to have second thoughts and wonders if he isn’t perhaps being too pushy with her. But no matter, because Manager Ahn overhears their conversation, and their comments, combined with his overactive imagination, makes him assume they were out to con him. He accuses them of setting him up to be her sugar daddy, and says such horribly offensive things about So-young that Jin-wook can’t help but speak up in her defense.

That leads Manager Ahn to take a swing at Jin-wook, which erupts into a full-scale fight that lands the men at the police station. Jin-wook sends So-young home before the police are involved, but she can’t help feeling guilty and comes to the station anyway.

The problem is, that requires everyone to present their identification, and So-young gulps, fearing that this will blow up into an even bigger problem once it comes out that she was impersonating somebody else. She can’t bring herself to hand over her ID, but luckily, Jin-wook lands on another fact that negates its necessity: Manager Ahn had given her a pin as a gift, but used his business account to do it, and the threat of pressing that point makes him back off.

Jin-wook still has to deal with the police for the fight, though, and dutifully mans up to spend the night in jail. So-young feels guilty, but for the first time Jin-wook accepts his fate without whining like a child, and tells her that he’s taking her advice and “cleaning up my own crap.”

With Jin-wook’s fate hanging in the balance, So-young goes to the department store to plead with Manager Ahn for mercy on his behalf.

 
COMMENTS

Although Baby-Faced Beauty isn’t that far out of the box in terms of romantic comedies, there’s a little something different about it that I really like. It’s largely the directorial style (and the gorgeous camera, swoon), which adds a touch of visual interest where many trendies just rely on the standard one-shot, one-shot, two-shot approach.

Where other rom-coms rely on a static camera — which isn’t bad, just un-noteworthy — Baby-Faced Beauty uses its camera to create interesting angles and points of view. True, sometimes I think they get a little carried away with the super-close-up distortions and the tilted camera angles, but most of the time it adds a fun touch, so I don’t mind. In its visual style, Baby-Faced Beauty is like Dr. Champ, or even Coffee Prince, where the stories are fairly conventional but a little atmospheric flair gives it a refreshing appeal. The screen quality sometimes looks more like film than drama as well.

Tonally, Baby-Faced Beauty hits the right spot for me — the pace is swift and the plot moves from one conflict to the next without dragging too much in one place. Combined with some interesting music selections and the lovely palette, it’s easy to get caught up in the funny situations and compelling conflicts.

It sort of recalls Dal Ja’s Spring for me (although I don’t think it’s quite as good), in that it’s about more than just a romance at the center. I like that it’s a workplace drama, that there are themes at play beyond a love story. Age is the obvious motif at play here, given that So-young’s reason for being at The Style is predicated on her lie, but thankfully we quickly move past the initial lie to touch on the ramifications of age, seniority, respect, and interpersonal relationships that serve as corollaries to the main conflict.

Caveats: I will say that the first two or so episodes have their rough moments, in that it’s difficult to get behind these characters when so many of them are acting in irritating ways. For instance, both So-young and Jin-wook act pretty childish in the initial encounters, to the extent that you don’t quite know which side you’re on because they’re both being stupid. She ditched him and left him with a huge settlement bill, but he jumps to conclusions, acts before she can explains things, and digs himself into holes based on his own impetuousness.

It takes a full four or so episodes for the romantic chemistry to kick in — I’d wondered earlier on if we were ever going to feel it, because So-young and Jin-wook were more like bickering siblings for a long stretch there. But thankfully, it does kick in eventually, particularly at the end of the fourth episode when he finally grows up and takes responsibility for his own crap, as he says, and acts like an adult. That continues in the following episodes, and while he still has his flashes of childishness, they’re much more endearing when displayed alongside some maturity. Immature adults acting like spoiled brats = insufferable. Grown-ups acting occasionally childish = adorable.

Another factor that had me on the fence during the first four episodes is, well, everybody outside of the main trio. The designers at The Style are aggravating with their selfish, backstabby ways, and there were more than a few scenes where I found myself dearly wishing I could reach inside the screen to slap some sense into a few of them. The way they treat So-young is appalling, although to be honest I don’t think it’s too terribly off the mark for real life, and that’s partly why I was willing to hang in there until the story takes an upswing and So-young starts to have a few successes mixed in with her hardships.

There’s also So-jin, who inspires me to violent thoughts. I understand that she’s mostly a plot device needed to keep So-young’s lie/conflict in motion, and for that reason alone I force myself to ignore her as much as possible and just focus on the story, minimizing her presence in it. Thank goodness for the gorgeous camera, because that alone gave me enough reason to keep going until the characters started to grate on my nerves less.

One thing built into the premise that I love is the dissonance created by the age lie. When she’s at the office as So-jin, So-young has to act the respectful maknae and do the coffee runs and defer to everybody. If her real age were known, as the newest employee she’d still be the most junior, but people would take more care in how they treated her on a personal level. This also carries over into the romantic storylines, because it’s assumed she’s several years younger than Jin-wook, and a full decade younger than the boss. In reality, she’s way older than Jin-wook and only one year younger than Seung-il. And because of her real age, she can treat Jin-wook like a noona, using banmal and not putting up with his crap. All the while, because he doesn’t know her real age, he just assumes she’s a youngster with frighteningly opinionated stances on everything. Heh.

As for So-young: I find her to be a likable character I root for, even if there are some scenes where I dearly wished she’d stand up for herself. But given her circumstances, it’s understandable why she doesn’t, and the script does a good job of establishing that conflict within herself — her desire to speak her mind and demand respect, countering her earnest desire to be recognized for her talent for once in her underappreciated life. This is her dream come true, and she’s lived too long to give it up in a fit of pride.

Even so, she’s not a total doormat, and I appreciate the scenes when she tells people to cut the crap and grow up. Like Jin-wook, for instance. When he screws up and fears he’s about to be fired, she finds him crying in a pity party, and tells him with a mix of exasperation and sympathy that crying about a problem won’t fix anything — he’s better off trying to figure out how to fix it.

And then, when she finds herself in a crushing situation, she takes a minute to cry in the bathroom stall at the unjustness of it all — and then pulls herself together, grits her teeth, and finds her way out.

When she re-creates the lost sample dress, she isn’t doing it to save her job or clear her name — in essence, she’s asking for respect from people who deem her unworthy of it. And even if she doesn’t earn theirs, well, it’s okay because she’s really claiming self-respect.

All in all, I find Baby-Faced Beauty to be charming and quick-paced, and recent episodes have improved upon the earlier episodes — really, I think it takes three or four episodes to hit its stride, if you can get past the aggravating supporting characters for that long. I’m sorry I don’t have the time to recap this drama properly, just due to the schedule being what it is. (If I can find a spare moment, I’ll consider popping back in with periodic updates, but I make no promises.) I mean this as no insult to Lie To Me (I wouldn’t have stuck with it if it weren’t appealing in its own way), but I do sorta think Baby-Faced Beauty woulda been a better pick. Oh well. No use dwelling on the past, so onward we go.

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First! :D
Just wanted to say that I love this show and it's my favorite of all the shows airing right now. PLUS it's made me fall in love with Daniel Choi. He's one sexy adorably cute slightly goofy dude.

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Exactly what do I think!!

and thanks JB, you finally recap this..

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yea, want to thank you too, JB, for finally recapping Baby Faced. but would this mean you and GF are really dropping Lie to Me? =(

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just finish reading your final comment. from what i got in your last paragrahp, you will continue recapping Lie to Me (i hope =)

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Daniel Choi n Jang Nara look good together...really happy to see Jang Nara in different shade of acting though I hate the hair...but Daniel definitely eye candy...wait until u see his acting on bed with Jang Nara in Ep 9....like JB said ...I really want to slipped into the screen and hug him...really sweet and pity....

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Wahou! you're really watching them (the may's dramas) all??
thank you for this post! soo useful! and if I'm first, I'm even more happy to coment! XD

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jang nara is very cute! i'll try to watch this drama..

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I skimmed to avoid spoilers, so apologies if the answer to my question is in the recap.

How old is Daniel Choi's character?

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27, I believe.

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27 is right. it's a little hard to make a 27 y-o guy & 34 y-o gal couple believable, but i hope it works. it's a really fun drama, makes me laugh every episode. thanks JB!

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was surprised to see this, but what a lovely read, i enjoyed every word of it. thanks, jb!

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So happy! I was waiting/hoping for this. This is my current favorite drama. Thank you so much!

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JB! I would like to know what do you think about Romance Town? Not much people say about this drama, so, more thoughts about it, the better!

Please and thank you!

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I thought it started out great (first two episodes were great) but now its lost some of its magic, I am finding the main male lead really annoying and I think they could have done great things with the initial plot, now it feels like just an average drama...

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Hm I wanted to give a chance to this drama, but I can't watch dramas where the parents do much mess and are always doing the same thing over and over again, always making their kids suffer and all. I can't stand it...

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what are you talking about? This drama doesn't even show any of the character's parents other than the main girl's (lee so young) mom but only for like a minute or so.

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But it's true, that her mother is really cruel. I feel the same as Liz.
It was a really though moment when they showed her mother loves her sister way more than her irrespectively of the fact what a bitch is her sis.

However I really like this series. It's cute and charming. I like it more than Lie to me.

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I like this a whole more than lie to me! Yeah...I can see where you guys are coming from since my mother does the same to me. Anyways you should give this drama a pass, Liz ;)

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No wonder it is performing better than lie to me in terms of ratings.

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Ooh, glad you posted this, I've been loving this drama. :)

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I hesitate to watch this drama because the lead actors are not that appealing to me plus I thought the plot is boring. But since you recommend this one, I'll give it a try. Thanks.

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I was going to watch this drama but after watching Best Love, I can't even bother watching anything else because it doesn't fulfill my crack-like need for a constant dose of Cha Seungwon. And my mom told me she couldn't stand watching this because it was too much like My Love Pazzi and we're tired of watching poor but kind girls getting treated like crap, struggling through life, etc. Lol~ Sigh, not even for you Ryu Jin, not even for you...

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whhhhhhy couldn't you have recapped this instead of lie to me T.T

I begged and cried but LTE won,
:(

well atleast you did this summarish recap

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i agree. baby-faced beauty would have been a better drama to recap than lie to me, which is just boring me at this point. baby-faced beauty is more realistic, and when i watch it, i am wholeheartedly rooting for so young. i'm invested in the (main) characters, and i think that attachment is what makes this drama so watchable, despite the annoying supporting cast.

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Hmm wow. This is interesting. I've caught the episodes up until now on and off....and I actually find most of the drama unbearable to watch. I like Jang Nara and Choi Daniel as a couple which is why I skim through the drama but everyone else drives me nuts. I agree in that it looks so pretty and the colors are so appealing but it's also...eye-roll inducing in terms of the plot. Blah.

I hope that once the romance starts to heat up we will be able to focus more on the main couple. The others can disappear for now. Although I am waiting for the younger sister to get some sense beaten into her (I'm usually not violent but she drives me crazy...and the actress who plays her doesn't give much depth to the character though she is pretty).

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I agree. I've seen some frustrating characters in kdramas before, but the younger sister really takes the cake. She actually makes me want to reach inside my computer screen and slap her silly. So shallow and selfish. I stopped watching because all of the side characters were either blah or downright annoying. But I found the main couple cute. Jang Nara and Daniel Choi had surprisingly good chemistry. Maybe I'll pick it up again when I get bored.

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i truly agree with jb, its a bit bore for the first two episodes, then it gets interesting much later. i have so much to watch, romance town, greatest love, babyfaced beauty, haven't watch lie to me and city hunter yet, paused half way for manny. hmm. conflicted. ;)

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thanks so much JB for the recaps....whoa! i am mighty happy that you did BFB. as i am on all May dramas, i had been longing to recap your recaps on this one too.

this show have been doing well, way more than LTM and catching up with Best Love. tho, nothing beats BL at this point, BFB has its good points too. and i was always a fan of Jang Nara. true to the title, she will always be the Baby-Faced Beauty!

for those wanting english softsubs of this drama, they are available at http://www.darksmurfsub.com

linky to the drama: http://www.darksmurfsub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1192-baby-faced-beauty-2011/

episode 1-8 all 100%

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Glad to see you are on the Baby Faced Beauty train JB. It's a bit of a rocky ride sometimes-the music is just wacky sometimes-but then the characters/story go and make it worthwhile again.

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jb thanks !,

I saw this team in "happy together",
jang na ra and ryu jin got wet again, he is sexy indeed !

I am watching this drama and yes I agree with your broad angle comments and also I would like to know how she will gain respect at her workplace after knowing her true identity.

And also another view is about life of a divorcee and a boss, how to cope with their kid and also how

to behave with an interest party, to what emotional level to behave, because, he is 36 years old, she is supposed to be 25 years old but she is actually 34 years old.

She is not so young but her name is So Young !!
appealing to him actually, interesting development .

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thanks for this insightful recap! although i'm a fan of kang ji hwan and yoon eun hye, i'd have to say that this drama does a better job of letting you see how the leads grow to respect each other. plus, i appreciate how soyoung accepts and truly struggles with the consequences of her lie. jinwook, who is extremely annoying at first, also shows quite a bit of growth while staying true to his immature character.
but i'll have to admit, kang ji hwan's and yoon eun hye's chemistry is amazing (of course both of these dramas are second to "best love", though!).

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I can't wait until he finds out that she's the noona he should've respected. xDD

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Aww...yeah that's the good point. I've been on a tug of war with this one, on and off, but after ep4 it really diverted itself from LTM and the loveline started to pick up very nicely. Specially ep7, good ep, but then ep8 *sign* plan to drop it this week, since JB brings it up, just might tuning in.

Thanks JB, pls continue the rest, even if the drama has ended. Love to hear you thoughts. ^^

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I agree it's lovely to look at, but after the first 4 episodes I feel it becomes too repetitive.

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Like LTM? I think that's the winner for being too repetitive.

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i tried to start this drama but can't get past the 2nd episode because of the annoying characters, as javabeans mentioned
i guess this might be a good thing considering how busy i am with school right now and how many other dramas i'm watching :P

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agree with you melissa. i watched for the 1st 2 ep in KBSworld, but gets annoyed with the supporting roles. really wanna watch it as jang nara's successful story of a bright girl is kinda my 1st Kdrama, and i always luv ryu jin.... can we just edit out those annoying parts? :D

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I'm watching this drama ..
and its getting good now that
Daniel Choi is beginning to fall inlove with her
XD.

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Thanks for the recap

I started watching Baby-Faced Beauty at episode 6 and found the series charming, but wasn't going to catch up on the earlier episodes, so your recap really helps.

I think this series is much more worthy of my time than Romance Town. So I'll be reading your Romance Town recaps and watching Baby-Faced Beauty. Of course if something in the recaps indicated Romance Town is worth my time, I'll pick it up again.

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know what?i had started watching this drama from the time it was scheduled to be aired..and i got hooked since.i agree totally with javabeans and dowon that this drama is far better than lie to me which i happened to watch 2 eps.and dropped it for it getting boring and unrealistic.i admire javabeans recap.though i already watched the earlier eps., i still enjoyed reading the recap.you are so good.your english is indeed impeccable.kudos to you and hope you will continue recapping this drama.thanks and God bless

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the main actress is really super cute

ididn't watch it yet but i think i will do when i have time lol

thanks 4 recaps

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I still rather go watch LTM than BFB, and I'm not saying LTM is a better drama.

Just that the characters in LTM is at least not frustrating.

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this drama does take a while to get good, but once it did, i got pretty invested in it. plot and writing-wise, it's loads better than Lie to Me, and I find Daniel Choi and Jang Nara really adorable and compatible together. the camera is pretty and the music is quirky which i like.

though you're not recapping this, i hope to see little reviews like these if you ever find the time! thanks for this!

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Forgive me fellow DBers, for I have sinned-- I voted for LTM recaps instead of BFB recaps.... I was WRONG!

To me, the writing and production quality of BFB is way better that that of LTM. I'm getting more and more invested in BFB's main characters (I'm finding Daniel Choi especially delightful), whereas the way the way the characters are written in LTM is annoying the heck out of me.

Oh well, since I have Best Love, everything else is just icing on the cake anyway.

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I actually love this drama more than the other dramas that are out, which surprised me at first, because the first few eps definitely didn't seem very promising. But while there are moments in other dramas where i fast forward, i pretty much watch this all the way through.

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AIIYY im glad you did a recap :DDD
i was hoping you would do one ^^
THANKS javabeans :))

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I actually would have liked it better if they stayed along the noona-dongseng relationship a bit longer. It's nice to see her teaching him certain things about life. It's also more natural that way. I mean, not ALL relationships have to start out romantic.

The camera tricks were painfully obvious and awkwardly strung together in the first few episodes but now they are fine. The director has found some nice moments to use them appropriately and I find myself rooting for his want to experiment.

One thing I can't forgive though is Jang Nara's expression whenever her character gets downtrodden. The "pfft. This just has to happen to me, oh well, what else can I expect?" kinda look. The semi self-pity face does not work for me. Especially when it doesn't show different reactions towards different situations. It doesn't even differentiate the degree of hurt that the character must feel towards very different situations and problems. Plus, I've seen it so much in her other work too.

I don't find the sister much of a problem as a plot device but the other small characters do get on my nerves. First, the scriptwriter doesn't seem to make an effort to give the people in the design team differing characters or reactions. Not enough to me I guess. Unlike Coffee Prince or Dal Ja's spring. This leads to inconsistency in characters when I find the Senior Designer being nice to So young.

All in all, I find this drama nice in what it aims to achieve. I like that it entertains as much as it deals with new issues that normal kdramas don't address. Although it stumbles a bit here and there, at least it is somewhat smooth and entertaining. Usually kdramas that want to focus on different topics get too boring like World's Within and Soulmate. Soulmate was just bad, because the acting and scriptwriting was bad and I found myself loving the drama only for what it wanted to be - which was so far away from what it was. Baby-faced Beauty gives a nice balance. I love it.

I hope the crew for this drama will work together for another drama. If BFB was an experiment, I can't wait to see the actual product. :DDD

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Thanks so much.yep this drama bit rocky at first then gets better contrast to lie to me which bored me so much.for now the best drama is best love then baby face beauty.lie to me can’t gave me that thrill.such a waste on talent.

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at long last....i've been waiting for BFB recaps for so long... i think this is better compared to LTM...Daniel Choi is like a cute puppy you'd like to hug...i'm on the latest episode now and i'm glad that the lead man is starting to fall for so young...thanks for the recaps...

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btw i could not download the song...otoke??

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Yes, LTM was quite the disappointment )=
Thank goodness I have BFB and Romance Town to whet my appetite for dramas though!
And I'm also highly anticipating Ripley :D

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watching this drama tooo!!!I think it is better that JB make LTM recaps for the reason that atleast i wont be watching the drama..hahahah..LTM is ok and KJH and YEA has a good chemistry ,but the story is sooo dragging to the point that I skip and fastforward some of the scenes(but still having LSS of Lovin Ice Cream..hahah)..while in BFB, the JN and DC lack chemistry and some ackwardness at the beginning of the drama, but as the story continues i just love looking at them both because DC is such a DORK..eheheh.But in my point of view...I refuse to drop any of these dramas..hahahha...and already lack some sleep already...GAH!! and now Miss Ripley will start on Monday!!wa!!! BFB, LTM, MS,CH,TGL,RT,CYHM..plus doramas, BOSS2,AM,KR....hay.thank goodness U.S series are on hiatus!:)

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Thanks JB! I'm glad I gave this a chance as it really gets better after some episodes. Lee so young is so willingly working towards her lost dream, how can you not root for her?
As for now, I'm hoping they won't drag the whole Yoon seo-already-knows thingy, though.

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Totally agree with you on this being a better pick than Lie to Me. I'm just so invested with the characters that I find myself looking forward to this drama the most each week, whith Best Love inching in a close second.

I do hope you find time to do recaps on this show, as I read your recaps regularly as a supplement to my drama-viewing, because your wit is impeccable and oftentimes, a perspective with more background on korean ideals and culture gives more insight to the drama :)

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hmmm... I guess I would really have to understand the Korean culture to truly understand this one.

I really like your explanation regarding the conflict "If her real age were known, as the newest employee she’d still be the most junior, but people would take more care in how they treated her on a personal level. " I never really thought about it that way. Especially if that's just how it is in Korean culture....

'cause just from my area of work, everyone pretty much treat each other equally, regardless of age. Talent is recognized, regardless of age. That's why it was quite infuriating to see So-Young cower in fear when she wanted to reveal her age.

Upon reading your intro, I might consider going back to the drama. 'cause I really did like the premise of it.

Thanks!

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Yup am watching this drama too and as most have mentioned, I didn't like the first few episodes...but really that's because I hate how everyone is taking advantage of SoYoung...esp her sister SoJin (I so wanna wring her neck!)

But since epi 5 it's nice to see their relationship progress...from being chummy to being romantic. Which is really where all the fun starts!

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I dropped this after ep 1 bec everyone was soooo annoying but i'm thinking of watching it again since I heard it got interesting in contrast to LTM which got boring and fanservicey (and it's just at ep 6). Ah, once you've been spoiled for life by the Hong Sisters and other good writers out there, you can't settle for anything less. Wish you'd drop LTM then pick either this or City Hunter. Oh wait, if you don't drop LTM that's okay too since it would be a pleasure to make fun of it too. =P

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It's curious that most of the comments I've read said that the first episodes are bad.
For me, with baby faced beauty (and with City Hall too) that wasn't a problem. I like this drama since episode 1. I hate the sister, yes. The mom is also very hard to like. I also didn't like the other designers at first, but since she started to work as a designer, they stopped to bother me. The bitchy second lead, (I don't remember the actress name, but I loved her in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, well her character) its bitchy, is her job, she does it well. The boss...OMG, why so handsome? I like that he is not selfish or bad person, he is just a strict boss. I love when he is with her daughter. He is a loving father.
At first, i didn't "feel" the potencial love chemestry between So-young and Jin-wook. But now I'm totally invested in those two. I like a Jin-wook for myself. Or a Seung-il would be VERY GOOD too.
So-young, yes she is a good lead, I like her. Someday she will have the same courage that she has when she is drunk. Her reasons to design are simple but for me those are the basis for any clothes.
The scenes in the elvator are the best and the funny scenes with Daniel Choi. He can be childish but he is funny.
Sorry,this was to long. Thank you for taking the time to talk about this drama. Im really enjoying it, it always put a smile on my face. Yeah, maybe is not the best but its good. Im easy to please I see hahaha.
Another and one last thing. It only has a few scenes, but the realtionship that Seung-il has with..Ah!! I don't remember her name, but its the lady that also helps So-young. That realationship is very sweet.

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Yep, loved ep1 very hilarious!

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I rather liked episode 1 as well. It was very refreshing and witty. It pulled me in immediately.

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that bit with the runaway bead nice film work and what followed after!

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Omo... that second lead... is Chosun [in SKKS]? O_O

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You are absolutely right! Baby Faced Beauty is much better in terms of story line and direction than Lie To Me which I've found, after a few episodes, to be a waste of time. I've seen episodes 5 to 8 of Baby Faced Beauty and the plot gets more interesting.

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I don't think both main characters are good looking at all.

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Wah! How very open-minded and deep of you!!! <>

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choi daniel's not the conventional leading guy look... but his smile (with those smiley-eyes) is adorable. it's like the dorky, innocent guy's tell-all smile. it doesn't even seem like acting. he also speaks and acts in that childish but thoughtful way that's so endearing. as for jang nara, she is pretty. it's just that her image for the drama is of an ajumma who doesn't dress in the conventional/fashinable way. that makes people underestimate her character more because they judge her according to how she looks. they figure that her clothes are hand made, she's poor, and she has no fashion sense, so she doesn't fit in their world. but dude, even her ID picture is pretty. it's just the hair and make-up.

honestly this is my fave at the moment. i've been lagging behind best love (sorry), so i can't rank it yet. romance town would be my second. i found it boring until episode 5 i guess. the romance is kicking in so i like it better. although, gun woo somewhat still annoys me. HOW CAN HE FREAKING FALL IN LOVE WITH THE RICH-FIED VERSION OF SOON GEUM AFTER ONE LOOK? WHEN SOON GEUM WAS NICE TO HIM EVEN WHEN HE WAS A FATTY. HE INVITED HER OUT WITHOUT ASKING HER NAME. even if he fell harder after hearing her tell him that she liked a friend who was a fatty (her words), he obviously got taken in by her looks first. if i were soon geum i'd be mad.

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Thanks for the recap JB
d(*⌒▽⌒*)b
This and Romance Town has me interested and city hunter seems very promising (def. watching that).
Its sweet of you to do this.
Tomorrow is Ripley's air date too. Cant wait!
I;m going to DL this drama and RT but for now;
Best Love = my crack drama ♡♡♡♡♡♡
City Hunter= action
Ripley: Looks to be a Dark, poignant drama with a rockin cast and an awesome teaser.

Perfect balance!

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I'm happy that the chemistry/romance with Jin wook was slow to develop (particularly on her end). I think it would be unrealistic for her to have feelings off the bat (with their first meeting, age difference, and the massive lie taken into consideration).

I'm also a big fan in general of friendships that turn into romances (like 9 end 2 outs!) and I love that they're already so comfortable and reliant on each other (and banmal-ing it up!).

Also, how cute (and sad) is it that Jin-wook refers to himself as her Oppa, even though she herself refuses to use the term? I think if she threw him an Oppa-pout-wiggle he would go into cardiac arrest.

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Oh my gosh... please give us an oppa-pout-wiggle. Pretty, pretty please...

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I like that "gorgeous" camera ...but what's annoying about it is that when they use it - you can totally tell the difference...so they're obviously not filming with the same camera in every scene...they switch off that camera and it's like somebody switching the HQ quality back to the VCR quality to me....it looks weird to me - makes the filming feel uneven.

The show got boring for me...people were too annoying and bitchy for me to handle....but I only lasted till episode 3 - maybe I can pick it up after the Greatest Love is over...

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JB, could you give us your thoughts on Can You Hear My heart? too?, it doesn't have to be a recap, may be as writer Moon's piece of work? I really love this drama to bit, the tone is so heart warming that it's the best this year for me. Thanks.

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