# The Beauty Inside (TV series)
**The Beauty Inside** (뷰티 인사이드; Revised romanization: Byooti Insaideu) is a 2018 South Korean television romantic comedy drama broadcast on JTBC, starring Seo Hyun-Jin as a top actress whose appearance changes into a different person for one week each month and Lee Min-Ki as an airline executive with face blindness who can recognize only her face.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) It ran for 16 episodes in the Monday and Tuesday 21:30 time slot from October 1 to November 20, 2018.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama))
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | JTBC, October 1 – November 20, 2018, 16 episodes, Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:30[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) |
| Production | Directors Song Hyun-Wook and Nam Ki-Hoon; writer Im Meari[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) |
| Premise | Actress Han Se-Kye transforms into a different person for one week each month; airline executive Seo Do-Jae has prosopagnosia and recognizes only her face[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) |
| Source | Based on the 2012 U.S. social film *The Beauty Inside*, sponsored by Intel and Toshiba, which won commercial awards at the 2013 Clio Awards and Cannes Lions[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) |
| Ratings | AGB Nielsen nationwide: 2.882% for the premiere, 5.181% for the finale, and a series high of 5.317% for episode 14[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) |
| Audience score | 7.5/10 on IMDb from about 4,100 users[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8801708/ratings/) |
| Availability | Streaming on Netflix, OnDemandKorea, The Roku Channel, Rakuten Viki, and Tubi TV[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-beauty-inside) |
## Plot and characters
Han Se-Kye (Seo Hyun-Jin) is a top actress known as a troublemaker and the object of many rumors; her life is a mystery because, at a certain point every month, her appearance changes to a different person, and she lives one week out of every month with that different appearance.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) Seo Do-Jae (Lee Min-Ki) is an executive at an airline company who seems perfect, with an attractive appearance and smarts, but suffers from an inability to recognize faces, a condition known as prosopagnosia or face blindness.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) He hides the disability and memorizes people by their habits and mannerisms; the only face he can recognize is Han Se-Kye's, and meeting her changes his life.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama))
The supporting cast includes Lee Da-Hee as Kang Sa-Ra and Ahn Jae-Hyeon as Ryu Eun-Ho in major supporting roles.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) Because of the transformation premise, the character of Han Se-Kye is portrayed in different episodes by a rotating group of actors, including [Kim Joon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-joon)-Hyun, Kim Sung-Ryoung, Kim Min-Suk, Ra Mi-Ran, Moon Woo-Jin, and Jeon Hye-Bin, among others.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama))
## Origins and adaptations
The drama descends from a 2012 U.S. social film of the same name sponsored by Intel and Toshiba, which won commercial awards at the 2013 [Clio Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/clio-awards) and Cannes Lions.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) That web series was first adapted in Korea as the 2015 feature film *[The Beauty Inside](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beauty-inside-2015-film)*, directed by Baek Jong-yeol and starring [Han Hyo-joo](https://www.edgepedia.org/han-hyo-joo), in which the male character Woo-jin wakes up in a different body every morning.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-beauty-inside/)
The 2018 drama is not the same story as either the 2015 film or the American web series.[5](https://tollbit.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2019/02/11/the-beauty-inside-wonders-about-the-true-nature-of-love/) A comparative adaptation study of the film and the drama found that the drama did not follow the original plot but took only the transformation motif and rewrote the story: the film has a one-line narrative structure with an open-ended conclusion, while the drama has a plural narrative structure with a closed-ended conclusion, and the drama's characters emphasize fantasy and dimensionality where the film's emphasize realism and consistency.[6](https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/detail?nodeId=T15658264) In the drama, the transformation falls on the female lead rather than the male lead, and it occurs for one week per month rather than daily.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) • [7](https://www.soompi.com/article/1240583wpp/4-things-loved-2-things-hated-premiere-beauty-inside)
## Production and broadcast
Seo Hyun-Jin and director Song Hyun-Wook had previously worked together on the 2016 tvN drama series *Another Miss Oh*.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) The first script reading took place on July 22, 2018.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) The drama took over JTBC's Monday and Tuesday 21:30 slot previously occupied by *Life*, and was followed by *Clean With Passion For Now* on November 26, 2018.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama))
## Reception
**Ratings rose over the run.** The premiere drew 2.882% nationwide, and the finale drew 5.181%, with the series high of 5.317% nationwide coming in episode 14; in the Seoul metropolitan area the show peaked at 6.132% for episode 15 on November 19, 2018.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) On IMDb the series holds a weighted rating of 7.5/10 from about 4,100 users, with an unweighted mean of 7.7; per-episode user ratings ranged from 6.3 (episode 14) to 7.9 (episode 6).[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8801708/ratings/)
Critical and audience responses were divided on how the premise was used. A Hellokpop review judged that past the midpoint the trite narrative and uneven development of the lead characters left the series slightly disappointing.[8](https://www.hellokpop.com/review/k-drama-review-the-beauty-inside/) Viewer commentary has noted the contrast between the male lead's real medical condition and the female lead's supernatural transformation as a point of debate, while also praising the chemistry between the leads and the treatment of the supporting couple.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama)) The series has since been available on multiple streaming platforms, including Netflix, OnDemandKorea, The Roku Channel, Rakuten Viki, and Tubi TV.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-beauty-inside)
## References
1. [The Beauty Inside (Korean Drama), AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/The_Beauty_Inside_(Korean_Drama))
2. [Beauty Inside (2018) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8801708/ratings/)
3. [The Beauty Inside – streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-beauty-inside)
4. [The Beauty Inside Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-beauty-inside/)
5. [The Beauty Inside Wonders About The True Nature Of Love, Forbes (Joan MacDonald, 2019)](https://tollbit.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2019/02/11/the-beauty-inside-wonders-about-the-true-nature-of-love/)
6. [영화의 TV드라마화 각색 비교 연구 : 영화 〈뷰티 인사이드〉와 동명 TV드라마를 중심으로 (Kang Su-jin, Chung-Ang University, DBpia)](https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/detail?nodeId=T15658264)
7. [4 Things We Loved & 2 Things We Hated About The Premiere Of "The Beauty Inside", Soompi](https://www.soompi.com/article/1240583wpp/4-things-loved-2-things-hated-premiere-beauty-inside)
8. [K-Drama Review: "The Beauty Inside" Breezes To Light & Comfy Yet Forgettable Story, Hellokpop](https://www.hellokpop.com/review/k-drama-review-the-beauty-inside/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Fantasy, supernatural, and science fiction series › Premiered 2010 to 2022*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license