@BethB wrote:
Finally, it’s fun to see TB making meta-references to other k-dramas. It would be fun if @packmule3 could start a separate post about this and we could add our comments. As others have pointed out, they have parodied scenes from TKEM, CLOY (while one of the characters from CLOY was sitting on the other side of the wall from the brother!), and Goblin. I’ve also noticed a few other things (though don’t know if these might be k-drama tropes vs. references to particular shows):
Your wish is my command, @BethB!
From Episode 1
1. This actor Lee TaeRi.
He was the Imoogi in “Tale of the Nine-Tailed” but the director of “True Beauty” worked with him in “Extraordinary You.” He was a lunchroom chef (or monitor?) in EY.
source: IDN Times
2. This scene when JoKyung gave him cookies, concert ticket and a love postcard.
This of love confession is a homage to “Itazura na Kiss” (1996), and its iterations, “It Started with a Kiss” (2005), “Playful Kiss” (2007), “Mischievous Kiss” (2013), “Kiss Me” (2015) and “Miss in Kiss” (2016).
This is the scene “Mischievous Kiss.”
credit: amino apps
3. The flying mask to symbolize fate — that’s from Forrest Gump (and “Start-Up”!!)
From Episode 2
1. Goblin scene
The music is also from Goblin. It’s Lasse Lindh’s “Hush.”
But the scene that TB was copying here was the scene when Goblin fell in love with Euntak as she was crossing the street.
This scene:
2. When JK almost toppled backwards,
that’s from Matrix. It’s that iconic Neo’s bullet dodge.
3. According to Viki, this scene when SJ was greeted by his gang is from a Korean movie, “New World.”
I only got this from YT.
From Episode 3
1. I’m not into vampire films, but this hallucination of Suho as a vampire in Chem class
reminded me of the Bio class in Twilight.
And this funny scene.
But this image of Suho walking down in a gothic shirt
reminded me of another film, “Interview with the Vampire” with Tom Cruise (and Brad Pitt).
From Episode 4
1. JoKyung’s movie date
Eun DanOh and Baek Kyung (he was the second male lead) from “Extraordinary You.” In that kdrama, DanOh and Kyung were going to watch a movie but he cried off at the last moment. It was a good thing that Haru showed up for DanOh.
Gifs from thingskateknows’ tumblr:
2. Avengers
He’s doing the “Wakanda” salute, of course.
credit: metro
From Episode 5
1. Crash Landing on You
“I made a promise that as long as I see her, I’ll protect her.”
HyunBin’s version, Episode 6, epilogue.
2. The King: Eternal Monarch
Okay, first of all, Maximus was a white horse. Second, they were riding through a bamboo forest. And third, the gold braidings on the riding jacket were on Lee MinHo’s collar and cuffs. But TKEM fans can appreciate an homage when they see one.
credit: mothership
From Episode 6
1. Sky Castle: The father’s insistence on SooJin attending a top medical school brought to mind the pushy parents of Sky Castle.
pic credit: the cat that watches tv.wordpress.com
2. SeoJun’s underwear dance is an homage to the iconic underwear dance in “Risky Business.” And no, Tom Cruise NEVER wore shades and a white shirt in that scene. (That’s the “Mandela effect” that’s causing people to remember a popular event incorrectly.)
Remember what SeoJun was wearing here, okay? He was wearing underwear with leopard spots, not zebra or tiger stripes. lol.
Here’s the youtube clip.
3. The umbrella scene
Anything with umbrellas, especially a yellow umbrella, is a kdrama trope. Here’s Yoona and Jang Gungsuk from “Love Rain” (2012).
credit: annyeong oppa
More on discussion on the rain here: Bitch Talk: Rain?
From Ep 7
1. Sleeping on the table
Thanks, @Grace!! This saves me from looking it up!
Episode 7 has this reference to the Extraordinary You when JK came early for study class and Suho asleep at the table. Of course it didn’t quite end up like in Extraordinary You but with Suho scolding JK instead of grabbing her wrist 😛
And there was a scene from Goblin, too, where they were resting their heads on different tables.
And the camera superimposed Euntak onto Goblin’s pose.
I wrote about this, too, here: https://bitchesoverdramas.com/2020/02/20/throwback-thursday-goblin-on-appreciating-euntak/
2. The Fish Tank
I agree with @nrllee who wrote:
– The study cafe scene where they were filmed in the background through the fish tank in the foreground. Does it remind you of Romeo and Juliet? The Baz Luhrman modern version with DiCaprio.
When I saw the first tank, I too immediately thought of Leonardo di Caprio from “Romeo and Juliet” — and I did NOT even watch that film!!! (I kid you not!)
I saw that movie clip and smiled swooned when Leo raised his eyebrows in the middle of the clip. That eyebrow-wiggle was so on point, it could only have been done by someone who was aware that he was simply divine, simply gorgeous. Remember: he was looking at the camera when he did that.
Here’s the movie clip.
From Ep 8
1. My Love from the Stars
When JK’s dad protected his wife from a water-splashing by a dissatisfied customer, he was copying DoJoon from “My Love from the Stars.” The OST playing in the background was “You are My Destiny” by Lyn.
2. Wildlife scenes from BBC, National Geographic, and other nature channels on YT
The fight scene in grass = kangaroos and lions fighting
Ep 9
1. Parasite
Scene when JK’s dad was cleaning up Suho’s place, then hidunder the table while Suho and JK watched tv on the sofa was from Parasite. Thanks, @nrllee and @grace.
I LoLed at the weird non-Goblin way of crossing the road by Teacher Han. Eun Tak did such a brighter job of it. Still though, that road crossing probably sealed Hee Kyung’s falling in love with him.
I’d forgotten Crash Landing and while some of the other references tickled the back of my mind, I didn’t really pay them as attention as perhaps they deserved!
Whoopsie! … I didn’t get the chance to subscribe on WordPress. I’ll try again.
Thanks @pm3! TB is turning out to be more fun (and more poignant) than I thought it would be at first.
Has anyone figured out why they used the same snippet of music from DDSSLLS (Episode 12, 54 minutes in, when Jun is running to crash the wedding) in Episode 2 of TB (24 minutes in) when Lee So-Ho is fighting his dad? (I assumed the music was unique/new to DDSSLLS but perhaps it has appeared elsewhere).
Hurray for this post! Makes watching TB more fun. I’ve caught up with the episodes and saw the references. 😂
There this part when she recited the kings of Joson…sounded like Jessica jingle from Parasite. See Episode 4 at 48mins. Do the korean students in schools have a song to go by to memorize it? Jessica jingle sounds like a good one!
I think that they must have a Kings song. In Mr Queen Bong Hwan recites a list of kings until the maid stops him to show who is currently ruling.
There’s one in England now, thanks to the Horrible Histories franchise.
Fern, I was going to mention that you have your own ditty to help memorize the monarchs.
You only had one King Stephen?
Was it the same music, BethB?
I think we have more coming from the stills just released 🙂
https://www.soompi.com/article/1447021wpp/moon-ga-young-sports-her-all-encompassing-beauty-for-more-transformations-in-true-beauty
@packmule3
Yes I think it’s the same piece of music in DDSSLLS and True Beauty. Perhaps it wasn’t original to DDSSLLS and had been used previously(?). The only reason I can think that they might have used it as a meta reference is that in each scene a younger man/boy is trying to break up a pair of adults?
I did a very quick upload on YouTube with snippets of the two scenes. The quality isn’t very good since I shot it on my iPhone (I should have turned the volume up more). Here they are:
• DDSSLLS wedding crasher: https://youtu.be/jXrhFDeM3sA
• True Beauty father-son fight scene: https://youtu.be/He5yfFZi0nY
For better quality, see the originals: DDSSLLS, Episode 12 @ 54 minutes; True Beauty, Episode 2 @ 24 minutes.
Episode 7 has this reference to the Extraordinary You when JK came early for study class and Suho asleep at the table. Of course it didn’t quite end up like in Extraordinary You but with Suho scholding JK instead of grabbing her wrist 😛
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/12/b7/22/12b722e70bfc371f3abdc53fad505e92.jpg
Hello! This is my first time writing a comment here; I really enjoyed the posts on Hotel Del Luna (although you did mention to *not* binge-read posts on this site, lol) and I’m enjoying True Beauty more than I’d expected to 😀
Wanted to point out that the one scene in episode 6 where Seojun eats his sister Gowoon’s noodles was very much like Go-joon and Go-hee in Sweet Revenge (2017-18). I had a good laugh over that, hahaha…
Looking forward to new episodes of TB and new posts here too, of course!
Welcome @hotpink. Yes, True Beauty is quite a bit of fun. Not as superficial as I feared, not so deep that it takes time to unravel and it has a sprinkling of really funny moments to take us out of moments of annoyance.
I’ve watched too few shows or remember too little to notice all the meta. Thanks for pointing out the noodle scene. Funny thing is that it’s repeated between Daddy Im or Lim and the Prince Comics’ owner over the Jajangmyeon. LOL.
I updated the new metas for Eps 6 & 7 with the new metas from y’all.
If you could tell me the time stamps for the kdrama references, that would save me the time. Thanks.
There is definitely a reference to Hwayugi in one of the last 2 episodes. That Namsan Tower love lock scene in the preview. 🙂 Love what they are doing with all the meta-references in this drama!
Thanks for the tip, @koreanoona. Will add this.
nrllee, grace, GB, What episode was this love lock scene?
Welcome to the blog.
@packmule3 it’s (love lock scene) yet to air. It’s in Ep15 (next week’s ep). Showed up in the preview after Ep14.
In episode 14, han joon woo (teachers joo kyung) suddenly cry in class when joo kyung back to class. What’s the drama reference? What the title of the instrumental?
Extraordinary you got referenced quite a bit here. Does using the same school location count? 😅 Yonsei university must get quite a lot of filming going on. Many other dramas film there.
Also, saw this but I can’t seem to copy the link here, of Seojun walking in the school corridor with his mates…reminds me of Extraordinary You where the main 3 characters saunter in the school corridor grandly like some star.
Someone has compiled some of these meta references in a YouTube video. Had not made the connection to My Love From the Star before… https://youtu.be/0lPHZthCFc8
I actually think the scene from episode 7 where they are both resting on the table could be a reference to I Am Not a Robot where he passes out because he’s drunk and then she lays her head down next to him and whispers “I am not a robot”.
Thanks. I’ll have to finish this one day. 😂