# Shadow Beauty (2021)

> A high school outcast reinvents herself as a glamorous social media star, only to see her hidden past threaten the persona she built.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/113498

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 13
- Episode runtime: 20 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, mystery
- Created by: Ahum
- Network: Kakao TV
- Cast: Shim Dal-gi, Choi Bo-min, Lee Na-gyung, Heo Jung-hee, Yang Hong-seok, Baek Ji-hye
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16287444/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, glossy, suspenseful, anxious

## What critics say

Audiences find the premise promising, though the series is seen as not developing its ideas beyond that initial hook.

## Synopsis

Shadow Beauty (2021) is a South Korean miniseries drama mystery created by Ahum and broadcast on Kakao TV. Across thirteen short episodes of about twenty minutes each, it follows Koo Ae-jin (Shim Dal-gi), a high school outcast who transforms into a stunning social media star. Her carefully constructed online persona becomes the focus of the story as her deepest secret threatens to surface, and the series builds its suspense around who knows what and who is watching. Choi Bo-min, Lee Na-gyung, Heo Jung-hee, Yang Hong-seok and Baek Ji-hye play the classmates and rivals whose suspicions and loyalties tighten the pressure around her. Set in a contemporary South Korean high school, the show moves through classroom rivalries, influencer glamour and the quiet cruelty of the school bully, with each episode layering another clue onto the mystery. Its tone is glossy and tense, a bright surface over a current of dread and social anxiety. Fans of Pretty Little Liars, Euphoria and The Glory will find resonance in its teen social hierarchy, secret-driven plotting and digital reputation stakes. The compact run makes it an easy one-sitting watch for viewers who enjoy a tightly wound school mystery.

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- [Sweet Revenge (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/66111)
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- [Anna (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/122383)

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