‘Oh My Venus’ says it’s not about beauty

A woman who was once beautiful gains weight over the years, and begins to lose confidence, leading to crises in her personal relationships. With the help of a talented fixer, she reclaims her beauty and happiness. 

This, in a nutshell, is the plot of the new KBS drama “Oh My Venus” starring A-listers So Ji-sub and Shin Min-a.

“Before watching it, the plot or the characters will feel familiar,” actor So told press at a press conference on Wednesday. 

The producer and lead actors were willing to acknowledge that at first sight, the drama seemed cliche -- and that overall, it would follow the “framework of a typical romantic comedy.” However, they claimed there was something deeper to “Oh My Venus,” and that the point wasn’t to claim beauty would fix all of life’s problems. 

“It’s a story about how we should approach the things that we don’t have in life,” said producer Kim Hyeong-seok. “It’s about finding confidence to reach happiness. We’re working hard to make sure that people don’t think we’re promoting superficiality.”

The production staff pointed to the series’ subtle deviations from the common Cinderella story as their strength. For example, actress Shin’s appearance in the first few episodes is not extreme to the point of obesity, making her a more realistic character.

“Our guiding idea from the beginning was to make me look more like someone who had gradually gained weight from work and stress, unlike past actresses who had been dressed to look overweight,” said Shin.

In the end, according to So, the central message was to find inner beauty, to become “inner” Venuses by healing emotional scars, be it through exercise or otherwise.

“All four of the main characters have their baggage,” he said, making a point about how the drama does not point only to the loss of beauty as a reason for unhappiness. “The drama shows you how they learn to overcome their pain.”

“It’s a story about adults who learn to find themselves,” said Shin. “I think it will be a very different romantic comedy from what you’d expect at first glance.”

“Oh My Venus” is about Kang Ju-eun (Shin Min-a), a lawyer who was once called the “Venus of Daegu” for her beautiful looks but has since gained weight while working at her busy job. After realizing that her changed appearance is costing not only her beauty but also her relationships, Ju-eun decides to take action with the help of celebrity trainer Kim Yeong-ho (So Ji-sub) and his team Jun-seong (Sung Hoon) and Ji-woong (Henry of Super Junior M).

The series “Oh My Venus” will premiere on Nov. 16 at 10 p.m. on KBS 2TV. The show airs every Monday and Tuesday at 10 p.m.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)