South Korea Synopsis
미인도
Born to a family of established court painters, seven-year-old Yoon-jeong is a young girl gifted at painting. However, the pressure is on her brother to carry on the proud family tradition, as women aren’t allowed to become professional painters. While her brother trains to take his place in the court, Yoon-jeong helps him out by secretly painting for him. The little girl’s life is turned upside down when her brother kills himself. In order to preserve the family honor, she is forced to take her brother’s name and lives as a man. Yun-bok’s genius and talent captures the heart of another great master of the time, Kim Hong-do. But her daring depictions of women are condemned by the royal institute as obscene. Yun-bok meets Kang-mu and falls deeply in love. For the first time, she feels the strong desire to abandon everything she has built and simply be a woman in front of the man she loves. Kang-moo sacrifices all for his love as well.
Other Titles From CJ Entertainment
Drama + Romance in South Korea
150 South Korea titles in our catalog blend the Drama and Romance genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Portrait of a Beauty itself).
The 2007–2009 South Korea Window
Portrait of a Beauty holds position #63 of 105 South Korea films in the 2007–2009 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 2000s South Korea Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 2000s in South Korea, 321 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Portrait of a Beauty premiered alongside 36 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 36 other South Korea films in 2008.
The 335th South Korea title from South Korea we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1955).
Our South Korea catalog contains 1,397 titles in total (931 films).
Audience Engagement
28 audience reviews — more than 55% of South Korea films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 65th percentile among South Korea films.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #1,092 of 1,397 South Korea films indexed here (22nd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.7 points below the South Korea average of 6.9/10.
Among South Korea Drama productions specifically: #726 of 868 (top 84%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | South Korea |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Korean |
| Production Companies | CJ Entertainment, Iroom Pictures, Yedang Entertainment, Sponge |
| Runtime | 1h 48m |
| Release Date | November 13, 2008 |
| IMDb | tt1330206 |