Kim Yoo-jung, Kim So-hyun, Yoo Seung-ho … the Korean child actors who became adult K-drama stars

Nov 15 , 2020

Korea’s “little sister” Kim Yoo-jung did something many haven’t managed to: gone from successful child star to successful adult actor. Photo: Zapzee

It can’t be easy to give up an ordinary teenage life to concentrate on acting. Even if you have outstanding acting skills, there’s an inevitable loss of privacy that comes with making it to the big screen, or the risk of being typecast for future roles as you get older à la Daniel Radcliffe. Still, some young actors have manage to pull off the near impossible – here are some that managed it.

Yeo Jin-goo

When we talk about child actors, Yeo Jin-goo cannot be left out. He made his debut with the 2005 film Sad Movie and has continued acting ever since.

However it was 2012 drama Moon Embracing the Sun (or The Moon That Embraces The Sun) that can be seen as a turning point for the young actor. The successful series saw him play the part of a young Lee Hwon (in which the adult Lee was played by It’s Okay Not to Be Okay’s Kim Soo-hyun) and was much loved by the show’s fans for his sweet, emotional performance.

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Then in 2013, he took one of the lead roles in director Jang Joon-hwan’s Hwayi: A Monster Boy and showed the world a more mature style of acting. The storyline was never going to be the easiest – it featured violent kidnapping and murder – but his portrayal of a boy becoming a monster received rave reviews. Last year, Yeo Jin-goo bagged the lead in two dramas, The Crowned Clown and Hotel Del Luna – seemingly improving with each new project.

Kim Hyang-gi

Kim Hyang-gi, who started acting when she was just 29 months old, has appeared in so many projects that she once described film sets as her own personal “playground”.

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She garnered much praise for her touching performance in The Queen’s Classroom – especially for a scene in which she bravely confronts her perfectionist teacher. But it was 2017’s fantasy thriller Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds which kicked off a new chapter in her career.

Taking on the role of kindly guardian Duk Choon, her on-screen chemistry with co-stars Ha Jung-woo and Ju Ji-hoon was so well received it prompted more than 10 million people to see the film.

Kim So-hyun

Just like Yeo Jin-goo, Kim So-hyun got her break on Moon Embracing the Sun at just six years old, playing the role of Yoon Bo Kyung as a child. It wasn’t until 2015 however, that the year when Kim So-hyun really got noticed. That year she took the lead in KBS drama Who Are You: School 2015, and played a double role in OCN crime drama Reset.

At the age of just 14, she skilfully portrayed the two very different characters required by the script, Eun-bi and Eun-byul, in a variety of situations, proving her acting prowess to all who saw her, as a glance at message boards at the time proved. Then, in 2019, she starred in the Netflix original series Love Alarm as Kim Jo-jo – her first youth romance drama – and clearly nailed it since the show will return for a second series in 2021.

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Kim Yoo-jung

Kim Yoo-jung is only 21 years old but already a veteran actress with more than 16 years’ experience under her belt. Several projects might be considered her best work, but if we have to pick one, it would be – yes, you guessed it – Moon Embracing the Sun.

Playing Yeon Woo as a child, the young actress received a lot of praise for her sweet romance with actor Yeo Jin-goo at the time. In fact, viewers enjoyed their performance as a young couple so much, calls for the pair to reunite are still showing up online and in magazines like Women Sense, which recently placed them on a list of “Legendary child drama couples who should reunite again”.

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In 2016, Kim Yoo-jung successfully broke away from her image as a child star gained respect in her role as a young woman passing as a male eunuch named Hong Ra-on in the period drama Love in the Moonlight.

Her on screen relationship with Record of Youth star Park Bo-gum led to them both being highly praised by fans and critics, with the show winning best drama series at the 22nd Asian Television Awards in 2017, and Kim herself winning multiple best actress awards. After wrapping up her most recent project, Backstreet Rookie , she’ll return to the big screen at the end of this year with mystery thriller The 8th Day’s Night.

Yoo Seung-ho

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Yoo Seung-ho, known as the “nation’s younger brother” (and an example of someone who grew up to wow everyone with his looks) has so far managed to avoid gossip and controversy in his career, much to his fans’ delight. One of his best-loved performances was 2002 film The Way Home, in which he starred as Sang Woo, a seven-year-old boy who throws tantrums at his grandmother.

Then in 2010, he took his first leading role in the drama Master of Study, shaking off any “model student” image he might have cultivated by playing charismatic rebel, Hwang Baek-hyun.

This article originally appeared on Zapzee.

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Fame and celebrity

Moon Embracing the Sun nurtured many child actors before they grew up and moved on to bigger things – like Kim Yoo-jung falling for Park Bo-gum in Love In The Moonlight, and Kim So-hyun wowing with her role in Reset