Edited by Seo Hayne
Translated Cho EK
Kim Yoo Jung, who already has 19 years of acting experience, made her debut with a small role in the film DMZ (2004) when she was four years old. When she was six, she appeared in Park Chan Wook’s Lady Vengeance as the kid abducted by Mr. Baek. From then on, she played many roles as a child actor in various films. She played young Lim Soo Jung in Lump Sugar (2006), young Song Hye Kyo in Hwang Jin Yi (2007), as well as young Moon Geun Young in Painter of the Wind (2008), and earned fame with her big eyes and clear diction.
She entered the 2010s, gaining immense popularity for her roles as young Dong Yi (Han Hyo Joo) in MBC Dong Yi (2010) and Yeon Woo (Han Ga In) in MBC Moon Embracing the Sun (2012). Because she played the childhood of the female lead role, she did not have big parts in the works. But she started to take on bigger roles with her delicate and stable acting skills. Starting from 2013, she began to show her own character rather than someone’s childhood.
Kim Yoo Jung took on the role of Hong Ra On, who disguises as a eunuch in KBS Love in the Moonlight (2016). It was her first terrestrial TV show, and she expressed various emotions of youth while showing her friendship with Crown Prince Lee Young and the romance with him after he finds about her true self. In the solo dance scene set in the royal court on the feast day, she showed off soft and elegant moves. She shared a behind-the-scenes story that the scene required her two months of practice.
In SBS Backstreet Rookie (2020), which is based on a webtoon of the same name, Kim transformed into Jung Saet Byeol, a college student and part-timer at a convenience store. She portrayed a funny romance scene with Ji Chang Wook, who played Dae Hyeon, a warm-hearted store manager. In it, she also played her own stunts.
In the first half of this year, she met viewers around the world with the Netflix movie The 8th Night. The show deals with an 8-day struggle to prevent a crisis that will bring hell to the world, and Kim Yoo Jung plays Ae Ran, a girl with a secret related to ‘the seven steppings stones.’
She will soon meet the viewers with SBS Lovers of the Red Sky as Hong Chun Gi, the only female painter in the Joseon dynasty. The fans of Kim’s historical dramas already have high anticipation for Lovers of the Red Sky, a fantasy romance drama that deals with divine power. She is excellent at playing a role in the genres that she has dealt with before, and she is also great at playing a brand new role in the genres that she has never tried before. I look forward to the future path Kim Yoo Jung will share with us.
Editor Seo Hayne: I like actors as they faithfully lead through their long running-time. I also like idols who accomplish everything on stage within 3 minutes.
Translator Cho EK: I’m a big fan of Korean dramas and movies.
I’ve seen many of her performances and never one I didn’t enjoy. For great actors there are no small parts. Brings her all to every role. Watching Back Street Rookie now. I‘lol search Netflix for The 8th Night.