When she was only 17 years old, Kim Yoo-jung was ranked 8th in the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list. That’s hardly surprising since she has been acting since the age of four! After she debuted in 2003, she quickly became one of Korea's most sought-after child actresses.
Photo from HanCinema
Birthday: September 22, 1999
Instagram: @you_r_love
As a child actress, she mostly played younger versions of the female lead. In 2012, she received a Baeksang Arts Award nomination for Best New Actress in Television for her breakout role in The Moon Embracing the Sun as the 13-year-old version of the role played by Han Ga-in. The drama reached a peak of 42.2 percent viewership ratings and showed its audiences that Kim Yoo-jung wasn’t just a pretty actress but a talented one as well.
Kim Yoo-jung was dubbed the “Sageuk Fairy” for starring in many sageuks (historical drama) such as Queen Seondeok (2009), Grudge: The Revolt of Gumiho (2010), The Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), Love in the Moonlight (2016), and more recently Lovers of the Red Sky (2021).
Her leading role in Love in the Moonlight ushered in a host of other lead roles in the film Because I Love You (2017) and the TV dramas Clean with Passion for Now (2018) and Backstreet Rookie (2020).
She hung out with other celebrities her age in the variety show Young Actors’ Retreat (2022).
Recently, she starred in the Netflix fantasy romance My Demon (2023) opposite Song Kang (Navillera). She followed this up with the quirky Netflix fantasy comedy Chicken Nugget (2024) alongside Ryu Seung-ryong (Moving) and Ahn Jae-hong (Reply 1988).
K-rush of the Week: Kim Yoo-jung
With Kim Yoo-jung as our K-rush of the Week, check out a few of her most notable k-dramas and k-movies:
The Moon Embracing the Sun (2012)
Available on AppleTV, Netflix, Viu
As a child actor, Kim Yoo-jung mostly played younger versions of the female lead. In The Moon Embracing the Sun, she played the younger Lady Heo Yeon-woo (Han Ga-in), a bright and noble girl chosen as the Joseon Crown Princess. However, she falls victim to a political conspiracy and loses her memory. She later returns as Shaman Wol, who catches the eye of the king (Yeo Jin-goo, later portrayed by Kim Soo-hyun), her first love. She was nominated for Baeksang Best New Actress in Television for her breakout role. The series reached a peak of 42.2 percent viewership ratings and showed its audiences that Kim Yoo-jung wasn’t just a pretty actress but a talented one as well.
Thread of Lies / Elegant Lies (film, 2014)
Available on iQiyi
Kim Yoo-jung could hold her own against other veteran actors and take on more challenging and diversified roles. In a departure from her usual sweet image, she portrayed Hwa-yun, a cheerful girl who secretly bullies her middle school classmates. Suddenly, Hyeon-sook (Kim Hyang-gi) dies by suicide, leaving behind her mother (Kim Hee-ae) and older sister Man-ji (Go Ah-sung) in utter shock. The surviving family members try to find out the truth behind her death and seek revenge.
The box-office hit where Kim Yoo-jung took on her first villain role is based on a 2009 novel of the same name by Kim Ryeo-ryeong.
Lovers of the Red Sky (2021)
Available on Viu
Not letting go of her "Sageuk Fairy" title, Kim Yoo-jung is the talented female painter Hong Chun-ki, who eventually gets to work at the royal palace. Blind since birth from a demon's curse, she regains her sight after a mystical event that causes her to unknowingly "borrow" the demon's eyes from her childhood friend Ha-ram. She meets again and falls in love with Ha-ram (Ahn Hyo-seop), who grows up to be a knowledgeable royal astrologer. But would their love survive if Ha-ram is destined to be the demon's vessel?
20th Century Girl (film, 2022)
Available on Netflix
In the nostalgic film set in 1999, high school student Na Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-jung) is a cheerful high school student who helps her surgery-bound friend Kim Yeon-doo (Roh Yoon-seo) find out about a boy. While getting information about her friend's crush, she falls in love with the boy's best friend (Byeon Woo-seok). However, she loses contact with him and only learns the truth 20 years later.
After being invited to be screened at the 27th Busan International Film Festival, the film was released on Netflix, ranking second on Netflix's global chart of Top 10 non-English movie category for the week of October 17 to 23. Kim received critical acclaim for her performance.
Love in the Moonlight / Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (2016)
Available on AppleTV, iQiyi, Netflix, Viu
In her first full female lead role, Kim Yoo-jung plays Hong Ra-on, a cross-dressing girl who works as a relationship counselor to make ends meet. To pay off her debt, she is sold as a eunuch at the palace and meets Crown Prince Lee Yeong (Park Bo-gum), unaware that Ra-on is a woman. She faces various dangers as she tries to protect the Crown Prince, while others protect her because of her secret identity.
Love in the Moonlight is more than "just" a basic gender-swap sageuk (historical show). So popular was the series that it peaked at 23.3% viewer ratings nationwide (AGB Nielsen) and later received six Baeksang nominations. Even though they were first-time leads, she and Park Bo-gum won Baeksang Most Popular Actress and Actor, respectively.
Check out our review.
My Demon (2023)
Available on Netflix
Described as the demon-like chaebol (conglomerate) heiress, Do Do-hee (Kim Yoo-jung) enters into a contract marriage with an actual demon, Jung Gu-won (Song Kang, Navillera), who loses his powers but not his devastating charms. Can they prevent themselves from breaking the contract or breaking each other's hearts?
While it achieved only average domestic ratings, My Demon was a phenomenal success internationally. It stayed 11 weeks on the Netflix Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) and reached Top 10 TV in 66 countries.
See our review.
Chicken Nugget (2024)
Available on Netflix
Choi Min-ah (Kim Yoo-jung) thinks the newly delivered purple machine will rejuvenate her, but instead, it turns into a chicken nugget! Her father Choi Seon-man (Ryu Seung-ryong) and her friend Go Baek-joong (Ahn Jae-hong) embark on a wild quest to bring Min-ah back to human form.
Kim Yoo-jung's airtime in the quirky comedy-mystery series may be short, but through a series of short flashbacks, she provided a glimpse of Min-ah as a sweet daughter and a good friend. Being a nugget did not diminish her screen presence at all.
Read our review.
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