It has been the utmost pleasure watching Kim Yoo Jung grow up for the last decade before the eyes of K-drama viewers. Unlike child stars like Kim Sae Ron who broke out in high profile Chungmuro with movies like The Man From Nowhere (Ahjusshi), Kim Yoo Jung has been the go-to drama child actress for the better part of her entire career so far. She’s the most famous child K-actress since Moon Geun Young and her breakout in Autumn in My Heart, though truth be told Moon Geun Young was already a preteen at that time. Kim Yoo Jung was a teeny tiny toddler girl when she got her first gig at the age of 4 and never looked back. She even played the young Moon Geun Young in Painter of the Wind, which is just so apropos in the handing off of the baton. The just released BNT International pictorial featuring Kim Yoo Jung is a watershed moment for us because it signals irrevocably that the child actress moniker no long defines her.
Her acting depth and breadth outshines many actresses in their twenties, and her fifteen year old age is old enough to do chaste high school romances where the skinship goes so far as hand holding. Even thirteen year old Kim Sae Ron is headlining Hi! School: Love On, it’s just a matter of time before we see leading lady Kim Yoo Jung made her post-transition debut. She’s also surrounded by tons of great male child actors that are also hitting their late teens which means we really might get some cute dramas that skew younger since the acting pool is so deep in that end. I love everything about Kim Yoo Jung and it can’t be said enough how naturally beautifully she is. There is no doubt that she hasn’t gotten anything done to her face, still the fresh cheeks and the button nose and the lush lips. The BNT pictorial taps into various images from chic Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday to punk rocker girl and Kim Yoo Jung’s flawless connection with the camera brings every single picture to life.
aww, she’s growing up beautifully!! SO lovely!!
She looks stunning! She reminds me of Song hye-kyo – the facial structures and nose and upper lip. And she is so talented!
Me too, I love everything about KYJ! She actually did a better job in portraying the child character of ‘Yeon Woo’ than Han Ga-In for the adult version in METS.
Definitely, a bright future ahead for her.
Han Ga In is a pretty bad actress anyway but it became even more obvious after seeing Kim Yoojung in the same role. The second leads in Moon were the only ones who were as good as their child actors.
True. She did a much better job than the adult female lead in that drama, which was also the first time I see her in action and have been loving her work ever since. So good is her portrayal of the characters she’s playing that the subsequent adult actor disappoints, failing to match the high expectation set by her in the viewer’s mind for that character – Golden Rainbow is an instance. Also loved her in May Queen, though I only caught the first few episodes of that drama and was already adorable in Iljimae.
Wishing this beautiful young lady all the best in the years ahead!
She is so gorgeous. I first saw her in Iljimae, I think and I thought she was the most gorgeous little girl I’ve ever seen.
She all grown up alrite. She’s gonna go far. She’s got the look , now lets us see more talent. 🙂
The photos are adorable, I’m loving it. 🙂
I am looking forward for her roles because she knows how to act.It does not bother me that is beautiful too.
A very talented actress, enjoy watching her on screen, she will go far as an actress.
A very talented actress, enjoy watching her on screen, she will go far as an actress. Very beautiful too, naturally so.
Love her. Lovely actress. Highly anticipating Her next drama ie the sageuk. I think she is the female lead there
So beautiful & talented for such a young lady. She reminds me a little bit of Ha Ji Won in eyes in some of these pics!
She looks so mature for a 15 years old. Those pictures with her in a bun. I literally gasped out loud. She’s so freaking beautiful! I am jealous of a 15 years old. Omg
She’s like a living doll, such beautiful young lady with an overwhelming charisma about her. But the thing that really makes me anticipate her future as an actress is that depth and breadth she infuses with all her characters, and I get the sense (in all the previous interviews that I’ve read) that she’s a smart and deep person, who’s after improving her craft and not after celebrity status.
She’s a much better actress than Han Ga In or Uee, Korean child actors are really something – the Moon/Sun child leads including Kim So Hyun have depth beyond their years when it comes to their performances.
Though I do find it sad that so many talented 20s actresses are being denied of leads because producers only want to cast idols or girls established as child stars. Kim Yoojung is lucky she has her long career on her side at such a young age. Not to mention her natural beauty -it isn’t possible to attack her with plastic monster rumours like some netizens like to do, when it is obvious she had the same face even as a baby!
She’s a knockout, and a very talented one!
I’ll be the voice of dissent however, and say that I wish they’d wait until she was a tad bit older before making her up to look like an adult woman and selling her sex appeal. By western standards, she’s still 14 (she turns 15 next month)~ girls are growing up too fast these days.
I agree with you on that point – this shoot should be a little more age appropriate, I am not comfortable with the idea of dressing any 14 year old up to look sexy no matter how subtle. She can still look cool and chic without needing the Lolita treatment.
You’re not the only voice of dissent – I find both the photos and koala’s headline quite troubling. She is not “gorgeously grown up” because she’s NOT grown up. She’s barely 15, for crying out loud! That’s not grown up, and the photo shoot is definitely not age appropriate in my view. Korean media do seem to have a fixation on the early sexualisation of girls, it would be nice if bloggers spoke out against it, rather than endorsing it, in my view.
Dissent is fine but you’re assuming your opinion is correct in how you view these particular set of photos. I’m all for keeping it age appropriate and I also see entertainment rushing to turn teens into young ladies way too fast. But these photos are totally age appropriate IMO. In the first set she’s wearing shorts, loose T and a fringe jacket with peep toe boots. Nothing sexy about it at all, teens wear this to concerts and the mall. The Audrey Hepburn homage was clearly done in a tongue in cheek way where she’s like a girl playing dress up and aware of it. Her outfit is also very chaste and demure and she’s having fun being pretty. The punk skater look is so age appropriate I wouldn’t be surprised if she dressed like that in real life IF her style skewed towards that fashion. As for the last photos, she’s in long baggy overalls with a button down underneath. If that is sexy then oh lord my fashion understanding needs a whole new overhaul.
I’m fine if anyone thinks these pictures look too sexy or old for her age, but I don’t and I honestly think most people wouldn’t either. But for those who do then it’s a perfectly legit opinion to have as well. But don’t assume it’s the correct (and only opinion) and my enjoying them or calling it gorgeous is in any way endorsing early sexualization of girls. I don’t think any right minded blogger would ever endorse that, the agree-to-disagree point here is whether a particular photo shoot is in fact too sexy for a teen or not. I don’t see these as that. The only potentially sexy thing would be her shorts and mini-skirt which plenty of teen girls wear especially during the Summer. I don’t think just because she’s a teenager she can’t be confident in her femininity without resorting to being covered up if the length is appropriate and the tightness isn’t too tight.
And Kim Yoo Jung IS grown up, she’s almost fifteen and when we all started watching her she was but a wee five year old with cherubic cheeks. She is not a full grown up of course, but she is grown up vis-a-vis what most people’s image of her as a little wee child actress. ^^ It’s like seeing your best friend’s daughter when she was just a kindergartner and then they move halfway around the world and the next time you see her it’s ten years later and she’s starting high school. You would say “wow, you’re all grown up now” not meaning she’s an adult and of age, but merely imply she’s grown up so much since you last remembered her as tiny kid. No one would say “wow, you’re a really big still minor child now”. It’s merely a matter of speaking to call her grown up and not imply she is in fact an adult. I think this is a very valid discussion to have though on when something crosses the line.
Ockoala I totally agree with you when it comes to those pics. She looks like a tipical 14/15 year old yes the skirt and short panths are a little sexy but were we at that age wearing those cloths too, and she did cover up the skirt with the skate bord it was all done in a classy way. And I don’t think that they would intensonly dress her up sexy because like all of us here she has also grow up I front of them. So I don’t think that they are ready to see her in that light as yet, a grown up Moon Geun Young took a long time for the Korean people to accept because in a way she was always seen as the little girl that was on the tv. Don’t be me wrong like ockoala I too would have been upset if she was dressed up inappropriate, and have you seen catalogue for teens they are dressed similar and we don’t get offended and the Audry pics could be an omage to her favourite actress.
Audrey Hepburn-ish style again and again! Do photo shoots run out of ideas lately? Like her in METS.
i need a reunion drama with Kim Yoo Jung and Lee Min Ho ’93 in lead roles.. :3
Me too. The fact that Minho was really into Yoo Jung was so cute
Luv this girl. I remember first seeing her as a young Dong Yi and was amazed by her acting abilities. Can’t wait to see her lead in the future. She looks so gorgeous in the Hepburn-inspired pics but my fave is the one of her simply sitting and smiling in overalls.
Sooo beautiful, a real natural beauty… And soooo talented and smart… Always enjoyed watching everything Kim Yoo Jung is in, but don’t grow-up too fast…
She is gorgeous but she is still too young to pose for some of these photos.
That little girl is waaaay tooo young to be so sexualized. This happened to Brooke Shields in the US too.
The kid isn’t even old enough to:
* drive a car
* buy cigarettes
* buy liquor
* enter into a legally binding contract
* provide consent to enter in a sexual act (in most jurisdictions)
Yet, she is being ‘sexualized’ and sold.
Yes, she is most definitely beautiful, but she is barely 15 years old!
Since she makes her living with her looks + acting, she will be dressed/undressed to shill both products and herself.
It is an imperfect world and it would be nice if she was free to be a child and not so concerned with her appearance, photographic images, and her next acting gig.
My goodness! SO PRETTY!!! I’ve said this before, but I absolutely can’t wait till she grows up and plays leading roles! 😀
She is beautiful and talented. All dolls up, posing and taking photos like her… who doesn’t in all teenager girls?? I don’t see any sexuality issues here. Just because she is a popular person, she get magnified. Only the men will never understands. But i do believed that she need to have a happy and normal teenager life before she embarked fully into entertainment. I’m not old and still can wait for her to make a come back when she is ready.
I don’t find these pictures to be even slightly sexual in nature but I guess we all have different opinions.
I appreciate the mention of Kim Sae Ron in this article! Both she and Kim Yoo Jung are such beautiful and talented young actresses – they far outdo a lot of the older Korean actresses that I’ve seen, even those most popular I find.
With Hi! School Love On, there’s been something of a bad rep because of KSR’s age but personally, I just don’t see it – like in these pictures, there’s nothing that’s even hinted as inappropriate in the drama.
Difference in personal opinion, so just pitching my two cents here.