Categories: K-dramas

Sports Seoul Article Discusses the Upcoming 2021 Sageuk Dramas of Child Actress Turned Adult Female Leads Kim Yoo Jung and Kim So Hyun

When I read this article this week I hoped that the reporter knew there was a crazy underbelly that likes to pit these two against each other when really the majority loves having double the talent and styles in K-ent young leading ladies. Sports Seoul newspaper released an article this week discussing the return of child turned adult actresses Kim Yoo Jung and Kim So Hyun in 2021 each with a high profile sageuk drama. First arriving is Kim So Hyun in River Where the Moon Rises, which is not her first sageuk since she became of age, that would be Tale of Nokdu. The reporter expects to see further maturity and transformation in River as she keeps building her expansive career which has toggled between successful modern dramas in different genres like Let’s Fight Ghost and Love Alarm as well as sageuks like Nokdu.

Kim Yoo Jung doesn’t return until fall of 2021 with Hong Chun Gi, but the reporter calls her the sageuk empress due to her childhood sageuk roles as the young female lead always being huge hits including Painter of the Wind, Dong Yi, Gyebaek, and The Moon Embracing the Sun which was her most famous child role opposite Yeo Jin Gu. She also had the hit sageuk Moonlight Drawn by Clouds with Park Bo Gum in her late teens but Hong Chun Gi will be her first sageuk lead since becoming an adult and will also be directed by the PD of Painter of the Wind. The reporter goes on to say the two are good friends who grew up in parallel under the public eye and don’t see each other as rivals, though they share very similar career trajectories including recently changing agencies. The reporter concludes that K-ent is really thrilled to have both with their different onscreen acting styles which expands to pool of top young actresses in their generation and also pave the way for future child actresses to follow in their success roadmap.

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  • Kim So Hyun as Queen of Historical Dramas and Kim Yoo Jung as Saguek Empress. Yas! Hail to these top girls of their generation.

  • I hope Kim Yoo Jung next projects will be much better than her last two. She is far too beautiful and talented to be relegated to questionable and sub-par scripts. She has so much potential and everything it takes to catapult her to a higher status, I don't know why her former management keep giving her bad dramas to star.

    • I've wiped Ruler of the Mask out of my memory. Thankfully Tale of Nokdu was better. My first KYJ drama was her opposite YJG in Iljimae as children and then all 3 in METS. These 3 are great in sageuk, I'm always excited whenever they go back to that genre.

      • Gosh, everytime the three actors I mentioned, I can’t help but be sad for actor Lee Tae Ri. Hate how he is often ignored when the three are mentioned (he, just like the three plays the child actor of the FOUR main leads in Moon Sun). Glad he’s getting more attention due to Extraordinary You and Tale of the Nine Tailed

      • I’m happy for the success of the trio though, I just wish the other actor Lee Tae Ri (young Jung Il Woo) is mentioned together with them. I cant separate their names since there’s an interesting trivia on their childhood careers.
        YJG & KYJ - played the young version of the main couple in Iljimae 2008.
        Lee Tae Ri & KYJ - KYJ was one of the main actors in Grudge the Revolt of Gumiho 2010 drama while Lee Tae Ri as supporting actor is her love interest and they even had a kiss scene (yup, its right, Park Bo Gum is NOT KYJ’s first kiss partner). I believe KYJ’s role in this drama had prepared her for Moon Embracing the Sun, she also sort of “died” in this drama and appeared and haunted her enemies just like the young Yeon Woo did in Moon Embracing the Sun to the adult evil queen.
        Lee Tae Ri & KSH - played the young version of the main couple in Thorn Birds 2008 kdrama
        YJG & KSH - played the young version of the main couple in Missing You 2012-2013 drama

      • Ah, I remember how tiny KYJ and YJG were in Iljimae! I used to watch sageuk a lot, these young stars practically grew up right in front of my eyes. I remember loving these three in TMTETS so much. So beautiful, skilled and cute, they outshone the adult casts. I have such a soft spot for these 3, I hope they would have a bright future ahead. The competitions are stiff, but all they need is the right project.

  • Okay, I understand that they are unarguably the best but, where is Sae Ron? Is she downgraded to a second class actress? Is Hye Yoon already above her?

    • Unfortunately her star power dimmed. She hasn’t had a leading drama since 2016. That’s 5 years ago. Her status is a little bit above a rookie actor. Idk what happened to her but I hope she can resurrect her career since she’s still young.

  • I guess comparisons couldn't be helped between these two.

    Though they're both gorgeous but I think KSH has this X factor when it comes to visual appeal. Though to be honest I find her acting in guest or child roles more memorable.

    KYJ like Yeo Jin Goo seems to shine more in sageuks than modern dramas since they played the child counterparts of the adult leads.

    Here's hoping both dramas will do well since I like them both since Moon embraces the Sun days.

  • Both girls have their own style in acting but equally good and both still are just 21 yrs old

    They are queens of their generation their power is unbelievable
    Whatever roles they r playing they give it their all and always remembered as that character
    All the best girls for your future

  • I admire their transitions from child to adult actresses. The only one I can remember who made such successful transition is Park Shinhye. They are both great in acting, but I like watching KSH more. She is so charismatic.

    • i think nam ji hyun is also a child artist that smoothly transferred into adult roles... i guess its because she has a mature look and didnt had an agency creating a particular image of her when she was a child... so people easily accepted her as an adult actress and didnt face any backlash for hot kissing scenes in suspicious partner...

  • Idk but whenever there is KSH, KYJ together in domestic articles, KSH is always the underrated one. I hope she’ll receive more recognition after this RWTMR.

    • But Kim So Hyun is more popular internationally than Yoo Jung. So it's kind of balance. ? I'm an I-fan and whenever they asked me who's my fave actress I say Kim Yoo Jung and they're like who is that? And when I see like compilation of beauties in K-drama I rarely see Yoo Jung in it. Though love in the moonlight is a hit, park bo gum was the one who has had more limelight internationally. So I hope through Hong Chun Gi she'll be much more known. But Backstreet rookie which aired on iQiyi has also helped her to be a little bit known that a news outlet in the country I origin at has released an article about her for the first time.

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