By Jae-Ha Kim
Kocowa.com
September 21, 2019
Do you ever watch a K-Drama (or any series, for that matter) where the character is supposed to be a high school student and the actor playing the part looks at least a decade older? (I’m looking at you, “Beverly Hills, 90210”!)
Due to labor laws in which underage actors can’t work hours as long as adults, it’s understandable why showrunners would want older artists working on their set. But it’s also an interesting twist when younger actors and actresses play characters who are more mature.
Birthday: August 13, 1997 (22)
As a child actor, he won critical acclaim in “The Moon Embracing the Sun,” where he played a prince who would become king. (The older version was played by Kim Soo-Hyun.) Most recently, he starred opposite IU in the hit series “Hotel del Luna,” where he played a Harvard-educated hotelier in his late 20s/early 30s. He’s boyish looking enough to play roles his age. But with his strapping build and deep voice, Yeo’s also convincing in just about anything he plays, even when it’s a robot (“Absolute Boyfriend”). He was 19 when he started filming “Into the World Again,” where he played a character who was 18 in the beginning of the series, suffers from a tragic accident and is reunited with his teenage girlfriend who’s now 30…and so is he (sort of).
Birthday: June 4, 1999 (20)
Kim co-starred with Yeo in “The Moon Embracing the Sun,” where she played the child version of a queen, who was in love with a king, who was in love with another woman. Got that? She was 18 when she filmed the series, “Radio Romance,” where she played an assistant writer of a radio program with five years of experience. Her youthful appearance aside, Kim has the gravitas to pull off just about any role, regardless of her age (or the character’s). Most recently, she wowed audiences in “Love Alarm” with her portrayal of a high school student trying to survive without any parents. She only had to age a few years for the flash forwards to portray a college student, but the maturity she projects is a rarity.
Birthday: March 19, 1997 (22)
Kwak was just 19 years old when he played the prince’s loyal bodyguard in “Love in the Moonlight.” Viewers were shocked (in a good way), because while he didn’t look old, he carried himself like a more mature man in his 20s rather than a teenager. Two years later, he would have a supporting role in “My ID is Gangnam Beauty.” He played a college graduate, who was working towards his advanced degree. He was also a well-liked teaching assistant and mentor for the undergraduates. The character was estimated to be in his mid- to late-twenties.
Lee Jae-Wook
Birthday: May 10, 1998 (21)
This newcomer started acting last year in the hit series, “Memories of the Alhambra,” with Park Shin-Hye and Hyun Bin (who also played older than he was in K-Dramas like “My Lovely Sam Soon“). He had just turned 20 when he began filming his role of Marco, a drugged out computer hacker. This past summer, he had a co-starring role in “Search: WWW,” where he played Ji-Hwan, a little-known actor who falls in love with one of the female leads. Ji-Hwan can no longer delay his mandatory military duty, which means he was supposed to be about 28 years old in the series. He’ll next be seen as the second male lead in “Extraordinary You” where he plays — plot twist — an 18-year-old high school student!
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