Yeo Jin Goo is considered a veteran actor because of his many film and drama roles, but next year the 18-year-old will also be a college freshman.
According to the Korean media outlet Daily Sports, the actor has been accepted into Chung Ang University, which is located in Dongak Gu, Seoul. Starting next year he will study performing arts and media at in the university's prestigious arts program.
But he may also take a psychology course.
When he was interviewed in 2014 by the Korean media outlet Joongang Daily, he spoke about what kind of actor he wanted to be. He said that his role model was the late Australian actor Heath Ledger, who played the bone-chlling psychopathic Joker in "The Dark Knight." Yeo wants to learn more about the good and the evil of human nature so he can portray a variety of characters.
"That's why I'm interested in studying psychology at college," said Yeo. "In the future I want to express the complexity of human nature through my acting."
He already has a working understanding of some psychiatric disorders. When he was only 16 he convincingly played a 25-year-old schizophrenic in "Shoot Me In The Heart." So, he had a crash course in the way the disease affected his character.
Yeo has been acting since he was 8. Since 2005 he's appeared in several successful k-dramas, including "Giant," "The Moon Embracing The Sun," "Missing You," Potato Star 2013QR3" and the vampire drama "Orange Marmalade." He had his first leading film role in 'Hwayi: A Monster Boy" and that role won him a Best New Actor award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. After his role as a schizophrenic in "Shoot Me In The Heart" he played a young soldier in the Korean War film "The Long Way Home."
Chung Ang University boasts many notable k-drama actors among its graduates. The list of graduates includes Bae Jong Ok, Cha Tae Hyun, Go Ara, Ha Jung Woo, Hyun Bin, Jang Nara, Jin Se Yeon, Jung Kyung Ho, Kang Ha Neul, Kim Bum, Kim Hee Sun, Kim Rae Won, Kim So Eun, Kim Soo Hyun, Lee Bum Soo, Lee Min Ho, Nam Goong Min, Park Shin Hye, Shin Se Kyung, Song Jae Rim and Yoon Eun Hye.