Several popular k-drama stars have been acting since they were kids. If you've grown up alongside these child actors you may have forgotten how very adorable they once were. And if you haven't you may enjoy seeing some earlier photos.
Here are a few:
Park Shin Hye is a good example of a child star who grew up gracefully. She was adorable when younger and she's adorable still, only now she's sophisticated and glamorous.
The photo above is Park Shin Hye when she played the younger version of Choi Ji Woo in "Stairway To Heaven." She looks different but even then at the age of 13, she was already a confident and personable actress. Park can soon be seen in "Thinking of Older Brother."
Shim Eun Kyung made her debut at age 9 in the comedy "The Woman Who Still Wants To Marry."
At 21 she has a long resume of film and drama hits, including winning awards for her role in the film "Miss Granny" and appearing in the drama "Tomorrow Cantabile" with Joo Won. Here she is playing the young Ha Ji Won in "Hwang Jin Yi," the story of Korea's most famous courtesan.
Jang Geun Suk also starred in "Hwang Jin Yi" but it was one of his first roles as a romantic lead. At the time he was about 18.
He began working as a child model at around age 5 and made his acting debut at age 10 in the sitcom "Selling Happiness." Here he is in one of his earlier dramas "Lovers In Prague." In that drama he played the president's son.
Nam Ji Hyun was only seven when she started acting. At age nine she played the young Seo Young Jae in "King Sejong The Great." Here she is with Lee Hyun Woo when they appeared in "Queen Seonduk." She was 14.
She recently appeared in "Angel Eyes" and "What Happens To My Family."
Lee Hyun Woo was three years older when they filmed "Queen Seonduk," but at that point he had been working for about five years. His last drama was "The Scholar Who Walks The Night" but he can soon be seen in "Moorim School."
Yoo Seung Ho is a trending actor at the moment. He landed a role in the comedy "Imaginary Cat" and now plays a revenge-driven lawyer in "Remember." But some may remember him in the 2004 drama "Precious Family" when he was only 11 years old.
Having recently completed his military duty, he is not a kid any more.
And there are also a few recently grown-up and about-to-be-grown-up actors who are starting to get leading roles, namely Yeo Jin Goo, Kim So Hyun and Kim Yoo Jung. Yeo Jin Goo appeared in his first film, "Sad Movie" when he was only eight and now at 18 he is landing leading roles. He was recently a student in the vampire drama "Orange Marmalade" and played a Korean War soldier in the film "The Long Way Home." Here he is with Kim Yoo Jung when he played the young Lee Gyeom in "Iljimae."
Kim Yoo Jung is only 16 but she's looking quite grown up these days. But she may seem more grown-up in comparison to the way people remember her as the young Hwang Jin Yi in the film "Hwang Jin Yi." She was only eight when he appeared in that film. Her most recent drama appearance was in "Angry Mom."
Kim So Hyun, who played Kim Yoo Jung's rival in "The Moon Embracing The Sun," began working when she was only seven. She was 11 when she appeared in the above scene in "King of Baking." The 16-year-old played younger versions of many actresses, including Han Ga In, Lee Bo Young and Yoon Eun Hye. Her most recent drama "Who Are You - School 2015?" had her playing twins. Soon Kim Yoo Jung and Kim So Hyun will be as grown-up, glamorous and sophisticated as Park Shin Hye and Nam Ji Hyun.
