Kim Yoo Jung will no longer be seen in "Secret Door." Yoon So Hee will replace her, but the drama's producers want to explain that her replacement is not the result of her ability.
The producers explained that it was never previously determined how many episodes the young actress would star in. The actress who has played the younger versions of leading actresses in many dramas, including "Moon Embracing The Sun," "Golden Rainbow" and "May Queen," is slowly making the transition to adult roles. When she was cast in "Secret Door" it seemed as if it might be a role that the 15-year-old actress would act throughout.
According to the producers, as the storyline of "Secret Door" progressed, it became too hard to bridge the gap in ages between Lee Je Hoon's real age and hers. He plays the doomed Crown Prince Sado.
The producers felt that the age gap between the stars may have negatively affected the drama's ratings.
The drama's producers told Ilgan Sports that Kim Yoo Jung never knew how many episodes she would appear in. If the drama did well, she would be in all 24 episodes. But if the drama did not do well, another older actress would replace Kim Joo Young in the role of Seo Ji Dam. The drama achieved its highest ratings of 10 percent by its fourth episode, but for the last few weeks the ratings have varied between 4 and 7 percent.
"As the drama did not produce good results, the exchange was decided, So Yoon So Hee will make her first appearance in the 14th episode,' said the production company representative.
It is not unusual for a drama to have a double cast, with younger and older versions of the characters, and usually that double cast is announced in advance. "Secret Door" casting decisions may be considered unusual in that the producers did not reveal the alternate casts during the press conference.
Kim Yoo Jung was gracious about her replacement.
"It's an honor to have starred in 'Secret Door" and I have prepared a lot to show everyone how much I progressed," she said.
Kim Yoo Jung can also be seen this year in the web drama "Love Cells" with co-stars Jang Hyuk and Kim Woo Bin. She appears in two films, "Elegant Lies" and "Room 731." Last year she played T.O.P.'s younger sister in the film "The Commitment."
