When Drama Leads Have A Huge Age Difference

[imienazwisko.livejournal.com]

Kim So Hyun is the latest actress to star in a drama that features a huge age difference between the leads. The 15-year-old recently discussed what it was like to work with her co-star Chun Jung Myung, who will soon be 34. She was asked what it was like to work with her much-older co-star in "Reset."

They got along well, she said at a press conference for the drama, and it was not at all awkward.
"I was surprised to find he was 19 years older," she said. "I do not feel that at all. I look mature for my age and Chun Jung Myung has a baby face. I don't think people will sense an age gap when they view us."

In "Reset," Kim So Hyun plays two roles. One of them is Chun Jung Myung's first love, but he loved her when he was 19. Choi Soo Han will play the younger version of his character Cha Woo Jin when he was in love with her. That girl was murdered. Kim So Hyun also plays Jo Eun Bi, a girl who looks just like his first love and she will help him resolve the case of her unsolved murder.

So technically, it is not cradle robbing or really an age-gap-romance. But in the last two years, there have been a few romances with huge age gaps. Lee Bo Young, a public prosecutor fell for a high school student played by Lee Jong Suk in "I Hear Your Voice." The noona romance has been around for years but in the last year the gap has grown. Kim Hee Ae romanced Yoo Ah In in "Secret Love Affair" and their characters had a 20-year age difference. In "Witch's Romance," Uhm Jung Hwa, a 39-year-old news reporter fell for a 25-year-old played by Park Seo Joon.

And then there was Yoona and Lee Bum Soo in the recent drama "The Prime Minister and I." He played a 42-year-old prime minister and she played a 28-year-old reporter, even though in real life he is 44 and she is 24. The two characters became romantically involved and had plenty of chemistry despite the age difference.

Despite the controversy an age difference can generate in a romance or a drama, in the end it's talent that is most important in making a drama a success.

Chun Jung Myung said there was not an awkward or uncomfortable moment when the two filmed together and he praised his young co-star's ability and enthusiasm.
source: kdramastars

Comments

[luxelet.livejournal.com]

rain/krystal, woohyun/kim sae ron/seungyeol, yoona/lee bum soo all weird me out tbqh

[szhuns.livejournal.com]

i really wanted to watch the drama that woohyun and seungyeol are in but decided against it because of the age difference between them and the female lead so i totally agree with you.

[aridnili.livejournal.com]

whatwhatwhat Sae Ron is in a triangle with them? OMG

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I have to agree on Woohyun/Sae Ron/ Seungyeol romance drama since the girl legit look like an underage girl. I was really shocked when I heard the news.

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

*sungyeol (sorry) but at least in the rain/krystal and yoona/lee bumsoo cases they're all legal adults. t-ara's dani (14) is apparently going to be in a love triangle with hoya (23) and myungsoo (22) in the rain/krystal drama as well...

[kittyboo17.livejournal.com]

so Kim So Hyun and Chun Jung Myung aren't going to be romantically involved in the drama? I hope so, because I don't think I would want to watch that o_O

[tempestdance.livejournal.com]

i mean kim so hyun's still in middle school, they somehow got away with yeo jin goo but it's gonna be super controversial if they try that with so hyun.

[aridnili.livejournal.com]

I REALLY hope they're not romantically involved. That would be blatant pedo* apology disguised as 1st love pure history. And what's up with the forced promotion of Kim So Hyun, Yeo Jin Goo and Kim You-Jung as almost adults/legal?

[pbutterlion.livejournal.com]

i couldnt even watch that one drama with yoona bc of that old tiny guy i cant understand age differences i swear how is that appealing to anybody leave young girls to young guys jfc

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

lol old tiny guy.. Poor Lee Bumsoo XD~~~

Prime Minister & I is Yoona's best drama of her career and her chemistry with Lee Bum Soo is so amazing -- the best chemistry she ever had with any of her co-stars before. I find it kind of disturbing too when I watch it due to the age difference but the writer wrote their characters very realistically and most of everyone who watch the drama approve of the relationship.

It was a really fun drama. Dont let that factor hinder you from having a laugh since that drama is really amusing. :D

[stoppedclock321.livejournal.com]

But what about young guys with older women (like IHYV, as mentioned)?

[aridnili.livejournal.com]

At least Lee Jong Suk was a grown ass adult at the time of the drama, but the lawyer/high school kid romance irked me to no end. Also, all the teacher/student overused romance plot disgusts me to no end, specially because I'm a teacher and the idea of having any kind of love/sexual desire to any of my students is inconceivable, and I'm at most 6 years apart from them, but regardless of age it's totally wrong.

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't like huge age gaps, like +20 years is a bit excessive imo, but as long they're legal at least is not creepy like in this case. I mean, a 15 y/o girl is a MINOR, so pairing her with a 34 y/o guy is simply gross and it'd be the same if the genders were reversed. Minors shouldn't be paired with grown ass adults, unless it's not a romantic plot.

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

She's 15 though. I'm assuming the writers aren't dumb enough for a love line.

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

Trust me, writers are THAT dumb.

[fukkthedumbshyt.livejournal.com]

She does not look mature for age at least to me.

[aridnili.livejournal.com]

She looks like a cute kid and if I didn't know her age already I would say that she's 12.

[anconeous.livejournal.com]

Kim Sohyun, Kim Yoojung, Yeo Jingoo, and freaking Yoo Seungho now make me feel so damn old. I remember watching dramas and movies when they were legit kids.

[hearttaek.livejournal.com]

I lost it when i found out Moon mason is now in elementary school.
He was only a few months old in Baby&I

[boiinks2.livejournal.com]

Every other teenager thinks they look or act mature for their age and then they grow up and realize how wrong they were.

I don't really like huge age differences in dramas. I dislike them even more if it is a teacher-student romance or a boss-employee etc. The power dynamics are so cringe-worthy.

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

That's why I didn't watch SLA tbh. Not only they had a 20 y/o age difference, but also she was a CEO or something like that and I don't like relationships where one of them has all the power and can manipulate others.

Big age gaps are cringey in general. I only could date someone 7-8 younger/older at most, but anything above that it's like I feel I have nothing in common and I belong to another generation. Anyway, people is free to date whatever they want as long they're both legal but I'd just feel weird tbh.

[ultimaaa.livejournal.com]

I can't wait until this trend dies. :/ 4/7 Infinite members have been cast in love triangles with 13/14 year olds in their respective dramas within months of each other and it's really frustrating.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy to watch Chun Jung Myung in a new movie. T_T And he doesn't look 34 at all. :))

I doubt there will be any romance plot between the two (probably only have them looking at each other -- holding hands perhaps(?) or frolicking in the rain haha for flashback scenes) so I'm not worried tbh. For the rest of the drama, their relationship gonna be like big brother and his little sister.

[uledy.livejournal.com]

Age gaps between adult characters don't really bother me, because relationships are a living thing and sometimes they look as you expect and sometimes they just don't.

Also, just want to say that I'm am STILL struggling so hard to get through Secret Love Affair. The show is so slow. I'm intrigued and I really like the characters' passion for one another, but this show drags and drags. Maybe I'll finish by the end of the year- who knows?

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

Your icon tho. I miss seeing these 2 together badly tbh :(

[love-allure.livejournal.com]

is 19 years and over gap the freaking thing these days? not in the drama per say but the actual actors' ages.

um jung hwa and park seo joon (well 18 years now since he's 25 now)
yoona and lee bum soo
soo young and kam woo sung
yoo ah in and kim hee ae

all this year too. i'm sure there's more but i don't wanna go search for more. and there's been plenty of 10 year gap dramas. to me it's odd, i mean i didn't think it weird when i was younger but now that i'm older... it's really weird.

[hillando.livejournal.com]

I feel horrible for this but after only reading the title I tried guessing which one of them was older and thought they both looked like they were in their thirties. Even thought the lady might be the older one. Oops.

I'm not a huge fan of big age gaps, but as long as the actors themselves are okay with it and there is no abuse of age hierarchy etc let them do their thing. (just no romance between these two pls)

[dubukat.livejournal.com]

creepy

[steelsigns.livejournal.com]

Minors paired romantically with adults are just no, because for God's sakes there's a minor involved. Unless it's one of those kid-one-sided-crush-on-an-older-person kind of thing, which is totally normal.

But if it's adult actors (and characters) that are involved, I don't see why not. Teacher/student ones are nagl at all coz' well, don't people go to jail for that?

And smh at some of these comments just dismissing entire dramas due to the age difference between the lead couple and commenting on them without actually having watched the drama.

[a-perfect-shade.livejournal.com]

uhm jung hwa and park seo joon were sexy as fuck together. they completely sold me on the age difference.

i didn't mind the couple in IHYV either but honestly it was only lee jong suk selling that romance, park bo young never seemed interested at all, even after they 'got together'.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Late comment but King of High School was ruined for me when the almost 30 year old woman decided to continue the romantic relationship with the boy after she found out how young he was. I was WTF. The only way that could have worked for me is if they had a time jump and reunited after he finished college. The thought of making out with a 16-17 year old boy is just disgusting.

IHYV was acceptable because it was a one sided crush until the 1 year time jump when he was legally an adult. Also it helped that Lee JongSuk didn't look like a 18-19 year old.

Secret Love Affair, I really liked the drama. They were both legal adults and had great chemistry. For me the bigger moral dilemma was the fact that she was married.