Go Youn Jung’s Huge Age Difference With New Drama Co-Star Sparks Criticism

Koo Kyo Hwan and Go Youn Jung are currently starring in K-Drama We Are All Trying Here. While drama fans are hyped up for the meeting of two highly-skilled actors, a portion of netizens have brought up concerns of a recently popular trope in K-Dramaland.

They’ve noticed that young, pretty, and talented actresses have often been paired up with actors who are significantly older than them. For example, Go’s last drama, Can This Love Be Translated? paired her with Kim Seon Ho, who is 10 years older than her.

Koo is a good 14 years older than Go.

What angered netizens even more was the drama’s set up. Koo’s character, the male lead, is written as an unemployed man in his middle-ages. On the other hand, Go plays a sharp-witted producer.

While to most people, this may just seem like a harmless pairing of talent, some have brought up the fact that it may subconsciously affect societal norms, even going so far as to call it “harmful.” Others called out the double standards, pointing out that the opposite has never happened.

• If backstory is about human affection and saving each other, why can’t they make it between an older woman and a man who is 14 years younger?
• Skipping on this one, ha.
• Ugh, barf.
• Nawww.
• This is so harmful.

This growing trend possibly points to the fact that it is getting harder to find talented, young actors these days, while promising actresses are more common.