In 2004, she began acting in the film DMZ. In 2005, she appeared in the omnibus film All for Love. In 2006, she played the young Im Soo-jung character in the film Lump Sugar. In 2007, she played the young Song Hye-kyo character in the film Hwang Jin Yi.
In 2008, she signed with Sim Entertainment and won a child actor award at the SBS Drama Awards for Iljimae and Painter of the Wind. In 2009, she won a child actor award at the SBS Drama Awards again, for Two Wives. In 2010, she won a child actor award at the MBC Drama Awards for Dong Yi and signed with Sidus HQ. In 2011, she narrated the BBC documentary film One Life.
The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 13, she played the young Han Ga-in character in MBC Moon Embracing the Sun, and her name became known. The drama’s ratings hovered around 40%.
In 2013, she appeared in the film Commitment. In 2014, she played Hwa-yeon in the film Thread of Lies. In 2015, she played Oh Ah-ran in MBC Angry Mom.
The year she turned 17, she made her adult-role debut in Love in the Moonlight and won the Excellence Award at the KBS Drama Awards. In 2017, she appeared in the film Because I Love You. In 2018, she appeared in JTBC Clean with Passion for Now. In 2019, she took part in Pink Run, a breast cancer awareness campaign.
In 2020, she won an Excellence Award at the SBS Drama Awards for SBS Backstreet Rookie. In 2021, she played a painter in Lovers of the Red Sky. In 2022, she appeared in the Netflix film 20th Century Girl, which reached the global Top 10. In 2023, she took on her first play, Shakespeare in Love, and won the Top Excellence Award at the SBS Drama Awards for My Demon.
In 2024, My Demon ended. In 2025, she appeared in TVING Dear X. In 2026, she appeared in a variety special for the 10th anniversary of Love in the Moonlight.
Kim You-jung (born Sep 22, 1999) entered show business in 2003, the year she turned 4, in a Crown Sando commercial, and became known on Jan 4, 2012, the year she turned 13, playing the young Yeon-woo in MBC Moon Embracing the Sun. In 2016, the year she turned 17, she made her adult-role debut in Love in the Moonlight.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Stepped into show business as the model in a commercial for Crown Sando, a snack brand of Crown Confectionery.
Source 01 · Herald Business (Korean) · Her mother on Cultwo Show · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Newsen (Korean) · From five-year-old model to actress · opens in a new tabBegan acting with this film.
Source 03 · Naver Entertainment (Korean) · Comparing child actor profiles · opens in a new tabAppeared with Uhm Jung-hwa, Im Chang-jung, Kim Soo-ro and others in a film weaving together the love stories of several couples.
Source 36 · Star News (Korean) · Before the shoot of Lump Sugar · opens in a new tabPlayed the young Si-eun, the character played by Im Soo-jung.
Source 05 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Lump Sugar press conference · opens in a new tabSource 06 · Busan Ilbo (Korean) · Lump Sugar review · opens in a new tabIn this film, billed as a Korean-style blockbuster, she played the young Hwang Jin Yi, the character played by Song Hye-kyo.
Source 07 · OSEN (Korean) · Hwang Jin Yi on screen · opens in a new tabSource 04 · Newsis (Korean) · The child actor trio · opens in a new tabSigned with Sim Entertainment, whose actors she had met on The Chaser, in which she played Seo Young-hee’s daughter, and on All for Love.
Source 08 · Newsis (Korean) · Signs with Sim Entertainment · opens in a new tabSource 37 · OSEN (Korean) · Under the same roof as The Chaser cast · opens in a new tabWon a child actor award with Yeo Jin-goo for her child roles in Iljimae and Painter of the Wind. In Painter of the Wind she played the young Moon Geun-young character.
Source 02 · Newsen (Korean) · From five-year-old model to actress · opens in a new tabSource 09 · MyDaily (Korean) · 2008 SBS Drama Awards child actor award · opens in a new tabShe and Jung Yoon-seok won the girls’ and boys’ child actor awards.
Source 10 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · 2009 SBS Drama Awards child actor award · opens in a new tabJoined the same agency as Seo Shin-ae, with whom she appeared in Grudge: The Revolt of Gumiho.
Source 11 · Star News (Korean) · Signs with Sidus HQ · opens in a new tabA special award for playing the young Han Hyo-joo character in Dong Yi and the young Seo Woo character in Flames of Desire.
Source 12 · Star News (Korean) · 2010 MBC Drama Awards child actor award · opens in a new tabNarrated with the comedian Lee Soo-geun, and the film opened in Korean theaters that August.
Source 13 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Narration for One Life · opens in a new tabSource 14 · Newsis (Korean) · One Life on TV · opens in a new tabPlayed the young Yeon-woo, the character played by Han Ga-in. The drama’s ratings hovered around 40%, and Newsen wrote that child actors including Yeo Jin-goo and Kim You-jung gained wide recognition right away.
Played Hye-in, the younger sister of Myung-hoon, the character played by Choi Seung-hyun (T.O.P).
Source 17 · News1 (Korean) · Commitment opens in North America · opens in a new tabAppeared with Kim Hee-ae, Go Ah-sung and Kim Hyang-gi, playing Hwa-yeon.
Source 18 · Segye Ilbo (Korean) · Thread of Lies box office · opens in a new tabAppeared as the daughter of Jo Gang-ja, the character played by Kim Hee-sun.
Source 19 · TenAsia (Korean) · Oh Ah-ran in Angry Mom · opens in a new tabLed the drama with Park Bo-gum, playing Hong Ra-on, a girl disguised as a boy. Joynews24 called it her adult-role debut, and the drama’s highest rating was 23.3%.
Source 20 · Busan Ilbo (Korean) · First broadcast of Love in the Moonlight · opens in a new tabSource 39 · OSEN (Korean) · Love in the Moonlight 10th-anniversary variety special · opens in a new tabSource 40 · Joynews24 (Korean) · Interview on Love in the Moonlight · opens in a new tabWon the Excellence Award in the mid-length drama category for Love in the Moonlight. She could not attend the ceremony for health reasons.
Source 21 · Newsen (Korean) · KBS Drama Awards Best Couple Award · opens in a new tabSource 22 · KBS Entertainment (Korean) · 2016 KBS Drama Awards results · opens in a new tabA film she appeared in was released.
Source 23 · Maeil Business (Korean) · Because I Love You opens · opens in a new tabPlayed Gil Oh-sol, a job seeker, opposite Yoon Kyun-sang as Jang Seon-gyeol, the CEO of a cleaning company.
Source 24 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Preview of Clean with Passion for Now · opens in a new tabTook part in the event as a Laneige brand model and handed over a donation.
Source 25 · News1 (Korean) · Pink Run 2019 · opens in a new tabIn a romance set in a convenience store with Ji Chang-wook, she played the part-timer Jung Saet-byul.
Source 26 · Maeil Business (Korean) · First broadcast of Backstreet Rookie · opens in a new tabWon it for Backstreet Rookie. She also co-hosted the ceremony with Shin Dong-yup.
Source 27 · Maeil Business (Korean) · 2020 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award · opens in a new tabStarred with Ahn Hyo-seop, playing the painter Hong Cheon-gi.
Source 28 · News1 (Korean) · First broadcast of Lovers of the Red Sky · opens in a new tabPlayed Bo-ra, who tries to connect her best friend Yeon-du with her first love. Three days after release, it ranked second on Netflix’s global Top 10 for non-English films.
Source 41 · TenAsia (Korean) · 20th Century Girl release date · opens in a new tabSource 29 · OSEN (Korean) · 20th Century Girl in the global Top 10 · opens in a new tabTook on her first play as Viola, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who dreams of being a stage actor.
Source 30 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Casting for Shakespeare in Love · opens in a new tab The date is the opening night. Three actresses shared the role of Viola, and her first performance could not be confirmed.Won it for My Demon.
Source 31 · Xports News (Korean) · 2023 SBS Drama Awards · opens in a new tabThe drama, which began on Nov. 24 of the previous year, ended with a happy ending.
Source 32 · TenAsia (Korean) · First broadcast of My Demon · opens in a new tabSource 33 · Nocut News (Korean) · My Demon ends · opens in a new tabStarred as Baek A-jin.
Source 34 · Newsen (Korean) · Dear X release date set · opens in a new tabAppeared in Gureumi Dasi Geurin Dalbit, a two-day, one-night trip with Park Bo-gum, Jung Jin-young, Chae Soo-bin and Kwak Dong-yeon.
Source 35 · Star News (Korean) · First broadcast of the Love in the Moonlight reunion · opens in a new tabSource 39 · OSEN (Korean) · Love in the Moonlight 10th-anniversary variety special · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2003–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Film & TV · South Korea
Sep 22, 1999 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1999: the year of the event minus 1999, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.29 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.