Go Youn Jung‘s beauty from ten years ago has recently gone viral online!
A poster from the 2016 Seoul Women’s University festival pub recently surfaced on South Korean online communities. The model featured on the poster was none other than Go Youn Jung, immediately sparking intense discussion. In the image, she wears a white knit sweater, resting her chin on one hand while looking directly into the camera, with a bottle of soju placed on the table. The poster bore the cheeky title “Fine Arts Ward” (a humorous name coined by art students combining their department identity).
A netizen claiming to be her alumnus shared an anecdote on social media: “During the university festival, our department ran a pub stall and used that junior’s photo for the poster. The place was packed every single day, and tons of visiting friends kept asking, ‘Who is she?'” The netizen added: “That photo didn’t even do her real-life beauty justice. When she later debuted and appeared on TV, I felt the camera made her look far less attractive than she is in person. She is stunning in real life, super polite, and extremely cheerful when greeting others.”
Born in 1996, Go Youn Jung graduated from the Department of Contemporary Art at Seoul Women’s University. She entered the entertainment industry after appearing as a cover model for University Tomorrow, later starring in hit projects such as Sweet Home, Law School, Alchemy of Souls, Moving, Resident Playbook, and Can This Love Be Translated?.
However, the top actress had never originally planned to act. When she featured on the cover of University Tomorrow (Issue 771) in 2016, her interview headline read: “I want to find what I truly want to do, and I trust myself.” As a 20-year-old college student at the time, she had studied art for seven years starting in middle school. After failing her art high school entrance exam in 9th grade, she transferred to a specialized art high school and pushed through years of intense study, eventually feeling mentally and physically exhausted. She admitted: “Maybe because I’ve been painting for so long, I feel tired and hit a slump. These days, I spend every day worrying about the future.” Her goals back then were not stardom, but traveling, trying various part-time jobs, meeting new people, and taking on fresh challenges—like modeling for University Tomorrow—to discover her true passion.
Her life path eventually took an unexpected turn. While promoting the Disney+ series Moving in 2023, Go Youn Jung revealed in an interview that a photography student had recommended she apply as a cover model for University Tomorrow. To her surprise, she was selected. After the shoot, numerous agencies reached out to her, but she initially declined them all, reasoning: “No one in my family has talent for being a celebrity. I can’t sing, I can’t dance, and acting never even crossed my mind.” Ultimately, the head of her current agency persuaded her: “Don’t decide you can’t do it before you’ve even tried. Give it a shot first.” She began taking acting lessons, using her modeling earnings to pay for tuition. After taking a leave of absence from university, she auditioned relentlessly, successfully transitioning from an art student into a professional actress.
