Go Youn Jung Faces Backlash Over Large Age Gap With New Drama Co-Star

Koo Kyo Hwan faces backlash over big age gap with Go Youn Jung in new drama

The controversy started as fans noticed a familiar pattern in the upcoming K-Drama We Are All Trying Here. Koo Kyo Hwan, 14 years older than Go Youn Jung, stars opposite her, sparking netizen complaints about casting trends.

Go Youn Jung’s last drama paired her with Kim Seon Ho, who is 10 years her senior. This new role again puts her against a much older male lead, Koo Kyo Hwan, playing an unemployed middle-aged man, while she plays a sharp-witted producer.

Fans are unhappy with this ongoing trend of young, talented actresses paired with older male leads. Some called it “harmful” and said it could reinforce negative societal norms. Others pointed out the one-sided nature since the opposite, older women with younger men, rarely happens in K-Dramas.

Comments from netizens include:

“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.

Some fans feel this trend reflects a shortage of young male actors, while promising young actresses are more common.