Park Jungwoo and Newcomer Roh Yoonseo Fill Out Cast of Romantic Drama 

After news initially surfaced of the project in May, Kim Youjung and Byeon Wooseok are confirmed to be leading the latest Netflix Original film for the Korean market. From debut director Bang Woori, the romance 20th Century Girl will also feature Park Jungwoo and newcomer Roh Yoonseo.

Kim Youjung, currently on screens in the period drama Lovers of the Red Sky, has appeared in films such as The Chaser (2008) and this year’s The 8th Night. In this romantic tale set in 1999, Kim will play Na Bora, a 17-year-old high school student who has a talent for Taekwondo and is loyal to her friends. Byeon Wooseok, from last year’s TV drama Record of Youth, will feature Bora’s classmate Poong Woonho, who is also a member of the same broadcasting club as her.

Bora’s loyalty is put to the test when her best friend Yeondu (played by newcomer Roh Yoonseo) travels to America for surgery and asks her to keep tabs on her crush Baek Hyunjin (Park Jungwoo of crime drama Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation), but as she does so, she begins to develop conflicting feelings.

Director Bang was first recognized for her short films, including Mrs. Young (2014), It’s a Visiting Day (2016), and The Cover Letter (2016), which have earned her a number of prizes, including Best Short at the Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2014. Bang also worked as a script editor on the comedy CHEER UP, MR. LEE (2019).

Though Netflix has been acquiring Korean completed projects and screening them globally since Time to Hunt last year, it was only earlier this year that the streamer started announcing original productions that were developed in-house for the local market. 20th Century Girl joins the previously announced Netflix Korea films Carter, Moral Sense, Seoul Vibe, and Jung-E. 

Producing 20th Century Girl will be Yong Film, the company behind acclaimed hits such as The Handmaiden (2016), Believer (2018), and The Call, which was launched on Netflix last year.