Roh Yoon Seo Is At The Top Of Her Class

The young creative has always been determined to deliver a stellar report card-no matter what she sets out to do

- FABIAN LOO

Acting is really difficult, exclaims Roh Yoon Seo in 20th Century Girl - a Korean Netflix romantic comedy where the young actress plays Kim Yeon Du, a lovelorn yet fiercely loyal student who chooses to put friendship first.

In the movie, Roh's character shares a bond with Na Bo-Ra (Kim Yoo Jung) and the childhood friends soon find out, after a series of comedic misunderstandings, that they are interested in the same boy, Poong Woon Ho (Byeon Woo Seok). But Yeon Du ultimately wishes to see her best friend happy, and so she plays Cupid for Bo-Ra and Woon Ho by pretending to be sick.

It becomes almost difficult to believe, ironic even, when an exasperated Yeon Du begins to doubt her acting chops in this situation; as it is clearly a skill that comes naturally to Roh - she was so natural playing the part of the lovestruck adolescent caught between a crush and companionship. After all, the 24-year-old only graduated from Ewha Womans University in 2023. I was just an ordinary student who wasn't particularly good at anything, she shares.

Teenage ennui is evidently still fresh in her mind, where feelings of self-consciousness and awkwardness come intertwined with memories of growing up. It's a bit embarrassing, Roh recounts an incident, when she tripped over a rock and fell in front of a crowd while chasing after a bus. I have to admit: I'm quite clumsy. It is hard to imagine that the ever-elegant and poised actress (Roh's looks even earned the high praise of netizens in a forum as being the 'ideal' beauty template) was once a klutz in school. But the memories and experiences I had during my school years are extremely precious - I wouldn't trade them for anything else, she shares. It was both helpful and super fun to be together with my peers who were chasing the same dream.