In 2020, child actor Seo Woo Jin played the daughter of actress Kim Tae Hee in the K-Drama Hi Bye, Mama!. This didn’t go over well with some viewers because Seo Woo Jin is a boy in real life.
Kim Tae Hee and Seo Woo Jin in “Hi Bye, Mama!”. | tvN
As a result, Seo Woo Jin and his mother faced criticism for the possible gender identity issues it could’ve caused in the five-year-old. His mother eventually addressed the criticism. She explained that Seo Woo Jin knew why he was playing a girl for the role and was confident in his gender identity as a boy.
Anyone who knows this child would understand and say that those who criticize us for gender identity issues are meddling for no good reason. He’s a very masculine boy. He likes to hear that he’s handsome and manly rather than to hear that he’s cute or pretty.
— Seo Woo Jin’s Mother
Over five years later, Seo Woo Jin is now 10 years old and hasn’t been held back by those negative words. When he’s not modeling for children’s clothing brands on his Instagram account (run by his mother), the young actor is hard at work on-screen
From historical fantasies to dark mysteries, Seo Woo Jin has been in 21 K-Dramas after starring in Hi Bye, Mama! and has won two awards for acting in Young Lady and Gentleman. Below, his mother shared some behind the scenes pictures of him filming for MBC K-Drama The Judge Returns.
He is also an avid young ice hockey player!
Between his many acting roles and appearances at awards shows, Seo Woo Jin has even met K-Pop idols like BTOB
Although Seo Woo Jin hasn’t pretended to be a girl for any more acting roles, he isn’t afraid to let the design team dress him up as a girl for fun.
| @_angel_elijah_ 2/Instagram
Considering his life as a child actor and model, Seo Woo Jin seems to be living as normal a childhood as he can.
| @_angel_elijah_ 2/Instagram