Actress Go Youn-jung says her long term goal is simple but demanding: to become the kind of actor audiences never tire of, by constantly challenging herself with characters she has never played before.
New Challanges
In a recent interview following the release of Netflix’s romantic comedy series ‘Can This Love Be Translated?’, Go reflected on her first-ever lead role in a rom-com, describing the project as “a gift-like experience” that felt both surreal and deeply immersive.
Released globally on January 16, ‘Can This Love Be Translated?’ follows multilingual interpreter Joo Ho-jin (Kim Seon-ho), who becomes entangled with global top star Cha Mu-hee (Go Youn-jung). The series was filmed over eight months across Korea, Japan, Canada, and Italy, marking Go’s first full fledged romantic comedy and one of her most technically demanding performances to date.
A Fairytale That Felt Real
Go said the series left a particularly strong emotional imprint on her. “We traveled to so many countries and made so many vivid memories that it feels like flipping through old summer and winter vacation diaries,” she said. She described the drama as something akin to stepping into a fairytale, adding that once filming ended, the return to everyday life felt unexpectedly empty.
A longtime fan of writer-director teams Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran, Go admitted she was deeply absorbed in the show’s whimsical yet emotionally grounded world. “After finishing their scripts, it feels like I’ve been living in a storybook. Reality almost feels dry in comparison,” she said.
One Role, Two Selves
One of the biggest challenges for Go was portraying dual identities: Cha Mu-hee and Dora-mi, a version of the character that exists within Mu-hee’s inner world. She revealed that when she first read the script, she was confused and even intimidated.
“I was honestly shocked at first,” she said. “But I’m not someone who resists change. I started thinking, ‘This is something I’ve never done before,’ and that excitement took over.” Rather than shying away, Go leaned into the discomfort, seeing it as an opportunity to expand her range.
Choosing Growth Over Comfort
That mindset has guided her career choices since her debut in 2019. From ‘Sweet Home’ and ‘Law School’ to ‘Alchemy of Souls,’ ‘Moving,’ ‘Light Shop,’ and ‘Resident Playbook,’ Go has consistently crossed genres, tones, and character types. “My top priority is choosing a role that’s different from the last one,” she said. “Even if it’s just a different profession, I’m drawn to characters I haven’t experienced yet.”
She cited senior actors like Lee Byung-hun, Jeon Do-yeon, and Yum Jung-ah as inspirations. “No matter how often you watch their work, you never get bored. The characters may feel familiar, but they’re never the same. That’s the kind of actor I want to become.”
Looking Ahead
Go Youn-jung’s next project is the upcoming drama ‘Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness,’ written by Park Hae-young (‘My Mister’). She described it as a sharp contrast to her recent rom-com “a black comedy sitcom set in a gray, concrete world, filled with quietly shining people.”
Editor’s Insight
What stands out about Go Youn-jung is her “fearless pivot” strategy. Most actresses, after a massive global hit like Moving or a successful rom-com with Kim Seon-ho, would stay in that comfort zone to capitalize on their commercial peak. Instead, Go is actively seeking out “discomfort.” Her admission that she was “shocked and intimidated” by playing dual identities in her latest Netflix series is incredibly human—it reminds us that even at the top of the Hallyu wave, growth requires a bit of a struggle.
From a career-branding perspective, her upcoming project with writer Park Hae-young (Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness) is a brilliant move. Transitioning from a vibrant, international romance to a “gray, concrete” black comedy shows a level of artistic confidence that we usually only see in veteran actors like her inspirations, Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon. She’s essentially telling the industry that she refuses to be typecast. For fans, this is the best-case scenario: we never know what version of Go Youn-jung we’re going to get next, and as she says herself, that’s exactly why we’ll never get bored of watching her.