Kim Jae-won: "Kim Go-eun's Last Man, an Honor.. 10-Year Age Gap, No Obstacle" [Yumi's Cells 3] [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Kim Jae-won (25) has transcended the 10th-year age gap with senior actress Kim Go-eun (35), completing a legendary romantic chemistry in "Yumi's Cells 3."

Kim Jae-won is a "trendsetting handsome man" equipped with a handsome appearance, a tall 187cm frame, and stable acting skills. Since debuting as a model in 2018, he has left a strong impression on viewers with writer Noh Hee-kyung's "Our Blues" in 2022 and has since embarked on an explosive career trajectory.

Kim Jae-won has marked a significant filmography every year, including "King the Land" in 2023, "Hierarchy" and "The Story of Park's Marriage Contract" in 2024, and "Eun-jung and Sang-yeon" in 2025. Especially earlier this year, he surprised viewers by unleashing his acting potential in the role of Kang Ji-hyun, a host bar player, in Netflix's "Lady Doa."

In addition to being a fixed member of KBS 2TV's "Ganeunjeong Omeunjeong Limi-jeong" last year, he has now taken over the MC role for KBS 2TV's "Music Bank," showcasing his presence in the entertainment industry.

In particular, Kim Jae-won has emerged as the "national younger man" with the recently released OTT TVING 8-episode original "Yumi's Cells 3," riding a wave of popularity.

"Yumi's Cells 3" is based on the popular webtoon of the same name. This is the third season after Season 1 in 2021 and Season 2 in 2022, arriving four years later. Kim Jae-won took on the new role of the male lead, Shin Sun-rok, opposite Kim Yoo-mi (played by Kim Go-eun), bringing fresh fun. He received high praise for meticulously depicting the process of the relationship starting as "dislike" and gradually melting into love. Kim Jae-won perfectly captured the "straightforward younger man" who changed 180 degrees in the face of love with high synchronization, stimulating viewers' excitement. Following its first release on April 13, he led the weekly paid subscriber count on TVING for four consecutive weeks, perfectly establishing himself as the king of rom-coms.

In a recent interview with StarNews, Kim Jae-won shared his thoughts on his intense popularity, saying, "I am recognized a lot on the streets. I am grateful and feel that I am being loved so much."

What was the mindset of taking on the male lead in the major production "Yumi's Cells 3," following Ahn Bo-hyun in Season 1 and Park Jin-young (GOT7) in Season 2? Kim Jae-won said, "Actually, Sun-rok was a unicorn-like younger man even in the original work. It was true that I had a pleasant burden wondering if I could express that well. But the first thing I felt after reading the script was, 'Such a big opportunity has come to me, this is so good.' I was so happy thinking it was a huge opportunity, and secondly, I focused on how to express it well and worked hard."

He continued, "The 'Yumi's Cells' series is so solid and is a mega IP, isn't it? Seasons 1 and 2 received a lot of love and attention, and other senior actors did a great job. When I wondered if Season 3 could receive that much love, I felt that my role's most important thing was to 'do my part well.' My mindset was to work 200% hard, not 100%, so as not to let anyone down in the production."

Regarding the character Sun-rok, he said, "Director Lee Sang-yeop mentioned that Sun-rok's appearance resembles me. I actually wore glasses when I was young, and I still prefer the glasses style in my daily life now. I think they liked that visual synchronization. I believe Sun-rok's biggest charm is his 'cluelessness.' He has a puppy-like quality but is cold and sharp when working. I saw this contrasting aspect as a major charm."

Furthermore, Kim Jae-won boasted of the high synchronization, saying, "People around me say I resemble Sun-rok a lot. My close friends know my real self, and I tend to be a bit cute, so I think they said I resemble him because they saw those sides of me."

Regarding the romantic chemistry with Kim Go-eun, he uniquely said, "It was so happy and a continuous learning experience."

Kim Jae-won shared his sincerity, saying, "I am a rookie actor with not much experience, and both the director and senior Kim Go-eun were veterans. Even though I was very lacking, they guided me well, and I am grateful. I learned a lot by watching from the sidelines. Sharing numerous communications and acting together, seeing them hold me together was reassuring. Breathing together with a senior feels like a dream, and I am grateful."

Just like the "younger man" setting in the drama, Kim Jae-won is actually 10 years younger than Kim Go-eun. When asked about the age gap, Kim Jae-won replied, "I had no thoughts about the age difference. In the original work, he was also portrayed as a younger man, and I knew that when I joined. Not only the age difference in the drama, but the actual age difference was never an obstacle even once. I just focused a lot on how to act as the role of Sun-rok."

When asked about the reason Sun-rok fell deeply for Yumi, he pointed out, "It naturally seeped in." Kim Jae-won explained, "It started with 'dislike,' but I don't think Sun-rok ever approached Yumi to make the writer uncomfortable or to provoke her. Sun-rok never thought of the writer Yumi as someone he disliked from the beginning; he started with a favorable impression. This grew into love." He further revealed, "There are many reasons why he likes writer Yumi, but in the end, I think the word 'pretty,' which made (Yumi) feel the best, was the biggest factor."

What are his thoughts on the tightly closed happy ending, the "marriage" conclusion? Kim Jae-won said, "I know from the original work that they got married, but when I first joined the production, I entered without knowing the ending. After receiving the script for the first part, I had a curiosity, 'Will Sun-rok and Yumi really get married?' So, whether they got married or not did not influence my decision to join the work, and 'they are getting married' naturally melted into the script, and I acted accordingly. In any case, I am glad they got married. Since I became Yumi's last man, it is an honor. I am just grateful to be able to be part of this glorious big production."

Furthermore, Kim Jae-won said, "My older sister also liked it very much. At first, she jokingly asked, 'Are you going to act as Sun-rok?' so I thought, 'Ah, Sun-rok is more popular than I thought.' Even though it is still embarrassing to be called family after the release, I felt good because my sister praised me, saying it was good." He smiled.

Finally, Kim Jae-won conveyed his serious mindset, saying, "Like I have run until now, I plan to try various roles. Actually, just because the response to romance is good, I am not the type to think, 'I must continue doing only romance.' I plan to continue challenging other genres and characters, such as Navy Headquarters. As an actor, my goal is to show a new side in any role. Even when I did 'Lady Doa,' it was a very unconventional character, so I thought it was a major turning point and challenged it. This is just one example, and I think I will continue to pursue works like that in the future."

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*This content was translated by AI.