Look Familiar? You Might’ve Seen The Korean Actors From “XO, Kitty” Before Without Even Realizing It
If you’ve seen Netflix‘s XO, Kitty, you know that most of the show takes place in Korea. This spin-off of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before follows the journey of Lara Jean’s younger sister, Kitty (played by Anna Cathcart), as she attends an international school in Korea to search for her mother’s past secrets.
As interesting as the show is, so are the cast members. For Example, Choi Min Young, who played the leading role, Dae, debuted as a child actor in 2014 and had a solid foundation as an actor at a young age.
But did any of the other actors seem familiar to you? Many of the Korean actors who played supporting roles are actually actors who have a tremendous amount of experience before XO, Kitty—in fact, you probably saw them in a K-Drama or movie!
Kim Yun Jin (Jina Lim)
Actress Kim Yun Jin plays Jina Lim, Yuri Han’s (played by Gia Kim) mother and the Director of KISS (Korean Independent School of Seoul). Kitty finds a picture of her mother and Jina from where they were kids, but when confronted with the picture, Jina acts suspicious.
Before she was Jina Lim, Kim Yun Jin played the role of Kwon Sun Hwa (also known as “Sun”) in the American television series Lost.
Growing up in New York, Kim Yun Jin participated in musicals and theater while attending a music and arts high school. Eventually, she went on to study drama at the London Academy of Performing Arts and Boston University. It’s no wonder her English pronunciation was flawless in XO, Kitty!
She made her film debut with Shiri in 1996 and appeared in many films afterward, including The Legend of Gingko (2000), Mother (2007), The Neighbor (2012), Ode to My Father (2014), and Confession (2022).
The most recent K-Drama she acted in before XO, Kitty, was Netflix’s Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, where she played the role of Seon Woo Jin, a negotiator who tries to persuade the robbers to release the hostages.
Michael K. Lee (Professor Lee)
The scary and often rude Professor Lee was played by Michael K. Lee, a musical theater actor, and singer.
Michael K. Lee grew up in New York, and after graduating from Stanford University with a psychology degree, he made his theater debut in 1995 with the musical Miss Saigon. He eventually moved to Korea and starred in more musicals, such as Jesus Christ Superstar as Jesus, Miss Saigon as Chris, Notre Dame de Paris as Gringoire, Hedwig and the Angry Inch as Hedwig, and more.
Now we can understand why Professor Lee sang so well on XO, Kitty!
Lee Hyung Chul (Mr. Han)
Lee Hyung Chul played Mr. Han, Yuri’s father, who prioritizes his image and business over his family.
Before he was Mr. Han, Lee Hyung Chul played many supporting roles in K-Dramas, such as Scent of A Man in 2003 and Pasta in 2010.
Since the 1990s, he has been acting in supporting roles in numerous K-Dramas and films, such as Flower of Queen (2015), Second to Last Love (2016), and No Mercy (2019).
Lee Hyung Chul also played Henry Higgins in the musical My Fair Lady in 2008.
Ryu Han Bi (Eunice)
One of Yuri’s sidekick friends, Eunice, was played by actress Ryu Han Bi. Despite being only 19 years old, she has quite a handful of acting experience.
Ryu Han Bi debuted in 2013 with the K-Drama The Eldest as a supporting role and continued to appear in supporting roles in Local Hero (2016), The Happy Loner (2017), Live Up To Your Name (2017), Come and Hug Me (2018), and more.
She also acted in supporting roles in movies such as C’est Si Bon (2015) and Cheer Up, Mr. Lee (2019).
Ryu Han Bi was awarded for her work with MBC‘s Best Young Actress award in 2018. Aside from her acting, there were speculations that she supposedly almost debuted with NewJeans, but ended up leaving the company.
Lee Sung Wook (Mr. Kim)
You can’t leave out Dae’s father, Mr. Kim, who is Mr. Han’s driver. Mr. Kim is a loving father, played by actor Lee Sung Wook.
Lee Sung Wook has played supporting roles in numerous films since 2010 and has appeared in many K-Dramas—we may have seen him without even realizing it! For example, he played Kim Sun, the team’s pilot in the Netflix K-Drama The Silent Sea.
He also made a special appearance in ENA‘s hit K-Drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo as a sales manager who pretended to be a victim of plagiarism with his ATM invention.
More recently, Lee Sung Wook acted as Director Oh in the recent Netflix series Black Knight.
Han Chae Young (Min Ho’s Mom)
Although she played a cameo as Min Ho’s (played by Lee Sang Heon) mother, Han Chae Young is a well-known veteran actress in Korea.
Her K-Drama debut started with one of Korea’s most iconic and famous productions: Autumn in My Heart (2000). Alongside top stars, Song Seung Heon and Song Hye Kyo, Han Chae Young played the role of Yoon Shin Ae, who tried to tear apart the main protagonist couple.
She also appeared in Boys Over Flowers (2009) as Yoon Ji Hoo’s (played by singer and actor Kim Hyun Joong) first love.
Ok Taecyeon (Ocean Park)
This one may be obvious—2PM‘s Ok Taecyeon played Ocean Park, the K-Pop star in XO, Kitty.
Ok Taecyeon started his career in 2008 as a rapper in the JYP Entertainment idol group 2PM.
He started acting two years later with his debut K-Drama Cinderella’s Sister. In 2010, he appeared in Dream High as Jin Guk, (also known as Hyun Shi Hyuk) and proved his talents in acting.
Since then, Ok Taecyeon has been active in the acting scene, impressing people with his role as the maniacal villain in the K-Drama Vincenzo and acting alongside Apink‘s Jung Eunji and actor Ha Seok Jin in tvN‘s Blind.
