Was it because Yeo Jin Goo‘s performance was just too good? After the child actors have done their part and the adult actors have made their grand first appearance, viewers felt that Park Yoo Chun lacked a bit of that “wow factor” that Yeo Jin Goo previously showed.
On the episode of “I Miss You” that aired on November 21, the adult actors Park Yoo Chun, Yoon Eun Hye, Yoo Seung Ho and others made their first appearance.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
During the first half of this episode, Yeo Jin Goo portrays the complex combination of guilt, despair, and disappointment since he was not able to find Kim So Hyun, who had been sexually assaulted and was missing. On top of his guilty conscience for not being able to save Kim So Hyun, Yeo Jin Goo had to struggle with family problems as well. Yeo Jin Goo did a great job in portraying the overwhelming struggles of his character’s situation, especially at such a young age.
Yeo Jin Goo’s portrayal of the young Han Jung Woo ended with his determination to find her. This was when Park Yoo Chun made his entrance as the adult Han Jung Woo, who had become a policeman in order to find Lee Soo Yeon (the young Kim So Hyun, the adult Yoon Eun Hye). The adult Han Jung Woo had even more rage and despair than when he was younger.
The adult Han Jung Woo went to go visit the criminal, who sexually assaulted Lee Soo Yeon. When the criminal did not show any remorse for his actions, Jung Woo exploded with anger.
This scene was particularly important. It was supposed to serve as an impact to the viewers so that they could learn about Jung Woo’s feelings and sympathize with him. It seemed like Jung Woo’s guilty conscience of running away without Soo Yeon when she was sexually assaulted remained as a trauma to him. So this scene was when he had to explode with self-resentment and anger toward the criminal.
However, the viewers deemed Park Yoo Chun’s acting as somewhat lacking. Viewers expected a scene bursting with emotion but they thought that Park Yoo Chun’s acting wasn’t as deep as Yeo Jin Goo’s acting. Compared to Yeo Jin Goo’s exceptional portrayal of guilt and longing, viewers felt disappointed with Park Yoo Chun.
Another scene in which viewers were left feeling disappointed was when Park Yoo Chun goes to Soo Yeon’s house and sees the words “I miss you” written on the wall. It may have been because Yeo Jin Goo acted out a similar scene before.
Han Jung Woo is not an easy character to portray. The mixture of guilt, longing, anger and disappointment must all be delicately balanced in order to touch the hearts of the viewers. Viewers expressed their hopes that Park Yoo Chun will carry on Yeo Jin Goo’s performance to the next level.
However, since it was only the first episode, viewers are still positively anticipating on increasingly better performances by all the actors and actresses in the near future.
