Go Youn-jung: Every Drama and Film, Her Roles, and What Comes Next
Have you ever watched an actress in one drama and then not recognized her in the next one? That happens with Go Youn-jung more than almost anyone working right now. The assassin in Alchemy of Souls, the exhausted resident in Resident Playbook, and the sharp-tongued film producer in We Are All Trying Here do not feel like the same person, and that is exactly why her name keeps coming up.
Last updated: October 2026, after the finale of We Are All Trying Here.
Who Is Go Youn-jung?
Go Youn-jung (also romanized as Go Yoon-jung; Korean: 고윤정) was born on April 22, 1996 in Seoul. She worked as a model before moving into acting, and made her acting debut in 2019. In the years since, she has gone from brief supporting parts to carrying a Netflix series and a JTBC weekend drama as the female lead.
Her path is unusual in one specific way. Most actors who look the way she does get cast for exactly that and stay there. Go Youn-jung spent several years in small roles and ensemble casts before anyone handed her a lead, and the roles she has chosen since have been steadily more interior and less decorative.
Two things tend to come up when people describe her on screen. The first is her voice, which is lower and huskier than her face leads you to expect, and that mismatch is a large part of why she is memorable. The second is restraint. Her strongest scenes are usually the ones where she holds something back, playing a character's effort to stay composed rather than the feeling underneath it. The effort is what makes you lean in.
Where to Start, Depending on What You Want
Eleven titles is a lot to face at once, and the obvious starting point is not the same for everyone. Here is how I would send different people in.
- If this is your first Go Youn-jung drama — start with Alchemy of Souls. It is the most entertaining thing she has done, the world is easy to fall into, and it shows you the two ends of her range inside one story.
- If you are going through a hard stretch — start with We Are All Trying Here. It is slow, it is about feeling worthless, and it is unusually kind about it. This is the one on her filmography that is most likely to stay with you.
- If you want something light — start with Can This Love Be Translated?. It is a romantic comedy with real chemistry, and you can watch it half-tired at the end of a long day.
- If you like ensemble workplace dramas — start with Resident Playbook. First-year hospital residents, more comedy than tragedy, and no prior knowledge of Hospital Playlist required.
- If you want action — start with Moving. Twenty episodes, superpowers, and the series that built her international audience.
- If you want to watch an actor develop — go in order, starting with Law School (2021) and working forward. The change between that performance and her 2026 work is the most interesting thing about her career.
What I would not recommend is starting with the 2019 and 2020 roles. They are good, but they are small, and they will not tell you why people care about her.
Every Go Youn-jung Drama and Film, Newest First
We Are All Trying Here (2026) — JTBC
Korean title: 모두가 자신의 무가치함과 싸우고 있다, often shortened to 모자무싸. Twelve episodes, aired on JTBC from April 18 to May 24, 2026, and streaming on Netflix in selected regions.
Go Youn-jung plays Byeon Eun-a, a film company producer so feared for her blunt script notes that the industry calls her "the Axe." Underneath that, she is a woman who gets nosebleeds when her feelings reach their limit, and who has spent her life swallowing things rather than saying them. Her scenes with Koo Kyo-hwan, playing a would-be director who has been failing to debut for twenty years, make up the heart of the show.
Why watch it: This is from Park Hae-young, the writer behind My Mister and My Liberation Notes, and it belongs to the same emotional family. It is slow on purpose, and it is about envy, self-doubt, and the long work of believing you are allowed to take up space.
How it was received: Broadcast ratings opened modestly at 2.2%, but it went to number one on Netflix in Korea within a day of the premiere. That gap is worth noticing — it is a drama that found its audience through streaming rather than television, which is increasingly how this kind of quiet show survives. International reviewers were notably warm toward it, and several named it one of the best Korean dramas of the year.
Can This Love Be Translated? (2026) — Netflix
Premiered January 16, 2026. Her first lead in a romantic comedy, and a reunion with the Hong sisters, who wrote Alchemy of Souls.
She plays a dual role: Cha Mu-hee, a top actress, and Do Ra-mi, an alter ego who periodically takes over. Kim Seon-ho plays the multilingual translator assigned to her. What viewers did not expect was how much psychological weight the series carries underneath the comedy, particularly in its handling of recovery and self-acceptance.
Resident Playbook (2025) — tvN
Premiered April 12, 2025. A spin-off of the Hospital Playlist universe, following first-year residents rather than senior doctors.
She plays Oh Yi-young, a first-year obstetrics and gynecology resident at Jongno Yulje Hospital. The role asked for comedy and exhaustion in equal measure, and it was the first time many viewers saw her be funny. She placed first on Good Data Corporation's weekly buzzworthy actor ranking for four consecutive weeks during the run, and she also lent her voice to one of the drama's soundtrack songs.
Death's Game (2023)
A short appearance in a dark fantasy thriller with a large cast. Minor in screen time, but a useful example of how much presence she can hold in a few minutes.
Moving (2023) — Disney+
Aired August 9 to September 20, 2023. Adapted from Kang Full's webtoon, about people with inherited superpowers hiding from an organization that wants to use them.
She plays Jang Hui-soo, a teenager with healing ability and extraordinary strength, alongside Han Hyo-joo, Zo In-sung, Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Sung-kyun. The role won her Best New Actress at both the 2023 Asia Contents Awards and Global OTT Awards and the 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards.
Alchemy of Souls (2022–2023) — tvN
Her breakthrough, and still the role most international fans name first. She appeared in Part 1 as Nak-su, an elite assassin, then returned in Part 2, subtitled Light and Shadow, as the female lead Jin Bu-yeon, an amnesiac priestess and the long-lost daughter of a powerful mage family.
Why watch it: Carrying the second half of a hit fantasy series is a hard assignment for an actor with limited lead experience, and she did it by making the character her own rather than imitating what came before.
Hunt (2022) — Film
Her cinema debut, in Lee Jung-jae's directorial debut, an espionage thriller that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022. She plays Joo Yoo-jeong. The performance brought Best New Actress nominations at the Buil Film Awards, the Grand Bell Awards, the Blue Dragon Film Awards, and the Baeksang Arts Awards.
Law School (2021) — JTBC
She plays Jeon Ye-seul, a first-year law student being abused by her boyfriend and coerced into a false statement. It is a difficult storyline, and the performance was widely credited with handling the subject seriously rather than sensationally. For viewers tracking her development, this is where the restraint she is now known for first becomes visible.
Sweet Home (2020) — Netflix
Her first real breakthrough with international audiences. She plays Park Yoo-ri, a caregiver in a post-apocalyptic apartment building, and the role balances vulnerability with competence in a way that made people start looking for her name.
The School Nurse Files (2020) — Netflix
A brief appearance in a surreal supernatural series. Few lines, but one of the more visually memorable sequences in the show.
He Is Psychometric (2019) — tvN
Her acting debut, as Kim So-hyun. A supporting role with modest screen time, and already a restrained, grounded performance. Many of her longtime fans say this is where they first noticed her.
What She Is Working On Now
As of October 2026, two projects have been reported.
- Moving Season 2 (Disney+) — she returns as Jang Hui-soo. Korean media reported in September 2026 that filming was under way. The season picks up after the events of the first, with the superpowered characters facing a new threat.
- Nambeol (남벌), a film — reported as an upcoming project, with details still limited.
No release dates have been confirmed for either as of this update.
The Thread Running Through Her Roles
Line her filmography up and something starts to show. Whether by design or by accident, Go Youn-jung keeps playing women who cannot quite believe they are worth anything.
Byeon Eun-a is the clearest case. She is competent, feared, and successful, and she still gets nosebleeds when she feels too much, because she has spent her whole life refusing to let anything out. The drama she appears in is literally called Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness. But the pattern goes back much further than 2026.
Jeon Ye-seul in Law School is a young woman who cannot say out loud what is being done to her. Cha Mu-hee in Can This Love Be Translated? is a famous actress whose mind has split in two, and the series turns out to be about self-acceptance underneath the romance. Even Jang Hui-soo in Moving is a girl whose power is healing other people, which is a strange and telling thing for a teenager to be defined by.
I think this is why she lands with viewers who are not simply looking for a pretty face. There is a particular kind of person who looks entirely fine from the outside — capable at work, composed in conversation, the one other people lean on — and who privately suspects they are a fraud who has not been found out yet. Go Youn-jung plays that person repeatedly, and she plays it from the inside rather than signaling it.
If you have ever been that person, her best work will not feel like watching someone else's story. That is not a quality you can cast for. It is something an actor either understands or does not.
Questions People Actually Ask
Is Go Youn-jung in Moving Season 2?
Yes. She is reported to be returning as Jang Hui-soo for the Disney+ second season, which was filming as of September 2026. No release date has been announced.
Why does the female lead change between Alchemy of Souls Part 1 and Part 2?
This confuses a lot of people. Part 1's female lead was played by Jung So-min. Go Youn-jung appeared briefly in Part 1 as Nak-su in her original body, then returned in Part 2 as the lead, playing Jin Bu-yeon. So the actress change between parts is intentional, not a recasting dispute.
Which Go Youn-jung drama should I watch if I only watch one?
Alchemy of Souls if you want to enjoy yourself. We Are All Trying Here if you want something that stays with you. They are very different shows and both are defensible answers.
'Is We Are All Trying Here' similar to 'My Mister'?
Same writer, Park Hae-young, and a similar emotional register: slow, quiet, and concerned with people at the bottom of their own lives. It is funnier than My Mister and set in the film industry rather than an office. If My Mister or My Liberation Notes meant something to you, this is the closest thing she has done to them.
Has Go Youn-jung been in any films?
Yes. She made her cinema debut in Hunt (2022), Lee Jung-jae's directorial debut, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and brought her four Best New Actress nominations. She is also attached to an upcoming film, Nambeol.
Where can I watch her dramas with English subtitles?
Netflix carries Can This Love Be Translated?, Sweet Home, The School Nurse Files, and We Are All Trying Here in selected regions. Moving is on Disney+. Alchemy of Souls and Resident Playbook are generally on Netflix or Viki depending on your country. Availability shifts often, so check your own region.
How old is Go Youn-jung?
She was born on April 22, 1996, which makes her 30 in 2026.
What to Watch Her Do Next
The thing worth noticing about this filmography is the direction it moves in. The early roles are quiet because they are small. The recent roles are quiet because she chose quiet. That is a different thing, and it is rarer than it sounds in an industry that rewards actresses for being luminous and little else.
Which Go Youn-jung role did it for you? The assassin, the resident, the producer who could not stop her nosebleeds, or something from further back that most people skipped past? Tell me in the comments. I am always curious which performance makes someone decide an actor is theirs.
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