If you paid attention to the 'Korean Terms All K-Pop Fans Should Know' article, then you know that there are such things as dongans and no-ans. As a reminder, dongan is used to refer to someone who looks younger than their age - a "baby face." On the other hand, no-an is used to refer to someone who looks older than their age.
A lot of people, like myself, are shocked when they find out the real age of a certain celebrity whom they presumed to be younger or older. So which male actors (some acting-dols) were you wrong about? Check out the list below.
Ahn Jae Hyun
I first encountered this guy when I watched 'You Who Came From The Stars' in which he - very convincingly - plays a high school student! I thought, "Hey, here's a fresh new face. Must be a young, up-and-coming actor recently discovered from modeling," or something along those lines. I thought he was much younger than myself, but oh, was I mistaken. He was not the 17-year-old boy I imagined him to be but rather a 26-year-old adult turning 27 this year in July.
(D.O.B: July 1, 1987)
Do you know what that means?? That means I thought he was an entire decade younger than his real age! How does he look that young... No wonder he could pull off a high schooler role without raising suspicions. Even in his photo shoot with Park Shin Hye, I had no idea he was the older one (she's born 1990). This makes him one year older than co-star Kim Soo Hyun, which is completely mind-boggling, although...
Kim Soo Hyun
This guy looks pretty young for his age, too, considering he's only one year younger than Ahn Jae Hyun. Kim Soo Hyun just turned 26 and I frankly thought he looked too young to play a professor. I know, I know, he's actually an alien over 400 years old, whatever. He still looked too young in my opinion and this is not going to be a popular opinion, but I thought Jun Ji Hyun, as beautiful as she is, looked like his aunt most of the time. This is because Kim Soo Hyun has a tiny, ridiculously tiny face. He could still play a high school student except his very deep, masculine voice. That might give it away a little.
(D.O.B: February 16, 1988)
I mean, if you compare him and Suzy whenever they're filming together for dramas or CFs, they seem relatively close in age, but he's almost six years older if that helps put things in perspective at all.
Doojoon
Another drama I've been watching is 'Let's Eat,' and I thought this was strange because my memory was telling me B2ST's Doojoon was born 1989, but I thought I had to be mistaken because he looked older in my opinion - and this isn't a bad thing. He has a very mature look that made me think he was possibly 27, which is relatively close to the age of his character in 'Let's Eat' (whose Korean age is around 29). I'm going to keep asking you this, but do you know what this means? I thought Ahn Jae Hyun was 17 and Doojoon was 27... I thought Doojoon could be an entire decade older than Ahn Jae Hyun, but Doojoon is actually younger than Ahn Jae Hyun by two years. He's also a few months younger than INFINITE's leader Sunggyu and born the same year as SHINee's leader Onew.
(D.O.B: July 4, 1989)
Maybe my perspective is just skewed or something, but I do think my misunderstanding makes sense. Ahn Jae Hyun has delicate, fine features, giving him the appearance of youth, but Doojoon has more masculine features that make him seem like a "real man" (???) rather than a "pretty boy" (???). Either way, both are attractive - just in different ways - and now I can see Doojoon as 24. The funny thing is, Doojoon looks all tough in dramas and then he speaks...and he sounds like a baby. It's a cute combo, I guess, albeit a little off putting - unexpected at the very least.
Jaejoong
(D.O.B: January 26, 1986)
Jaejoong is an acting-dol who has been in a couple dramas already from 'Protect the Boss' to 'Dr. Jin.' Believe it or not, this guy is 28 years old, but he looks like he could be 26 at most. He could really be a vampire because of his never aging appearance. It makes sense if you think about how long it's been since he first debuted as a singer - that was a long time ago. Still...this is pretty striking, especially if you think about him in relation to...
Choi Jin Hyuk
Choi Jin Hyuk is actually a few weeks younger than Jaejoong (gasp!). He is also 28 years old, but he looks like he could possibly be in his mid-30s. He revealed previously that he was often told he looked much older than his actual age. To make matters more shocking, he's only one year older than Ahn Jae Hyun. The gap is more shocking, of course, because Ahn Jae Hyun is a dongan and Choi Jin Hyuk is a no-an.
(D.O.B: February 9, 1986)
The surprise really does not end here because Jaejoong may look young and Choi Jin Hyuk may look old but both are younger than possibly the King of Baby Faces...
Song Joong Ki
Song Joong Ki has like the epitome of a baby face with his pale, fresh complexion and roundish cheeks - plus that youthful smile. He looks like he could be 23 and definitely looks younger than both Jaejoong and Choi Jin Hyuk . . . and maybe Doojoon. I could practically see him debuting in some new idol boy group (and be the visual).
(D.O.B: September 19, 1985)
Who else is excited to see this guy back in acting after he's discharged from the military?
Yoo Yun Suk
Yoo Yun Suk recently played a college student in drama 'Reply 1994.' I think he just may be really good at acting because his portrayal of childlike naivete was expressed through not only his actions but also his subtle facial expressions, which gave him the appearance of being younger than his actual age. I thought he was young. How shocking to find out his real age...
(D.O.B: April 11, 1984)
This guy is turning 30 YEARS OLD next month. His co-star Jung Woo may look to be in his early thirties (which is accurate), but turns out Yoo Yun Suk is only three years younger (which is mind boggling). His cute persona in the drama really made his age gap with Go Ara seem much less than six years and of course his adorable smile helped.
While some actors look young for their age and others look old, these are still some very attractive men with their unique charms and appearance. Are there other male actors who shocked you with their real age?
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