Why are many actors playing the young days of their characters themselves instead of using child actors in dramas these days?

Following Song Joong Ki, many famous actors who the viewers would recognize right away just by hearing their names also portrayed their own characters’ childhood.

In the recently ended hit drama “Reborn Rich”, Song Joong Ki acted from when Jin Do Joon was in high school even until after college graduation. Yeom Jung Ah and Ryu Seung Ryong in “Life Is Beautiful” performed their characters from their 20s to 50s. Song Hye Kyo also tried acting as a college student in “The Glory”, while Choi Min Sik challenged a role in his 30s in “Big Bet”. In addition, Lee Sun Kyun also portrayed a character in his 20s in the new series “Payback”.

As a result, Korean dramas are reducing the scenes featuring child actors to the maximum and increasing the proportion of adult actors playing their own characters in the young days. 

Nowadays, there are various ways for adult actors to play characters that are much younger than them. Using technology to change the voice and CGI effect, 60-year-old actor Choi Min Sik is now acting as a man in his 30s. 

This trend actually gained divided reactions from viewers. Some viewers say they easily get immersed in the story when the character at different timelines is played by the same actor, while others feel uncomfortable with the unmatching age of the character and the actor.

Regarding the reason for this trend, a netizen pointed out that the range of viewers’ age groups has increased. 

In fact, “Reborn Rich”, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” and many popular dramas last year were mostly watched by people in their 50s. The rates of audiences aged around 30~40 and above 50 are increasing on not only TV but also OTT platforms. That’s why leading actors, whose faces are already well-recognized by viewers of such age groups, are now playing their own young versions instead of unfamiliar rookies or child actors.

Source: wikitree