Go Youn-jung's Old Campus Poster Goes Viral, and Her Pre-Fame Story Reportedly Includes a 'Parasite' Audition

Long before Moving and Alchemy of Souls, Go Youn-jung was the face on a campus festival poster, and 10 years later, the internet has found it.

A 2016 poster for a student-run festival pub at Seoul Women's University, starring a pre-fame Go Youn-jung, spread across online communities and social media on Oct. 18, Money Today reports. News1 also covered the resurfaced poster, calling her visuals goddess-level even back then.

The poster everyone is sharing

In the poster, Go wears a white knit sweater and rests her chin on her hand as she looks into the camera, according to Money Today. Her makeup is light, but her striking features look almost exactly the same as they do today. At the time, she was a student in the university's contemporary art department.

It isn't the first time her college days have gone viral. In January, the student magazine Daehak Naeil shared photos from her 2016 cover shoot, Money Today notes, and SPOTV News reports those cover photos are circulating again now, too.

The art student who wasn't sure what came next

In her 2016 Daehak Naeil interview, quoted by SPOTV News, Go said she had been studying art for seven years, since her first year of middle school, and admitted she felt worn out and was thinking about her future every day. Her goal for the year was to travel, try different part-time jobs and new experiences, and find what she really wanted to do. She ended with: "I believe in myself." (Quotes translated from Korean by House of Grey.)

Spoiler: she found it.

The twist: from turning down agencies to a reported Parasite audition

Here's the part that surprises even longtime fans. That magazine cover led to casting offers from several entertainment agencies, and she reportedly turned them all down at first, SPOTV News reports. Then the head of what became her first agency reportedly told her it was only because she had never tried, and encouraged her to give it a go.

She then reportedly paid for acting lessons with the money she earned from modeling, according to SPOTV News. After about six months of classes, she reportedly made it to the final audition for Bong Joon-ho's Parasite. She didn't get the part, but SPOTV reports the experience made her decide to take acting even more seriously.

From Psychometry to superstar

Go, born in 1996, debuted in 2019 in tvN's Psychometry, Money Today reports. She went on to win fans in Alchemy of Souls, Moving and Resident Playbook, and SPOTV News also lists Can This Love Be Translated? among her recent work. About 10 years after that first magazine cover, SPOTV calls her one of Korea's leading actresses.

What's next: KGMA

Fans won't have to wait long to see her on a big stage. Go is one of 39 presenters at the third Korea Grand Music Awards, held Nov. 7-8 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, according to YTN and Money Today. YTN reports the show will air live on ENA.

From campus festival model to presenting at a stadium awards show. Go Youn-jung believed in herself, and it shows.

More K-star news: see Son Ye-jin's carefree Yokohama trip photos.