On 30 January 2026, at the Sejong Center’s M Theater in Seoul, Seo Yea-ji walked onto a stage for the first time in her career. She played Yun Sim-deok, the 1920s soprano whose tragic life became Korean legend, in the play Hymn of Death. It was also her first acting role of any kind in four years.
The last time most international viewers saw her, she was Ko Moon-young in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the icy, gothic children’s author whose wardrobe and line delivery became one of the most memorable performances of the K-drama boom. A year later, a controversy over her past relationship pushed her out of the spotlight. This profile follows her rise, the break and the slow return.
Who Is Seo Yea-ji?
Seo Yea-ji is a South Korean actress best known for playing Ko Moon-young opposite Kim Soo-hyun in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020), a role that won her the Baeksang Arts Awards’ Most Popular Actress prize and a Best Actress nomination. Her other leading roles include the cult thriller Save Me, the legal drama Lawless Lawyer, the film Recalled and the revenge series Eve. After stepping back in 2021, she returned in 2026 with her stage debut.
How Old Is Seo Yea-ji?
Seo Yea-ji is 36 years old. She was born on 6 April 1990 in Seoul.
Career
Early work (2013 to 2016)
Seo debuted in 2013 in the tvN sitcom Potato Star 2013QR3 and built her career through supporting roles, including the KBS youth drama Moorim School (2016) and the period film The Throne (2015). Her low, distinctive voice quickly became her trademark.
Save Me and Lawless Lawyer (2017 to 2018)
Her first major lead was Im Sang-mi in OCN’s Save Me (2017), a young woman trapped with her family inside a rural religious cult. The thriller became a cult hit and established her as a strong dramatic actress. In 2018 she starred opposite Lee Joon-gi in the tvN legal action drama Lawless Lawyer. On film, Another Way (2017) earned her a Baeksang popularity nomination.
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)
Ko Moon-young, a famous author of dark fairy tales who grew up in a frightening home, gave Seo her defining role. Her performance, the character’s dramatic fashion and her chemistry with Kim Soo-hyun helped turn the series into a worldwide Netflix favourite. She won Best Artist at the 2020 Asia Artist Awards and, in 2021, Most Popular Actress at the Baeksang Arts Awards, where she was also nominated for Best Actress.
Recalled and Eve (2021 to 2022)
In 2021 she led the mystery film Recalled, playing a woman who loses her memory and begins seeing visions of the future. In 2022 she played Lee Ra-el, a woman pursuing revenge on the powerful family that destroyed hers, in the tvN drama Eve. It was her last screen role to date.
Why Did Seo Yea-ji Take a Break?
In April 2021, shortly before Recalled opened, Korean media published messages from 2018 suggesting she had tried to control how her then-boyfriend, actor Kim Jung-hyun, behaved towards female co-stars on a drama set. Further claims about her school years and education followed. Her agency at the time denied those additional claims, but she skipped the film’s promotions and largely stepped back from public life. After Eve in 2022, she did not take another acting role for nearly four years.
What Is Seo Yea-ji Doing Now? Latest Updates in 2026
Seo opened a personal Instagram account, @yeyeji_seo, on 26 April 2024, gaining more than 250,000 followers within a day. She signed with the agency Sublime in June 2024 and gradually returned to public view, including a guest appearance on SNL Korea. In 2025 Korean outlets reported she was in talks to lead Forest of Humans, a drama based on a horror webtoon, though no release has been announced.
Her official comeback came on stage. From 30 January to 2 March 2026 she starred as soprano Yun Sim-deok in Hymn of Death at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, double-cast with Jeon So-min. Her agency described the play as keeping her promise to meet fans again. It was her first theatre role and her first acting work since 2022.
Belloria’s View
Seo Yea-ji’s comeback choice says a lot. Rather than return in a big streaming series and invite another round of online judgment, she chose a limited stage run in a demanding period role, where audiences come for the performance and nothing else. It was a modest, sensible step. Whether viewers who remember 2021 are ready to see her lead a drama again is still an open question, but the talent that made Ko Moon-young unforgettable was never the part in doubt.
Social Media Stats
| X (Twitter) | IMDb | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| @yeyeji_seo | Seo Yea Ji 서예지 | @seoyeaji | IMDb |
| Personal account, opened April 2024 | Fan Page | No official account found | IMDb profile |
Social media figures are approximate and may change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who did Seo Yea-ji play in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay?
She played Ko Moon-young, a bestselling children’s book author who falls for caregiver Moon Gang-tae, played by Kim Soo-hyun.
Is Seo Yea-ji in a new drama?
Not yet. She was reported to be in talks for Forest of Humans in 2025, but her only confirmed new work is the 2026 play Hymn of Death.
What was Seo Yea-ji’s first lead role?
Her breakthrough lead was Im Sang-mi in the 2017 OCN thriller Save Me.
How tall is Seo Yea-ji?
IMDb lists her height as about 1.69 metres (5 feet 6.5 inches).
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