A wave of short clips featuring 8-year-old Gi So Yoo are taking social media by storm following her brief but powerful appearance in the drama Dear X. Despite only playing the child version of the female lead in a flashback, Gi So Yoo immediately stole the spotlight with a performance that left viewers stunned and emotionally moved.
Her portrayal of young Baek Ah Jin, a girl deeply scarred by her family’s emotional neglect, resonated deeply with audiences. With just one look, Gi So Yoo managed to convey desperation, trauma and a desire for warmth, leading netizens to describe her expression as “A look that makes you forget to breathe”.
After his appearance at the end of episode 2, fan discussions exploded in online forums. In Dear Xthe adult Baek Ah Jin (played by Kim Yoo Jung) is a closed-off character whose disturbing past is the key to understanding his emotional problems. Gi So Yoo’s intense performance helped solidify the character’s background, despite her limited screen time.
Many praised his masterful control over emotions, especially his ability to act with his eyes. From teary gazes to eerie emptiness, his gaze alone conveyed the full emotional weight of the scene, an extraordinary feat for someone his age.
One viewer remarked, “If Kim Yoo Jung is the soul of the show, then Gi So Yoo is the heart. Her eyes hurt you.” Another wrote on social platform X, “She did really well. Her resemblance to young Kim Yoo Jung’s round face and big sparkling eyes make her even more likable. When the drama revealed Ah Jin’s past, you immediately realized how broken her childhood had been. With a father like that, how did this little girl survive?”
Gi So Yoo’s emotional immersion was so strong that her mother took to Instagram to reassure fans, saying her daughter is “doing great” and knows how to separate acting from reality. The post was flooded with thousands of grateful comments praising the mother for nurturing “a precious gem” of Korean cinema.
2025 has been an extraordinarily busy year for the young actress. Born in 2017, Gi So Yoo has built an astonishing portfolio that even the most seasoned actors would admire. According to AsianWiki, she has appeared in eight film and television projects in 2025 alone, covering a wide range of genres, from psychological dramas to romance and fantasy.
Besides Dear Xhis 2025 works include:
- Would you marry me?
- Walking on thin ice
- To the Moon
- Queen of trust
- Friendly rivalry
- Love Scouts
- Someone
Previously, he has also impressed in roles, both supporting and cameo, in hit dramas such as My demon (SBS), The good bad mother (JTBC), Vigilant (Disney+), See you in my nineteenth life (tvN), Our blues (tvN) e Hospital playlist 2 (tvN). Despite minimal screen time, her natural acting and expressive eyes have consistently earned praise.
Film buffs have dubbed her a “mini Kim Da Mi”, noting similarities not only in appearance but aura. Like Da Mi, Gi So Yoo exudes an eerie stillness before emotional outbursts, displaying subtle eye movements and instinctive vulnerability mixed with defiance.
His presence evokes the eerie calm before the storm, just like Kim Da Mi in The witch wide-eyed, intense, simultaneously innocent and disturbing. It is not difficult to imagine Gi So Yoo evolving into a “new Kim Da Mi”, a type of actress capable of conveying fragility and ferocity in a single frame.
Sources: K14
