’20th Century Girl’: Actor Byeon Woo-seok Actually Left to Go Home During Emotional Farewell
Fans cannot stop talking about Netflix‘s newest Korean movie, 20th Century Girl. Its storyline tugs at the heartstrings as a teenager falls for the wrong boy and experiences her first young love. Like any good emotional romance drama, the storyline has a few twists and turns and a sad goodbye. But fans will be surprised to learn actor Byeon Woo-seok had to make his scene in 20th Century Girl count for a reason.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for 20th Century Girl.]
Woon-ho promises to meet Bo-ra again in the farewell scene in ’20th Century Girl’
Audiences watch Na Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-jung) go through the joys of heart-fluttering love with Poong Woon-ho (Byeon Woo-seok). But the movie storyline takes an upsetting turn when her friend Yeon-du (Roh Yoon-seo) returns from the United States and reveals who her crush really is. While Bo-ra gathered intel on Baek Hyun-jin (Park Jung-woo), Yeon-du’s Prince Charming was Woon-ho.
Heartbroken and wanting to protect Yeon-du, Bo-ra does not tell her the truth and breaks it off with Woon-ho. The audience sadly learns that Woon-ho was ready to give her a confession letter of having fallen for her months prior. Bo-ra’s decision creates a rift between all of them.
But Yeon-du learns the truth and makes a spectacle to get Bo-ra out of class. She yells at her friend for her actions and says she would have given up Woon-ho if it made Bo-ra happy. In return, Hyun-jin waits outside to take Bo-ra to the train station before Woon-ho leaves for New Zealand.
In their emotional farewell, Bo-ra cries as she reveals her true feelings for Woon-ho. He asks her to wait for him, and he will come back for her. As Woon-ho boards the train and departs, he begins to sob. In reality, 20th Century Girl actor Byeon Woo-seok did leave for home on the train.
Byeon Woo-seok had to get his final scene in ’20th Century Girl’ in one take
At the 2022 Busan International Film Festival, the cast of 20th Century Girl had a Q&A session after the movie. One question asked by a fan was about the actors’ most memorable scenes or locations. In a video by 심피디simpd, actor Kim revealed the broadcasting room was memorable because it is where her character meets Woon-ho.
When it came to Byeon, he often recalls the farewell train scene in 20th Century Girl. During his answer, Kim started to laugh, and Byeon asked why. “The reason I laughed was that when we were filming the breakup scene, Byeon Woo-seok actually got on the train and left alone while filming,” explained Kim.
Byeon adds, “The farewell was a real farewell. I really went.” The small detail was needed to make the scene believable, and the actor explains he only had one chance to get the shot done right. “I went straight home,” said Byeon.
The movie’s director later told Byeon that the decision to leave the set to go back home helped his character. Audiences could feel the emotional sadness of having to say goodbye mainly because it was true.
The actor is the oldest among his cast mates
Anyone watching 20th Century Girl would be convinced that the cast are high school teenagers. There are many popular teen K-dramas where the leading actors are much older than their on-screen characters. No one would have suspected actor Na Hee-do, who plays a 17-year-old in Twenty-Five Twenty-One, is in her 30s.
Actor Byeon falls under the same category and is the oldest among his 20th Century Girl castmates. He was born in 1991 and is 30 years old. In 2016, Byeon made his acting debut as a minor character in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo.
