Jeon Yu-na (; born July 18, 2011) is a South Korean

child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated te ...

. She gained international recognition for her role as the childhood Sunja in

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

series ''

Pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Gambling in Japan, Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of l ...

'' in 2022, and as the genius girl Choi Ro-hee in ENA series '' The Kidnapping Day'' in 2023. For her role in ''The Kidnapping Day'', she was awarded the Best New Actress (Television category) in the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2024.

Life and career

Jeon was born on July 18, 2011 in Seoul, South Korea. She started acting at a very young age of 5 when she went to a local music academy, when her mom recognized her acting talent. She took some guest and minor roles in several Korean movies and television series such as '' Juror 8'' and '' Hellbound'', before getting international recognition for playing the childhood Sunja in ''

''. Her role in Pachinko was praised as a delightful performance. She was only 10 years old during the filming, and she was immersed in the character by understanding what the Koreans had experienced during the Japanese colonization. She cast the childhood Sunja character as observant, precocious, and have a lot of curiosity on what happened around her. After Pachinko, she worked on some other Korean television series such as '' Green Mother's Club'' and ''Secret of the Lightning Cloak'', and signed an exclusive contract with

Saram Entertainment Saram Entertainment () is an entertainment company in South Korea, founded by Lee So-young in 2006 and partakes in artist management and film production. It currently operates as a subsidiary of Standus Corporation. Current artists Actors * Cl ...

before auditioning for the role of Choi Ro-hee in '' The Kidnapping Day''. She won the role by overcoming a competition rate of 500 to 1 and surviving 5 rounds of auditions. She was praised for her delicate acting skills that is unusual for a child actress her age and for her ability to maintain a good chemistry with the lead actor,

Yoon Kye-sang Yoon Kye-sang (; born December 20, 1978) is a South Korean actor and singer. He began his career in 1999 as part of the K-pop boy band g.o.d (South Korean band), g.o.d, then left the group in 2004 and pursued an acting career. He made his acting ...

. Yoon praised her for acting professionally like an adult. Another fellow actress in the drama, Seo Jae-hee, also praised her, stating that Jeon has a pure, lovely, wise and innate personality. For her role in The Kidnapping Day, she was awarded the "Best Child Actress" at the 2023 APAN Star Awards and the "Best New Actress (Television category)" in the 2024 Baeksang Arts Awards. Between October 8 and November 19, 2023, together with Seol Ga-eun, Jeon played the Suzu role in ''Sea Village Diary'', a theatre play based on a Japanese film called '' Our Little Sister'', directed by

Hirokazu Kore-eda is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He began his career in television and has since directed more than a dozen feature films, including '' Nobody Knows'' (2004), '' Still Walking'' (2008), and '' After the Storm'' ( ...

. In 2024, she won the "Best Young Actress" award at the

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

SBS Drama Awards The SBS Drama Awards (), also known as SBS Awards Festival, is an awards ceremony presented annually by Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually on December 31. The hi ...

for her role as

Jang Na-ra Jang Na-ra (; born March 18, 1981) is a South Korean actress and singer who has been active in both the South Korean and Chinese entertainment industries since 2001. She rose to prominence with her hit studio album ''Sweet Dream'' in 2002, and ...

's daughter in ''

Good Partner ''Good Partner'' () is a 2024 South Korean legal drama workplace television series written by , cdirected by Kim Ga-ram, and starring Jang Na-ra, Nam Ji-hyun, Kim Jun-han, Pyo Ji-hoon, Ji Seung-hyun and . It aired on SBS TV from July 12 to Se ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Theatres

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeon, Yu-na Living people 2011 births South Korean child actresses South Korean television actresses Actresses from Seoul