South Korean actress Yoon Eun-hye recreates Princess Hours look

Straits Times

22-04-2025

South Korean actress Yoon Eun-hye uploaded photos of the completed look to Instagram. PHOTOS: Y1003_GRACE/INSTAGRAM
Remember the hit South Korean drama Princess Hours (2006), also known as Goong?
Its leading lady, 40-year-old actress Yoon Eun-hye, certainly does. In the romance drama set in a fictional monarchy, she played Shin Chae-kyeong, a h igh school student who finds out she is betrothed to the crown prince of South Korea.
Almost 20 years later, Yoon recreated her high school look in the series on her YouTube channel. A 15-minute video uploaded on April 21 shows her putting on make-up as she reminisced about filming the show. She also uploaded photos of the completed look to Instagram.
In the video, she said she did not often use foundation back then, as her skin was so go od. She added that the series was filmed over around seven months, and she grew very comfortable with the cast and crew.
After her make-up was done, she changed into the uniform from the series, complete with the track pants the character often wore under her plai d skirt. At one point, she put on a furry hair accessory similar to the one Chae-kyeong used to wear, and took out a flip phone common in the 2000s. She also put on red-rimmed glasses.
Yoon even recited some lines from the show. There was a scene in which she threw a shoe at the crown prince Shin (Ju Ji-hoon) and yelled at him: 'I'm not your maid. In my house, I'm a princess too.'
She said: 'Now I understand why people are so nostalgic. As the actress, I feel shy too, so I can't confidently bring the series up. But seeing fans reminisce, it's strange. So surreal, I feel like I've unlocked a forgotten memory.'
She then switched up her hairstyle, from a side up-do bun to double plaits – both sported in the show – and took photos in the get-up.
Yoon got her start as an idol as part of the girl group Baby Vox, which she left in 2005. The group reunited for the first time in 14 years with a performance at the South Korean music programme KBS Song Festival in December 2024.
She made a successful pivot to acting with Princess Hours, and went on to star in series such as Coffee Prince (2007) and Lie To Me (2011).
The cast of hit K-drama Princess Hours (from left) Yoon Eun-hye, Kim Jeong-hoon, Song Ji-hyo and Ju Ji-hoon.
PHOTO: MBC
Ju played Yoon's love interest in Goong, and actress Song Ji-hyo played a ballerina fighting for Shin's affections.
Ju was recently in the popular Netflix medical series The Trauma Code: Heroes On Call (2025), while Song is a regular cast member of the long-running South Korean variety series Running Man (2010 to present).
Ki m Jeong-hoon, who played another prince and cousin of Shin, has not been active as an actor in recent years.
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