Where Is She Now? The Lead Actress Who Was Kicked Out Of Her K-Drama

Actress Ahn So Hyun made headlines in 2020 after the news of her getting kicked off a KBS show became a major controversy.

Ahn Seo Hyun | @seohyun1018/Instagram

At just 19 years old, Ahn has built herself an impressive filmography. She debuted in 2008 as a child actor and has appeared in shows and movies such as The Housemaid (2010), Single-minded Dandelion (2014), and the critically acclaimed Netflix film Okja (2017).

In September 2019, Ahn shared that she was being considered for the lead role in the K-Drama School 2020, opposite X1‘s Kim Yohan as the lead male role. But the following year, Kim Sae Ron revealed that she had received an offer for the same part, confusing fans. Following this news, Ahn started making Instagram posts that suggested the drama’s producers had unfairly replaced her.

Kim Yohan Kim Sae Ron

Ahn Seo Hyun took to her Instagram account to share, “I’ve been waiting for School 2020’s response for 300 days.”

In another post, she wrote, “If there’s depth to trust, how deep should my trust be?” and when a fan left a comment cheering her on, she responded, “Why don’t adults keep their promises?”

Ahn’s father then came out in an interview in May 2019, claiming that the production company had unilaterally notified him of his daughter’s removal from the cast through social media. He stated that this came as a shocker since they had a script reading session with the show’s PD only a few days prior.

We read the script with Han PD just a few days ago, so we never suspected that they wouldn’t follow through with it. Recently, a new PD came to me and told me they were working on the contract. But there were differences from the first time we talked about it, and there were things that we didn’t talk about in the past. I think they said things that way so that we wouldn’t take the drama. The production company has been taking their time on the contract, delaying things, and creating a situation as if we should just drop out.

— Ahn Seo Hyun’s father

A day after Ahn’s father made these allegations. School 2020 producers released an official statement claiming they kicked her off because of her father’s excessive demands. They also added that the removal of Ahn from the project was a mutual agreement, contrary to what the actress’s father claimed.

We tried to wrap up the matters quietly in worry that it could harm the young actress. It was a difficult process, but due to Ahn Seo Hyun’s father spreading false information, we had no choice but to announce our stance. If this situation continues, we will reveal the entire process we had with actress Ahn Seo Hyun and take strong legal measures.

– School 2020

After this controversy, the young actress stayed out of the limelight for some time before being cast as the lead role in Goo Hye Sun’s new movie, DARK YELLOW, in 2021. The movie premiered at the 2021 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and received praise at multiple international film festivals.

A poster for actress Koo Hye Sun’s fifth short film “Dark Yellow” | IOK Company

But her more recent whereabouts have been pretty low-key. Ahn So Hyun also graduated high school in January but told fans that she would not be going to college this year. She is taking her time to figure out her next step. Meanwhile, she has signed with DSPactors, a talent management company that also works with actors like Lee Joong Ock and Lee Ji Hyun.

(Left) Lee Joong Ock and (right) Lee Ji Hyun | @official.dspactors/Instagram