Park Bo-gum and Kim You-jung's reunion looks like a wedding shoot

The lead actors of the KBS 2TV drama 'Love in the Moonlight' have gathered once again to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its original broadcast. In particular, Park Bo-gum and Kim You-jung, who earned the nickname 'Young-On couple' for their roles as Crown Prince Lee Young and Hong Ra-on, met again across a decade, evoking the same excitement from their original run.

On the 29th, fashion magazine Elle released a special photoshoot and video commemorating the 10th anniversary of 'Love in the Moonlight.' The shoot, featuring main cast members including Park Bo-gum, Kim You-jung, Jinyoung, Chae Soo-bin, and Kwak Dong-yeon, holds special significance as it reconstructs memories from the 2016 broadcast through the lens of their current selves.

In the released content, the five actors stood before the camera with more mature appearances and auras. While the freshness of youth was at the center 10 years ago, the traces of time and acting experience gained through their respective careers have now been naturally added. Although they are the same actors, they are no longer the same characters; that distinction vividly demonstrates the passage of 10 years.

The reunion of Park Bo-gum and Kim You-jung garnered the most attention. At the time, the two achieved massive popularity by portraying a love that transcended the social status of Crown Prince Lee Young and the court lady Hong Ra-on. Rather than exaggerating romantic emotions, they left a lasting impression on viewers by building a narrative through subtle glances, physical distance, and minimal dialogue.

In this photoshoot, the two recreated poses and scenes reminiscent of their original filming. Simply standing side-by-side revived the emotions of the drama, and with their matured visuals, some fans reacted that the images resembled an actual wedding photoshoot. Intertwined with the memory of the two completing their love in the drama, the shoot stimulated nostalgia far beyond a simple commemorative event.

'Love in the Moonlight' is credited as the work that fully expanded Park Bo-gum's stardom during its 2016 broadcast. Moving between films and dramas, Park solidified his position through this work, evolving from a youth star into a leading actor capable of driving the romance genre. Kim You-jung also proved her potential through the character of Hong Ra-on, successfully transitioning from a child actress to an adult performer.

The success of the series was also driven by the harmony of young actors such as Jinyoung, Chae Soo-bin, and Kwak Dong-yeon. While set against a backdrop of political conflict and palace intrigue, the show maintained accessibility by centering on romance and growth narratives. It combined fantasy romance with the conventions of historical dramas by adapting the original web novel for the screen.

The reason the work remains a topic of conversation 10 years later is not simply due to the cast's current fame. In popular culture, certain works become a form of 'cultural memory' as the memories of their broadcast merge with the life experiences of the audience. 'Love in the Moonlight' is a prime example, where the music, scenes, and actors' expressions remain re-summoned as they connect to the youth of the viewers.

This reunion serves as an event that brings that collective memory into the present. The fact that the 2026 versions of Park Bo-gum and Kim You-jung are standing on the same screen demonstrates the enduring nature of the work. Instead of merely replicating the past, the current actors have called upon their past characters to compress a 10-year gap into a single image.

Fans expressed enthusiastic reactions, commenting, "They are beautiful even after 10 years," "I was surprised because I thought it was a wedding photoshoot," "The Young-On couple is still legendary," and "It feels like Lee Young and Ra-on have been reincarnated."

This photoshoot featuring Park Bo-gum, Kim You-jung, Jinyoung, Chae Soo-bin, and Kwak Dong-yeon will be released in the September special edition of Elle. As the actors who first met through this historical romance are captured in one frame again after a decade, 'Love in the Moonlight' has returned to the public consciousness 10 years after its conclusion.