Editor defends Kim Seung-hyun’s daughter against appearance hate

The family and YouTube production team of actor Kim Seung-hyun and broadcast writer Jang Jeong-yun have expressed their frustration, directly refuting malicious comments regarding the appearance of their second daughter, Ri Yoon.

The group warned against indiscriminate appearance evaluations, noting that a person's actual look can be misrepresented on screen depending on the camera's field of view and filming methods.

On the 23rd, the YouTube channel ‘Gwangsan Kim Family’ released a video titled “Actually, Ok-ja and Eon-jung are...” In the video, Kim's sibling and the channel's editor shared their honest feelings regarding recent malicious comments about Ri Yoon's appearance.

“There is a comment saying, ‘The child looks like her mother. It's a pity,’ but the fact is that Writer Jang has great proportions,” the editor stated, adding, “If you see her in person, she has a small face and is tall.”

Kim's sibling supported the editor's explanation, saying, “As a family member, I cannot say such things, but when the editor says it, it carries objectivity.”

The production team specifically explained that the appearance captured in videos does not necessarily match reality. The editor mentioned the possibility of distortion due to the filming environment, noting, “Due to the camera angle, since the writer has to hold the camera to film, the center of the face inevitably appears convex.”

In close-up filming using smartphones or wide-angle lenses, facial and body proportions can appear different from reality depending on the distance between the lens and the subject, the shooting angle, and the position of the center and periphery of the screen. In particular, self-filming often involves the camera being positioned close to the face, which can make such visual distortions even more prominent.

Regarding Ri Yoon, the editor candidly revealed their emotions, saying, “When you see her in person, she is a beautiful baby who clearly inherited the charisma of her mother and father,” and “Those kinds of comments made me a little angry.”

Kim's sibling also emphasized, “Some people look good on camera and some do not,” adding, “Both my sister-in-law (Jang Jeong-yun) and Ri Yoon have very good proportions.”

These remarks go beyond simply defending a family's appearance; they reflect a growing awareness of the culture of easily judging and comparing others' looks online. In particular, judging or mocking the appearance of a child using adult standards can leave unnecessary wounds for both the child and the family.

Kim met Jang while raising his daughter Soobin as a single father. The two formed a new family in 2024 when they welcomed their second daughter, Ri Yoon. While Ri Yoon has shared her life with the public through family YouTube content, she has now found herself at the center of controversy due to unintended comments about her appearance.

Ultimately, the production team and the family emphasized that a few images on a screen cannot define a person's actual appearance. Critics point out that appearance evaluations of children require a more cautious approach, as such actions go beyond mere opinion and can cause lasting harm.