Park Bo-gum reunites with Kim You-jung after 10 years

Actor Park Bo-gum, 33, has reunited with the cast of the 2016 KBS drama "Love in the Moonlight" for a milestone cover shoot, and fans are stuck on one detail: he looks exactly the same as he did a decade ago.

Park, along with Kim You-jung, Jinyoung, Chae Soo-bin and Kwak Dong-yeon, appears on the September special cover of fashion magazine Elle. The shoot marks 10 years since the drama first aired, bringing the core cast back together in one frame.

"Love in the Moonlight" was a coming-of-age palace romance that turned Park into one of Korea's most in-demand young leads. He played Crown Prince Lee Yeong, modeled on the real Joseon-era Crown Prince Hyomyeong, and the role became a defining moment in his early career.

"Everyone looks just like they did when we first met," Park said of the reunion. "I'm really happy that we could put on hanbok again and capture how we are now. Even the weather feels similar to when we were filming back then. Just like before, the moment we all got together, the laughter didn't stop."

Reflecting on the drama itself, Park said he felt lucky to have played a character with such range. "I was happy to act in traditional hanbok, surrounded by scenery that carried the feeling of Korea," he said. He noted that Crown Prince Hyomyeong was known not only for politics but for his talent in literature, music and dance. "More than anything, the fact that people still remember the characters' names 10 years later is an honor as an actor."

Asked what the role of Lee Yeong has meant to his career, Park pointed to a line from his co-star's character in the drama. "There's a line Ra-on says: 'Who knows if the memory of being loved might become the strength that sustains a lifetime?' Because you loved Lee Yeong, I've been able to walk this far on that strength."

He also had a message for his castmates. "Thanks to you, my youth, our youth, was able to shine beautifully. May we all keep shining brightly, always, like moonlight."

Kim, who played Hong Ra-on at 17, said the character has stayed with her. "The name 'Ra-on' itself is pure Korean for 'joyful,'" she said. "Just like her name, she was a character who shared warmth with people, and what I felt through her was that same deep, warm affection."

Kim said the biggest change in her over the past decade has been an internal one. "I've gained a real sense of my own strength. Even when hard moments come, I now have the courage to face them head-on and to keep moving forward."

She shared a piece of advice her mother once gave her. "My mom told me once, 'If you keep enduring, you'll end up where you belong.' Enduring doesn't only mean holding on through hard times. It means doing what you need to do in both good moments and hard ones, and continuing to live your own time. I'd tell our younger selves not to look too far ahead and not to rush."

The reunion is not just for magazine pages. To mark the 10th anniversary, "Love in the Moonlight" is returning as a two-part variety special on KBS2. "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds Again" (Gureumi Dasi Geurin Dalbit) premieres September 16, with Park, Kim, Jinyoung, Chae and Kwak all taking part in a one-night, two-day trip together.

Ten years on, the appeal of the show is less about nostalgia and more about a cast that has grown up in front of the same audience. For a K-drama that turned five young actors into stars in a single season, the return feels less like a look back and more like a check-in.