[Hot Takes from the Noonas] Yoo Ah-in's stalled military enlistment leaves him in limbo

 

Yoo Ah-in's military enlistment has been postponed after a third physical evaluation. It is a professional setback for the actor who has enjoyed critical and commercial success in recent years.

After breaking out in the 2010 sageuk, "Sungkyunkwan Scandal" and the 2011 film, "Punch", Yoo Ah-in's career stalled thanks to the critical and ratings failure of 2012 drama, "Fashion King". However, the actor rebounded in 2015 thanks to starring roles in "Veteran", which is currently the third highest grossing film in Korea to date, and "The Throne", South Korea's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

Yoo Ah-in's original plan was to enlist after completing the action sageuk, "Six Flying Dragons" in April 2016. Unfortunately, the shoulder injury that Yoo Ah-in suffered during filming a year ago continues to plague him. He received his first physical examination as a precursor to military enlistment in December 2015, which lead to a second one in May 2016, and a third one in December 2016. A fourth medical check-up is expected in 2017.

Unfortunately, Yoo Ah-in's career remains in limbo though he has yet to begin army duty. The actor had already postponed projects and CF contracts in anticipation of military enlistment; he has not done any filming since the end of 2015. Yoo Ah-in cannot take on any projects since it would be a public relations disaster to be seen profiting when he should be doing rehabilitation to make himself army ready.

As a fan of Yoo Ah-in, I had hoped that he might get his army duty over with as quickly as possible. Now, the usual two year absence has been extended by an additional year or even more for the actor. Hopefully, he takes this frustrating development all in stride, and receives a definitive answer on his immediate future soon.

Love,

JK of Noonas Over Forks