Jae-won Kim and Su-bin Chung Confirmed for Dangerous Youth Romance Film My First Graduation

Jae-won Kim and Su-bin Chung are leading My First Graduation (나의 첫 번째 졸업식), a Korean youth romance film that started shooting on April 8, with ACEMAKER confirming the cast and production start in its official announcement. ChosunBiz’s April 9 follow-up reported the same lineup while underlining the film’s darker premise: Chung plays Chae Do Young, a high school student who wants her life to end, while Kim plays transfer student Gu Do Ha, the dangerous outsider she asks to help stage a perfect accidental death. That setup cuts sharper than the usual school melodrama. It also arrives at the right moment for both actors, with Jae-won Kim building momentum ahead of Yumi's Cells 3 and Su-bin Chung coming off a breakout stretch that pushed her from promising to watchlist-worthy. If director Jin-hwa Kim keeps that tension precise instead of indulgent, this could land as one of the more unsettling young-love films on the Korean market this cycle.

What My First Graduation is about

My First Graduation is being positioned as a dangerous youth romance, and the wording matters because this is not a soft-focus first-love movie pretending to have edge. According to ACEMAKER's film summary, echoed by ChosunBiz, Chae Do Young is a high school student dreaming of an end, and Gu Do Ha is the psychopath transfer student she recruits to help engineer an accidental death. That hook gives the film psychological-thriller energy without abandoning the romance label. Director Jin-hwa Kim, whose previous feature was Missing Yoon, has a chance to turn that tension into something nastier than the market's usual teen gloom. Nate's Korean pickup also framed the project as a 100-minute romance film, as reported in local reposts of ACEMAKER's announcement, which suggests a tight theatrical build rather than a sprawling ensemble drama. If the film lands, it could sit closer to character-driven suspense than formula YA sentiment, and that is exactly why the pitch feels stronger than the average casting drop.

Why Jae-won Kim and Su-bin Chung fit this film

Jae-won Kim has been leaning into projects that benefit from quiet unpredictability, and that makes Gu Do Ha a smart next swing. ACEMAKER’s casting note said he was drawn in from the first page, which tracks with a character built on instability rather than easy charm. Su-bin Chung, meanwhile, is carrying the harder emotional assignment. Chae Do Young has to read as bright on the surface while hiding something far more damaged underneath, and that split is exactly where Su-bin Chung has looked strongest in recent work. Per ACEMAKER's production note, filming began on April 8, which means this was not a soft announcement with vague development timing. It is already moving. We are still early, but the pairing feels less like obvious star packaging and more like a bet on two actors who can make discomfort feel specific.

The supporting cast gives the film more weight

The film is not resting on its two leads alone. As confirmed by ACEMAKER in its April 8 casting release, Ho-san Park will play Do Young's father Man Soo, Joon-seok Heo will play Do Ha's father Joon Gi, and Joo-young Lee joins as Do Young's soulmate Soo Ah. That lineup matters because it gives the project adult-screen gravity around a volatile central relationship. Ho-san Park in particular tends to make family tension feel lived-in instead of purely functional, which could be crucial in a story this emotionally loaded. ACEMAKER also released script-reading stills with the cast, as reported by ChosunBiz, which helps frame the project as a real ensemble rather than a two-name package. Joo-young Lee is also the kind of casting move that suggests the filmmakers want texture, not just plot delivery. According to ChosunBiz's April 9 report on the script reading and production start, the ensemble was introduced as a full cast unit rather than as support around two breakout names. For a film built on death wish psychology, obsession, and young attraction, that extra layer of performer credibility could be what keeps the movie from tipping into empty provocation.