Korean actress Lee Young-ae shows off unchanging beauty in childhood photo

Who needs a glow-up when you're born gorgeous?

Case-in-point: Korean actress Lee Young-ae.

The 48-year-old had fans gushing over her natural beauty when she shared a childhood picture on Weibo earlier today (Dec 10).

Young-ae wrote: "I think this photo is from when I was 11. It's so long ago that I can't recall clearly. Can you tell that it's me?"

One Weibo user commented: "You're beautiful — from young until now."

Another pointed out young Young-ae's resemblance to the iconic character that shot her to fame back in 2003, saying, "Isn't this little Jang-geum?"

Her role as Jang-geum in the historical drama Jewel in the Palace remains one of her most iconic besides her role as a revenge-driven single mother in 2005 thriller film Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

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But what has she been up to since then?

After her marriage in 2009 and the birth of her twins in 2011, Young-ae kept a low profile, only returning to television screens in the drama Saimdang, Memoir of Colors in 2017.

Now, she's finally returning to the big screen.

Explaining her prolonged hiatus from acting, Young-ae told reporters at a press event for the film Bring Me Home last month, "I got married a bit late in my life and started a family as a mother. I didn't realise time had flown by so fast because I was concentrating on my family."

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"In my 20s and 30s, I only thought about myself as an actress. Now in my 40s, I have poured all my energy into my family," she added. "I think such experiences have become strong roots in my life, allowing me to act in such a great movie."

Young-ae plays a mother searching for her missing son in Bring Me Home, which is also her first film since 2005.

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Bring Me Home opens in theatres in Singapore on Dec 12.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com