What Roles Did Yoon Jong-hoon and Han Eun-seo Play in ‘Return’? They Were Not a Couple in the Drama
Yoon Jong-hoon and Han Eun-seo both appeared in the 2018 SBS drama ‘Return,’ but they did not play romantic partners. Yoon portrayed Seo Joon-hee, one of the members of a privileged group of 4 friends, while Han played Kim Soo-hyun, a victim of an incident from the past. Their characters were instead connected through a dark incident in the drama's backstory.
With news that the two actors will marry on November 1, reports have repeatedly mentioned that they met through ‘Return.’ This has prompted renewed curiosity about the roles they played at the time. The answer is somewhat different from the familiar story of an on-screen couple becoming a real-life couple.
Yoon Jong-hoon Played Seo Joon-hee in ‘Return’
Seo Joon-hee, played by Yoon Jong-hoon, is one of a group of wealthy friends, alongside Oh Tae-seok, Kim Hak-beom, and Kang In-ho, who are entangled in the drama's central incidents.
‘Return’ was a crime thriller that connected a present-day murder investigation with incidents from the characters' past. Seo Joon-hee was also an important figure in the process of unraveling secrets linking the past and present.
According to broadcast information released by SBS at the time, Seo Joon-hee and Kim Hak-beom were identified as perpetrators in the earlier incident involving Kim Soo-hyun. Seo later became entangled in the present-day Yeom Mi-jung case alongside Oh Tae-seok and Kim Hak-beom, forming one of the story's central threads.
Han Eun-seo Played Kim Soo-hyun, a Different Character From the Victim in the Present-Day Case
Han Eun-seo portrayed Kim Soo-hyun.
There is an important distinction that can easily cause confusion. The victim in the murder case at the beginning of ‘Return’ was Yeom Mi-jung, played by actress Han Eun-jung. Kim Soo-hyun, played by Han Eun-seo, was a separate character involved in an earlier incident.
According to reports published when the drama aired in 2018, Kim Soo-hyun appeared as a victim of sexual violence in the past. Although her screen time was limited, what happened to Kim Soo-hyun became an important clue for understanding the present-day murder case and the relationships among the characters.
What Was Their Relationship in the Drama?
Seo Joon-hee and Kim Soo-hyun were neither lovers nor spouses.
Kim Soo-hyun's older brother, Kim Jung-soo, who testifies about the past incident in the drama, identifies Seo Joon-hee and Kim Hak-beom as the perpetrators in the case involving his sister. The same information is confirmed in SBS's broadcast recap from that time.
As a result, recent reports saying the actors met through ‘Return’ and are now getting married may lead people to assume they performed romantic scenes together. However, their characters' relationship in the drama was entirely different.
Here is a summary.
| Actor | Role in ‘Return’ | Character's Position in the Story |
|---|---|---|
| Yoon Jong-hoon | Seo Joon-hee | Member of a privileged group of 4 friends involved in the central incidents |
| Han Eun-seo | Kim Soo-hyun | Victim of an incident from the past |
What Has Been Confirmed About the Claim That They Met Through ‘Return’?
Multiple media outlets reporting on the marriage on September 2026 have consistently stated that the two actors formed a connection while appearing together in the 2018 SBS drama ‘Return.’ Yoon Jong-hoon's agency, YK Media Plus, announced that the couple would marry on 2026-11-01.
However, specific details about how their romantic relationship began, such as exactly when they became a couple during the filming of ‘Return’ or who confessed their feelings first, have not been officially disclosed in detail.
It is therefore more accurate to distinguish between the reported fact that their connection began through their appearance in ‘Return’ in 2018 and the exact date when their romantic relationship began.
Why Are Reports Calling It a Connection From 8 Years Ago?
‘Return’ aired in 2018, while the marriage announcement came in 2026, creating a difference of 8 years when comparing the calendar years.
This explains why recent reports describe their relationship as a connection that began on a production 8 years ago. However, that does not mean the entire 8-year period has been officially confirmed as the duration of their romantic relationship. What is known is that the two met through ‘Return’ and subsequently maintained a long-term relationship.
Ultimately, the most easily misunderstood aspect of Yoon Jong-hoon and Han Eun-seo's connection through ‘Return’ is straightforward. The two actors met while working on the same production, but they were not an on-screen couple. Instead, they portrayed Seo Joon-hee and Kim Soo-hyun, two characters involved in different aspects of the drama's interconnected incidents.
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