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sang heon lee as minho and gia kim as yuri in xo, kitty
sang heon lee as minho and gia kim as yuri in xo, kitty
Netflix
Culture > Entertainment

I Figured Out Why ‘XO, Kitty’ Siblings Sang Heon & Gia Have Different Accents

XO, Kitty has been on my mind recently! I’ve been hooked on the show since it launched on Netflix on May 18. Whether it’s the show’s iconic K-pop soundtrack or me trying to wrap my brain around the Season 1 ending, I can’t stop talking about the series and, in particular, the characters. Yuri and Minho, portrayed by Gia Kim and Sang Heon Lee, are great examples.

If you didn’t already know, the program picks up after the third To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: Always and Forever, focusing on the youngest Covey sister, Kitty, who is now an 11th grader. We encounter the characters Yuri and Minho at KISS, an elite South Korean high school: Yuri is the school’s self-proclaimed queen bee and an affluent socialite, while Minho is the son of a famous actress. 

Kim and Lee have become breakout stars and have amazed fans, not only with their acting skills on the show but also because this is both of their first major acting roles. Their popularity continues to skyrocket since fans also discovered the two are real-life siblings

Social media has been buzzing with questions about their lives outside of their characters on the show and what it was like growing up together, especially since the two of them have different accents. Don’t worry, I did a bit of internet sleuthing and was able to learn a little more about them. Read on to find out more about the internet’s new favorite celeb sibling duo!

They were both born in Seoul, South Korea but raised in Hong Kong. 

Have you ever wondered why both stars’ Instagram bios include similar emoji flags? It’s because Kim and Lee were both born in Seoul, South Korea. Growing up, the two were actually raised in Hong Kong, with Lee even attending international school there. Kim described Hong Kong as her “second hometown” in an exclusive interview with Her Campus, saying, “Hong Kong will always have my heart.” 

According to The South China Morning Post, Lee spent 11 years of his childhood in Hong Kong, and his upbringing was shaped by hiking, eating, and nights out there, although he has not been able to return in recent years. 

Is Sang Heon Lee British?

The most evident distinction between Lee and Kim is that Lee has an English accent while Kim does not. A possible explanation is that Lee studied performing arts as an undergraduate at the University of Northampton in England before returning to South Korea to complete his military enlistment, according to Teen Vogue. Kim, on the other hand, continued her passion for acting by attending the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles, where she landed the role of Yuri soon after graduation. 

The two’s lives are like something out of a movie, and I can’t wait to learn more about them as their careers grow — hopefully in the coming weeks! Check back here if I find anything else, but otherwise if you need me, I’ll be thinking about what might happen in a probable Season 2 of XO, Kitty

Siobhan Robinson is a member of the Her Campus national writing program. She works on the entertainment and culture team, covering the most recent pop culture events, trends, and entertainment releases. Previously, she worked as an Entertainment and Culture intern during the Spring 2023 semester, where she was supervised in writing breaking news verticals, live coverage of events such as the Grammys and Met Gala, and interviewing emerging Gen Z talent for Her Campus's "Next Questions" segment. She is currently a fourth-year communication studies student at San Jose State University. She is also a member of the SJSU chapter of Her Campus, where she presently serves as Editor-In-Chief, supervising a staff of writers, senior editors, and copy editors and assessing their articles for the site. She previously worked as a senior editor for the chapter and assisted in editing the work of a team of 4-5 writers. In her free time, Siobhan enjoys scrapbooking, hanging out with her friends, going to concerts, and, of course, writing for fun! She's a die-hard fangirl who will tell you everything she knows about her favorite boybands even if you don't ask.