Bridgerton, one of Netflix‘s most globally successful series, is set to welcome its first-ever Korean female lead. According to the latest reports, Korean actress Yerin Ha will play Sophie Beckett in the fourth season of the show, based on the third Bridgerton book, An Offer From A Gentleman.

Yerin Ha | IMDb

Yerin Ha, the 29-year-old Korean-Australian actress, is already a well-known face for international audiences thanks to her role in Halo. Ha will also appear in the upcoming Dune: Prophecy series.

Yerin in “Halo” | IMDb
Her casting in Bridgerton has made quite the noise online as many people considered it a win for diverse representation in popular media. Korean netizens are elated as well, all the more excited to support Bridgerton Season 4.

| theqoo

“Wow. Now I must watch.”
“I’m f*cking looking forward to it.”
“For some reason, I thought she looked similar to the actor in Halo (I stopped watching after episode 1). Turns out I was right!”
“Really looking forward to it!”
“Benedict is my favorite. I love this ㅠㅠ. Season 4, come soon ㅠㅠ.”
“It’s crazy that a Korean descent actress is the female lead TT TT. There have been many instances of Chinese or Japanese descent leads, but having someone of Korean descent is just so wonderful ㅠㅠ.”

Despite the excitement, however, there was also some criticism over Ha’s visuals. Some netizens left comments wishing that the show gives her more of a “Korean-style” makeup, implying that she would look prettier in it.

| theqoo

“If she’s of Korean descent, it would be good if they do her makeup in a Korean style.”
“Please do Korean makeup. Please, ㅜㅜㅜㅜ. If you do East Asian makeup that foreigners typically see, I will cry.”
“I hope she shows up prettily in Korean-style makeup.”
“Oh my gosh, amazing! Please, do the makeup in Korean style, too.”

Many netizens defended Ha, rebuking fellow Koreans for complaining about visuals and makeup when her casting should be celebrated.

| theqoo

“What’s with the makeup talk? They’ll figure it out to match the role. Do you really think they’ll come out with K-pop idol makeup there?”
“Why are you talking about Korean-style makeup in an American TV show? They’ll figure it out to suit the show.”
“Looking at the comments, TheQoo is getting weirder. Are these really Korean people writing the comments? The obsession with Korean makeup is bizarre. It’s definitely in Korean, but the vibe feels off.”
“No, she looks pretty ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Why so much criticism? Even if it doesn’t look pretty to you, it’s an international show…”
“I really want to give a good flick on the head to those who keep complaining about the makeup.”
“This is great news that a Korean-American actress was cast as the lead, so why are the comments like this?”