Kim So-eun (born September 6, 1989) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in 2009 in the popular

television drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

Boys Over Flowers , is a Japanese ''shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio and set in Tokyo, Japan, and the fictional "Eitoku Academy" (an elite school for children from rich families). It tells the story of Tsukushi Makino, a girl f ...

''. She has since starred in '' Happiness in the Wind'' (2010), '' A Thousand Kisses'' (2011–12), ''

Liar Game ''Liar Game'' (stylized as ''LIAR GAME'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shinobu Kaitani. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from February 2005 to January 2015. It was adap ...

'' (2014), '' Scholar Who Walks the Night'' (2015), ''

Our Gap-soon ''Our Gap-soon'' () is a 2016–2017 South Korean television series starring Kim So-eun and Song Jae-rim. This is the first time that a virtual couple from MBC's ''We Got Married'' co-stars as main cast in a serial drama on a national Korean t ...

'' (2016–17), and ''

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

'' (2018).

Acting career

2004–2009: First films and rising popularity

Kim So-eun made her acting debut with a

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British televi ...

in the 2004 film ''Two Guys'', when she was in junior high school. She then appeared in minor roles on TV and film, including ''

Sisters of the Sea ''Sisters of the Sea'' () is a South Korean weekday morning television drama that aired on MBC from August 1, 2005 to January 27, 2006. The series followed the lives of the Song sisters. Cast Main characters *Go Jung-min as Song Jung-hee **Kim ...

'' and '' The Show Must Go On'' (where she played Song Kang-ho's daughter). Kim rose to fame in 2009 with her supporting role as the heroine's best friend in the hit drama ''

''. The same year, Kim gained praise for her versatility since for her portrayal of

Chae Shi-ra Chae Shi-ra (born June 25, 1968) is a South Korean actress born in Seoul. Since 1990, Chae has firmly established her acting career with ''Eyes of Dawn'' in the 1990s, she was referred to as a representative actress of the period along with Kim H ...

's childhood counterpart Hwangbo Soo in the period epic '' Empress Cheonchu'', for which she learned how to ride a horse and shoot with a

bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was common ...

. Kim then portrayed an older mid 20s woman in the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

series '' He Who Can't Marry'', a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...

of Japanese drama ''

Kekkon Dekinai Otoko , known in English as ''The Man Who Can't Get Married'', is a 2006 Japanese drama broadcast by Fuji TV. The theme song is "Swimmy" by Every Little Thing. The drama was produced by Kansai Telecasting Corporation and Media Mix Japan. Plot Sh ...

''.

2010–2012: Transition leading roles

Kim landed her first leading role in the 2010 daily

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

'' Happiness in the Wind'' (also known as ''Happiness in the Wind''), which further raised her Korean Wave profile. She then starred in weekend drama '' A Thousand Kisses'' (2011-2012), which explored age differences in relationships. In 2012, she starred in the ten-episode Chinese drama ''Secret Angel'' (Chinese: 秘密天使), which aired on the portal website

Sohu Sohu, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet company headquartered in the Sohu Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing. Sohu and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine (Sogou.com), on-line multiplayer gaming (ChangYou.com) and other se ...

.com. She returned to Korean television in the cable drama ''

Happy Ending A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the main protagonists and their sidekicks, while the main villains/antagonists are dead/defeated. In storylines where the protago ...

''. That same year, she also appeared in ''Music and Lyrics'', a

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

in which an actress and a male musician are paired together to collaborate, as lyricist and composer respectively, in creating a song. Kim and Lee Junho (from

boyband A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many ...

2PM 2PM (; romanized; ''Tupiem'') is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Jun. K (formerly known as Junsu), Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Junho and Chansung. Originally a seven-piece group, for ...

) composed the song "Love is Sad," which Lee also recorded; it was released as a single and featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

of '' Feast of the Gods''. After playing Princess Sukhwi in the period epic ''Horse Doctor'' (also known as ''

The King's Doctor ''The King's Doctor'' (; lit. ''Horse Doctor'') is a 2012 South Korean television series depicting Baek Gwang-hyeon (1625–1697), Joseon Dynasty veterinarian, starring Cho Seung-woo and Lee Yo-won. It aired on MBC from October 1, 2012 to Mar ...

'', 2012–2013), Kim starred in ''After School: Lucky or Not'' (in the Korean title, ''bokbulbok'' refers to a game of chance, literally meaning "Luck, No Luck"), opposite the 5 members of actor-idol group

5urprise 5urprise (; pronounced surprise), is the first ever South Korean actor group and consists of five actors: Yoo Il, Seo Kang-joon, Gong Myung, Kang Tae-oh and Lee Tae-hwan. History 5urprise was launched by talent agency Fantagio in September 2013 ...

, which was distributed via

SK Telecom SK Telecom Co., Ltd. ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. ...

's online and mobile portals. She and

Victoria Song Song Qian (; born February 2, 1987), known professionally as Victoria or Victoria Song, is a Chinese singer, dancer, actress, model, host and author known for her work as a member of South Korean girl group f(x). In 2010, Song gained fame as pa ...

(member of

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

f(x)) were also chosen to host ''Glitter'', a variety show on the lives of trendy twenty-somethings.

2014–present: Return to screen television

In 2014, Kim starred in the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

Mourning Grave ''Mourning Grave'' (; lit. "Girl Ghost Story") is a 2014 South Korean mystery horror film starring Kang Ha-neul and Kim So-eun. Synopsis In-soo, a high school student, has a special gift to see ghosts. He transfers to a high school in a rural area ...

'', playing a ghost girl who forms a friendship with a ghost-seeing high school boy

Kang Ha-neul Kang Ha-neul (born Kim Ha-neul on February 21, 1990) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in television dramas ''The Heirs'' (2013), '' Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014)'', '' Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo'' (2016), '' When t ...

. This was followed by a leading role in ''

'', a Korean drama adaptation of the titular Japanese manga by

Shinobu Kaitani is a Japanese manga artist. His most notable works are ''One Outs'' and ''Liar Game''. Shinobu is from Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture. He graduated from Kagoshima Prefectural Konan High School and from Department of Electronics Engineeri ...

. Kim also joined the fourth season of

We Got Married ''We Got Married'' () was a South Korean reality variety show that aired on MBC from 2008 to 2017. The show paired up celebrities who pretended to be married couples and completed various challenges together. The show ran for four seasons and ...

'', where she was paired with

Song Jae-rim Song Jae-rim (; born February 18, 1985) is a South Korean actor and model. He began his career as a runway model for the Seoul collections of Juun. J, Herin Homme and Ha Sang Beg. He has also appeared in the magazines Bazaar Korea, Vogue Girl ...

in a "virtual" marriage; it boosted their popularity as a couple and as individual celebrities. In 2015, Kim starred in the

webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...

adaptation '' Scholar Who Walks the Night'', playing

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

s as a nobleman's daughter and a vampire's past love. She was set to launch her activities in China through the

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

''Sky Lantern'' (also known as ''Lover of Days Past''), a Korean-Chinese co-production film in which she stars opposite Taiwanese singer-actor

Aaron Yan Aaron Yan (, born Wu Keng-lin on 20 November 1985) is a Taiwanese actor, singer, television host and businessman. He was also one of the members of Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit. Life and career 1985–2005: Early life and career beginnin ...

. The same year, she starred in the web drama '' Falling for Challenge'' alongside

Xiumin Kim Min-seok (; born March 26, 1990), better known by his stage name Xiumin (; ), is a South Korean singer and actor. He is best known as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, its sub-group Exo-M and its sub-unit Exo-CBX. He debu ...

. In 2016, Kim signed with new management agency Will Entertainment. From 2016 to 2017, she starred in the family drama ''

'' as the title character. In 2017, Kim starred in the KBS Drama Special ''You're Closer than I Think'' together with actor

Lee Sang-yeob Lee Sang-yeob (born May 8, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for starring in the sitcom ''Living Among the Rich'' (2011–12), the melodrama '' The Innocent Man'' (2012), the period drama ''Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love'' (2013), an ...

. The same year, Kim confirmed her return to the silver screen with romance fantasy film ''Are you in love?'' opposite

Sung Hoon Sung Hoon (born Bang In-gyu on February 14, 1983) is a South Korean actor and a model. Early life Sung Hoon's birth name is Bang In-gyu but he legally changed his name to Bang Sung-hoon because since little, he was often sick and had so many su ...

. In 2018, Kim starred in the romance comedy series '' That Man Oh Soo'' with

CNBLUE CNBLUE ( ko, 씨엔블루) is a South Korean pop rock band formed in 2009. The band consists of Jung Yong-hwa (leader, main vocals, guitar, keyboard, rap), Kang Min-hyuk ( drums), and Lee Jung-shin (bass). First bassist Kwon Kwang-jin left the b ...

Lee Jong-hyun Lee Jong-hyun (born May 15, 1990) is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He was the former lead guitarist and vocalist of South Korean rock band CNBLUE. He made his acting debut in an omnibus movie '' Acoustic'' in 2010, fol ...

. In August 2021, Kim signed with new agency Ascendio Reserve.

Other activities

As a child, Kim trained professionally as a national athletic skier. Her training was put on indefinite hold after being scouted as a professional model in a 2003 junior advanced

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

competition in

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Se ...

, Gangwon-do. She retained her interest in the sport, appearing in 2012 instructional videos for

Hongcheon Hongcheon (''Hongcheon-gun'') is a county and city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city lies on the northern bank of the Hongcheon River, southeast of Chuncheon. The terrain of the county is mainly mountainous and contains hot springs in th ...

's Vivaldi

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

. Kim has endorsed various products, and has appeared in magazines. such as ''Allure'' Korea, High Cut, ''Vogue'' Korea, ''

InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only f ...

'' Korea, '' Elle Girl'' Korea, Harper's ''Bazaar'', ''CeCi'', ''

L'Officiel ''L'Officiel'' () is a French fashion magazine with a USA edition. It has been published in Paris since 1921 and targets upper-income, educated women aged from 25 to 49. In 2006, it had a circulation of 101,719. A men's edition of ''L'Officiel'', ' ...

'', ''Esquire'' Korea, and ''Nylon'' Korea. A regular advocate of

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

youth activism Youth activism is the participation in community organizing for social change by persons between the ages of 15–24. Youth activism has led to a shift in political participation and activism. A notable shift within youth activism is the rise of ...

, and eco-living, she served as the

goodwill ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a publ ...

for the 2009 Korea International Youth Film Festival, the 2009 University Fashion Week, the 2011

Jeonju International Film Festival Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, Korean: 전주국제영화제, Hanja: 全州國際映畵祭) is an Asian film festival. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival with partial competition. It introduces independent ...

, the Golden Cinema Festival in 2013 and 2014, and the 2014 Green Film Festival.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web-drama

Television show

Music video

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Kim So-eun fan cafe
at Daum {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, So-eun Living people People from Namyangju 1989 births South Korean child actresses South Korean television actresses South Korean film actresses South Korean web series actresses