Go Ah-sung (; born August 10, 1992) is a South Korean actress. She began her career as a child actress, notably in ''
The Host'' (2006). Her other notable works include ''
Snowpiercer
''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013 Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action thriller film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel ''Le Transperceneige'' by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The f ...
'' (2013), ''
Thread of Lies'' (2014), ''
A Resistance'' (2019), ''
Samjin Company English Class'' (2020), as well as the television series ''
Master of Study
''Master of Study'' () is a South Korean Korean drama, television series that aired on KBS2 from January 4 to February 23, 2010 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes. It stars Kim Soo-ro, Bae Doona, Oh Yoon-ah, Yoo Seung-ho, Go Ah-su ...
'' (2010), ''
Heard It Through the Grapevine'' (2015), and ''
Life on Mars
The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...
'' (2018).
Career
Go Ah-sung was four years old when she appeared in her first commercial, and she joined the 2002
stage musical
Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...
'' when she was ten. At thirteen, Go began her acting career in the
KBS children's program ''Oolla Boolla Blue-jjang'' (2004).
Having worked together in the
MBC omnibus drama ''
Beating Heart'' (2005), actress
Bae Doona recommended Go to director
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon Ho (, ; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean filmmaker. Bong Joon Ho filmography, His work is characterized by emphasis on social and class themes, genre fiction, genre-mixing, black comedy, dark comedy, and sudden tone shifts. ...
when he was casting for his much-anticipated monster film. After an extensive audition process, Go made her film debut in 2006 with a starring role in ''
The Host''. Bong praised her work, saying that she "showed really mature acting for her age, and that's one of her defining charms as an actress." Go was also applauded by film critics, with
Stephen Hunter of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' complimenting her "exquisite performance," and Megan Ratner of the ''
Bright Lights Film Journal
''Bright Lights Film Journal'' is an online popular-academic film magazine, based in Oakland, California, United States. It is edited and published by Gary Morris.
Originally a print publication established in 1974, it was discontinued in 1980 t ...
'' noting her "unforced naturalness, reminiscent not only of
Ana Torrent but of ''
Zazie
Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes (born 18 April 1964), better known by her stage name Zazie, is a French pop singer and songwriter. Her greatest hits include " Je suis un homme", " À ma place" and "Speed". She co-produces all her alb ...
s
Catherine Demongeot." Go received several acting nominations, and won Best New Actress at the 2006
Blue Dragon Film Awards
The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea.
The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...
.
She continued her film career with supporting roles in ''
The Happy Life'' (2007), ''
Radio Dayz'' (2008), and ''
A Brand New Life'' (2009). In 2010, Go appeared in the high school series ''
Master of Study
''Master of Study'' () is a South Korean Korean drama, television series that aired on KBS2 from January 4 to February 23, 2010 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes. It stars Kim Soo-ro, Bae Doona, Oh Yoon-ah, Yoo Seung-ho, Go Ah-su ...
'', a
Korean drama
Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean language, Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise ...
adaptation of the Japanese
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
''
Dragon Zakura''. It scored the highest ratings in its timeslot during its run.
Go starred in her first leading role in ''Duet'' (2012), an
indie romance about an aspiring Korean singer on a tour of England and the British guy she meets who shares her interests in music, photography and travel.
In 2013, she reunited with ''The Host'' costar
Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho (; born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Regarded as one of the most influential actors in Korean cinema, he has appeared in critically acclaimed films across various genres. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, i ...
in the blockbuster sci-fi thriller ''
Snowpiercer
''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013 Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action thriller film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel ''Le Transperceneige'' by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The f ...
'', Bong Joon-ho's first English-language film. Go next appeared opposite
Kim Hee-ae in ''
Thread of Lies'' (2014), a film adaptation of
Kim Ryeo-ryeong's novel ''Elegant Lies'' about a willful girl seeking the truth behind her sister's suicide.
Go signed with an American agency,
Untitled Entertainment in 2014. She returned to television in 2015 with ''
Heard It Through the Grapevine'', a
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
about the chaos an unplanned teenage pregnancy causes in a wealthy, powerful family. Go then headlined the mystery thriller ''
Office
An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a po ...
'', which made its world premiere in the Midnight Screenings section at
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
; she won Best Actress at
Fancine for her role as an intern who becomes a person of interest in a murder investigation.
In 2016, she featured in an episode of the Japanese television series, ''Midnight Diner''. She then starred in war drama ''A Melody to Remember''. The film won the audience award at the 18th Far East Film Festival.
In 2017, Go challenges her first
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
in the
MBC's drama ''
Radiant Office'', as a twentysomething woman who, after a suicide attempt and possible terminally-ill diagnosis, thinks she has nothing to lose and tackles her job and life with new perspectives.
In 2018, Go was cast in the
South Korean adaptation of the U.K series ''
Life on Mars
The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...
'', as the sole female detective of the team. In 2019, Go returned to the big screen with historical film ''
A Resistance''.
Go led the 2020 critically-acclaimed and box office success
dramedy
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film ''
Samjin Company English Class'', the winner of Best Film at the
57th Baeksang Arts Awards
The 57th Baeksang Arts Awards () ceremony, organised by ''Ilgan Sports'' and JTBC Plus, was held on May 13, 2021, at KINTEX, Ilsanseo-gu, Gyeonggi Province, beginning at 9:00 p.m. KST. It was hosted by Shin Dong-yup and Bae Suzy, and was br ...
. She acted as an employee who mastered daily office works but accidentally discovered the company's water pollution leakage.
In 2022, Go returned to TV series with the role of a tax investigator in the MBC and Wavve's financial thriller ''
Tracer''.
Other activities
Go enjoys traveling alone and taking pictures. She became interested in photography through friend and frequent costar
Bae Doona. Go's photographs were exhibited at the 5th annual Seoul Open Art Fair in 2010, alongside artwork by
Ha Jung-woo
Kim Sung-hoon (; born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (), is a South Korean actor and filmmaker. One of the highest grossing actors in South Korea, Ha's starring films have accumulated more than 100 million tickets. Only 3 other acto ...
and photos by
Uhm Tae-woong
Uhm Tae-woong (born April 5, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 1998, but initially struggled to emerge from under the shadow of his older sister, popular singer-actress Uhm Jung-hwa. After several years of small roles ...
.
Another of her interests is music. She did her own singing for the film ''Duet'', and has performed live on stage at Mudaeruk in
Hongdae.
Go majored in Psychology at
Sungkyunkwan University.
Filmography
Film
Television series
Web series
Television shows
Discography
Singles
Awards and nominations
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Go, Ah-sung
Living people
People from Yongsan District
South Korean film actresses
South Korean television actresses
21st-century South Korean actresses
Actresses from Seoul
South Korean child actresses
Sungkyunkwan University alumni
Best New Actress Paeksang Arts Award (television) winners
1992 births
Best New Actress Blue Dragon Film Awards winners