Jung Sol-mi (; born November 24, 1986), known professionally as Jung Eun-chae (), is a South Korean actress, model and TV host. Jung began her career as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

, then made her acting breakthrough as the titular character in '' Nobody's Daughter Haewon'' (2013), a film by auteur

Hong Sang-soo Hong Sang-soo (Korean language, Korean: 홍상수; born 25 October 1960) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. An acclaimed and prolific filmmaker, Hong is known for his Slow cinema, slow-paced films about love affairs and everyday d ...

that premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Early life

Jung Eun-chae spent 8 years living in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, starting from middle school senior year when she was 15 years old. Due to the influence of her older brother who works at a

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

, Chorokbaem Media, Jung became interested in pursuing an acting career after she returned to South Korea.

Career

Jung Eun-chae debuted as a commercial model. A string of memorable commercials has earned her a '' CF Model of the Year'' title at the 2011 6th Asia Model Festival Awards. She uses a stage name instead of her real name because of the similarity with a veteran actress Park Sol-mi. Jung made her acting debut after passing the audition for the

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

thriller film ''

Haunters ''Haunters'' () is a 2010 South Korean science fiction action film written and directed by Kim Min-seok. It depicts the struggle between a psychic named Cho-in ( Gang Dong-won) who can control people with his mind and a man named Kyu-nam ( Go So ...

''. Since then, Jung has alternated between doing blockbuster films such as ''

The Fatal Encounter ''The Fatal Encounter'' (; lit. ''The King's Wrath'') is a 2014 South Korean Period drama, period action film based on a real-life assassination attempt on Jeongjo of Joseon, King Jeongjo. Jeongjo is portrayed by Hyun Bin, in his first role in a pe ...

'', '' The King'', '' The Great Battle'' and art films such as '' Nobody's Daughter Haewon'', '' Hill of Freedom'', '' The Table''. Her breakthrough came with ''Nobody's Daughter Haewon'', in which she received multiple prestigious awards winning and nominations. Jung's debut in television dramas was through the 2011 KBS1

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

'' My Bittersweet Life''. Three years later, she acted in a

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

series '' Dr. Frost''. She made a big comeback to the TV drama in 2018 with two series released on the same year, SBS hit

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

Return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

'' and OCN's '' The Guest'', a drama that combines the elements of

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

shamanism Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

, and procedural. She was later cast as one of the main characters in the 2020 SBS TV series '' The King: Eternal Monarch''. She gained recognition and was declared the best character according to a poll released by Cleo Singapore. In August 2022, Jung renewed her contract with

KeyEast KeyEast (; stylized in all caps) is a management agency founded by actor Bae Yong-joon. History In May 2009, KeyEast acquired Japanese company () () and made it an affiliated company. After the acquition by SM Entertainment, it was renamed Stre ...

. In 2023, Jung left KeyEast and established a one-man agency, Project Hosoo, with her long-time manager. Jung was cast as prosecutor in the 2024 ENA's legal crime '' Your Honor'', her first television series after four years. In the same year, she was cast as Moon Ok-gyeong in the television series '' Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born'', replacing Kim Hieora.

Filmography

Films

Television series

Television show

Web series

Radio program

Music video

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jung, Eun-chae 1986 births Living people 21st-century South Korean actresses South Korean film actresses South Korean television actresses South Korean web series actresses South Korean female models Actresses from Busan