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 show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

Boys Over Flowers is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio. The story takes place in the fictional Eitoku Academy, an elite school for children from rich families. It tells the story of Tsukushi Makino, a girl from a middle-class ...

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

Liar Game ''Liar Game'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shinobu Kaitani. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from February 2005 to January 2015. It was adapted into a Ja ...

'' (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 ...

'' (2016–17), ''

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

'' (2018), and '' Three Bold Siblings'' (2022–23). She has won various accolades such as Best New Actress, Special Acting Award and was nominated in different years for Excellence Award and Best Actress in A Special.

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 televisio ...

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'' and '' The Show Must Go On'' (where she played

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 ...

'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'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 elasticity (physics), elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the ...

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

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 ...

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 same s ...

of Japanese drama '' Kekkon Dekinai Otoko''.

2010–2012: Transition to leading roles

Kim So-eun at the 2010 KBS Drama Awards 02

Kim landed her first leading role in the 2010 daily

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

'' Happiness in the Wind'' (also known as ''A Good Day For The Wind To Blow''), which further raised her

Korean Wave The Korean Wave, or ''hallyu'' (; ), is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s. Worldwide interest in Korean culture has been led primarily by the spread of K-p ...

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 there is a positive outcome for the protagonist or protagonists, and in which this is to be considered a favourable outcome. In storylines where the protagonists are in phy ...

''. 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 ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

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 2PM) composed the song "Love is Sad," which Lee also recorded; it was released as a single and featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

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 Ma ...

'', 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), was 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 Septemb ...

, which was distributed via

SK Telecom SK Telecom Co., Ltd., abbreviated as SKT ( 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 perce ...

'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 the leader of South Korean girl group f(x). She made her solo debut in May ...

(member of

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

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 physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

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

Kang Ha-neul Kim Ha-neul (; February 21, 1990), known professionally as Kang Ha-neul (), is a South Korean actor. He gained early recognition through television dramas such as ''The Heirs'' (2013), '' Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014)'', and '' Moon Lovers: S ...

. 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. He is known for his works, ''One Outs'' and '' Liar Game''. Early life Kaitani is from Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture. He graduated from Kagoshima Prefectural Konan High School and from Department of Electron ...

. 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 i ...

'', where she was paired with

Song Jae-rim Song Jae-rim (; February 18, 1985 – November 12, 2024), also known as Song Jae-lim, was a South Korean actor and model. Starting in modelling, Song had a career as an actor in K-dramas. Early life Song was born on February 18, 1985; his m ...

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 episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allo ...

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 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. Typically their ...

''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 people, Taiwanese actor, singer, television host and businessman. He was also one of the members of Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit (Taiwanese band), Fahrenheit. Life and caree ...

. The same year, she starred in the web drama ''

Falling for Challenge ''Falling for Challenge'' () is a web drama created by Samsung company. The drama stars South Korean actress Kim So-eun and Kim Min-seok. The web drama became the most watched web drama in 2015 with 21,124,965 views. "Falling for Challenge" is ...

'' 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 a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, its sub-group Exo-M and leader of its sub-unit Exo-CBX. He debuted as ...

. 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. The same year, Kim confirmed her return to the silver screen with romance fantasy film ''Are you in love?'' opposite Sung Hoon. In 2018, Kim starred in the romance comedy series '' That Man Oh Soo'' with

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

Lee Jong-hyun Lee Jong-hyun (born May 15, 1990), also known by his mononym Jonghyun, 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 om ...

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

Other activities

Skiing

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 for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

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 Paralym ...

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 Seo ...

, Gangwon Province. 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 North Am ...

Endorsements

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

InStyle ''InStyle'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith, and started originally as a brand extension of ''People (magazine), People'' before carving out its own ide ...

'' Korea, ''

Elle Girl ''Elle Girl'' was the largest older-teen fashion and beauty magazine brand in the world with twelve editions. Launched in August 2001, it was the younger sister version of ''Elle'' magazine, and similarly focused on beauty, health, entertainm ...

'' Korea, Harper's ''Bazaar'', ''CeCi'', ''

L'Officiel ''L'Officiel'' (; stylised in all caps), full name ''L'Officiel de la couture et de la mode de Paris'' ("The Official ublicationof Paris Couture and Fashion"), is a French bimonthly fashion magazine. It has been published in Paris since 1921 a ...

'', ''Esquire'' Korea, and ''Nylon'' Korea.

Ambassadorship

A regular advocate of

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is 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 prima ...

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 o ...

, and eco-living, she served as the goodwill ambassador for the 2009 Korea International Youth Film Festival, the 2009 University Fashion Week, the 2011

Jeonju International Film Festival Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, ) is an Asian film festival based in South Korea. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival seeking to introduce independent and experimental films to the general public and focusing ...

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

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Music video appearances

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Kim So-eun fan cafe
at Daum {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, So-eun 1989 births Living people Actors from Namyangju Actresses from Gyeonggi Province South Korean child actresses South Korean television actresses South Korean film actresses South Korean web series actresses 21st-century South Korean actresses