Moon So-ri (; born July 2, 1974) is a South Korean actress, film director and
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
. She is best known for her acclaimed leading roles in ''
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentA Good Lawyer's Wife'' (2003), and ''
When Life Gives You Tangerines
''When Life Gives You Tangerines'' (; ) is a 2025 South Korean romance slice-of-life television series written by Lim Sang-choon, directed by Kim Won-seok, and starring IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, and Park Hae-joon. It was released on Net ...
'' (2025).
Career
After graduating with a degree in education from Sungkyunkwan University, Moon So-ri became part of the theater group ''Hangang'' (" Han River") from 1995 to 1997, and debuted in the play ''Classroom Idea'' (she also collaborated in its creation). She appeared in plays and
short films
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
such as ''Black Cut'' and ''To the Spring Mountain'' before finding fame as a leading actress. Her first film role was in
Lee Chang-dong
Lee Chang-dong (; born July 4, 1954) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and novelist. He has directed six feature films: ''Green Fish'' (1997), ''Peppermint Candy (film), Peppermint Candy'' (1999), ''Oasis (2002 film), Oasis'' (2002) ...
's acclaimed '' Peppermint Candy'', however her acting skills were not really showcased until she appeared in her second film ''
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentcerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...
.
The following year she again found fame in Im Sang-soo's third film '' A Good Lawyer's Wife''. A 180-degree turn from her previous screen image, this film featured her as a free thinking woman in a decaying marriage who starts an affair with the teenage boy next door. This film was also invited to the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
, and she later won the Best Actress award from the
Stockholm International Film Festival
The Stockholm International Film Festival () is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November, and focuses on emerging and early career fil ...
. Similar to the case with ''Oasis'', Best Actress honors at many domestic awards ceremonies followed.
Moon starred opposite
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 2004's '' The President's Barber'', a film that illustrates 20 years of modern Korean history through the eyes of president
Park Chung Hee
Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...
's personal barber. She took a more central role in her next feature ''
Sa-kwa
''Sa-kwa'' () is the debut film of South Korean director Kang Yi-kwan. Premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, although not released in South Korea until late 2008. This subtle, introspective drama of shifting moods—with acute ...
'', an introspective relationship drama about a woman who embarks on a new relationship after being dumped by her long-time boyfriend. Also from 2005, '' Bravo, My Life!'' saw her return to the historical era of the late 70s/early 80s in a family drama set against the political upheaval of those times.
In 2006, she played a sexually promiscuous professor in '' Bewitching Attraction'', then a disapproving sister in '' Family Ties'' (for which she shared Best Actress honors with three castmates at the 2006 Thessaloniki Film Festival, where their film also swept Best Picture and Best Screenplay). Moon starred in her first ever television series in 2007, the big-budget fusion
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
-
period drama
A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
'' The Legend''. She then narrated ''My Heart Is Not Broken Yet'', a
documentary
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
on Song Sin-do and her decade-long lawsuit against the Japanese government for an official apology towards her fellow
comfort women
Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...
in 2008), another TV drama (about a family of grown-up siblings), and the human rights-themed ''Fly, Penguin'' in 2009.
In 2009, she was one of the four characters in Baik Hyun-jhin's short film ''The End''.
After appearing in '' A Little Pond'', the 2010 dramatization of the No Gun Ri Massacre, Moon joined the ensemble cast of
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 ...
's '' Ha Ha Ha''. ''Ha Ha Ha'' won the top prize in the
Un Certain Regard
(; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films with unusua ...
section of the
2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 2010. American filmmaker Tim Burton served as jury president for the main competition. Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the dram ...
.
Having always expressed a desire to return to her stage roots, Moon did so in 2006 in ''Sulpun Yonguk'' ("Sad Play") and again in the 2010 Korean production of '' The Pitmen Painters''.
Her
voice acting
Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...
for '' Leafie, A Hen into the Wild'' was praised as "superb ..instantly recognizable and articulating the gumption and touching naivete of the eponymous hen with great conviction," and in 2011 ''Leafie'' became the most successful Korean animated film of the modern era, with over 2 million admissions. That same year, Moon joined Konkuk University's Faculty of Arts as a professor of
film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...
.
In 2012, she worked again with Hong Sang-soo in '' In Another Country'', which was headlined by French actress Isabelle Huppert, of whom Moon is a fan.
Because she found his script "unique and creative," Moon took a risk on newbie director Park Myung-rang and joined the cast of his 2013 crime thriller '' An Ethics Lesson''. She then reunited with Sul Kyung-gu in the spy comedy '' The Spy: Undercover Operation''.
In 2014, Moon starred in '' Venus Talk'', about the romantic and sex lives of three women in their forties. She also appeared in Park Chan-kyong's fantasy/documentary ''Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits'' that looked at Korean modern history through the checkered past and
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 ...
-based imagination of a
shaman
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 ...
. Another Hong Sang-soo feature, '' Hill of Freedom'', followed.
On television, she was designated as one of the co-hosts of a new
talk show
A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...
, '' Magic Eye''; this was the first time Moon had been involved in variety programming.
Moon then made her directorial debut with the short film ''The Actress'', in which she played the title character who goes mountain climbing with friends then meets up for drinks with a group of male acquaintances; once alcohol has loosened the tongues of her companions, she learns their prejudices against her. It premiered at the 19th Busan International Film Festival, where she also co-hosted the opening ceremony with Ken Watanabe. Along with two other short films ''The Running Actress'' and ''The Best Director'', the feature-length film premiered in 2017. Moon has cited Lee Chang-dong as a key influence on her directorial work, saying that she thought about her experience with Lee a lot while making these three shorts.
In 2015, Moon became the first Korean actor invited as a jury member of the
Locarno International Film Festival
The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...
; festival artistic director Carlo Chatrian lauded her "brave choices (in selecting projects)" and called Moon "the jewel of the Korean movie industry". The following year, she was invited to the
Venice International Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
, where she became the first South Korean actor to serve as a juror on the Orizzonti section.
In 2017, Moon featured as a political journalist in the election film '' The Mayor''.
In 2018, Moon starred in the Korean film adaptation of the Japanese manga series '' Little Forest'', playing the main character ( Kim Tae-ri)'s mom.
Among Moon's upcoming films are romance film ''Good Day'' by Zhang Lu, legal film '' Juror 8'', and school bullying drama '' I Want to See Your Parents' Face'', Moon also voiced '' The Underdog'', which was directed by ''Leafie, A Hen into the Wild'' director.
In 2021, Moon appeared in the film ''Three Sisters,'' in which she earned two Best Actress awards at the prestigious 42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards and 41st
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards
The Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (), also known as the Critics Choice Awards (), is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It was established in 1980 by the Korean Association of Film Critics (KAFC). The ce ...
, and a nomination 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 ...
Yoo Ah-in
Uhm Hong-sik (; born October 6, 1986), known professionally as Yoo Ah-in (), is a South Korean actor, creative director, and gallerist. He is known for playing a diverse spectrum of roles in both television and film, where he often portrays dyn ...
, which was released in 2022 exclusively at platform. In the same year Moon also confirmed casting in Netflix drama ''Queen Maker'' with actress Kim Hee-ae, it was released in 2023.
Personal life
According to Moon, she had a strict upbringing: she was not allowed to go to the theater and was forced to read classical literary works. During her childhood, she had to learn to perform pansori, play the violin and the gayageum.
On December 24, 2006, Moon married Jang Joon-hwan, director of
cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...
''
Save the Green Planet!
''Save the Green Planet!'' (Korean title: 지구를 지켜라!, ''Jigureul Jikyeora!'') is a South Korean science fiction comedy film written and directed by Jang Joon-hwan, released on 4 April 2003. The basic story begins when the main characte ...
'' Both Sungkyunkwan University alumni, the two reportedly met when Jang directed her in the 2003
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for Jung Jae-il's 눈물꽃 ("Flower of Tears"). After suffering a
miscarriage
Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...
in 2010, Moon gave birth to a daughter on August 4, 2011.