Seo Hyun-jin (; born February 27, 1985) is a South Korean actress and singer. Seo debuted as the vocalist of South Korean girl group M.I.L.K. in 2001 and continued until the group disbanded in 2003. She contributed songs as a solo artist after the group broke up before she transitioned into acting in 2006. Seo made her acting debut in the musical ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' (2006) then followed by appearances in several television series and film. She is best known for her leading role as Oh Hae-young in the romantic comedy TV series '' Another Miss Oh'' (2016), which gained her wider recognition. Seo has since gone on to have key parts in the medical melodrama '' Dr. Romantic'' (2016–2017), romance dramas '' Temperature of Love'' (2017), '' The Beauty Inside'' (2018), and '' You Are My Spring'' (2021), and the legal drama '' Why Her'' (2022).

Life and career

1985–2005: Early life and music career

Seo was born on February 27, 1985, in

Dobong District Dobong District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. As of 2020, Dobong has a population of 315,979 and an area of , and is divided into four administrative neighborhoods. The district is located in northeastern Seoul, bordering ...

(now

Nowon District Nowon District () is one of the List of districts of Seoul, 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea, located in the most northeastern part of the metropolitan city. It is considered to be a residental district, due to its high concentration of apartme ...

), Seoul, South Korea. She was scouted by

S.M. Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering ...

and later debuted as a vocalist of South Korean

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 ...

, M.I.L.K in 2001, under the label's subsidiary BM Entertainment. However, the group soon fell by the wayside due to fierce competition among manufactured bands, which led to one of the members quitting before they completely disbanded in 2003. After M.I.L.K. was dissolved, Seo attended

Dongduk Women's University Dongduk Women's University (DWU; ) is a private university in Seoul, South Korea. Dongduk Women's University is originated from Dongwon Girls School, founded in 1950. DWU is composed of eight colleges, six departments, 18 majors, 16 departments o ...

, where she majored in applied

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

to keep her dream of a singing career alive. Seo contributed songs to a few soundtracks and

SM Town SM Town (stylized in all caps as SMTOWN) is a musical collective for the recording artists under South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment. SM Town artists have performed at the annual SM Town Live world tours since the SM Town Liv ...

compilations as a solo artist.

2006–2014: Acting debut and further roles

Seo had the chance to perform in her first musical, ''

'' in 2006, which she saw as the turning point in her acting career. Supporting roles followed in the period drama '' Hwang Jini'' (2006), TV police procedural '' H.I.T'' (2007), and the

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

-themed film '' Ashamed'' (2011). Seo first drew attention for her subtler performance in '' The Duo'' (2011), as a neighborhood tomboy who later becomes a

gisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

. She played her first villain in '' Feast of the Gods'' (2012), as an extremely ambitious chef embroiled in a rivalry. Seo was then cast in leading roles for two historical dramas ''

The King's Daughter, Soo Baek-hyang ''The King's Daughter, Soo Baek-hyang'' () is a Korean-language historical drama depicting the life of Soo Baek-hyang, the daughter of King Muryeong of Baekje. It was aired on MBC TV from September 30, 2013, to March 14, 2014, on Monday and Frida ...

'' (2013) and ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' (2014). Seo has also frequently appeared in projects directed by her best friend, actress Ku Hye-sun, notably in the

short film 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 ...

''The Madonna'' and in the feature film ''Magic'', in which she had her first leading role.

2015–present: Rising popularity and continued television roles

Seo said the character that most resembled her real-life personality was the foodie freelance writer in '' Let's Eat 2'' (2015), adding that she "''didn't realize how much fun shooting a lively and comedic drama could be.''" The drama was Seo's first foray into the romantic-comedy genre. She was reviewed well for the part, to the point that it became a turning-point in her career. Her popularity grew rapidly after the hit romance comedy drama '' Another Miss Oh'' (2016), in which she starred alongside

Eric Mun Eric Mun (born Mun Jung-hyuk on February 16, 1979) is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and actor. He is a member and leader of the South Korean boy band Shinhwa. He is also well known for several dramas such as ''Phoenix (2004 TV series), Phoe ...

. She was praised for her portrayal of a girl-next-door type, and won the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actress. Later that same year, she starred in the SBS hit medical drama '' Dr. Romantic'' alongside Han Suk-kyu and Yoo Yeon-seok. In 2017, Seo starred in the romantic-themed television series '' Temperature of Love'' penned by Ha Myung-hee. In 2018, Seo was cast in the fantasy melodrama '' The Beauty Inside'' which was based on the 2015 romantic comedy film of the same name. She played an actress who spends a week each month inhabiting someone else's body. She then starred in the high school television series '' Black Dog: Being A Teacher'' in 2019 and subsequently in the tvN drama series '' You Are My Spring'' in 2021. In 2022, Seo starred in the SBS legal drama '' Why Her'' in the titular role of Oh Soo-jae, a lawyer-turned-professor and in the film ''

Cassiopeia Cassiopeia or Cassiopea may refer to: Greek mythology * Cassiopeia (mother of Andromeda), queen of Aethiopia and mother of Andromeda * Cassiopeia (wife of Phoenix), wife of Phoenix, king of Phoenicia * Cassiopeia, wife of Epaphus, king of Egy ...

'' as a woman who is diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and is slowly turning into a young child due to the loss of her memory.

Personal life

A devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, Seo is an ambassador and a member of the One Heart One Body Movement, a Catholic organization from Seoul. Her baptismal name is Gabriella.

Other activities

In 2019, Seo was recognised as an exemplary tax payer by the

National Tax Service of South Korea The National Tax Service () is the tax organization in South Korea and is run under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The headquarters are in Sejong City Sejong or Sejong City (; ), officially Sejong Special Self-Governing City (), is a ...

and was named as an honorary ambassador together with Lee Je-hoon.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Television shows

Music video appearances

Theater

Discography

Singles

Awards and nominations

State honors

Listicles

References

External links

Seo Hyun-jin
on Management Soop * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seo, Hyun-jin 1985 births Living people People from Nowon District Musicians from Seoul Actresses from Seoul Singers from Seoul South Korean women pop singers South Korean female idols South Korean film actresses South Korean television actresses South Korean stage actresses South Korean Roman Catholics Dongduk Women's University alumni 21st-century South Korean actresses 21st-century South Korean women singers Best Actress Paeksang Arts Award (television) winners Hyun-jin