Sung Hyun-ah (born July 23, 1975) is a South Korean
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
and former
Miss Korea
Miss Korea ( ko, 미스코리아) is a national beauty pageant in South Korea.
Lee Seung-hyeon won the title on October 26, 2022.
History
The first Miss Korea competition took place in 1957 and was sponsored by the Korean newspaper Hankook I ...
.
Biography
Sung Hyun-ah placed second runner-up (or third place) at the
Miss Korea
Miss Korea ( ko, 미스코리아) is a national beauty pageant in South Korea.
Lee Seung-hyeon won the title on October 26, 2022.
History
The first Miss Korea competition took place in 1957 and was sponsored by the Korean newspaper Hankook I ...
pageant in 1994. She was the country's representative at the 1994
Miss International
Miss International (''Miss International Beauty'' or ''The International Beauty Pageant'') is a Japan-based international beauty pageant organized by the International Culture Association. First held in 1960, it is the fourth largest pageant i ...
pageant, where she was a
semi-finalist and won Miss Photogenic.
Sung made her acting debut in ''
Salut D'Amour'', and continued to appear in
TV dramas such as ''See and See Again'' (also known as ''Can't Take My Eyes Off You''), ''Should My Tears Show'', ''
Hur Jun'', ''One Day Suddenly'', ''
Bad Woman, Good Woman
''Bad Woman, Good Woman'' () is a 2007 South Korean television series starring Choi Jin-sil, Lee Jae-ryong, Sung Hyun-ah, and Jeon No-min. It aired on Mondays to Fridays at 19:45 on MBC from January 1 to July 13, 2007 for 140 episodes.
The dai ...
'', ''
Yi San'', and ''
Flames of Desire
''Flames of Desire'' (; lit. ''Flames of Ambition'') is a South Korean television series starring Shin Eun-kyung, Seo Woo, Yoo Seung-ho, Jo Min-ki, and Lee Soon-jae. It aired on MBC from October 2, 2010 to March 27, 2011 on Saturdays and ...
''. She also released an
EP in 2004 titled ''Turn It Up'' under the name A.One.
But Sung became best known for her strong, sexy roles in films such as
Hong Sang-soo
Hong Sang-soo (홍상수, born 25 October 1960) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.
Early life
Hong's parents owned the film production company Cinetel Soul. Hong took the entrance exam and entered the theater department at Chun ...
's ''
Woman is the Future of Man
''Woman Is the Future of Man'' () is a 2004 South Korean film directed by Hong Sang-soo. The film was not a box-office hit, but was entered in the competition category of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and received screenings at several other festiv ...
'', Kim Tae-eun's ''The Intimate'', and
Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk ( ; 20 December 196011 December 2020) was a South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, rendering him one of ...
's ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
''. She also appeared in ''
The Scarlet Letter
''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, w ...
'' and ''
The Customer Is Always Right''. In 2007 Sung won the Best Actress award from the Malaga International Fantastic Film Festival in Spain, for her role in the
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...
''
Cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
''.
No stranger to controversy, Sung was caught for using the drug
ecstasy
Ecstasy may refer to:
* Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness
* Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria
* Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...
in 2002, and previously published a book containing nude photographs of herself. In 2006, a dispute broke out between Sung and the producers of the movie ''The Intimate'' when she protested against their
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
strategy
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " a ...
to emphasize only the
nude scenes. Sung said, "I filmed the nude scenes to make a good movie. I can't bear to see that such scenes are being used as tools for promotion. I am not an actress who undresses and tumbles about for no reason." She declared that from then on, she would avoid nude scenes altogether.
She married businessman Heo Eun-gyo on December 9, 2007 at the Paradise Hotel in
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...
. After she and Heo divorced in 2010, Sung remarried three months later and gave birth to a son in 2012.
In December 2013, Sung was indicted on charges of
prostitution, for allegedly receiving from a businessman surnamed Chae with whom she met up three times for sexual intercourse in 2010. She
countersued to prove her innocence. In August 2014, the court dismissed Sung's request for a full trial and ruled that she was guilty of prostitution; she was sentenced to a fine of (). But, February 18 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that she was innocent of prostitution charges, overturning the lower court's decision.
Filmography
Film
*''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' (2006)
*''The Customer Is Always Right'' (2006)
*''The Intimate'' (2005)
*''
Cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
'' (2005)
*''
The Scarlet Letter
''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, w ...
'' (2004)
*''
Woman is the Future of Man
''Woman Is the Future of Man'' () is a 2004 South Korean film directed by Hong Sang-soo. The film was not a box-office hit, but was entered in the competition category of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and received screenings at several other festiv ...
'' (2004)
*''Live or Die'' (2003)
*''Boss X-File'' (2002)
*''Hallelujah'' (1997)
Television drama
*"
Wave, Wave" (KBS, 2018)
*''
Flames of Desire
''Flames of Desire'' (; lit. ''Flames of Ambition'') is a South Korean television series starring Shin Eun-kyung, Seo Woo, Yoo Seung-ho, Jo Min-ki, and Lee Soon-jae. It aired on MBC from October 2, 2010 to March 27, 2011 on Saturdays and ...
'' (MBC, 2010-2011)
*''
Ja Myung Go
''Ja Myung Go'' (; also known as ''Princess Ja-myung'') is a 2009 South Korean television series starring Jung Ryeo-won, Park Min-young and Jung Kyung-ho. It aired on SBS from March 9 to July 21, 2009 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 ( KST) fo ...
'' (SBS, 2009)
*''
Yi San'' (MBC, 2007–2008)
*''
Bad Woman, Good Woman
''Bad Woman, Good Woman'' () is a 2007 South Korean television series starring Choi Jin-sil, Lee Jae-ryong, Sung Hyun-ah, and Jeon No-min. It aired on Mondays to Fridays at 19:45 on MBC from January 1 to July 13, 2007 for 140 episodes.
The dai ...
'' (MBC, 2007)
*''One Day Suddenly'' (SBS, 2006)
*''Open Drama Man and Woman'' "I'm Mr. Heidi and Married" (SBS, 2001)
*''Twins'' (KBS, 2001)
*''Lipstick'' (iTV, 2001)
*''MBC Best Theater'' "Train Heading to Kaikoura" (MBC, 2000)
*''Because of You'' (MBC, 2000)
*''
Hur Jun'' (MBC, 1999-2000)
*''Should My Tears Show'' (MBC, 1999)
*''Crystal'' (SBS, 1999)
*''Advocate'' (MBC, 1998)
*''See and See Again'' (MBC, 1998-1999)
*''Kim Chang-wan's Three Stories'' (KBS, 1998)
*''Devotion'' (KBS, 1997)
*''70-Minute Dramas'' "가방을 든 남자" (SBS, 1997)
*''18 Years of Growing Up'' (SBS, 1996)
*''Exploration of Man'' (SBS, 1996)
*''LA Arirang'' (SBS, 1995-1996)
*''MBC Best Theater'' "Adelaide" (MBC, 1995)
*''
Salut D'Amour'' (KBS2, 1994)
Variety show
*''Scandal 2.0'' (tvN, 2009)
*''Catch-One's World of Film'' (Catch-One, 1999)
*진상을 찾아라 (HBS, 1997)
*세상체험, 온몸을 던져라 (SBS, 1997)
*행운의 일요특급 (KBS, 1995)
*명사 가요초대석 (MBC, 1995)
Discography
Awards
*2007 10th Malaga International Fantastic Film Festival: Best Actress (''
Cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
'')
*
1994 34th Miss International
Miss International (''Miss International Beauty'' or ''The International Beauty Pageant'') is a Japan-based international beauty pageant organized by the International Culture Association. First held in 1960, it is the fourth largest pageant i ...
Pageant: Miss Photogenic
*1994 38th
Miss Korea
Miss Korea ( ko, 미스코리아) is a national beauty pageant in South Korea.
Lee Seung-hyeon won the title on October 26, 2022.
History
The first Miss Korea competition took place in 1957 and was sponsored by the Korean newspaper Hankook I ...
Pageant: 2nd Runner-up
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sung, Hyun-ah
1975 births
South Korean film actresses
South Korean television actresses
Miss International 1994 delegates
Living people
Miss Korea delegates
South Korean criminals
People acquitted of crimes