Han Ga-in

For other people with similar names, see Kim Hyun-joo.

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim. In the stage name or pen-name, the surname is Han.

Kim Hyun-joo^[1] (Korean: 김현주), better known by the stage name Han Ga-in (한가인), is a South Korean actress and model. She starred in television series Yellow Handkerchief and Terms of Endearment early in her career, and became a sought-after model in commercials. Her projects in 2012 were hugely successful, with her period drama Moon Embracing the Sun topping the TV ratings chart, and her film Architecture 101 becoming a box office hit.

Han Ga-in
Kim in May 2024
Born	Kim Hyun-joo[1] Seoul, South Korea[2]
Education	Kyung Hee University (BSc. HCM)[3]
Occupations	Actress model
Years active	2002–present
Agent	BH Entertainment
Spouse	Yeon Jung-hoon ​ (m. 2005)​
Children	2
Korean name
Hangul	한가인
Revised Romanization	Han Gain
McCune–Reischauer	Han Kain
Birth name
Hangul	김현주
Revised Romanization	Gim Hyeonju
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Hyŏnju
Signature

Early life and education

Han Ga-in was born as Kim Hyun-joo.^[1] She attended Seoul Gusan Elementary School (서울구산초등학교), Sunjung Middle School (선정중학교) and Baehwa Girls' High School (배화여자고등학교). She excelled academically and scored 384 points out of 400 points on the South Korean University entrance examinations.^[4][5] On December 22, 2000, while attending high school, Han participated in KBS1 quiz show Challenge Golden Bell and reached the 34th stage. She studied hospitality management at Kyung Hee University; after entering the entertainment industry, she continued her studies part-time and graduated in 2007.^[6]

Career

As a high school student, Han Ga-in appeared on KBS's TV show called The Golden Bell Challenge (도전! 골든벨)^[4][7] and was also captured in footage of interviews with other students. Entertainment executives spotted her in the news clip and immediately went to her school to offer her a part.^[8] She decided to use her current stage name as she shares a birth name with another actress who debuted earlier than her.^[9]

Han debuted in an Asiana Airlines commercial in 2002, and was cast in the KBS2 drama Sunshine Hunting. She subsequently appeared in a supporting role in the popular daily drama Yellow Handkerchief and made her big-screen debut in Once Upon a Time in High School. In 2004, she took on the leading role in Terms of Endearment and won an Excellence award at the KBS Drama Awards.^[10][11]

In 2005, Han acted in Super Rookie, a satire on Korea's corporate culture and unemployment among the country's younger generation. It drew solid viewership ratings in the 20% range, and won Han the Excellence Award at the MBC Drama Awards.^[12] The drama was also reportedly well received by Japanese viewers and contributed to Han's popularity in the country.^[13] This was followed by leading roles in Dr. Kkang and Witch Yoo Hee.^[14] In the latter drama, Han sported a bob cut as she portrayed a career woman who cared about her appearance and job rather than relationships.

After Witch Yoo Hee wrapped in 2007, Han publicly criticized the director and writers for the drama's poor quality. She went on a three-year hiatus afterwards, merely starring in advertisements. Han struggled to shake the perception that she was only a lovely face and not a professional actor, having only portrayed stereotypical characters, even though she quickly rose to the top of the TV advertising industry's most sought-after faces list.^[10]

Mainly categorized as a "CF star," Han wanted to change that misconception with her comeback in 2010.^[15] In Bad Guy, she attempted to transform her image as a pure and innocent girl to a materialistic woman who dreams of climbing the social ladder at the expense of others.^[16][17]

Han at the Seoul production sneak preview of Architecture 101 in 2012.

2012 was the most successful year of Han's career yet. She first starred in period drama, Moon Embracing the Sun, in which she played the heroine, an amnesiac noblewoman-turned-shaman.^[18] The drama not only ranked number one in its time slot throughout its run but achieved a peak recorded viewer rating of 42.2%,^[19] thereby earning "national drama" status.^{[20][unreliable source?]} This was followed by a leading role in romantic film Architecture 101, which got rave reviews and set a new box-office record as the highest-grossing Korean melodrama.^[10][21][22] Han also appeared on episode 87 of the popular variety show, Running Man.^[23]

Han was managed by J. One Plus Entertainment from 2009 to 2011,^[24][25][26] and when her contract expired, she signed with Lee Byung-hun's agency, BH Entertainment in December 2012.^[27]

In 2018, Han returned to the small screen after six years with mystery thriller Mistress.^[28][29]

In February 2022, 4 years after Mistress, Han returned to television as a host of SBS talk show Circle House.^[30] In April 2022, she made a guest appearance in KBS2 reality-variety show 2 Days & 1 Night, in which her husband Yeon Jung-hoon is a fixed cast member.^[31][32]

Personal life

Han with her husband Yeon Jung-hoon for a fashion photoshoot in 2024

Han married actor Yeon Jung-hoon on April 26, 2005; they first met as co-stars in the 2003 daily drama Yellow Handkerchief.^[33][34][35] Their wedding attracted much media attention due to the rarity of actresses marrying in their early twenties, at the prime of their careers.^[36][37] Han had a miscarriage in 2014,^{[38][39][40][41]} and later gave birth to a daughter on April 13, 2016.^[42] On May 13, 2019, she gave birth to a son.^[43][44]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2004	Once Upon a Time in High School	Eun-joo
2012	Architecture 101	Yang Seo-yeon

Television series

Year	Title	Role
2002	Sunshine Hunting	Joo-Young
2003	Yellow Handkerchief	Jo Sun-joo
2004	Terms of Endearment	Kang Eun-pah
2005	Super Rookie	Lee Mi-ok
2006	Dr. Kkang	Kim Yoo-na
2007	Witch Yoo Hee	Ma Yoo-hee
2010	Bad Guy	Moon Jae-in
2012	Moon Embracing the Sun	Heo Yeon-woo / Wol
2018	Mistress	Jang Se-yeon

Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2003	Comedy Town
	Entertainment Weekly	Host
2022	Circle House		with Oh Eun-young, Lee Seung-gi, Noh Hong-chul and Lee Jung	[30][45]
	Sing for Gold	Manager	with Lee Mu-jin	[46]
	Greek Roman Myths-Private Life of the Gods	Host		[47]
	Day Without Hands		with Shin Dong-yup	[48]
2024	Europe Outside the Tent	Cast Member	Season 4	[49]

Radio shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2022	Park So-hyun's Love Game	Special DJ	April 4, 2022	[50]

Music video appearances

Year	Song Title	Artist
2005	"Only Wind, Only Wind"	SG Wannabe
2012	"Yeosu Night Sea"	Busker Busker

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2003	KBS Drama Awards	Best New Actress	Yellow Handkerchief	Won
2004	40th Baeksang Arts Awards[51]	Most Popular Actress (Film)	Once Upon a Time in High School	Won
	25th Blue Dragon Film Awards[52]	Best New Actress		Nominated
	3rd Korean Film Awards	Best New Actress		Nominated
	KBS Drama Awards[11]	Excellence Award, Actress	Terms of Endearment	Won
		Best Couple Award with Song Il-gook		Won
2005	MBC Drama Awards	Excellence Award, Actress	Super Rookie	Won
		Best Couple Award with Eric Mun		Nominated
		Popularity Award, Actress		Nominated
2012	7th Seoul International Drama Awards	Outstanding Korean Actress	Moon Embracing the Sun	Nominated
	1st K-Drama Star Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actress		Nominated
	MBC Drama Awards[53]	Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries		Won
		Best Couple Award with Kim Soo-hyun		Nominated
		Popularity Award, Actress		Nominated

State honors

Name of the organization, year presented, and the award given

Organization	Year	Award	Ref.
47th Taxpayer's Day	2013	Presidential Commendation	[54]

References

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External links

• Han Ga-in at HanCinema
• Han Ga-in at IMDb