Kang So-ra

In this Korean name, the family name is Kang.

Kang So-ra (Korean: 강소라; born February 18, 1990) is a South Korean actress.^[2]

Kang So-ra
Kang in July 2024
Born	(1990-02-18) February 18, 1990 (age 35) Gangdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea[1]
Education	Dongguk University - Theater and Film
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2009–present
Agent	Plum E&C
Spouse	Unknown ​ (m. 2020)​
Children	2
Korean name
Hangul	강소라
Revised Romanization	Gang So-ra
McCune–Reischauer	Kang Sora
Signature

Career

Kang in 2011

Kang made her acting debut in the 2009 thriller movie 4th Period Mystery, but rose to fame when she starred in the 2011 blockbuster Sunny, a coming-of-age film about a group of high school girls growing up in the 1980s.^[3] This was followed by leading roles in television dramas, such as teen musical Dream High 2 (2012),^[4][5][6] and family drama Ugly Alert (2013).^[7] Kang also appeared on the third season of We Got Married, a reality show which pairs up celebrities into fake "married" couples; her partner was Leeteuk from the K-pop group Super Junior.^[8][9]

Kang gained increased recognition after starring in two hit series in 2014: medical drama Doctor Stranger (2014)^[10][11] and workplace dramedy Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014).^[12] Doctor Stranger was a success in China with 400 million views, and Misaeng: Incomplete Life was dubbed a "cultural phenomenon" in South Korea.^[13][14] This was followed by lead roles in romantic comedy Warm and Cozy (2015) together with Yoo Yeon-seok,^[15][16] legal drama My Lawyer, Mr. Jo (2016),^[17] and romantic comedy Revolutionary Love (2017) alongside Choi Si-won from the k-pop group Super Junior.^[18]

In 2019, Kang returned to the big screen in the cycling film Uhm Bok-dong.^[19][20]

In 2020, Kang starred in the comedy film Secret Zoo, based on the webtoon of the same name. She plays a veterinarian who pretends to be a lion.^[21] The same year, she was cast in the romance melodrama film Waiting for Rain.^[22]

Personal life

Marriage and family

Kang married a doctor of Oriental medicine in August 2020 in a private ceremony.^[23] On November 19, 2020, it was announced that Kang was pregnant with their first child, due in April 2021.^[24][25]

On April 15, 2021, Kang's agency announced that Kang had given birth to a daughter.^[26] On October 16, 2023, it was confirmed that she is expecting her second child and expected to give birth at the end of this year.^[27] Kang gave birth to her second daughter on December 11, 2023.^[28]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2009	4th Period Mystery	Lee Da-jeong		[29]
	Kwang-tae's Basic Story	Ji-hyo	short film
2011	Sunny	teenage Ha Chun-hwa		[3]
2012	Brave	Mérida	(voice, Korean dubbing)	[30]
2013	My Paparotti	Sook-hee		[31]
	Cheer Up, Mr. Lee	Herself	cameo	[32]
2019	Uhm Bok-dong	Kim Hyung-shin		[19]
2020	Secret Zoo	So Won		[21]
2021	Waiting for Rain	Soo-jin		[33]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2010	Ugly Miss Young-ae 7	Kang So-ra
	Dr. Champ	Kwon Yoo-ri		[34]
	Ugly Miss Young-ae 8	Kang So-ra
2011	My Bittersweet Life	Hong Yoon-mi		[35]
2012	Dream High 2	Shin Hae-sung		[5]
2013	Ugly Alert	Na Do-hee		[7]
	Ugly Miss Young-ae 12	Kang So-ra	cameo	[36]
2014	Doctor Stranger	Oh Soo-hyun		[11]
	Misaeng: Incomplete Life	Ahn Young-yi		[12]
2015	Warm and Cozy	Lee Jung-joo		[15]
2016	My Lawyer, Mr. Jo	Lee Eun-jo		[17]
2017	Revolutionary Love	Baek Joon		[18]
2018	The Beauty Inside	Host	Cameo	[37]
2023	Strangers Again	Oh Ha-ra		[38]

Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2011–2012	We Got Married Season 3	Cast member	Paired with Leeteuk	[8]
2013	My Soul's Table			[39]

Hosting

Year	Title	Ref.
2011	MBC Music Festival	[40]
2012	MBC Entertainment Awards	[41]
2017	31st Golden Disc Awards	[42]
2018	32nd Golden Disc Awards	[43]
2019	33rd Golden Disc Awards	[44]

Music video appearances

Year	Song Title	Artist	Notes	Ref.
2009	"This Good Day"	Halla Man		[45]
	"Gloria"	PK Heman	Kang is also featured on the album cover	[46]
	"Merely"	JK Kim Dong-wook
	"Happy Me"	Hong Kyung-min		[47]
2011	"Hello"	Huh Gak		[48]
	"I Told You I Wanna Die"		includes narration by Kang
2017	"Curtain"	Suho ft. Song Young-joo		[49]

Discography

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Round and Round" (빙글빙글) (with Nam Bo-ra, Kim Bo-mi, Park Jin-joo, Kang So-ra, Min Hyo-rin, Kim Min-yeong)	2011	Sunny OST
"B Class Life" (B 급인생) (with Jeong Jinwoon, Kang So-ra, Jinyoung, Kim Ji-soo)	2012	Dream High 2 OST

Ambassadorship

Year	Title	Campaign Organizer	Ref.
2015–present	Alcon Brand Ambassador	Alcon	[50]
2016	Dongguk Ambassador	Dongguk University	[51]

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
APAN Star Awards	2014	Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Doctor Stranger	Nominated
	2015		Misaeng: Incomplete Life & Warm and Cozy	Nominated
Asia Model Awards	2014	Popular Star Award	Kang So-ra	Won	[52]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2012	Best New Actress – Film	Sunny	Nominated
		Most Popular Actress – Film		Won	[53]
		Best New Actress – Television	Dream High 2	Nominated
Blue Dragon Film Awards	2011	Best New Actress	Sunny	Nominated
Buil Film Awards	2012	Best New Actress		Won	[54]
Grand Bell Awards	2011			Nominated
Herald Donga Lifestyle Awards	2014	Best Style of the Year	Kang So-ra	Won	[55]
KBS Drama Awards	2016	Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama	My Lawyer, Mr. Jo	Nominated
Korea Advertisers Association Awards	2015	Best Model Award	Kang So-ra	Won	[56]
Korea Drama Awards	2014	Excellence Award, Actress	Doctor Stranger	Won	[57]
MBC Drama Awards	2015	Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Warm and Cozy	Won	[58]
MBC Entertainment Awards	2012	Popularity Award (Variety Show)	We Got Married (Season 3)	Won	[59]
Miss Supertalent Season 4	2014	Asia New Star	Kang So-ra	Won
Mnet 20's Choice Awards	2011	Hot Movie Star	Sunny	Won	[60]
SBS Drama Awards	2013	Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend/Daily Drama	Ugly Alert	Nominated
		New Star Award		Won	[61]
	2014	Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special	Doctor Stranger	Nominated

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2018	Korea Power Celebrity	37th	[62]