Kim Ha-neul

For other people named Kim Ha-neul, see Kim Ha-neul (disambiguation).

Kim Ha-neul (Korean: 김하늘; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in the films Ditto (2000), My Tutor Friend (2003), Too Beautiful to Lie (2004), and My Girlfriend Is an Agent (2009). In 2011, Kim won Best Actress at the 48th Grand Bell Awards and the 32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards for her performance in the serial killer thriller Blind. Her television work includes Romance (2002), On Air (2008), A Gentleman's Dignity (2012), and 18 Again (2020).

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

The baptismal name is Cecilia.

Kim Ha-neul
Kim in January 2017
Born	(1978-02-21) February 21, 1978 (age 46) Seoul, South Korea
Education	Seoul Institute of the Arts (BFA in Film)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996–present
Agent	IOK Company
Spouse	Choi Jin-hyuk ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	1
Korean name
Hangul	김하늘
Revised Romanization	Gim Ha-neul
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Hanŭl

Early and personal life

Kim Ha-neul was born on February 21, 1978, in Seoul, South Korea. Her given name "Ha-neul" means "sky" in Korean. Her immediate family consists of her parents and one younger brother. She attended the Seoul Institute of the Arts.

Kim married a businessman, on March 19, 2016.^[1][2] On October 9, 2017, Kim announced that she is expecting her first child.^[3] On May 27, 2018, she gave birth to a daughter.^[4]

She is a Roman Catholic and her baptismal name is Cecilia.^[5]

Career

1996–2000: Early career

Kim Ha-neul started her career by modeling for clothing brand Storm in 1996. She then made her acting debut in the 1998 film Bye June alongside Yoo Ji-tae. In 1999, she starred a medical drama film Doctor K, which earned her first acting award nomination. In the same year, she made appearances in television dramas Happy Together and Into the Sunlight, and featured in the music video for "To Heaven" by Jo Sung-mo. Later, she reunited with Yoo Ji-tae in 2000's sci-fi romance Ditto, and rose to fame as an actress.^[6]

2001–2007: Rise to popularity

Kim's breakout role was in romance melodrama series Piano, in which she played a pure, fragile young woman. The series was the second most successful drama of 2001, achieving a peak rating of 40.2%. She then starred in 2002 hit Romance alongside Kim Jae-won, which led her to stardom and won her Top Excellence Award in acting.^[7] In 2003, she raised her profile through the huge box-office hit My Tutor Friend, where she acted as a college girl tasked with helping a delinquent student her own age graduate from high school alongside her opposite Kwon Sang-woo.^[8] In 2004, she starred in Too Beautiful to Lie, as an ex-convict who pretends to be the fiancée of a man being pressured to marry by his nosy, close-knit family.^[9] Due to the success of her films, Kim was dubbed "the queen of romantic comedies" by the Korean press.^[10]

In 2004, she starred in mountain-climbing drama Ice Rain, horror film Dead Friend^[11] and the melodrama Stained Glass. Kim then returned to the familiar romance genre with 2006 romantic comedy Almost Love, in the role of an aspiring actress with stage fright, which also reunited her with My Tutor Friend co-star Kwon Sang-woo.^[12] This was followed by Lovers of Six Years, about a longtime couple facing relationship problems.^[13]

2008–2012: Revived career

In 2008, Kim starred in On Air, a Kim Eun-sook penned drama which gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at a television drama production. Kim plays a top actress with an arrogant personality in the series.^[14][15] The drama raised Kim's popularity and earned her acting recognition at the Korea Drama Awards.^[16][17] The following year, Kim starred in spy romantic comedy My Girlfriend Is an Agent.^[18] The film was a box-office success, and earned positive reviews for its quality and performance.^[19]

Kim during My Girlfriend Is an Agent press conference in March 2009

In 2010, Kim played a medical student torn between two soldiers in Korean War drama Road No. 1.^[20][21][22] Despite strong hype and a ₩13 million budget, the series received low ratings.^[6][23][24]

Kim in November 2011

She bounced back in 2011 with serial killer thriller Blind, where she challenged herself by portraying a visually impaired former detective who becomes witness to a murder.^[25] Her performance won her Best Actress honors at the Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards.^{[26][27][28][29]} This was followed by another rom-com You're My Pet, adapted from the Japanese josei manga Kimi wa Petto.^[30][31]

In 2012, Kim returned to the small screen as a high school ethics teacher who falls for a playboy architect (played by Jang Dong-gun) in the hit drama A Gentleman's Dignity.^[32] Made by the same team behind On Air (writer Kim Eun-sook and director Shin Woo-chul), the series revolved around the love lives of four male friends in their forties.^{[33][34][35][36]}

2015–present: Return to the screen

In 2015, Kim was cast in her first Chinese film, romantic comedy Making Family opposite Aarif Rahman.^[37][38]

In 2016, Kim starred in crowdfunded indie feature Don't Forget Me opposite Jung Woo-sung.^[39] In September, she made her small-screen comeback in four years, starring in romance melodrama On the Way to the Airport opposite Lee Sang-yoon.^[40][41]

Kim in January 2017

In 2017, she starred in Misbehavior, playing an unloved teacher at a boys' high school.^[42][43] Kim then featured in fantasy blockbuster Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds.^[44]

In 2019, Kim returned to the small screen in JTBC melodrama The Wind Blows.^[45]

In 2020, Kim starred in the romance drama 18 Again, based on the 2009 film 17 Again.^[46]

In March 2021, Kim signed a contract with IOK Company.^[47]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Bye June	Yoo Chae-young
1999	Doctor K	Oh Sae-yeon
2000	Ditto	Yoon So-eun
2003	My Tutor Friend	Choi Su-wan
2004	Ice Rain	Kim Kyung-min
	Too Beautiful to Lie	Joo Young-ju
	Dead Friend	Min Ji-won
2006	Almost Love	Jin Dal-rae
2008	Lovers of Six Years	Lee Da-jin
2009	My Girlfriend Is an Agent	Ahn Soo-ji
	Paradise	Mi-kyung
2011	Blind	Min Soo-ah
	You're My Pet	Ji Eun-yi
2016	Remember You	Jin-young
	Making Family	Go Mi-yeon	Korean-Chinese co-production
2017	Misbehavior	Park Hyo-joo
	Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds	God of Betrayal Hell	Cameo

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1999	Happy Together	Jin Soo-ha
	Into the Sunlight	Kang Soo-bin
2000	Secret	Lee Hee-jung
2001	Piano	Lee Soo-ah
2002	Romance	Kim Chae-won
2004	Stained Glass	Shin Ji-soo
2006	90 Days, Time to Love	Go Mi-yeon
2008	On Air	Oh Seung-ah
2009	Paradise	Mi-kyung	Telecinema
2010	Road No. 1	Kim Soo-yeon
2012	A Gentleman's Dignity	Seo Yi-soo
2016	On the Way to the Airport	Choi Soo-ah
2019	The Wind Blows	Lee Soo-jin
2020	18 Again	Jung Da-jung
2022	Kill Heel	Woo Hyun		[48]
2024	Nothing Uncovered	Seo Jeong-won		[49]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2024	Red Swan	Oh Wan-soo	[50]

Music video appearances

Year	Song title	Artist	Ref.
1998	"To Heaven"	Jo Sung-mo
2002	"Last Promise" (마지막 약속)	Position
2009	"I Was Happy" (행복했었다)	Jo Sung-mo	[51]

Discography

List of singles, showing year released, and name of the album

Title	Year	Album
"Sky Love"	2008	On Air OST
"Stars in the Night Sky" (밤하늘의 별을) (Yang Jung-seung of Kiroy Y featuring Kim Ha-neul)	2011	Non-album single
"Bbuing Bbuing" Sung by Jang Keun-suk and Kim Ha-neul)		You're My Pet OST
"I Only Look at You" (너만 보여) Sung by Jang Keun-suk and Kim Ha-neul)
"Good" (좋아)

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.
Baeksang Arts Awards	2003	Most Popular Actress (Film)	My Tutor Friend	Won
	2004	Best Actress (Film)	Too Beautiful to Lie	Won
	2017	InStyle Fashion Award	Kim Ha-neul	Won
		Best Actress (TV)	On the Way to the Airport	Nominated
Blue Dragon Film Awards	1999	Best Supporting Actress	Doctor K	Nominated
	2000	Best Leading Actress	Ditto	Nominated
	2003	Best Leading Actress	My Tutor Friend	Nominated
	2004		Too Beautiful to Lie	Nominated
	2008	Popular Star Award	Lovers of Six Years	Won	[52]
	2009	Best Leading Actress	My Girlfriend Is an Agent	Nominated
	2011	Best Leading Actress	Blind	Won	[29]
Buil Film Awards	2011	Best Actress	Blind	Nominated
	2017	Best Actress	Misbehavior	Nominated
Chunsa Film Art Awards	2001	Best New Actress	Ditto	Nominated
	2017	Best Actress	Misbehavior	Nominated
Grand Bell Awards	2004	Best Actress	Too Beautiful to Lie	Nominated
	2011	Best Actress	Blind	Won	[27][28]
K-Drama Star Awards	2012	Top Excellence Award, Actress	A Gentleman's Dignity	Nominated
KBS Drama Awards	2016	Best Couple Award	Kim Ha-neul with Lee Sang-yoon On the Way to the Airport	Won	[53]
		Top Excellence Award, Actress	On the Way to the Airport	Won
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries		Nominated
Korea Drama Awards	2008	Top Excellence Award, Actress	On Air	Won	[17]
	2019	Top Excellence Award, Actress	The Wind Blows	Nominated
Korea Fashion & Design Awards	2008	Best Dressed	Kim Ha-neul	Won
Max Movie Awards	2009	Best Actress	My Girlfriend Is an Agent	Nominated
MBC Drama Awards	2002	Top Excellence Award, Actress	Romance	Won
SBS Drama Awards	2001	Popularity Award	Piano	Won
	2008	Top 10 Stars	On Air	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actress		Won
	2012	Popularity Award	A Gentleman's Dignity	Won	[54]
		Top 10 Stars		Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend Drama		Won

References

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External links

• Kim Ha-neul at the Korean Movie Database
• Kim Ha-neul at IMDb