Kim Hyun-joo

Kim Hyun-joo
Kim Hyun-joo
	Kim in July 2019
Born	April 24, 1977 (age 47); Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Alma mater	Dankook University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996–present
Agent	YNK Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul	김현주
Hanja	金賢珠
Revised Romanization	Kim Hyeon-ju
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Hyŏnju
Website	ynkent.com

Kim Hyun-joo (Korean: 김현주; born April 24, 1977)^[2] is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the television dramas Glass Slippers (2002), Toji, the Land (2004), Twinkle Twinkle (2011), What Happens to My Family? (2014), I Have a Lover (2015), Hellbound (2021–present), Trolley (2022–2023) and The Bequeathed (2024).

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1996–2001: Early acting credits

Kim Hyun-joo began modeling in teen magazines when she was in her third year of high school. In 1996, she made her entertainment debut when she starred in the music video for Kim Hyun-chul's "One's Lifetime."^[3] Kim launched her acting career in 1997 in the television drama The Reason I Live (1997). Despite being inexperienced, she was cast in the leading role in the film If It Snows on Christmas (1998) with Park Yong-ha, followed by Calla (1999) with Song Seung-heon.

After doing a few sitcoms, Kim built her resume further by playing supporting roles on television. In 1999, She gained her first major role when she appeared in the Jang Dong-gun show Springtime (also known as Youth), which received low ratings. But the popular Into the Sunlight later that year boosted Kim's career. In early 2000, she appeared in episode 7 of Song Ji-na's omnibus drama Love Story, titled "Insomnia, Manual and Orange Juice." Kim then landed her first TV leading role in Virtue (Deok-yi), followed by more supporting roles in 2001 with Her House (headlined by Kim Nam-joo) and the historical drama Sangdo (based on Choi In-ho's novel about Joseon merchant Im Sang-ok).

2002–2005: Glass Slippers breakthrough

Kim achieved mainstream stardom in 2002, with her Cinderella-esque leading role in Glass Slippers, about two sisters who were separated as children and unknowingly encounter each other as adults. Also starring Kim Ji-ho, Han Jae-suk and So Ji-sub, the drama was a hit with ratings of over 30%, and Kim received acting and popularity awards at the SBS Drama Awards.^[4] Glass Slippers was also successful in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam and with Kim's new pan-Asian popularity, she starred opposite Taiwanese actor/singer Vanness Wu in the martial arts movie Star Runner (2003).

For Ms. Kim's Million Dollar Quest (also known as Miss Kim's One Billion Won Project and Miss Kim's Adventures in Making a Million), she and Ji Jin-hee displayed their comedic chops as a girl left at the altar and a bankrupt playboy, respectively, who join forces in a moneymaking scheme. Kim's next role was as Lee Sung-jae's love interest in the body swapping comedy film Shinsukki Blues.

From late 2004 to 2005, Kim played the heroine Choi Seo-hee in Toji, the Land , a television adaptation of Park Kyung-ni's celebrated novel Toji ("The Land"), which portrayed the lives and loves of peasants and the nobility ("yangban") in Korea at the turn of the 20th century, spanning from Japan's colonial rule to the division of the peninsula.^[5] The big-budget production was a hit, and Kim received a Best TV Actress nomination at the 2006 Baeksang Arts Awards.

Inspired by the American TV show Joe Millionaire, Marrying a Millionaire (2005) was about an average guy (Go Soo) pretending to be rich as the concept for a dating reality show, who then genuinely falls for one of the contestants (Kim), the only girl who knows the truth. After Marrying a Millionaire, Kim went on a two-year hiatus. She later said she took a break because she hated being typecast in such sweet, wholesome roles. But as time passed, she said she regretted the decision and should've worked harder instead to develop as an actress.

2007–2010: Resurgence

Kim returned to television in 2007 with In-soon Is Pretty, playing the titular character who went to prison for unintentionally killing someone in high school, and after serving her sentence, must face prejudice as an ex-con while rebuilding her life.^[6] Despite the drama's low ratings, Kim was praised for her acting and received a Top Excellence Award at the KBS Drama Awards.^[7]

In 2009, she was cast in a small supporting role (or extended cameo) as the hero's tough-but-stylish older sister in the highly popular Boys Over Flowers, adapted from the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango.^[8] Then in the legal drama Partner, Kim played a widow-turned-lawyer whose passionate idealism clashes with her colleague's (Lee Dong-wook) detached cynicism.^[9]^[10]

Kim then spent ten days in Vancouver, Whistler, and Victoria to film the documentary ECO Canada by Kim Hyun-joo, which aired on MBC Life. Also featured as a photo spread in Sure magazine, the shoot promoted environmental awareness by emphasizing Canada's natural backdrops, and showing Kim's green practices such as using canvas instead of plastic bags and unplugging unused electrical appliances.

Her book Hyun-joo's Handcrafted Story was published on December 20, 2009, featuring personal essays and photos about her needlework and knitting.^[4]^[11]

2010 was a difficult year for Kim, with the deaths of three of her loved ones in close succession: her friend, actor Park Yong-ha committed suicide on June 30,^[12] the production company executive who'd cast her in The Land committed suicide on July 1 because of financial difficulties, and her father Kim Tae-beom died on July 7 after a long illness. She spent the rest of the year volunteering in Bangladesh and the Philippines as the goodwill ambassador for Good Neighbors, a humanitarian NGO. She donated the condolence money collected for her father's funeral and a portion of her book sales to Good Neighbors, which was used to build libraries in 11 orphanages in impoverished areas of Dhaka. Kim said, "I literally fled to Bangladesh after a series of personal tragedies, but I was consoled by the smiles of children who are living in these dire conditions. The act of sharing has given me strength to live." She continues to as an instructor for several classes organized by Good Neighbors, teaching Korean elementary schoolchildren about poverty around the world.^[13]

2011–2015: Focusing on weekend dramas

Kim resumed her acting activities in 2011, playing the daughter from a wealthy publishing company whose life is turned upside down when she learns that she was switched at birth with another baby in Twinkle Twinkle.^[3] Her performance garnered a Top Excellence Award at the MBC Drama Awards.^[14] She also starred in Kim Dae-seung's short film Q&A, which was included in If You Were Me 5, an omnibus film commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.^[15] Then in Dummy Mommy (2012), she played a fashion magazine editor with a genius-level IQ who is embarrassed by her developmentally disabled mother (Ha Hee-ra).^[16]

In a departure from her typical parts, Kim played one of the legendary femme fatales of the Joseon Dynasty, Lady Jo (or Jo Gwi-in), in the period drama Blooded Palace: The War of Flowers (2013). She said she was "more than delighted to have been given the opportunity to try something new," adding that, "This role will be a new life story for my acting career. I personally think it will be more interesting for an actress with an innocent image like myself to take up this wicked role." Critics praised Kim's versatility, as Lady Jo transforms from a naive young girl into an ambitious royal concubine who uses her beauty and wiles on King Injo in her lust for power.^[17]

In early 2014, Kim began hosting Musical Journey to Yesterday, a music program in which a mix of current idol singers and industry veterans perform live hit songs from the 1970s to 1990s.^[18] Later that year, she starred in the weekend drama What Happens to My Family?, which had over 40% ratings.^[19] Her performance garnered the Top Excellence award at the KBS Drama Awards.^[20]

In 2015, she played dual roles in the melodrama, I Have a Lover.^[21] She won the Top Excellence Top Excellence Award from the APAN Star Awards and SBS Drama Awards.^[22]^[23]

2016–present: Professional expansion

Kim starred in the drama series Fantastic, portraying a screenwriter grappling with a terminal illness.^[24]

In 2018, she took on the role of Sun Hye-jin in the fantasy melodrama Miracle That We Met,^[25] playing a wife who feels trapped in a loveless marriage. Kim described her character as a dormant volcano waiting to erupt, adding depth and complexity to the show's storyline."^[26]

In 2019, Kim starred in OCN's drama Watcher, portraying a criminal lawyer who had once been a highly promising prosecutor. Her performance garnered rave reviews, with critics praising her for creating a wholly unique and independent character, unlike any that they had seen before.^[27]

In 2020, Kim starred in Undercover, a JTBC's remake of the British BBC drama of the same name.^[28] The drama marked her third reunion with Ji Jin-hee, her co-star from the 2015 drama, I Have a Lover. Kim explained her reason for accepting the offer to join the drama, "Last time, for I Have a Lover, Ji helped me a lot on set. The reason viewers liked my character was that Ji made me shine in the series. So this time, I wanted to return that favor. Ji accepted the role first, and I knew that many people would want to see us reunite on screen, so it didn't take me long to decide to join the series.".^[29]

That same year, Kim was confirmed to join the cast of Hellbound, a Netflix series directed by Yeon Sang-ho. She portrayed the character of Min Hye-jin, an attorney who courageously stands up against religious extremists.^[30]

In October 2022, Netflix confirmed that Kim would play one of the lead roles in their upcoming thriller drama, The Bequeathed.^[31] In December 2022, Kim starred in SBS's drama Trolley as the wife of a National Assembly member.^[32]

In 2023, Kim starred in the Netflix sci-fi film Jung-E directed by Hellbound director Yeon Sang-ho, in the title role of a legendary mercenary who is also the subject of brain-clone testing.^[33]