Kang Hye-jung
강혜정
Kang Hye-jung at The Wedding Scheme premiere, on March 30, 2012
Born (1982-01-04) January 4, 1982
EducationSeoul Institute of the Arts - Theater
OccupationActress
Years active1998–present
Spouse
(m. 2009)
Children1
Korean name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationGang Hye-jeong
McCune–ReischauerKang Hyechŏng

Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film Nabi (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller Oldboy. A rising star early in her career, she gained acting awards for Han Jae-rim's relationship drama Rules of Dating (2005), and Park Kwang-hyun's Korean War comedy Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005).

Following roles as a developmentally disabled daughter in Herb (2007), a suicidal woman in Kill Me (2009), as well as her marriage to Tablo in 2009, Kang began starring in more conventional melodramas in TV and film such as Girlfriends (2009), Miss Ripley (2011), The Wedding Scheme (2012), Lucid Dream (2017) and Jugglers (2017–2018). Her major theatre stints include Korean stage adaptations of Proof (2010) and Educating Rita (2014–2015).

Career

1998–2009: Early rise, critical success

Kang Hye-jung began working as a model in her first year of high school.[1]

Throughout the late 1990s she appeared in small roles in TV dramas and sitcoms such as Jump and Nonstop 3. Her first film role was in Moon Seung-wook's arthouse/sci-fi film Nabi, for which she won a Best Actress award at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. Following this she appeared in a short film by Song Il-gon titled Flush as well as an internet film Naebang-nebang.[2]

Kang's first major hit film was opposite Choi Min-sik in the modern-day classic Oldboy by Park Chan-wook. Her portrayal of the character Mi-do won her considerable attention both domestically and abroad, and she also picked up acting honors from the Grand Bell Awards and Pusan Film Critics Association. The following year she also appeared in Cut, Park's 30-minute contribution to the omnibus horror film Three... Extremes.[2]

It was in 2005, however, that Kang established herself as a star outside of her appearance in Oldboy. The sharp-edged relationship drama Rules of Dating, in which she starred opposite Park Hae-il, proved to be an unexpected hit, and then two months later she took a small but central role in box office megahit Welcome to Dongmakgol.[2][3][4][5][6] In a 2005 survey of influential movie producers, she was ranked among the top ten most bankable stars.[7]

In 2006, she starred in Love Phobia opposite then-boyfriend Cho Seung-woo, as well as the Thai film Invisible Waves by rising directorial star Pen-ek Ratanaruang.[2][8][9]

After playing the developmentally disabled daughter to veteran actress Bae Jong-ok in the 2007 melodrama Herb,[10] in 2009 Kang starred in two unconventional romantic comedies with roles she imbued with her trademark quirkiness. She said she chose Why Did You Come to My House? hoping to "expand the realms" of her lovelorn stalker character; the director said she had written the script with Kang in mind from the beginning.[11][12] In Kill Me, she played a woman who, after several suicide attempts, hires a professional assassin (Shin Hyun-joon) to kill her, but he falls in love with her instead.[13][14]

2009–present: Turn to conventional roles

Kang in 2009

Known for taking risky roles, Kang gradually started going off the predictable path that the public expected her to take. In the 2009 film Girlfriends, she played an ordinary twenty-something girl who goes through growing pains and lovelife troubles when she discovers that her boyfriend is also involved with two other women.[15][16][17] Kang said that this career shift reflects the limited number of interesting scripts that she receives, as well as her calmer, softer state of mind after settling down.[18]

In 2010, Kang appeared in her first stage play Proof, portraying the role of Catherine, who worries whether she has inherited all of her mathematician father's genius and lunacy.[19]

After making the little-seen 2007 KBS drama Flowers for My Life with Cha Tae-hyun, Kang returned to television in 2011 in MBC's Miss Ripley, a tale of one woman (Lee Da-hae) who spins a web of love, ambition and lies.[20][21][22][23] Originally touted as a drama with four lead roles, Kang later expressed dismay and disappointment with her drastically reduced screen time.[24][25]

Kang made her English-language debut in the culture-clash romantic comedy Wedding Palace. Director Christine Yoo reportedly cast Kang after her distinctly Korean beauty in Oldboy and Welcome to Dongmakgol grabbed Yoo's attention.[26] Shot over a one-year period between October 2008 through November 2009,[27] the US-Korea co-production premiered at the 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival[28] and received the Independent Feature Filmmakers Award at the 2011 Cine Gear Expo.[29]

Kang was next seen in rom-com cable TV series The Wedding Scheme, about a kimchi factory president so determined to marry off her four daughters that she embarks on a grand marriage project by getting her girls to cohabitate with prospective groom candidates. Of her role as the second eldest daughter, a strong and smart career woman, she said, "I've played a lot of nice or innocent characters before, so I think of this as a chance to take on a new challenge."[30]

Kang left her previous management agency YG Entertainment (which is also her husband's label) in 2013, and signed with C-JeS Entertainment.[31] She then played a small role in E J-yong's mockumentary Behind the Camera, and wrote the lyrics to "Good Thing," one of the songs on Bobby Kim's album Mirror.[32]

Kang starred in her second stage play Educating Rita in late 2014, about the relationship between a hairdresser and a middle-aged university lecturer.[33][34] She also played a supporting role in the film How to Steal a Dog.[35]

In 2016, Kang was cast in the film My Wife.[36]

In 2017, Kang played a psychiatrist in the sci-fi thriller Lucid Dream.[37] She made her return to television in December 2017 with office comedy series Jugglers.[38]

Personal life

Kang majored in Performing Arts at the Seoul Institute of the Arts.[1]

Marriage and family

On October 26, 2009, Kang married Tablo of hip hop group Epik High while she was three months pregnant.[39][40] The couple's daughter, Haru, was born on May 2, 2010.[41][42][43] Their family was featured in the variety The Return of Superman.[44][45][46]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000Flushshort film
2001NabiYuki
2003OldboyMi-do
2004Three... ExtremesDirector's wifesegment: "Cut"
2005Hoodwinked!Red Puckett (voice)animated film, Korean dubbed
Antarctic JournalLee Yoo-jin
Rules of DatingChoi Hong
Sympathy for Lady VengeanceTV announcer (cameo)
Welcome to DongmakgolYeo-il
2006Invisible WavesNoiThai film
Love PhobiaAri
2007HerbCha Sang-eun
2009Why Did You Come to My House?Lee Soo-kang
Kill MeSeo Jin-young
TriangleOh Sung-hyetelecinema
GirlfriendsSong-yi
2011Wedding PalaceNa-youngAmerican film
2013Behind the Camera
2014How to Steal a DogJeong-hyeon
2017Lucid DreamSo-hyun
2017My Wife
2017The Man Only I Can SeeSpecial appearance

Television series

Year Title Role Network
1998Eun-shilJang Young-chaeSBS
1999JumpMBC
2003Nonstop 3Hye-jung (guest)MBC
Naebang nebang
2007Flowers for My LifeNa Ha-naKBS2
2008On AirHerself (cameo, episodes 5 & 12)SBS
2011Miss RipleyMoon Hee-jooMBC
2012The Wedding SchemeYoo Gun-heetvN
2013-2015The Return of SupermanHerself (episodes 1 - 58)KBS2
2014Drama Festival "Lump in My Life"Geum-jiMBC
2017-2018JugglersWang Jeong-aeKBS2

Music video

Year Song Title Artist
1997"Time"Taesaja
2002"Please"Wax
2003"Lonely Street Lights"Han Young-ae
"Desperado"Position
2004[Part 1] "Timeless"SG Wannabe
[Part 2] "I Loved You to Death"
2008"As I Look Into the Mirror"Gummy feat. Red Roc
2015"Sold Out"Yankie feat. Tablo, Zion.T, Loco

Theater

Year Title Role
2010ProofCatherine
2014–2015Educating RitaSusan

Discography

Year Title Notes
2007"Moments When We're Together"duet with Bae Jong-ok; track from the Herb OST

Awards and nominations

Year presented, name of the award ceremony, award category, nominated work and the result of the nomination
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2001Puchon International Fantastic Film FestivalBest ActressNabiWon
2003Blue Dragon Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressOldboyWon
2004Grand Bell AwardsBest New ActressNominated
Korean Association of Film Critics AwardsBest New ActressWon
Busan Film Critics AwardsBest ActressWon [47]
Korean Film AwardsBest ActressNominated
2005Premiere Rising Star AwardsRecipientWon
Busan Film Critics AwardsBest ActressRules of DatingWon [47]
Blue Dragon Film AwardsBest ActressNominated
Best Supporting ActressWelcome to DongmakgolWon [48]
Korean Film AwardsBest ActressRules of DatingNominated
Best Supporting ActressWelcome to DongmakgolWon [49]
2006Baeksang Arts AwardsBest ActressRules of DatingNominated
Grand Bell AwardsBest Supporting ActressWelcome to DongmakgolWon [50]
2007Korean Film AwardsBest ActressHerbNominated
KBS Drama AwardsTop Excellence Award, ActressFlowers for My LifeNominated

References

  1. 1 2 "Kang Hye Jung lyrics and profile - MyAsianArtist". myasianartist.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Actors and Actresses of Korean Cinema: Gang Hye-jung" Archived May 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  3. "A Rising Star in Her Own Right" Archived September 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. The Chosun Ilbo. July 31, 2005.
  4. "웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) Press Screening Report". Twitch Film. July 20, 2005. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013.
  5. "More Comments from the 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) Cast". Twitch Film. August 1, 2005. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013.
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