Kim Sun-young, born in 1976, first took interest in theatre when she was in high school. She later became president of the drama club of her college, where she was majoring philosophy. A former professor and theatre critic introduced her to the Performing Arts Academy and she made her debut on stage in 1995 with the play “After the Play”. It was not until 2005 and the comedy film <She’s on Duty> (2005) that she moved to the big screen. After a supporting part in ...More

Kim Sun-young, born in 1976, first took interest in theatre when she was in high school. She later became president of the drama club of her college, where she was majoring philosophy. A former professor and theatre critic introduced her to the Performing Arts Academy and she made her debut on stage in 1995 with the play “After the Play”. It was not until 2005 and the comedy film <She’s on Duty> (2005) that she moved to the big screen. After a supporting part in the nostalgia-infused family drama <Ice Bar> (2006), she stayed away from the cameras for several years. <Love Clinique> (2012) marked her comeback to film, and in 2014 she also started a career in TV series. Her short but memorable performance in the hit biopic drama film <Ode to My Father> (2014) didn’t go unnoticed, and her heart-warming portrayal as the mother of one of the protagonists in the sensation TV series <Reply 1988> (2015-2016) took her to a new level of fame. Her first lead role came with <Communication & Lies> (2015), the film directing debut of her husband, playwright and stage director Lee Seungwon. They worked together again on the black comedy <Happy Bus Day> (2016), which earned Kim a Wildflower Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Meanwhile, she appeared as one of the leads in the crime drama <ONE-LINE> (2016). The year 2019 marked the beginning of a new chapter in her career. In the hit melodrama series <When the Camellia Blooms> (2019), she stood out once again, this time as one of the colorful locals who populate the fictional port town of Wungsan, a performance that was later acknowledged with a Baeksang Art Award. Just a few months later, she could be seen in another hit drama series, <Crash Landing on You> (2019-2020). Starring alongside Moon Sori in the drama film <Three Sisters> (2020) in the role of the elder sister who joined a cult and is diagnosed with cancer, Kim received once again a Baeksang Award, but this time in the film category, as well as a Blue Dragon Film Award and was named best supporting actress by the Korean Association of Film Critics. Less