Jang Jin-young

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This is a Korean name; the family name is Jang.
Jang Jin-young
Born June 14, 1974 (1974-06-14) (age 33)
Seoul, South Korea
Other name(s) Jang Jin-yeong
Chang Jin-young
Occupation Actress, former model
Official website
Korean name
Hangul 장진영

Jang Jin-young (born June 14, 1974) is a South Korean actress and former model. She began her career as a model, and participated in the 1993 Miss Korea beauty contest, before making the switch into acting. Since making her film debut in 1998, Jang has received critical praise and won a number of awards for her work. She became only the second winner of two Blue Dragon Film Awards for Best Actress, having won in 2001 for Sorum, and again in 2003 for Singles. As of 2006, Jang was one of the highest paid stars in the Korean film industry, earning in the region of ₩300-350 million per film.[1]

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Early work

Jang began her career as a model, and represented the Chungcheongnam-do province at the 1993 Miss Korea beauty contest.[2] After making the transition into acting with appearances in a number of TV dramas, she received her film debut with a supporting role in the 1998 fantasy Ghost in Love. In 2000 she appeared in Kim Ji-woon's The Foul King, one of the biggest domestic hits of that year,[3] and Jang's tough image in the film drew attention from critics, with Derek Elley of Variety saying that she "makes an impression as the lightly romantic, not-so-fragile daughter".[4] Also that year, she had a role in the fire fighting film Siren.

[edit] Breakthrough and mainstream success

Jang as the abused, chain smoking Sun-yeong in Sorum, her first starring role for which she won several awards.
Jang as the abused, chain smoking Sun-yeong in Sorum, her first starring role for which she won several awards.

Jang's first starring role was in the 2001 psychological horror film Sorum, in which she was cast against type as Sun-yeong, a chain smoking abused wife. The part required her to look badly bruised and dishevelled, and she found the regimen of three packets of cigarettes per day to be quite gruelling, despite being a smoker herself.[5] Both the film and Jang's performance received praise from critics, with Peter Y. Paik of The Film Journal commenting, "[Jang] Jin-young is utterly convincing in her portrayal of a battered wife, conveying both vulnerability and grit."[6] Jang won Best New Actress at the Pusan Film Critics Awards,[7] Best Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards,[8] and also found success overseas, with award wins at several European film festivals.

In 2002, Jang co-starred with Lee Jung-jae in Over the Rainbow, a romantic comedy film in which her character helps an old college friend to recover his lost memory, and she was praised in a review at Koreanfilm.org for giving a "lively performance".[9] The following year, Jang appeared alongside Park Hae-il in the more dramatic Scent of Love. Her next film, also released in 2003, was the light-hearted comedy Singles, based on a novel by Japanese writer Kamata Toshio. Jang headed an ensemble cast as Na-nan, a down on her luck woman on the verge of turning thirty, who she described as being "very close to my actual real-life self" in terms of her personality.[10] Singles proved to be one of the big hits of that year,[11] and also found favour with critics, with Jang in particular being lauded for her performance. Derek Elley of Variety wrote, "With her effervescent, ingenuous goofiness, Jang dominates the movie, and twins well with [Uhm Jung-hwa]".[12] Jang again won Best Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, becoming only the second actress to win the award twice, and also received the Popular Star award.[13]

Jang (right) and co-star Kim Joo-hyeok in Blue Swallow, a biopic of aviation pioneer Park Kyung-won.
Jang (right) and co-star Kim Joo-hyeok in Blue Swallow, a biopic of aviation pioneer Park Kyung-won.

For her next project, Jang was cast as the lead in Blue Swallow, a ₩9.7 billion biopic of aviation pioneer Park Kyung-won,[14] which reunited her with Sorum director Yoon Jong-chan, and Singles co-star Kim Joo-hyeok. She worked on the film for some 15 months, during which time she was required to learn Japanese and overcome her fear of heights,[15] and later said, "At every moment, I was pushing my limits. My experiences as [Park Kyung-won] taught me a lot and made me work even harder to live my life to the fullest."[14] Released towards the end of 2005, the film found itself the subject of strong criticism, with Park seen by many as having been a pro-Japanese figure during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea,[16] and it subsequently sold a disappointing 600,000 tickets at the Korean box office.[17] Nevertheless, Jang received several award nominations for her role in the film, and won Best Actress at the 2006 Critic's Choice Awards.[18]

In 2006, Jang appeared in the film Between Love and Hate, the directorial debut of actor/screenwriter Kim Hae-gon. She played the role of Yeon-ah, a carefree bargirl who embarks on a tumultuous love-hate relationship with slacker Young-woon (played by Kim Seung-woo), despite him being engaged to another woman. In order to give a realistic portrayal of a bargirl, Jang spent time touring underground bars and room salons, but had difficulty identifying with her character, saying, "I couldn’t easily understand why she had to act that way... I was embarrassed at times to stand in front of the camera and act like that."[19] Her performance won Best Leading Actress at the Korean Film Awards,[20] and she also received nominations at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Baeksang Arts Awards.[21][22]

Jang made a return to television in 2007, when she was cast as one of the leads in the SBS drama series Lobbyist, a ₩12 billion production about lobbyists and political conspiracies. Filming began in New York City on April 24, and in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre it was reported that the production company had taken out insurance policies on Jang and her co-stars over fears of related incidents.[23] The series aired from October 10 until December 26, 2007.

[edit] In the media

In 2006, Movie Week magazine compiled a list of Korea's 25 most beautiful faces, which named Jang as the sixth most beautiful woman. The results were taken from a poll of 86 of the top domestic photographers.[24]

Jang was one of the guests at the "Curtain Call" section of Star Summit Asia, a side event of the inaugural Asian Film Market to showcase established Asian stars for the international marketplace. Speaking at the press conference she professed a love for action films, and expressed a desire to one day star in a Chinese action film.[25]

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role
1998 Soonpoong Clinic (TV)
Ghost in Love Lee Young-eun
2000 The Foul King Jang Min-young
Siren Ye-rin
2001 Sorum Sun-yeong
2002 Over the Rainbow Kang Yeong-hie
2003 Scent of Love Min Hie-jae
Singles Na-nan
2005 Blue Swallow Park Kyung-won
2006 Between Love and Hate Yeon-ah
2007 Lobbyist (TV) Maria

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year Group Award Film Result Ref.
2001 Pusan Film Critics Awards Best New Actress Sorum Won [7]
Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actress Sorum Won [8]
Festival de Cine de Sitges Best Actress Sorum Won [10]
2002 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award Best Actress Sorum Won [26]
Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema Best Actress Sorum Won [27]
2003 Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actress Singles Won [13]
Popular Star Won
2006 Baeksang Arts Awards Best Leading Actress Blue Swallow Nominated [28]
Grand Bell Awards Best Leading Actress Blue Swallow Nominated [29]
Korean Film Awards Best Leading Actress Between Love and Hate Won [20]
Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Leading Actress Between Love and Hate Nominated [21]
Critics' Choice Awards Best Actress Blue Swallow Won [18]
2007 Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress Between Love and Hate Nominated [22]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Are Korean Movie Stars Too Expensive?", Digital Chosunilbo, September 13, 2006. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
  2. ^ Jang Jin-young profile, Miss Korea official site. Retrieved on July 9, 2007. (Korean)
  3. ^ The Best Selling Films of 2000, Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on August 5, 2007.
  4. ^ Derek Elley, The Foul King review, Variety.com, June 19, 2000. Retrieved on August 5, 2007.
  5. ^ Park Jeong-ho, "Smoke Gets in Their Eyes － and Roles", JoongAng Daily, July 15, 2001. Retrieved on June 24, 2007.
  6. ^ Peter Y. Paik, Sorum review, The Film Journal. Retrieved on June 24, 2007.
  7. ^ a b Film Awards Ceremonies in Korea, Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on June 20, 2007.
  8. ^ a b Korean Film Newsletter #12, Koreanfilm.org, December 15, 2001. Retrieved on June 20, 2007.
  9. ^ V. "x" Naldi, Over the Rainbow review, Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on July 8, 2007.
  10. ^ a b "Reference Notes", booklet with YA Entertainment R1 DVD release of Singles, ASIN B000B7MDMU.
  11. ^ Seoul Box-Office Results (2003), Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on June 9, 2007.
  12. ^ Derek Elley, Singles review, Variety.com, August 4, 2003. Retrieved on June 9, 2007.
  13. ^ a b "Singles Actress Wins Doubles", Digital Chosunilbo, December 12, 2003. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
  14. ^ a b Mi-Seok Koh, "Flying in Pursuit of Her Dreams", donga.com, December 29, 2005. Retrieved on July 10, 2007.
  15. ^ [KOREAN DVD REVIEWS] 청연 (Blue Swallow), Twitch, April 4, 2006. Retrieved on July 10, 2007.
  16. ^ Kim Tae-jong, "Blue Swallow Faces Turbulence", The Korea Times, February 22, 2006. A copy of this article can be found at AsianDB.com. Retrieved on July 10, 2007.
  17. ^ Kyu Hyun Kim, Blue Swallow review, Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
  18. ^ a b Darcy Paquet, "Pair win top prizes at Korean awards", Variety.com, December 26, 2006. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
  19. ^ Lee Min-a, "'Dating' explores limit of dysfunctional love", JoongAngDaily, September 4, 2006. Retrieved on August 4, 2007.
  20. ^ a b "The Host [괴물] Sweeps 5th Korean Film Awards", Twitch, November 20, 2006. Retrieved on June 21, 2007
  21. ^ a b "The 27th Blue Dragon Awards", The Korea Society. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
  22. ^ a b Paeksang Arts Awards 2007, cinemasie.com. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
  23. ^ "장진영 '엔젤' 美촬영위해 10억 보험", The Daily Zoom. Retrieved on August 4, 2007. (Korean)
  24. ^ "Korea's 25 Most Beautiful Faces", andongkim.com, June 28, 2006. Retrieved on August 5, 2007.
  25. ^ "Chinese, Korean Stars Hit It Off in Busan", Digital Chosunilbo, October 16, 2006. Retrieved on August 5, 2007.
  26. ^ Fantasporto'2002 - The Winners, Fantasporto, March 3, 2002. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
  27. ^ Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema: 2002, IMDb. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
  28. ^ 42nd Baeksang Awards Nominations [+Winners], Twitch, April 14, 2006. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
  29. ^ 43rd Grand Bell Awards Winners [The Clowns Bring Home 10], Twitch, July 22, 2006. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Jang Jin-young
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jang Jin-yeong (alt spelling); Chang Jin-young (alt spelling); 장진영 (hangul)
SHORT DESCRIPTION South Korean actress and former model
DATE OF BIRTH June 14, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Seoul, South Korea
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH