Han Hyo-joo

Han Hyo-joo
Han Hyo-joo at 2011 Busan International Film Festival
Born	(1987-02-22) February 22, 1987 Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea
Education	Dongguk University - Theater and Film[1]
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2003–present
Agent	BH Entertainment (Korea) FlaMme (Japan)
Korean name
Hangul	한효주
Hanja	韓孝周
Revised Romanization	Han Hyo-ju
McCune–Reischauer	Han Hyo-ju

Han Hyo-joo (born February 22, 1987) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the television dramas Brilliant Legacy (2009) and Dong Yi (2010), as well as the film Cold Eyes (2013) for which she won Best Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

Early life

Han Hyo-joo was born in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.^[1] Her mother was an elementary school teacher before becoming an inspector for public schools, and her father was an air force officer. As a child, she was good in sports, particularly track and field. In her sophomore year of high school, she moved to Seoul and attended Bulgok High School, despite the objections of her strict and conservative father. She then entered Dongguk University, where she joined the theater and film department.

Career

Han was first discovered in a teenage beauty pageant organized by food corporation Binggrae in 2003. She began her acting career in the sitcom Nonstop 5 and the gangster comedy My Boss, My Teacher. Han raised her profile by being cast in Spring Waltz, the fourth and final installment of TV director Yoon Seok-ho's "season drama" series.^[2]

In 2006, director Lee Yoon-ki cast the newbie in the starring role in his low-budget independent film Ad-lib Night, which follows a young woman who rediscovers herself through an eerie overnight encounter with strangers. Han then starred in two highly successful TV projects -- KBS1 daily drama Like Land and Sky with Park Hae-jin in 2007,^[3] and SBS masked-adventurer series Iljimae with Lee Jun-ki in 2008. Afterwards, she made another indie, Ride Away, which debuted at the 2008 Jeonju International Film Festival.

Han filmed the Korean-Japanese telecinema co-production Heaven's Postman in 2008, which also featured pop star Jaejoong from TVXQ (now JYJ).^[4] After several postponements, it was released in theaters in late 2009, and broadcast on TV in 2010.

Her breakthrough came in Brilliant Legacy costarring Lee Seung-gi, which became a massive hit in 2009, reaching a peak viewership rating of 47.1%.^[5][6][7] It catapulted Han to stardom, and after the drama's conclusion, she experienced a sharp rise in endorsement deals and media requests for interviews, as well as increased pan-Asian popularity.^[8]

Later that year Han wrapped up her starring role in the musical drama Soul Special, which also featured K.Will in his acting debut. It aired in twelve five-minute segments on various online portals, with cable channel KBS Joy airing the entire drama in four parts.

As the titular character in MBC's 49th anniversary project Dong Yi,^{[9][10][11][12]} Han won several acting awards for her portrayal of Choi Suk-bin and cemented her status as a Hallyu star.

She then played a blind telemarketer opposite So Ji-sub's ex-boxer in the melodrama Always.^[13] Helmed by director Song Il-gon, it premiered as the opening film of the 2011 Busan International Film Festival.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]} Han later contributed voice narration to the "barrier-free" version of Japanese film My Back Page, which features descriptive audio and subtitles for people with hearing or visual impairments.^[21]

Han played the queen to Lee Byung-hun's Gwanghae in the 2012 blockbuster period film Masquerade,^[22][23] which became one of the highest-grossing Korean films of all time. She followed that with Love 911, an unlikely romance between a doctor and a firefighter (Go Soo).^{[24][25][26][27]}

Han then starred opposite Sol Kyung-gu and Jung Woo-sung in the action thriller Cold Eyes,^[28][29] which became one of the biggest domestic hits of 2013.^[30] She also received acting recognition for her performance, winning Best Actress from the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Buil Film Awards.

In 2014, Han and Love 911 costar Go Soo appeared in Myohyangsangwan ("View of Mount Myohyang"), which depicts the rendezvous of a South Korean painter and a North Korean waitress in a North Korean restaurant. The short film is a collaboration by contemporary artists Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho, and combined a theatrical plot, experimental imagery, dance and performance art.^[31]

She then ventured into the overseas market by getting cast in her first Japanese film, Isshin Inudo's Miracle: Debikuro-kun no Koi to Maho ("Miracle Debikuro's Love and Magic"). Set during the Christmas season, the film is a love story about a kind bookstore employee (played by Masaki Aiba from J-pop boyband Arashi) who meets three women.^[32]

Controversy

In November 2013, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office indicted Han's ex-manager from her former agency Fantom Entertainment for attempted extortion. According to police, the ex-manager surnamed Lee illegally transferred 16 photos of Han and her ex-boyfriend from her digital camera to his mobile phone. Lee then threatened to publish the compromising photos unless he and his two accomplices were paid ₩400 million; Han's father paid them ₩10 million. In a press release, Han's current agency BH Entertainment said the actress did not engage in any activities that deserve public criticism and threatened "strong measures" to deal with blackmail.^[33][34]

Filmography

Han Hyo-joo in September 2011

Television series

Film

Music Video appearances

Variety show

Discography

Endorsements

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Han Hyo-joo at Cyworld (Korean)
• Han Hyo-joo on Me2day (Korean)
• Han Hyo-joo at BH Entertainment (Korean)
• Han Hyo-joo at FlaMme (Japanese)
• Han Hyo-joo Fan Cafe at Daum (Korean)
• Han Hyo-joo at DC Inside (Korean)
• Han Hyo-joo at HanCinema
• Han Hyo-joo at the Internet Movie Database