Kang Hye-jung

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This is a Korean name; the family name is Kang.
Kang Hye-jung

Kang Hye-jung at The Wedding Scheme premiere, on March 30, 2012
Born (1982-01-04) January 4, 1982
Incheon, South Korea
Education Seoul Institute of the Arts - Theater
Occupation Actress
Years active 1998–present
Agent C-JeS Entertainment
Spouse(s) Tablo (m. 2009)
Children Lee Haru (b. 2010)
Korean name
Hangul 강혜정
Hanja 姜惠貞
Revised Romanization Gang Hye-jeong
McCune–Reischauer Kang Hye-chŏng

Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Kang first gained acting recognition for her role in the arthouse film Nabi (2001), then two years later, she shot to stardom in 2003 through Park Chan-wook's revenge thriller Oldboy. She continued giving risky performances in the next several years which drew further critical acclaim, notably in Han Jae-rim's relationship drama Rules of Dating (2005), and Jang Jin's Korean War comedy Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005). In recent years, Kang has starred in more conventional melodramas such as Herb (2007) and Girlfriends (2009), which have been less successful with audiences and critics.

Career

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

Kang's first major hit film was opposite Choi Min-shik 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 Chan-wook's 30-minute contribution to the omnibus horror film Three... Extremes.[1]

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.[1][2][3][4][5] In a 2005 survey of influential movie producers, she was ranked among the top ten most bankable stars.[6]

In 2006 she starred in Love Phobia opposite then-boyfriend Jo Seung-woo, as well as the Thai film Invisible Waves by rising directorial star Pen-ek Ratanaruang.[1]

After playing the developmentally disabled daughter to veteran actress Bae Jong-ok in the 2007 melodrama Herb,[7] 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.[8][9] In Kiss Me, Kill Me, she played a woman who, after several failed suicide attempts, hires a professional assassin (Shin Hyun-joon) to kill her, but he falls in love with her instead.[10][11]

Known for taking risky roles, Kang little by little started going off the predictable path that the public expected her to take. In 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.[12][13][14] Kang has 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.[15]

In 2010 Kang made her stage debut in Proof, playing the role of Catherine, who worries about whether she has inherited all of her mathematician father’s genius and lunacy.[16]

After making the little-seen 2007 KBS drama Flowers for My Life with Cha Tae-hyun,[17] 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.[18][19][20][21] Originally touted as a drama with four lead roles, Kang later expressed dismay and disappointment with her drastically reduced screen time.[22]

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.[23] Shot over a one year period between October 2008 through November 2009,[24] the US-Korea co-production premiered at the 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival[25] and received the Independent Feature Filmmakers Award at the 2011 Cine Gear Expo.[26]

She next starred 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 second daughter Yoon Geun-hee, a strong and smart career woman, Kang 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."[27]

In 2013, she left her previous management agency YG Entertainment (which is also her husband's label), and signed with C-JeS Entertainment.[28]

Personal life

On October 26, 2009, Kang married Tablo of hip-hop group Epik High while she was three months pregnant.[29][30] The couple's first child, a daughter named Haru, was born on May 2, 2010.[31][32][33]

Filmography

Television

Theater

Music video appearances

  • "Time" (Taesaja, 1997)
  • "Please" (Wax, 2002)
  • "Lonely Street Lights" (Han Young-ae, 2003)
  • "Desperado" (Position, 2003)
  • [Part 1] "Timeless" [Part 2] "I Loved You to Death" (SG Wannabe, 2004)
  • "As I Look Into the Mirror" (Gummy feat. Red Roc, 2008)

Discography

Awards

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Actors and Actresses of Korean Cinema: Gang Hye-jung". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  2. ↑ "A Rising Star in Her Own Right". The Chosun Ilbo. July 31, 2005.
  3. ↑ "웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) Press Screening Report". Twitch Film. July 20, 2005. 
  4. ↑ "More Comments from the 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) Cast". Twitch Film. August 1, 2005. 
  5. ↑ "K-FILM REVIEWS: 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol)". Twitch Film. January 16, 2006. 
  6. ↑ "Jang Dong-gun Voted Korea's Most Bankable Star". The Chosun Ilbo. October 20, 2005. 
  7. ↑ "Herb With Strong Scent of Kang". The Korea Times via Hancinema. January 11, 2007. 
  8. ↑ "Witty, unique yet knotty, My House aims at a new film genre". Yonhap. April 1, 2009. 
  9. ↑ "Actress Kang Talks About Stalker's Pain". KBS Global. March 6, 2009. 
  10. ↑ "Despite flaws, potential seen in newcomer's romantic comedy". Yonhap. October 27, 2009. 
  11. ↑ "Kiss Me, Kill Me (2009) Movie Review". Beyond Hollywood. March 19, 2010. 
  12. ↑ "Press Conference - Movie Girlfriends". 10Asia. December 18, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Interview: Kang Hye-jung - Part 1". 10Asia. December 17, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Interview: Kang Hye-jung - Part 2". 10Asia. December 17, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Kang Hye-jeong's Movie Picks". 10Asia. February 18, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Kang Hye-jung, Lee Yoon-ji to Share Stage Role in Proof". The Chosun Ilbo. August 30, 2008. 
  17. ↑ "Flowers for My Life". KBS Global Marketing. Retrieved 2012-11-04. 
  18. ↑ "Cast of new MBC drama Ms. Ripley hold first script reading". 10Asia. March 24, 2011. 
  19. ↑ "Kang Hye-jung denies being pregnant". 10Asia. April 20, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Love, ambitions & lies in Miss Ripley". The Korea Times. May 24, 2011.
  21. ↑ "Miss Ripley taking cue from Shin Jeong-ah?". The Korea Herald. May 17, 2011.
  22. ↑ "미스 리플리, 강혜정의 비중논란이 일어난 이유는?" [Kang Hye-jung dismayed over Ripley role] (in Korean). 10Asia. July 12, 2011. 
  23. ↑ "Kang Hye-jung Cast in American Film Wedding Palace". KBS Global. August 5, 2008.
  24. ↑ "US-Korean co-production The Wedding Palace to shoot in Oct". Screen International. July 29, 2008.
  25. ↑ "Wedding Palace". Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  26. ↑ "Film Series Winners". Cine Gear Expo 2011. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  27. ↑ "Kang Hye-jung, Lee Gyu-han's The Wedding Scheme to air on April 2". 10Asia. March 14, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Kang Hye-jung Joins JYJ’s Agency". 10Asia. August 13, 2013. 
  29. ↑ "Kang Hye-jung Talks About Impending Marriage". The Chosun Ilbo. September 19, 2009.
  30. ↑ "Kang Hye-jung says Tablo always supportive". 10Asia. October 20, 2009.
  31. ↑ "Actress Kang Gives Birth to Girl". The Korea Times. May 2, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Kang Hye-jung gives birth to baby girl". 10Asia. May 3, 2010.
  33. ↑ "Tablo talks about three tough years". Korea JoongAng Daily. November 7, 2012. 

External links

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