Three years ago, no one had heard of Han So-hee. Now, thanks to a fairy-tale rise to stardom, she is one of South Korea’s leading actresses.
Han was a student at the Ulsan High School Of Arts in the south of the country when, in her third year, she went to stay with her grandmother in Seoul and worked part-time jobs to make ends meet.
Within two months, she had been scouted as a model. A few years after that, in 2016, she made her entertainment industry debut in the music video for K-pop band Shinee’s song “Tell Me What to Do”. A year later, she secured her first role in a Korean drama series, Reunited Worlds. That same year, she landed her first role as a leading cast member of a drama, in Money Flower, and she subsequently earned bigger parts in the series 100 Days My Prince and Abyss.
In 2020, she appeared in the biggest cable television show of all time in South Korea – and the rest is history.
Why Play2Donate Admin love her
While Han’s stunning looks are a reason for her success, equally important for fans has been her relatability.
In the years before she became a star, she had to abandon her dream of being an artist and she toiled away in a range of part-time jobs, including serving at barbecue restaurants and bars, and working in cosmetics stores.
Her parents divorced when she was five, and she was partly raised by her grandmother. When she became an adult, she learned of the debts her mother had run up and the scams she had been involved in – issues that plagued Han early on in her career.
When she achieved stardom, internet users dug up old pictures of Han sporting tattoos. She had these removed when her acting career took off, but she stood firm in the face of criticism and did not apologise for this side of herself.
Han has long had a dialogue with her fans, maintaining a popular blog for years and sharing parts of her life through her Instagram posts.
The star-making role
Han’s fifth drama role rocketed her to stardom. In 2020, she appeared alongside Kim Hee-ae and Park Hae-joon in television sensation The World of the Married, which remains the most successful cable drama of all time in South Korea after reaching a peak viewership rating of 28 per cent.
She played Yeo Da-kyung, a woman who becomes the mistress of an aspiring film director, played by Park, who is married to a doctor (Kim).
Han became the breakout star of this critically acclaimed ratings hit.
Where we will see her next
Han will make a return to our screens soon in the highly anticipated Netflix series Gyeongseong Creature, a thriller set during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea from 1910-1945.
Joining her on screen will be Park Seo-joon ( Itaewon Class) and Wi Ha-joon ( Squid Game), among others. The big-budget series received a rare two-season order before going into production. Season two is being shot now and the first season will air at some point this year.
Han was initially going to follow that up with K-drama The Price of Confession, in which she was to star alongside The Glory actress Song Hye-kyo, but that production fell through following various behind-the-scenes difficulties.
