Kim Hee-sun is a South Korean actress who has been acting in Korean TV dramas and films for over a decade.

Kim Hee-sun was born in Seoul on 25 February 1977. She debuted on TV as a year 11 student and later majored in Drama at Chung-ang University . Since then she has acted in many TV dramas, becoming well known in South Korea.

In recent years, Kim has also gradually build up a career in film, beginning in 1997 with Repechage opposite Jang Dong-gun. Director Lee Kwang-hoon subsequently put her in his next film, Ghost in Love in 1999. Kim's most high-profile role to date has been in the big-budget martial arts fantasy Bichunmoo, shot in China and released in the summer of 2000. Kim played the daughter of a Mongolian general in love with her childhood sweetheart. Although criticised for her acting in the film, it gave her more local and international exposure than any of her other films. The film cemented her position as one of Korea's leading actress not only in her home country, but also in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and throughout South-east Asia.

In late 2001, Kim took on a completely different kind of role, cutting her hair short and starring as an animator in Wanee and Junah. Although her acting in this film drew a favorable response from critics, the film itself was a flop at the box office. Kim Hee-sun is currently living in Seoul and is still popular as a model and presenter. She is renowned within the industry for her longevity as an actress. In 2003 she will co-star with Shin Ha-kyun in the film A Letter From Mars by Kim Jung-kwon, the director of Ditto. She is popularly known as the "first beauty of South Korea".

Through acting and promotional work (such as for Samsung), Kim Hee-sun now has an income of some USD 7 million. It is rumoured that her next move will be to try to break into the Japanese market.

Filmography

• 2005 MBC Sad Sonata
• 2003 SBS My Fair Lady
• 2003 A Man Who Went to Mars
• 2001 Wanee & Junah
• 2000 Bichunmoo
• 1999 Calla
• 1999 Ghost In Love
• 1999 MBC Goodbye my love
• 1999 MBC Sun Flower
• 1999 SBS Tomato
• 1998 KBS Wedding Dress
• 1998 MBC To the end of the world
• 1998 SBS Mister Q New York Story (Sit-com)
• 1997 Repechage
• 1997 KBS Propose The Color White
• 1996 KBS Faraway Country Sauna Guys
• 1995 KBS The Son of the Wind
• 1994, The tale of Chun Hyang
• 1994 SBS Agatha Christie

Awards

• 2001 Blue Dragon Most Popular Actress
• 2001 Jun. Honorary Ambassador, Community Chest of Korea
• 2000 Dec. Chung Yong Film Awards "Popularity Award"
• 2000 Dec. SBS Performance Awards "Popularity Award"
• 2000 Mar. Paek Sang Art awards "TV Popularity Award"
• 1999 Mar. Honorary Ambassador of Goodwill to France
• 1998 Dec. SBS Performance Awards "Grand Prize" Receive
• 1998 Dec. MBC Performance Awards "Popularity Award"
• 1997 Dec. KBS Performance Awards "Popularity Award"
• 1996 Mar. Paek Sang Art Awards "New TV Actress Award"
• 1996 Dec. KBS Performance Awards "Excellent Acting Award"
• 1995 Dec. Performance Awards "Budding Actress Award"