Kang Hye-jung
Kang Hye-jung atThe Wedding Scheme premiere, on March 30, 2012
Born	(1982-01-04)January 4, 1982 (age 43) Incheon,South Korea
Education	Seoul Institute of the Arts - Theater
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Tablo ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	1
Korean name
Hangul	강혜정
Revised Romanization	Gang Hyejeong
McCune–Reischauer	Kang Hyechŏng

Kang Hye-jung (Korean: 강혜정; born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut inarthouse filmNabi (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim inPark Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thrillerOldboy. A rising star early in her career, she gained acting awards forHan Jae-rim's relationship dramaRules of Dating (2005), andPark Kwang-hyun'sKorean War comedyWelcome to Dongmakgol (2005).

Following roles as adevelopmentally disabled daughter inHerb (2007), a suicidal woman inKill Me (2009), as well as her marriage toTablo in 2009, Kang began starring in more conventional melodramas in TV and film such asGirlfriends (2009),Miss Ripley (2011),The Wedding Scheme (2012),Lucid Dream (2017) andJugglers (2017–2018). Her major theatre stints include Korean stage adaptations ofProof (2010) andEducating Rita (2014–2015).

Kang Hye-jung began working as amodel in her first year of high school.^[1]

Throughout the late 1990s she appeared in small roles inTV dramas andsitcoms such asJump andNonstop 3. Her first film role was in Moon Seung-wook'sarthouse/sci-fi filmNabi, for which she won a Best Actress award at thePuchon International Fantastic Film Festival. Following this she appeared in ashort film bySong Il-gon titledFlush as well as an internet filmNaebang-nebang.^[2]

Kang's first major hit film was oppositeChoi Min-sik in the modern-day classicOldboy byPark 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 theGrand Bell Awards andPusan Film Critics Association. The following year she also appeared inCut, Park's 30-minute contribution to theomnibushorror filmThree... Extremes.^[2]

It was in 2005, however, that Kang established herself as a star outside of her appearance inOldboy. The sharp-edged relationship dramaRules of Dating, in which she starred oppositePark Hae-il, proved to be an unexpected hit, and then two months later she took a small but central role in box office megahitWelcome to Dongmakgol.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} In a 2005 survey of influential movie producers, she was ranked among the top ten most bankable stars.^[7]

In 2006, she starred inLove Phobia opposite then-boyfriendCho Seung-woo, as well as theThai filmInvisible Waves by rising directorial starPen-ek Ratanaruang.^[2][8][9]

After playing thedevelopmentally disabled daughter to veteran actressBae Jong-ok in the 2007melodramaHerb,^[10] in 2009 Kang starred in two unconventionalromantic comedies with roles she imbued with her trademark quirkiness. She said she choseWhy 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.^[11][12] InKill Me, she played a woman who, after several suicide attempts, hires a professional assassin (Shin Hyun-joon) to kill her, but he falls in love with her instead.^[13][14]

Known for taking risky roles, Kang gradually started going off the predictable path that the public expected her to take. In the 2009 filmGirlfriends, 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.^[15][16][17] Kang 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.^[18]

In 2010, Kang appeared in her first stage playProof, portraying the role of Catherine, who worries whether she has inherited all of her mathematician father's genius and lunacy.^[19]

After making the little-seen 2007KBS dramaFlowers for My Life withCha Tae-hyun, Kang returned to television in 2011 inMBC'sMiss Ripley, a tale of one woman (Lee Da-hae) who spins a web of love, ambition and lies.^{[20][21][22][23]} Originally touted as a drama with four lead roles, Kang later expressed dismay and disappointment with her drastically reduced screen time.^[24][25]

Kang made herEnglish-language debut in the culture-clash romantic comedyWedding Palace. DirectorChristine Yoo reportedly cast Kang after her distinctly Korean beauty inOldboy andWelcome to Dongmakgol grabbed Yoo's attention.^[26] Shot over a one-year period between October 2008 through November 2009,^[27] the US-Korea co-production premiered at the 2011Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival^[28] and received the Independent Feature Filmmakers Award at the 2011 Cine Gear Expo.^[29]

Kang was next seen in rom-com cable TV seriesThe Wedding Scheme, about akimchi factory president so determined to marry off her four daughters that she embarks on a grand marriage project by getting her girls tocohabitate with prospective groom candidates. Of her role as the second eldest daughter, a strong and smart career woman, she 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."^[30]

Kang left her previous management agencyYG Entertainment (which is also her husband's label) in 2013, and signed withC-JeS Entertainment.^[31] She then played a small role inE J-yong'smockumentaryBehind the Camera, and wrote thelyrics to "Good Thing," one of the songs onBobby Kim's albumMirror.^[32]

Kang starred in her second stage playEducating Rita in late 2014, about the relationship between a hairdresser and a middle-aged university lecturer.^[33][34] She also played a supporting role in the filmHow to Steal a Dog.^[35]

In 2016, Kang was cast in the filmMy Wife.^[36]

In 2017, Kang played a psychiatrist in the sci-fi thrillerLucid Dream.^[37] She made her return to television in December 2017 with office comedy seriesJugglers.^[38]

Kang majored in Performing Arts at theSeoul Institute of the Arts.^[1]

On October 26, 2009, Kang marriedTablo ofhip hop groupEpik High while she was three months pregnant.^[39][40] The couple's daughter, Haru, was born on May 2, 2010.^[41][42][43] Their family was featured in the varietyThe Return of Superman.^[44][45][46]

• Kang Hye-jung atIMDb
• Kang Hye-jung at theKorean Movie Database
• Kang Hye-jung atHanCinema

• Best Supporting Actress Blue Dragon Film Awards winners
• Best Supporting Actress Grand Bell Awards winners
• 1982 births
• Living people
• Actresses from Incheon
• South Korean film actresses
• South Korean television actresses
• South Korean stage actresses
• Seoul Institute of the Arts alumni
• 20th-century South Korean actresses
• 21st-century South Korean actresses

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