Kim So-hyun (Korean: 김소현; born June 4, 1999) is an Australian-born South Korean actress who began her career as a child in 2006, initially gaining public attention for playing pivotal roles in Moon Embracing the Sun (2012) and Missing You (2013).
She took on her first leading role in teen drama Ma Boy (2012) and since then has starred in many TV series including high-school drama Who Are You: School 2015 (2015), horror comedy Hey Ghost, Let's Fight (2016), historical melodrama The Emperor: Owner of the Mask (2017), romantic comedies Radio Romance (2018) and The Tale of Nokdu (2019), teen suspense romance Love Alarm (2019–2021) and Korean folklore River Where the Moon Rises as an assassin. Pure Love (2016) was her first movie as a lead. She was the regular host of MBC's music program Music Core and survival reality show Under Nineteen in 2019.
Kim has been nicknamed in variety by the Korean medias as the "Nation's Little Sister", "Queen of Child Actresses", "Goddess of Historical Drama" and also the "Sageuk Goddess", after starring and appearing in various acclaimed historical period dramas throughout her career, and having gained experience working as an actress from childhood to the present day. Korean medias also recognised her as the next generation of "Nation's First Love" from her performance in Pure Love (2016) movie. She has established herself as a top Hallyu star. For her performance in River Where the Moon Rises, she was nominated for Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actress – Television, becoming one of the youngest nominees for the award.
Kim consistently promotes her television work on Instagram. She was awarded the '2018 Most Grown Instagram Account' with 7.1 million followers. At the age of 21, Kim became the youngest South Korean actress to have more than 10 million followers on social media, alongside actor Lee Min-ho.[unreliable source?]
Early life and education[]
Kim So-hyun was born on June 4, 1999, in Australia, and has a younger brother. She moved to South Korea in 2003, when she was four years old. Her father died when she was nine years old.
Kim transferred from Hoeryong Elementary School in Gyeonggi Province to Towol Elementary School and graduated in February 2012. She then graduated from Yongin Munjung Middle School in 2015. She was subsequently homeschooled for secondary education, and passed her high school graduation exams by 2017. The same year, she enrolled at Hanyang University's Department of Theater, through rolling admission. Kim attended the 79th entrance ceremony held at Hanyang University in Seongdong District, Seoul on February 28, 2018.
In 2016, according to Singapore's national newspaper The Straits Times, Kim revealed in an email interview with the paper why she chose homeschooling instead of enrolling in high school. She said that while managing her acting career, she barely had time to study during her middle school days (which made her have to take her exams unprepared) and missed out in activities with her classmates, and this similarly occurred in her elementary school days. Kim chose homeschooling for her high school education because she did not want to give up her education and career. With this decision, Kim felt it would allow her to dedicate more time to both filming and studying.
Personal life[edit][]
Kim suffered with "growing pains" and "transition period" after seven months of filming The Emperor: Owner of the Mask. She felt emptiness in her schedule and feeling uncomfortable even though she was resting.
In January 2018, the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) chose Kim and Yoo Seong-min as the National Representative of Honorary Smile to represent Korea's smile and kindness.
Other ventures[]
Philanthropy[]
In 2014, Kim joined in the HAPPY Together Briquette Donation Campaign to donate 1 million briquette for the elderly, disabled families, and low-income families for heating during cold season.
In 2017, Kim and Ji Chang-wook donated their dubbing fees for Your Name to the Korea Barrier-Free Film Commission.
On April 21, 2018, Kim participated in S.E.S 10th Green Heart Bazaar held by the first generation K-pop girl group, S.E.S. Kim and many other celebrities gave generous good deeds by selling items at the bazaar. The proceeds that were collected are donated to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation and KARA.
On April 5, 2019, Kim donated ₩10 million to help support the victims of Sokcho Fire. Kim also donated ₩10 million with her fans to Ajou University Hospital Trauma Center. This is the result of the fans giving support towards Kim's idea who wanted to achieve and sharing on her June 4 birthday. Her fans also donated 61 blood donation certificates to the hospital along with the fund to help patients who were living with difficulties. On December 13, she donated 100 kg of rice to the social welfare corporation network for underprivileged and undernourished children in the future.
On February 25, 2020, Kim donated ₩10 million through Hope Bridge Association of the National Disaster Relief to prevent the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. According to the organization, the donation was to help the vulnerable people and purchasing health and hand sanitizers to prevent the spread of the disease. On August 5, Kim donated ₩20 million to help flood victims who suffered from the heavy rain. In October, Kim participated in the "MANNA Charity Bazaar" to support the treatment costs of children suffering from rare diseases. A representative official said, "People who have been consistently sponsoring and volunteering have been together under the name of Manna."
Ambassadorship[]
| Year | Work/Activity | With | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Honor Peer Counselling Ambassador | — | |
| Prevention of School Violence | |||
| 2014 | Korean Language and Culture Youth Ambassador | Oh Jae-moo | |
| Korea Guardian Angel | — | ||
| 2015 | Prevention of School Violence | Who Are You: School 2015's cast | |
| 2016 | 2016 Festive Korea Ambassador | — | |
| 2018 | National Representative of Honorary Smile | Yoo Seong-min |
Artistry[]
Influences[]
Kim has cited Son Ye-jin and Canadian actress Rachel McAdams as her main influences because of their sophisticated and graceful look. She has also cited Moon Geun-young as someone who inspired her to digest various roles after watching Moon's acting in Painter of the Wind.
In 2019, Kim expressed that she has no role models. She commented, "I don't even know myself. I think it's time to get to know myself more than the role model. If I find myself, I can find my role model then."
Kim's work has influenced numerous child actresses, including Kim Ji-young, Lee Ja-in, Hwang Yeon-ji, Busters' Jisoo, Jeon Yu-lim, and Park Da-yeon.
Acting style[]
"I always try to learn because I don't know how to do it. I try to act plainly because I want to look pure. Acting that should be calculated or technologically expressed by expressing emotions as I feel may be lacking. It seems that the viewers watching that part with a grain of salt as it expresses emotions as it is."
In an interview in 2013, she revealed she had never been formally trained for acting. While filming for Pure Love, she lived in Goheung. Kim said that, when there was no filming, she went around the city alone and listened to the stories of the residents. She explained she looked around every corner of the village setting for how she could be part of it.
To prepare for a role, Kim listens to music that matches the emotions of her role before shooting a scene. For the role of a blind person in Page Turner, she changed everything from the tone and way of speaking to the eye contact when reciting her dialogues.
She had stated that when she received a script, she set plenty of time to understand fully and know the character like a real person and try her best to express the character genuinely. Kim prefers having many projects because she feels more comfortable and happy continuing acting rather than resting. In particular, the charm of Kim's tone shines in the drama from a plump romantic comedy to a complex, subtle feeling of conflict between the family's revenge and the love she felt for the first time in her life. A broadcast official said, "The deeper the emotions in the play, the more shining of Kim's inner space will be".
Image[]
Kim plays a role in stimulating her colleague actors. Who Are You: School 2015 co-star Yook Sung-jae shared, "Despite her young age, [Kim] So-hyun leads the entire drama. When seeing her with a smile on her face during working in spite of the exhaustion due to lack of sleep, I feel and learn a lot." Chun Jung-myung gave her his recognition, "She is polite and always looks strong. So Hyun possesses such an outstanding charm that I believe she might become the greatest actor of this era." Actor Nam Joo-hyuk also praised, "Like an adult and trustworthy. She is a positive person that never shows any hints of negativity even when facing hardship. I have a lot to learn from her." As an experienced former child actress, Kim So-hyun has acted with many actors who are older than her. Many of her co-stars described her as an "older sister" to them. Such as, Yoo Seung-ho, who is six years older than her, confessed he couldn't stop speaking to her like she was older: "She seems like an older sister. She's extremely mature." L said, "So-hyun is very mature. Though she's seven years younger than me, she sometimes feels like an older sister", and the same goes to Yoon Do-joon.[unreliable source?]
Various actors, actresses, and film crew praised Kim for her acting skills, strong mentality, work ethic, and kindness. Actress Jo Soo-hyang, "Kim So-hyun is amazing. When we were filming, her schedule was very hectic. At first, I would play around with her after we were done filming, but she looked more and more tired as the days went on, and I couldn't do that anymore." She continued, "But when the camera starts rolling, she puts on a smile and acts really well. As I saw her doing that, I just thought, she's amazing." Despite the freezing temperatures during filming The Emperor: Owner of the Mask, Kim gave affection for the child actor that was working with her, be on set at a very early time and showed no signs of tiredness while on set. A staff member said, "Kim So-hyun is cheerful and kind both on and off-camera, making her the best energizer. Kim So-hyun's bright smile helps everyone on set have a good time while filming." Jung Ga-ram describes her as "very serious and a really great actress". Song Kang talked about working with Kim, saying that she gave a lot of advice about many heart-fluttering points. As a senior actor he saw on TV, he was worried that it would inconvenience her. Still, she contacted him whenever there were difficult scenes and congratulated him at the end of the day.
Lee Na-jung, her director in Love Alarm, said, "the acting skills were as important as the synchronisation rate. Jo-jo was a difficult role and needed great acting skills." She continued, "I saw Jo-jo's eyes in Kim So-hyun's eyes." According to director Kim Dong-hwi of The Tale of Nokdu, "Kim So-hyun is a rainbow-like actress. She is pretty, cute and cool, and has colourful charms from laughter to tears. I am always admiring her detailed and sincere acting while filming".
In the media[]
Kim was given several nicknames throughout her career, such as "Nation's Little Sister", "Queen of Child Actresses" and "Korean Wave Fairy". Kim earned the nickname, "Little Son Ye-jin", due to the resemblance of Ye-jin's early works, Lover's Concerto and The Classic. Besides, the two actors, also resemble the coexistence of clean, pure and mature images with subtle expressions and perfect eyes acting. She was also dubbed as "3金 Troika" (3金 트로이카) alongside Kim Yoo-jung and Kim Sae-ron due to impressive performances since childhood and a veteran actor with more than 10 years of acting career. Previously, the nickname was given to Kim Tae-hee, Song Hye-kyo, and Jun Ji-hyun in the early 2000s. Kim was named "Teardrop Goddess" for her deep sensitivity and dense tears in The Emperor: Owner of the Mask. Following the release of hit dramas Love Alarm and The Tale of Nokdu, the press gave Kim "Come-out-of-manhwa girl" (만찢녀 (만화 찢고 나온 여자)) due to the perfect sync rate with the original characters and emotional performance. After starring in several historical period dramas, she received the title "Goddess of Historical Drama" and "Sageuk Goddess" because of her quick character exploration skills, varied expressions through eye contact and emotional acting. In 2016, Kim was recognized by Korean medias as the next generation of "Nation's First Love" after she had successfully portrayed the first love character in Pure Love movie.
Endorsements and impact[]
Kim is an active celebrity endorser for several brands and products. Her first endorsements were fabric softener Downy and junior apparel brand, Apple Pink. She became the face of Nintendo 3DS real-time pet simulation video game, Nintendogs + Cats with Kim Yoo-jung, Yuhan-Kimberly's "Teen's Nature" brand, Union Bay with Park Seo-joon and Lee Hyun-woo, and Nongshim's Shin Ramyun with Yoon Doo-joon.
In 2015, Kim has become one of the most in-demand endorsers after her hit drama Who Are You: School 2015. She was chosen to become the face of a women's clothing brand, Soup because of her "girl's liveliness and a romantic lady's vibe". Kim was selected as the 25th "Pocari Girl" for Pocari Sweat due to her "pure innocence and cheerful image". A photograph went viral on social media after Kim retweeted and left a comment, "Graduation (Graduation Photo) ㅋㅋㅋ" of a Uijeongbu High School male-student who recreates Kim's signature drinking pose, wearing short shorts and almost lying on the floor for his graduation photo. In response, Dong-A Otsuka gifted the student several Pocari Sweats, Oronamin C and named him the "Pocari Man". In 2015–16, she was featured in Domino's Pizza's advertisement with Kim Woo-bin. Two of Kim So-hyun's costume in Domino's Pizza advertisement went on for an online-auction and the donating proceeds to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation. She also appeared in commercials for the Post cereal Honey Oh's, and Korea's school uniform Elite. Kim became the longest Elite endorsement model from 2014 until 2016. She has worked alongside Winner, Shin Ae-ra, and BtoB.
By April 16, 2016, Kim was selected for two consecutive years to become the 2016 Pocari Sweat model to commemorate the brand's 30th anniversary. It is the first time in 15 years since Son Ye-jin in 2001. The same year, G-Market announced Kim as their model for the launch of Korea's first integrated brand lift package through cable channels and online.
In 2015–17, Kim was appointed as the face for young girls' makeup brand Peripera. In three days, Peripera "Ink Airy Velvet" has sold 30,000 quantities. Kim's image was the main contributor that leads a successful product to sell 700,000 quantities in two months, sold out "Ink Airy Velvet No. 2" and "Ink Color Cara" winning in the Glow Peak Beauty Awards mascara category. In August 2019, Korean media reported Soup to become Korea's first young casual brand to record ₩100 billion sales in Korea after commissioning Kim as their promotional model for their 2019 Fall/Winter collection.
Kim continued endorsing various products that ranged from food to clothing and cosmetics such as, Norwegian fashion shoes brand Skono, chicken brand Pelicana Chicken, Samsung Securities, naturalism-oriented cosmetics Hanyul, colour contact lenses Bausch & Lomb's Lacelle, and Soup as a representative and model since 2015. In April 2020, Samsung Electronics introduced Bixby Celebrity Voice, an AI voice assistant with Kim as their speakers. Kim's "Celeb Alarm" gained popularity in South Korea and overseas, and topped the Popular Download Ranking in the Galaxy Store. In August 2022, she was selected as the global ambassador for skin care brand JM Solution.