Kim Hye-ja

Kim Hye-ja (born October 25, 1941 in Seoul, South Korea)[1] is a South Korean actress. Best known to South Korean audiences as the archetypal mother figure in popular television series such as Country Diaries, What Is Love?, My Mother's Sea, and Roses and Beansprouts, Kim drew international critical acclaim in the 2009 noir thriller Mother.[2] In 2019, she gained critical acclaim for her acting in The Light in Your Eyes.

This is a Korean name; the family name is Kim.
Kim Hye-ja
Kim Hye-ja in February 2019
Born (1941-10-25) October 25, 1941
Keijō, Gyeonggi, Japanese Korea
OccupationActress
Years active1963–present
Spouse(s)Im Jong-chan
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGim Hye-ja
McCune–ReischauerKim Hyecha

Early life

Kim was born in 1941 in Gyeongseong, Gyeonggi Province in Japanese-occupied Korea (known as present-day Seoul, South Korea).

Kim was studying Living Art at Ewha Womans University when she dropped out of college to pursue a career in acting.

Career

Kim made her acting debut in 1963, and went on to star in more than 90 television dramas, including I Sell Happiness (1978), Sand Castle (1988), Winter Mist (1989), What Is Love? (1991), My Mother's Sea (1993), You and I (1997), and Roses and Beansprouts (1999).[3] Country Diaries, in which she appeared for 22 years, is particularly notable for making Kim into a household name and cementing her image among South Korean audiences as an iconic, unconditionally loving and self-sacrificing mother.[4] Because of this wholesome onscreen persona, CJ CheilJedang hired her to endorse their products and appear in their advertisements for nearly 30 years, from 1975 to 2002.

Though she won Best Actress at the Manila International Film Festival in 1983 for Late Autumn and occasionally acted in stage plays and musicals, Kim was most active in television for four decades. She holds the record of having won the Daesang ("Grand Prize," or highest award) at the MBC Drama Awards the most times (3): in 1988, 1992, and 1999. Kim is the first and only person to have won the Daesang four times at the Baeksang Arts Awards: in 1979, 1989, 2009, and 2019.[5]

As Kim grew older, she expressed her disappointment in being relegated to supporting roles.[6] Then in 2008, screenwriter Kim Soo-hyun cast Kim in the leading role of a woman who declares a one-year break from her family after spending decades as a housewife looking after her three children, a husband and a widowed father-in-law in Mom's Dead Upset. Kim's character broke free from stereotypical South Korean TV mothers in her desire for independence, and initial misgivings that viewers would find her unsympathetic turned out to be unfounded, with the series recording a peak viewership rating of 42.7%.[7][8]

But 2009 marked another turning point in Kim's career, when she was cast in her first film a decade after Mayonnaise (1999).[9] Acclaimed director Bong Joon-ho had long been an enthusiastic admirer of Kim's, and he said he'd wanted to make a film centered around the veteran actress, then it occurred to him that being the national symbol of motherhood might be a burden for Kim as it was an honor.[10] So he decided to craft a role that would showcase Kim's talents and depict the duality of motherhood, then spent four years convincing her to take the role.[11] In Mother, Kim surprised Korean audiences with her intense performance as a middle-aged single mother who obsessively loves her mentally handicapped son and sets out to prove his innocence when he's accused of murder. Bong said he would have given up the project if Kim had not accepted his offer, "Without Kim Hye-ja, Mother wouldn't exist."[10] Kim returned the compliment, saying Bong helped her "reactivate all the cells that have been dormant in (her) body."[12] The film received critical acclaim from domestic audiences and international film festivals, and Kim won numerous acting awards. She was the first ever Korean actress to be named Best Actress by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.[13][14] [15]

From 2011 to 2012, Kim headlined Living Among the Rich, one of the inaugural programs of newly launched cable channel jTBC. It was Kim's first sitcom in her 48-year career, and it followed her character as she and her family move into a rundown building in the wealthy area of southern Seoul and struggle to keep pace with their well-off neighbors.[16]

She returned to the theater in 2013 to 2014 with Oscar, Letters to God, a Korean stage adaptation of the French novel Oscar and the Lady in Pink. In the one-woman show, Kim played 11 roles, including Oscar, a 10-year-old boy dying of leukemia, and the nurse (named Jang-mi or Granny Rose) that he confides in.[17][18]

In late 2014, she played a rich and fussy widow in How to Steal a Dog, based on the same-titled novel by Barbara O'Connor.[4]

Other activities

Kim has been a goodwill ambassador for the nonprofit Christian relief organization World Vision Korea since 1991.[19] She has visited refugee camps in war-torn and poverty-stricken regions in more than 20 countries around the globe, including Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone,[20][21] and sponsors 103 children from underdeveloped countries.[22] In 2004, she wrote and published a book based on her experiences titled Don't Beat Someone, Even with Flowers, and donated all proceeds from its sales to underprivileged children in North Korea.[3]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role
1982Late AutumnHye-rim
1999MayonnaiseMom
2009MotherHye-ja
2014How to Steal a DogOld lady
2017The WaySoon-ae

Television series
Year Title Role Network
1969Frog HusbandMBC
1971Chief InspectorMBC
1975Bride DiaryMBC
1977I Regret ItMBC
1978I Sell HappinessMBC
Even If the Wind BlowsMBC
1979Mom, I Like DadMBC
1980Country Diaries (until 2002)Chairman Kim's wifeMBC
Gan-yang-rokMBC
TerminalMBC
1981Let Us LoveMBC
1982Yesterday and TomorrowMBC
1983InfantMBC
1984MissingMBC
1985500 Years of Joseon: The Wind OrchidQueen MunjeongMBC
1986First LoveMBC
1988Sand CastleJang Hyun-jooMBC
1989The 2nd RepublicKim Ok-sookMBC
Winter MistSeo Myung-aeMBC
Your ToastJin Sang-shimMBC
A Happy WomanMBC
1990What Do Women Want?Jung-heeMBC
Still Forty-nineMBC
1991What Is Love?Yeo Soon-jaMBC
1992Two WomenOh Hye-jungMBC
1993My Mother's SeaYoung-heeMBC
1994A Human LandKim Shil-danKBS2
1995WomanSong Min-sookMBC
1996Salted MackerelKim Gong-shimMBC
1997Your Mother's StoryMBC
You and IKim Eun-soonMBC
1999Roses and BeansproutsLee Pil-nyeoMBC
2002Since We MetJo Nam-deukMBC
2004The Autumn of Major General HongHeo Young-sookSBS
2005Smile of Spring DayPark Nae-soonMBC
2006Princess HoursQueen Dowager ParkMBC
2008Mom's Dead UpsetKim Han-jaKBS2
2011Living Among the RichKim Hye-jajTBC
2015Unkind LadiesKang Soon-okKBS2
2016Dear My FriendsJo Hee-jatvN
2019Dazzling[23]Kim Hye-jaJTBC

Theater
Year Title Role
1987Before the Rooster Crows Over Judah
199119 and 80Maude
1997King David
The Marriage of Figaro
Our Broadway Mama
2001Shirley ValentineShirley Valentine
2007Doubt[24]Sister Aloysius
2013–2014Oscar, Letters to GodOscar/Jang-mi/Parents/Peggy Blue etc.

Books
Year Title Publisher ISBN
1994Kim Hye-ja's Small VoicePeopleISBN 8985947028
2004Don't Beat Someone, Even with FlowersAncient FuturesISBN 8995501405
2011Small World (Watching the World Unfold
Before Becoming an Adult)		DarimISBN 9788961770514

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated work Result
19662nd Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actress (TV)Won
197612th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress (TV)Bride DiaryWon
197814th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress (TV)YouWon
197915th Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize (Daesang)I Sell HappinessWon
Best Actress (TV)Won
198221st Grand Bell AwardsBest ActressLate AutumnNominated
19832nd Manila International Film FestivalBest ActressWon
198824th Dong-A Theatre AwardsBest Actress19 and 80Won
MBC Drama AwardsGrand Prize (Daesang)Sand CastleWon
198916th Korea Broadcasting AwardsBest ActressWinter MistWon
25th Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize (Daesang)Winter Mist,
Sand Castle		Won
Best Actress (TV)Won
1992MBC Drama AwardsGrand Prize (Daesang)What Is Love?Won
19964th Korea Advertisers Association Consumer's ChoiceGood Model AwardN/AWon
199936th Grand Bell AwardsBest ActressMayonnaiseNominated
1st Social Welfare DayPresidential CommendationN/AWon
1st Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference AwardsRecipientN/AWon
MBC Drama AwardsGrand Prize (Daesang)Roses and BeansproutsWon
2002MBC Hall of FameRecipientWon
200314th Wiam Jang Ji-yeon PrizeRecipientN/AWon
2nd Star 선행 대상RecipientN/AWon
1st Feminist Award in Pop Culture and ArtsRecipientN/AWon
2008KBS Drama AwardsGrand Prize (Daesang)Mom's Dead UpsetWon
Top Excellence Award, ActressNominated
200945th Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize (Daesang)Won
Best Actress (TV)Nominated
2nd Style Icon Awards Beautiful Sharing AwardN/AWon
18th Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival[25][26][27] Best Actress in a Foreign Film MotherWon
10th Busan Film Critics Awards[28]Best ActressWon
29th Korean Association of Film Critics AwardsBest ActressWon
18th Buil Film AwardsBest ActressWon
46th Grand Bell AwardsBest ActressNominated
3rd Asia Pacific Screen Awards[29][30]Best ActressWon
30th Blue Dragon Film AwardsBest ActressNominated
12th Director's Cut Awards[31]Best ActressWon
10th Women in Film Korea Awards[32]Best ActressWon
Cine 21 Awards Best ActressWon
2010 Asian Film Critics Association Awards Best ActressWon
1st KOFRA Film Awards[33]Best ActressWon
7th Max Movie Awards[34][35]Best ActressWon
4th Asian Film Awards[36]Best ActressWon
46th Baeksang Arts AwardsBest ActressNominated
36th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards[37][38][39][40]Best ActressWon
14th Online Film Critics Society AwardsBest ActressNominated
IndieWire Critics PollBest Actress5th place
Village Voice Film PollBest Actress3rd place
Dublin Film Critics' Circle Best Actress5th place
World Vision InternationalSpecial AwardN/AWon
201117th Chlotrudis AwardsBest ActressMotherWon
1st Beautiful Artists AwardsRecipientN/AWon
30th Sejong Culture Award[41]Recipient, Social Volunteering categoryN/AWon
20149th Golden Ticket AwardsBest Actress in a PlayOscar, Letters to GodWon
201524th Buil Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressHow to Steal a DogNominated
52nd Grand Bell AwardsBest Supporting ActressNominated
KBS Drama AwardsTop Excellence Award, ActressUnkind LadiesNominated
Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length DramaNominated
PD Award (chosen by PDs from KBS, SBS & MBC)Won
4th CARI K Drama AwardsBest Supporting ActressWon
2016tvN10 AwardsBest ActressDear My FriendsNominated
201955th Baeksang Arts Awards[42][43] Grand Prize (Daesang)DazzlingWon
Best Actress (TV)Nominated
24th Asian Television Awards Best ActressNominated
gollark: That's very vague.
gollark: Technically only PD, but whatever.
gollark: I use PID control in a bunch of flight control code for Minecraft. It works quite well.
gollark: I mean, you'd have to program it to or train it on those, but it isn't impossible.
gollark: Good, because neural networks are excellent at that.

References
  1. Profile on Daum 영화
  2. "Kim Hye-ja". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  3. "Actress Kim Hye-ja: the Audrey Hepburn of Korea". KBS Global via Hancinema. 18 May 2005. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  4. Lee, Do-eun (3 December 2014). "Kim Hye-ja sheds motherly image for latest film". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  5. She tied with Kim Young-ok in 1979.
  6. Kim, Hyo-eun (18 April 2012). "In with the old, out with the new". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  7. Chun, Su-jin (6 August 2008). "TV Review: Runaway moms swap drudgery for liberty". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  8. "Mom's Dead Upset Ends with 40.6% Viewer Rating". KBS Global. 30 September 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  9. Chung, Ah-young (7 April 2008). "Actress Kim to Star in Bong's Film". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  10. Ki, Sun-min; Park, Sun-young (29 May 2009). "Director drew inspiration from a maternal muse". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  11. Adams, Sam (9 March 2010). "Interview: Bong Joon-Ho". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  12. Yang, Sung-jin (29 April 2009). "Director Bong back with mother-son tale". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  13. Lee, Hyo-won (13 December 2010). "Kim Hye-ja named best actress by LA critics". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  14. Kang, Seok-ho (16 January 2011). "Korean Actress Kim Hye-ja Wins Best Actress from LAFCA". Arirang News. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  15. "[단독인터뷰] 국민엄마 김혜자의 눈물 "미투라니?… 세상이 사람들이 괴물같다"". 2019-06-05.
  16. Sung, So-young (1 December 2011). "TV enters new era with launch of four networks". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  17. Kim, Min-hye (31 October 2013). "Kim Hye-ja: I Want to Share Preciousness of Life". Yonhap. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  18. Lee, Ji-young (25 April 2014). "No answers for Kim Hye-ja". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  19. Yim, Seung-hye (29 October 2011). "Actress Kim Hye-ja honored for charity work". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  20. "Kim Hye-ja: Harnessing Fame to Help Children in Poor Countries". The Chosun Ilbo. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  21. "Ethiopian Child Welfare Center Named for Kim Hye-ja". The Chosun Ilbo. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  22. "Kim Hye-ja's Bangladeshi son enters graduate school in Korea". The Korea Herald. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  23. "[공식] 김혜자X한지민X남주혁X손호준 '눈이부시게' 확정..내년 상반기 방송". Sports Chosun (in Korean). November 7, 2018.
  24. "Events Calendar: Doubt". The Korea Herald. 3 March 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  25. Lee, Hyo-won (6 November 2009). "Kim Hye-ja Named Best Actress in China Festival". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  26. "Kim Hye-ja named best actress at Chinese film fest". The Korea Herald. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  27. "Kim Hye-ja wins Best Actress at Chinese film fest". 10Asia. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  28. "Kim, Ha win top film critics award". 10Asia. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  29. Han, Sang-hee (27 November 2009). "Kim Hye-ja Named Best Actress at Asia-Pacific Fest". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  30. Ko, Jae-wan (27 November 2009). "Kim Hye-ja wins Best Actress at Asia Pacific awards". 10Asia. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  31. "Park Chan-wook Named Director of the Year". The Chosun Ilbo. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  32. Garcia, Cathy Rose A. (15 December 2009). "Park Chan-ok Named Female Director of Year". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  33. Ko, Kyoung-seok (28 January 2010). "Film journalists pick Song Kang-ho, Kim Hye-ja top actors". 10Asia. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  34. "Old Partner wins Best Picture at Max Movie Awards". 10Asia. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  35. "Kim Hye-ja wins Max Movie best actress award". 10Asia. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  36. Moon, Dan-bee (25 March 2010). "Mother named best movie at the Asian Film Awards". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  37. Sperling, Nicole (13 December 2010). "The Social Network is anointed by L.A. Film Critics Assn". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  38. "Kim Hye-ja named best actress by L.A. critics". The Korea Herald. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  39. Hong, Lucia (15 December 2010). "Kim Hye-ja named best actress by Los Angeles Film Critics Association". 10Asia. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  40. "Kim Hye-ja Wins Best Actress Award from L.A. Film Critics". The Chosun Ilbo. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  41. Kim, Yoon-mi (13 October 2011). "Geum receives Sejong Culture Award". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  42. Yoo, Chung-hee (April 4, 2019). "김서형·염정아·김혜자 등 '백상예술대상' TV부문 최종 후보 공개". Ten Asia (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  43. "Veteran actress Kim Hye-ja wins grand prize at Baeksang Awards". The Korea Herald. May 2, 2019.
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