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dangermousieSo very often I post about kdrama actors in a gushy (and photo-friendly) fashion. 'OMG Bae Yong Joon is so hot with long hair!' or 'Kang Ji Hwan has the cutest smile EEEEE' or 'Lee Seo Jin can glower at me any day' or whatever.
All well and good.
But...
BUT.
I realized I have been neglecting kdrama actresses, and the reason I adore kdramas so is at least as much, if not more, the women in them. They are glamorous or plain-Jane, funny and quirky or deeply angsty, old-fashioned or tomboyish, powerful or meek. Any type of a heroine you like, you will find in a kdrama. And unlike heroines of Taiwanese dramas, where half the time you might get an awesome heroine and the other half an actress who can't act, or Japanese dramas where occasionally, for me, the heroines try for quirky but end up unappealingly insane, Kdrama actresses I've seen almost always have enough acting chops and/or charisma to carry off their roles. In a typical kdrama, I am more likely to be invested in and siding with the heroine than with the hero, which, seeing that I am usually hero-centric in stories, is quite a feat.
Anyway, behind the cut are my Top 10 Kdrama Actresses, in no order.
Ha Ji Won
(in Damo)
Ha Ji Won is beautiful. Totally beautiful. But more importantly, she is an amazing actress as well. I've seen her in two dramas: Something Happened in Bali and Damo, in both of which she was utterly different (a poor, damaged woman too desperate to decide, and tough as nails, emotionally repressed fighter). She was also in Hwan Ji Ni, which I haven't seen but is supposed to be good. Want to see her? Start with Damo.
Li Ji Ah
(in Legend)
(posing for a shot)
I have only seen LJA in one drama, because she has only made one so far, 'Legend.' But how amazing was she in it, a a tough, wine-loving, loyal archer heroine, mischievous and irrepressible, incredibly strong. Legend is my favorite drama ever in large part because of her. Sujini/DD is the OTP to die for, too.
Song Hye Kyo
(in the movie Hwang Ji Ni)
SHK is one of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen, and she was also the first kdrama lady I saw. Full House (I highly recommend) was my first kdrama and I was shocked to see how seamlessly empathetic I was to her: every time she was upset I wanted to bawl. I saw the story through her eyes and not the hero's and it was so rare for me, I was flabbergasted (I have since realized that this is something that happens often for me in kdramas). She was funny and charming, gorgeous and heartbreaking. How could you not love her? She also starred in All In, a very famous kdrama which I haven't seen, Autumn Tale (ditto) etc etc. Her latest project is the upcoming 'The World They Live In' with Hyun Bin. Will the world be able to handle this much pretty?
Lee Da Hae
(in My Girl)
(in Robbers)
LDH is, hands-down, my favorite kdrama actress, and one of the few actors of either gender who will make me check out a drama regardless of co-stars, plot, writers, or anything else, just because she is in it. In addition to being stunningly beautiful, she projects an effortless warm vibe that makes me love any character of hers automatically. Most known for playing quirky, assured characters, she is a wonderful comedienne. Her most famous role is as a cheerful, shameless, yet vulnerable swindler in My Girl (for another, though less famous and successful example of her patented quirkiness watch Hello Miss). But she is also quite versatile and can play a host of other roles: hero's center-of-calm, quietly strong heroine in the revenge drama Green Rose, a widowed single mother in Robbers, even the bad-gal 'other woman' in Sweet 18. Her next move? She is set to star in the upcoming epic-spanning-decades-of-this-century drama 'East of Eden' opposite Song Seun Heon. Oh, and if you want to check her out, the drama I recommend is 'My Girl.'
Shin Min Ah
(in The Devil)
(in A Love to Kill)
I adore Shin Min Ah, pure and simple. I first saw her as the damaged, fragile heroine of the incredibly awesome drama 'A Love to Kill' and somehow she made me want to cry when she did. She portrayed brokenness and warmth with equal strength. I then saw her, much younger, as the Hero's bratty sister in the classic Beautiful Days and she was entirely different! But the final 'I love you' moment occured when I watched her as the female lead in Mawang (The Devil), as a librarian emotionally engangled with two very different men who play a revenge-driven cat-and-mouse game. The Devil ended up my second-favorite drama of all time, and SMA really shone: it's hard to play someone pure and good without coming across as mawkish or smug, but she was amazing. Her next role? She is the female lead of the upcoming movie 'Kitchen', opposite Joo Ji Hoon, her Mawang costar. If you want to check her out, I recommend Mawang.
Choi Ji Woo
(in a photoshoot)
(in Beautiful Days)
CJW starred in three of the biggest kdramas, arguably, ever: the ur-kdrama Winter Sonata (which turned costar Bae Yong Joon into object of desperate desire for millions of Japanese ladies), Beautiful Days with Lee Byung Hun and Stairway to Heaven with Kwon Sang Woo. In all three of those dramas she played a traditional, quiet yet strong woman suffering for love opposite an even more angsty hottie in beautiful surroundings. No, I don't think that is incredibly versatile. If you want a chameleon actress, look elsewhere. But it doesn't matter because what she is good at, she is very very good: when she hurts, I hurt with her and want to murder whoever is causing her pain, even when it's justifiable or when it's the hunky lead. The best drama to check her out in? Take your pick....
Yoon Eun Hye
(in Goong)
(in Coffee Prince)
If Choi Ji Woo is a tragedy queen, I'd say YEH is certainly making a case for being the queen of comedy. She comes across as irrepressible and funny, cute and girl-next-door. She has started her acting career as the heroine of super-smash 'Goong' (a high school girl who finds out she is betrothed to a supercilious Crown Prince), continued with Vineyard Man as the city girl stuck on a farm (haven't seen that one) and most recently starred in another hit as a cross-dressing young woman who attracts the attention (and sexual confusion) of the hapless owner of the cafe she works at in Coffee Prince. She is always awesome. Check out Goong or CP for proof (I couldn't narrow it down to one, honest).
Sung Yuri
(in Snow Queen)
(in Hong Gil Dong)
I have heard Sung Yuri was awful in her earliest dramas. This might well be true. All I know is...she is amazing now! Gorgeous and charismatic, funny and heartbreaking, Yuri is versatile as anything. She made me care for a high-maintenance, snooty, high-strung, messed up heroine of Snow Queen, made me want to hug her as the traumatized, pure-hearted heroine of 'One Fine Day' and made me laugh and squee in equal measure as the loud, not too bright swindler with the heart of gold in Hong Gil Dong. I don't know what she plans to do next, but whatever it is, I am sure I will love it. What to check her out in first? If you don't mind tragedy, I suggest Snow Queen: she takes a character that could be hateable and makes her break your heart.
Han Ji Min
(in Capital Scandal)
(photoshoot)
I have only seen HJM in Capital Scandal (which I recommend you check out ASAP) though I do have Resurrection on tap. Diminutive HJM stole my heart as 'the last woman of Joseon, Ja Ma Ja.' She managed the feat that too often eludes jdrama heroines: she was quirky, opinionated, strong, and (in the early stages) picking on the male lead, without coming across as either preachy or witchy. I loved her so much.
Gong Hyo Jin
(Hello My Teacher)
(photshoot)
Like your heroines strong-willed and down to earth? Gong Hyo Jin isn't glamorously pretty. When you look at her, she has a stereotyped teacher/nurse vibe to her, doesn't she? Which has certainly been exploited by kdrama makers to great effect. The first drama I've seen her in, 'Sang-Do, Let's Go to School' had her be...what else...a teacher (and first love of the hero, whose life went spectacularly off the rails since). What struck me the most about GHJ in Sang-Doo (which is an excellent drama I need to finish some day...I am stopped by the angst!) is her non-nonsense strength. She was full of common sense, work ethic, optimism (yet a realistic optimism). She was a strong woman who was both fun and admirable, and who knew her own mind. This trend continued in 'Hello My Teacher', one of my fave kdramas ever, where she played a former juvenile delinquent who became a teacher and got to teach at her former alma mater on condition that she would be private tutor/watchdog of the biggest troublemaker in school (Gong Yoo). Once again, she was caring but not sentimental, strong, cheerful, and completely confident in herself, with her head extremely straight. He latest drama was 'Thank You', which came out last year in which she played a single mother who melts the heart of an icy surgeon. I haven't seen it yet, but I am sure she was awesome in it. Which of her dramas to check out first? 'Hello My Teacher.'
And these are just my Top 10. I adore many many more.
All well and good.
But...
BUT.
I realized I have been neglecting kdrama actresses, and the reason I adore kdramas so is at least as much, if not more, the women in them. They are glamorous or plain-Jane, funny and quirky or deeply angsty, old-fashioned or tomboyish, powerful or meek. Any type of a heroine you like, you will find in a kdrama. And unlike heroines of Taiwanese dramas, where half the time you might get an awesome heroine and the other half an actress who can't act, or Japanese dramas where occasionally, for me, the heroines try for quirky but end up unappealingly insane, Kdrama actresses I've seen almost always have enough acting chops and/or charisma to carry off their roles. In a typical kdrama, I am more likely to be invested in and siding with the heroine than with the hero, which, seeing that I am usually hero-centric in stories, is quite a feat.
Anyway, behind the cut are my Top 10 Kdrama Actresses, in no order.
Ha Ji Won
(in Damo)
Ha Ji Won is beautiful. Totally beautiful. But more importantly, she is an amazing actress as well. I've seen her in two dramas: Something Happened in Bali and Damo, in both of which she was utterly different (a poor, damaged woman too desperate to decide, and tough as nails, emotionally repressed fighter). She was also in Hwan Ji Ni, which I haven't seen but is supposed to be good. Want to see her? Start with Damo.
Li Ji Ah
(in Legend)
(posing for a shot)
I have only seen LJA in one drama, because she has only made one so far, 'Legend.' But how amazing was she in it, a a tough, wine-loving, loyal archer heroine, mischievous and irrepressible, incredibly strong. Legend is my favorite drama ever in large part because of her. Sujini/DD is the OTP to die for, too.
Song Hye Kyo
(in the movie Hwang Ji Ni)
SHK is one of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen, and she was also the first kdrama lady I saw. Full House (I highly recommend) was my first kdrama and I was shocked to see how seamlessly empathetic I was to her: every time she was upset I wanted to bawl. I saw the story through her eyes and not the hero's and it was so rare for me, I was flabbergasted (I have since realized that this is something that happens often for me in kdramas). She was funny and charming, gorgeous and heartbreaking. How could you not love her? She also starred in All In, a very famous kdrama which I haven't seen, Autumn Tale (ditto) etc etc. Her latest project is the upcoming 'The World They Live In' with Hyun Bin. Will the world be able to handle this much pretty?
Lee Da Hae
(in My Girl)
(in Robbers)
LDH is, hands-down, my favorite kdrama actress, and one of the few actors of either gender who will make me check out a drama regardless of co-stars, plot, writers, or anything else, just because she is in it. In addition to being stunningly beautiful, she projects an effortless warm vibe that makes me love any character of hers automatically. Most known for playing quirky, assured characters, she is a wonderful comedienne. Her most famous role is as a cheerful, shameless, yet vulnerable swindler in My Girl (for another, though less famous and successful example of her patented quirkiness watch Hello Miss). But she is also quite versatile and can play a host of other roles: hero's center-of-calm, quietly strong heroine in the revenge drama Green Rose, a widowed single mother in Robbers, even the bad-gal 'other woman' in Sweet 18. Her next move? She is set to star in the upcoming epic-spanning-decades-of-this-century drama 'East of Eden' opposite Song Seun Heon. Oh, and if you want to check her out, the drama I recommend is 'My Girl.'
Shin Min Ah
(in The Devil)
(in A Love to Kill)
I adore Shin Min Ah, pure and simple. I first saw her as the damaged, fragile heroine of the incredibly awesome drama 'A Love to Kill' and somehow she made me want to cry when she did. She portrayed brokenness and warmth with equal strength. I then saw her, much younger, as the Hero's bratty sister in the classic Beautiful Days and she was entirely different! But the final 'I love you' moment occured when I watched her as the female lead in Mawang (The Devil), as a librarian emotionally engangled with two very different men who play a revenge-driven cat-and-mouse game. The Devil ended up my second-favorite drama of all time, and SMA really shone: it's hard to play someone pure and good without coming across as mawkish or smug, but she was amazing. Her next role? She is the female lead of the upcoming movie 'Kitchen', opposite Joo Ji Hoon, her Mawang costar. If you want to check her out, I recommend Mawang.
Choi Ji Woo
(in a photoshoot)
(in Beautiful Days)
CJW starred in three of the biggest kdramas, arguably, ever: the ur-kdrama Winter Sonata (which turned costar Bae Yong Joon into object of desperate desire for millions of Japanese ladies), Beautiful Days with Lee Byung Hun and Stairway to Heaven with Kwon Sang Woo. In all three of those dramas she played a traditional, quiet yet strong woman suffering for love opposite an even more angsty hottie in beautiful surroundings. No, I don't think that is incredibly versatile. If you want a chameleon actress, look elsewhere. But it doesn't matter because what she is good at, she is very very good: when she hurts, I hurt with her and want to murder whoever is causing her pain, even when it's justifiable or when it's the hunky lead. The best drama to check her out in? Take your pick....
Yoon Eun Hye
(in Goong)
(in Coffee Prince)
If Choi Ji Woo is a tragedy queen, I'd say YEH is certainly making a case for being the queen of comedy. She comes across as irrepressible and funny, cute and girl-next-door. She has started her acting career as the heroine of super-smash 'Goong' (a high school girl who finds out she is betrothed to a supercilious Crown Prince), continued with Vineyard Man as the city girl stuck on a farm (haven't seen that one) and most recently starred in another hit as a cross-dressing young woman who attracts the attention (and sexual confusion) of the hapless owner of the cafe she works at in Coffee Prince. She is always awesome. Check out Goong or CP for proof (I couldn't narrow it down to one, honest).
Sung Yuri
(in Snow Queen)
(in Hong Gil Dong)
I have heard Sung Yuri was awful in her earliest dramas. This might well be true. All I know is...she is amazing now! Gorgeous and charismatic, funny and heartbreaking, Yuri is versatile as anything. She made me care for a high-maintenance, snooty, high-strung, messed up heroine of Snow Queen, made me want to hug her as the traumatized, pure-hearted heroine of 'One Fine Day' and made me laugh and squee in equal measure as the loud, not too bright swindler with the heart of gold in Hong Gil Dong. I don't know what she plans to do next, but whatever it is, I am sure I will love it. What to check her out in first? If you don't mind tragedy, I suggest Snow Queen: she takes a character that could be hateable and makes her break your heart.
Han Ji Min
(in Capital Scandal)
(photoshoot)
I have only seen HJM in Capital Scandal (which I recommend you check out ASAP) though I do have Resurrection on tap. Diminutive HJM stole my heart as 'the last woman of Joseon, Ja Ma Ja.' She managed the feat that too often eludes jdrama heroines: she was quirky, opinionated, strong, and (in the early stages) picking on the male lead, without coming across as either preachy or witchy. I loved her so much.
Gong Hyo Jin
(Hello My Teacher)
(photshoot)
Like your heroines strong-willed and down to earth? Gong Hyo Jin isn't glamorously pretty. When you look at her, she has a stereotyped teacher/nurse vibe to her, doesn't she? Which has certainly been exploited by kdrama makers to great effect. The first drama I've seen her in, 'Sang-Do, Let's Go to School' had her be...what else...a teacher (and first love of the hero, whose life went spectacularly off the rails since). What struck me the most about GHJ in Sang-Doo (which is an excellent drama I need to finish some day...I am stopped by the angst!) is her non-nonsense strength. She was full of common sense, work ethic, optimism (yet a realistic optimism). She was a strong woman who was both fun and admirable, and who knew her own mind. This trend continued in 'Hello My Teacher', one of my fave kdramas ever, where she played a former juvenile delinquent who became a teacher and got to teach at her former alma mater on condition that she would be private tutor/watchdog of the biggest troublemaker in school (Gong Yoo). Once again, she was caring but not sentimental, strong, cheerful, and completely confident in herself, with her head extremely straight. He latest drama was 'Thank You', which came out last year in which she played a single mother who melts the heart of an icy surgeon. I haven't seen it yet, but I am sure she was awesome in it. Which of her dramas to check out first? 'Hello My Teacher.'
And these are just my Top 10. I adore many many more.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 12:23 am (UTC)I adored Ha Ji Won in the Duelist too, she pulls of tough and yet remains so beautiful.
My fav is Yoon Eun Hye. Hadn't heard about Vineyard Man- now I must find it!!
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Date: 2008-06-19 03:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 03:43 am (UTC)I really want to see this one, the story sounds great!
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Date: 2008-06-19 05:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:35 pm (UTC)The Duelist was such a great movie.
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Date: 2008-06-19 12:28 am (UTC)Bob
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Date: 2008-06-19 05:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 08:46 pm (UTC)Humm!
Song Hye Kyo and Yoon Eun Hye
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Date: 2008-06-19 12:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 03:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 03:07 am (UTC)Definitely watch Rondo. Anything more than that in the contect of your post is a spoiler.
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Date: 2008-06-19 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 03:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 03:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 03:47 am (UTC)(I'm stuck between Coffee Prince and Hong Gil Dong right now. The big question is: what do I love more - Yoon Eun Hye's spunk or Kang Ji Hwan's smile? :P)
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Date: 2008-06-19 05:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-22 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-22 06:19 pm (UTC)I'm still going to have to resort to some stupid technique to be able to pick between the two. XD
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Date: 2008-06-22 11:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 04:40 am (UTC)I am not a big fan of Choi Ji Woo though simply because I am not that fond of all the characters that I have seen her in. Yes, I do love WS and Stairway To Heaven..but it's for different reasons.
As for Song Hye Kyo..I have yet to watch her portrayal of Hwang Ji Ni because I have heard that Ha Ji Won's performance is way better than hers. Putting that aside..I absolutely love her..from Hotelier to Full House! =)
Shin Min Ah..well what can I say. I compare her to Cate Blanchett. Because if you look at her..she doesn't have that pretty look like that of Song Hye Kyo and Lee Da Hae and the other actresses on your list but then..there's something about her that draws you in. You can't help but be glued to the screen and love her.
Ahhh...Lee Ji Ah! My darling Sujini..will I ever forget her? For a newbie...it did not show in her portrayal of Sujini. She's a natural. The way she delivered those punchlines in TWSSG..I simply love her!
As for SOng Yu Ri...the only other drama of her that I have seen aside from HGD is * First Love Of A Royal Prince*. Hmmm...I thought she was ok there...but judging from her acting in HGD, I would have to say that she's improved a lot. I was close to tears in the scene in HGD where she was looking for HGD...shouting for his name only to be told that he's dead.
I plan to watch Snow Queen. =)
As for Lee Da Hae, I absolutely love her in My GIrl! Although that's the only drama of hers that I have watched..=)
I have always said this about Yoon EUn Hye..I am quite bothered by her two front teeth. I don't know if it's just me...but anyway, she's pretty funny too. But I have yet to see her in a drama where she would really be able show her acting prowess.
As for Ha Ji Won...I had a love-hate relationship with her character Hwang Ji Ni! And that is why I am so impressed with her as an actress. Although I have only watched her in Memories in (of) Bali and Hwang Ji Ni...still, I was blown away by her performance in both dramas!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:39 pm (UTC)I haven't seen First Love. I think it was supposed to be her earliest drama. I don't think I'll be checking it out as I don't like either of the guys...
Snow Queen is awesome!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:12 am (UTC)It's also inspired me to do something for a friend who's really homesick.
Any chance you'll do something of the sort for your men? Maybe a top 20? :)
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Date: 2008-06-19 05:44 pm (UTC)http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/850534.html
but I need to update. Some of my all time now faves (Kang Ji Hwan, Yoon Kye Sang) weren't on the list then...
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Date: 2008-06-20 12:51 am (UTC)By the way, since you mentioned Ha Ji-won, ever seen the movie Love So Divine with her and Kwon Sang-woo?
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Date: 2008-06-22 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-22 04:49 pm (UTC)He plays a priest-in-training who got into trouble for committing a stupid mistake at mass and sent to some little town for "re-training." She's a party girl sent to the same town to be somewhat-reformed. Only she ends up on top of him the first time they meet. :) And! You get a song and dance number.
Where do I send a copy of the DVD? :D
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Date: 2008-06-22 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2008-06-19 06:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 08:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-20 02:56 pm (UTC)*added to memories* Thanks! Korean actresses are VERY very pretty. :)
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Date: 2008-06-22 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-01 07:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-02 03:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-02 04:00 am (UTC)