Love Kim Hye Soo? Here Are 8 Must-Know Facts About Her

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that the first time I witnessed Kim Hye Soo's acting prowess was when Hyena came out on Netflix in 2020. Basically, I have been missing out on this woman's talent for YEARS, ugh. Now that I know better, I, of course, could not wait to binge-watch her new legal drama, Juvenile Justice.

Hye Soo stars alongside some big names in the industry: Kim Mu Yeol, Lee Sung Min, and Lee Jung Eun. The story is about judges with different beliefs who all work at a juvenile court. To prepare for the character, Hye Soo did some research on real-life cases! During a press conference for the show, the actress said, "I realized that my interest was more of regret, anger, and emotional approach to the court's decisions. The series provided me an opportunity to think about the fundamental problems of society and a balanced view toward juvenile offenders."

But this is just one of the many amazing projects Hye Soo has under her belt. If, like me, you're desperate to learn more about this Hallyu star, keep reading.

Here are must-know facts about Kim Hye Soo:

1. Kim Hye Soo was born on September 5, 1970.
   We have ourselves a Virgo—a sign known for being results-oriented. They always think ahead and often worry about achieving the best possible output. According to an expert, "While Virgos are highly aware of their meticulous standards and know that not everyone works the same way as they do, they low-key want everyone to up-level their performance to match theirs."
   

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2. She made her acting debut in high school!
   Specifically in the 1986 film Ggambo. She's also known for her work in Did We Really Love? with Bae Yong Joon as well as Revenge And Passion where she had a supporting role as Jung Mi Kyung. Her career continued to boom in the 2000s, focusing on movie projects like Kick The Moon, Three, and YMCA Baseball Team. Her portrayal of femme fatale characters in Hypnotized, The Red Shoes, and Tazza: The High Rollers solidified her status as a top celebrity in South Korea. Hye Soo stayed busy for most of the decade but considers her experience with Han Seok Kyu in the Villain And Widow one of her career highlights.
   

   
   
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   She reunited with Choi Dong Hoon in The Thieves, the same director behind Tazza: The High Rollers, in 2012. As we all know, everyone loves a good heist, so this film was very well received in South Korea. Three years later, Hye Soo became the lead in a noir film called Coin Locker Girl. She and co-star Kim Go Eun are merciless gangsters based in Incheon's Chinatown. Hye Soo wore an artificial belly for the role and they also added age spots to her face.

   Of course, we can't really talk about Kim Hye Soo's career without mentioning Signal. The drama, which aired in 2016, became an instant hit both critically and commercially. To no one's surprise, she won Best Actress at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards for her portrayal of Cha Soo Hyun.

3. She had a challenging time in her first action role.
   In 2017, Hye Soo starred in the movie A Special Lady where she kicked some major ass. Not only did she have to fight with a lot of stuntmen, but at one point, she also had to carry a rifle that weighed a little over 20 pounds.

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   According to an article on Soompi, she prepared heavily for the role, constantly exchanging ideas with the director. This included her bold transformation into Na Hyun Jung, who sported a half-shaved, platinum blonde hairstyle. She said, "After coordinating and testing through the exchange of ideas and communication with each team, the director makes the final decision. I suggested the hairstyle of Na Hyun Jung myself and had a long discussion with the director, the makeup team, and the dressing team. It was unexpectedly harder than I thought to keep a short, bright hairstyle. I had to bleach my hair every seven to ten days and I got a burn on the right side of my head, which is shaved, and the edges of my face due to the chemicals."

4. Hye Soo once hosted a current affairs show.
   Having had some hosting experience through awards ceremonies and variety shows, she got the chance to take part in an MBC current affairs show called W. The opportunity presented itself after the production team found out that she was interested in environmental and global issues. Prior to this, Hye Soo appeared in an episode of W when she went to Nepal in 2008 as a crew member. There, she distributed food to the locals and assisted in aiding the children. When she was brought on as a host, she shared, "I like the straightforward way that W depicts world news in the five years it's been on the air so far. It’s a dream come true for me to be involved with a documentary program. I hope to live up to the expectations."

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   Unfortunately, her gig lasted only a few months from July to October 2010. While promoting her drama, Home Sweet Home, she criticized the network by calling it "a wreck." Yikes!

5. She can speak FIVE languages.
   You read that correctly. FIVE! tvN released a list of "top celebrity brains", praising them for being able to speak three languages. Well, Hye Soo took the number one spot because she can speak Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish. She learned the English language for her role in Too Tired To Die where she worked alongside Kaneshiro Takeshi.

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6. She can paint!
   In fact, she made her debut as a painter at the Seoul Open Art Fair at COEX in 2009. She and other celebrities were invited to showcase their art; singer Cho Young Nam, actress Shim Eun Ha, and actor Kang Seok Woo were also part of the Star Art Project.
   

   

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7. Her mother was involved in a debt scandal.
   She first learned about her mother's debt in 2012. Hye Soo recalled being "so shocked" that she could barely function properly: "When I learned about what my mother had done, I couldn't work. I didn't even want to work anymore. I thought that it was because I had started working as an actor that this problem had come up in the first place. My mind was split between 'I didn’t do anything wrong' and 'Not knowing is also a crime.' I told everyone I knew, 'I'm not going to work, I can't work, and I'm going to try and fix what I can.' Even though I didn’t want to work anymore, I thought that I shouldn't give up on all the time that I’d spent until now as an actor. As time passed, I was grateful. The drama I did then was The Queen Of Office. Like my character in the film, I was able to lose myself in my work. Like her, I had friends and people who helped me."
   

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   In 2019, her representative issued a statement that her mother owed 1.3 billion won 9around P55 million) to different people. They said that while Hye Soo tried to deal with the matter, they eventually cut ties. "The cause of these problems is related to her mother's self-incurred debt, and Kim Hye Soo has already done all that she could to prevent these incidents. She can no longer control what happens after already receiving a promise from her mother and cutting off all contact. There was no realistic procedure or arrangement to stop these actions in advance," her rep said. (You can read the full statement here.)

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8. She was accused of plagiarizing her dissertation.
   Hye Soo has a bachelor's degree in theater and film from Dongguk University and a master's in journalism and mass communications from Sungkyunkwan University. In 2013, she responded to allegations of plagiarism, specifically her master's dissertation, "Study of the Communication Acts of Actors and Actresses." It's been reported that a majority of the content were cut and paste from different articles.

   She said, "I enrolled at a special graduate school in order to accommodate my irregular and busy schedule and still pursue my interest in acting and other areas academically. However, I was more focused on expanding my horizon on different matters that interested me rather than investigating a subject academically. Since I was focused on the 'process' of expanding my knowledge, I thought of the dissertation as a matter of formality rather than as a significant academic achievement."

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