Veteran actress Kim Hye Soo is well known for embracing strong, bold, and sophisticated roles in K-dramas and movies. The Busan-born Virgo got her break in 1985 when she was featured in a Milo commercial and in Cho Yong Pil's K-pop music video for "Empty In The Air.”
She copped her first film role a year after in the action crime movie Kambo, where she won a Baeksang Arts Award for Best New Actress. Hye Soo's acting chops and dedication to her craft have resulted in a career spanning more than 75 movies and series to date! Her latest K-drama, Under the Queen's Umbrella, is epic. Here's a curated list of her movies and dramas that you *must* add to your watchlist. Enjoy!
Early projects
1. Signal (2016)
Who else is in it: Lee Je Hoon, Choi Jin Woong
Inspired by the 2000 American sci-fi thriller Frequency and crimes in South Korea that happened IRL, this police series follows criminal profiler Park Hae Young (Lee Je Hoon), Special Task Force officer Cha Soo Hyun (Kim Hye Soo) and incorruptible police officer Lee Jae Han (Choi Jin Woong). While neck-deep in solving a case, Hae Young finds a mysterious walkie-talkie that lets him communicate with Jae Han who is from the past. Using the device as a bridge, they work together in solving cold cases in their own time—not knowing that their actions are creating unintended consequences.
2. Default (2018)
Who else is in it: Yoo Ah In, Heo Joon Ho, Joo Woo Jin
This film echoes the 1997 financial crisis through three parallel stories that give viewers a peek into the lives affected by the economic downturn. On one end we are introduced to Han Si Hyeon (Kim Hye Soo), head of monetary policy for Korea’s central bank. Her findings lead her to publish a report that forecasts that Korea will run out of foreign reserves and thus go bankrupt within a week. This triggers a meeting among high officials who have different viewpoints on what is best for the country and its citizens. Another key character is Gab Su (Heo Joon Ho) a small business owner who accepts a promissory note from a company that ends up going into bankruptcy thus pulling him and his company into debt. Lastly, we have Yun Jeong Has (Yoo Ah In), a financial analyst who seeks to profit off the country's financial demise.
3. Hyena (2020)
Who else is in it: Ju Ji Hoon
This series gets its title from the analogy it makes between lawyers and hyenas. Its storyline takes place in the cutthroat arena of Song & Kim, a firm serving society’s richest 1%. It shines the spotlight on the dynamics between two-star lawyers: Ambitious Jung Geum Ha (Kim Hye Soo) who would do anything for money and success and brilliant elite lawyer Yoon Hee Jae (Ju Ji Hoon) whose weakness is his ego.
4. The Day I Died: Undisclosed Case (2020)
Who else is in it: Lee Jung Eun, Noh Jung Ui, Kim Sun Young
Winner of Best Screenplay at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards, this mystery film revolves around the disappearance of a teenage girl who witnessed a crime committed by her father. Though local detectives rule the incident as a suicide case, detective Kim Hyeon Soo (Kim Hye Sun) begs to differ and seeks to trace back and peel the layers to uncover the truth behind the girl's disappearance.
Recent projects
5. Juvenile Justice (2022)
Who else is in it: Kim Mu Yeol, Lee Sung Min
Elite judge Shim Eun Seok (Kim Hye Soo) is notorious for her dislike of juvenile offenders. She maintains a cold and distant front to hide a past tainted by falling victim to a juvenile crime. Her world shifts when she is appointed to serve at the Yeonhwa District juvenile court. There she gets exposed to cases that shift her perspective and help her come to terms with what being an adult is all about.
6. Under The Queen’s Umbrella (2022)
Who else is in it: Choi Won Young, Kim Hae Sook, Bae In Hyuk, Yoo Seon Ho
This historical drama focuses on the Joseon Dynasty’s palace education system and anchors its storyline on bold Queen In Hwa Ryung (Kim Hye Soo). She is a long-suffering mother of five troublemaking sons to whom she directs all her efforts in hopes to make proper princes out of them and get one ready to step up as the next king. Like all historical dramas, external pressures arise as other ambitious members of the court do everything in their power to steal the throne.
Upcoming projects
7. Smuggling (Premiers in late 2022)
Who else is in it: Jo In Sung, Yum Jung Ah, Park Jung Min, Go Min Si
From the director that brought us Battleship Island, Veteran, and The Unjust comes the action crime film Smuggling. Set in the 1970s the start-studded film takes place in a small village by the sea and revolves around two women who get tangled up in a competitive high-stakes smuggling scheme.
8. Return (TBA)
Who else is in it: Hwang Jung Min
This highly anticipated space rescue drama tells the story of an astronaut who gets stranded on "Shelter-03," South Korea's first space station, due to an unfortunate accident and the struggle a team exerts to save him. Hwang Jung Min will play the role of the space station commanding officer, while Kim Hye Soo steps up to play his successor.
MORE K-DRAMA ROUNDUPS FEATURING YOUR FAVORITE ACTRESSES:
6 K-Dramas Starring 'Snowdrop' Actress Yoon Se Ah
6 Kim Da Mi K-Dramas And Movies That You *Really* Have To Watch
