She has been included in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 for four consecutive years 2019–2022.[6][7][8]
Career
2000–2005: Beginnings and East Asia stardom
Son Ye-jin was the voice of Jung Mi-jo in Park Ki-hyung's film Secret Tears in 2000, and then went on to take the leading role in television dramas such as Delicious Proposal,[9]Sun-hee and Jin-hee,[10] and Great Ambition.[11] Her first high-profile role in cinema was in
Im Kwon-taek's Chi-hwa-seon, which screened at
Cannes and took home a
Best Director award in 2002.[12][13]
The biggest success of her early career was in the subsequent films Lovers' Concerto and The Classic.[14][15] Both were solid mid-level hits in Korea, and The Classic in particular — being a work of My Sassy Girl director
Kwak Jae-yong — received wide exposure in regions such as Hong Kong and mainland China, and launched Son into East Asia stardom.[16] Son further solidified her status as a Hallyu (
Korean Wave) star in 2003 by taking the lead in TV drama Summer Scent, the third installment of season-themed tetralogy Endless Love drama series directed by Yoon Seok-ho.[17]
Her next films also gained massive popularity in East Asia particularly in Japan: A Moment to Remember,[18][19] based on a famous Japanese series, set box office records in Japan and sold over two million tickets in Korea,[20][21] and April Snow in which she co-starred with superstar
Bae Yong-joon[22] was also a hit in Japan and China.[23] Son, who adorned a pure and innocent image in her films The Classic and A Moment to Remember, was given the title of the "Nation's First Love" in Korea.[24]
In 2006, she became the highest-paid Korean actress in Korean television series when she was guaranteed a talent fee of KRW 50 million (plus incentive) per episode for her lead role in SBS drama Alone in Love.[25]
After filming the dark mystery White Night,[34] Son wanted to do a more fun project, so she chose the romantic comedy series Personal Taste,[35][36]
followed by the horror-romantic comedy film Spellbound which became one of the top-grossing films in 2011 and by far the most successful Korean romantic comedy movie in recent years.[37][38]
In 2012, Son starred in her first blockbuster The Tower, a remake of the 1974 Hollywood
disaster filmThe Towering Inferno.[39] She returned to television in 2013 in the revenge drama Shark (also known as Don't Look Back: The Legend of Orpheus),[40] then headlined Blood and Ties, a thriller about a daughter who suspects that her father was involved in a kidnap-murder case.[41]
2016–present: Critical acclaim and global recognition
In 2016, Son reunited with My Wife Got Married co-star
Kim Joo-hyuk in The Truth Beneath, a political thriller;[46] where she received acclaim for her performance.[47] She won Best Actress at the 25th
Buil Film Awards and 17th
Busan Film Critics Awards for her performance. She then played
Princess Deokhye in the
biopicThe Last Princess, helmed by April Snow director
Hur Jin-ho.[48][49] The film drew positive reviews by critics and went on to become a box office hit, grossing US$40.35 million worldwide. Sung So-young of the Korea JoongAng Daily praised the film for being "interesting enough to hold the audience's interest from beginning to end", even though she felt the screenwriter's (Hur) imagination went too far in several scenes. She said major events from Princess Deokhye's life were portrayed well, and the film's biggest virtue was how it made audiences want to know more about her.[50] Rumy Doo of The Korea Herald said Son Ye-jin proved herself a "sensitive and technically refined performer."[51] Son was praised by critics for her "outstanding" performance in her portrayal of "the unfathomable depths on the emotional ups and downs of Deokhye"; winning multiple accolades for her performance.[52][53]
In 2018, Son starred alongside
So Ji-sub in the romance film Be with You, based on the Japanese novel of the same name.[54][55] The same year, Son returned to the small screen after five years with JTBC's romance drama Something in the Rain.[56][57] The series achieved commercial popularity, and Son received rave reviews for her performance.[58][59][unreliable source?] Son also starred in crime thriller The Negotiation, alongside
Hyun Bin, playing a professional negotiator working to save hostages.[60][61]
Son was scheduled to have her Hollywood debut in 2022, starring opposite
Sam Worthington in filmmaker
Andrew Niccol's work The Cross.[66] However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic her agency requested a delay in filming.[67]
On January 1, 2021, it was confirmed that Son had been in a relationship with actor
Hyun Bin, her co-star in The Negotiation (2018) and Crash Landing on You (2019–2020), since the year prior, after Crash Landing on You concluded.[69] On February 10, 2022, Son and Hyun Bin announced their engagement in letters posted on their social media accounts.[70] They married in a private ceremony on March 31, attended by their parents and friends of both families.[71] On June 27, Son announced that she was pregnant with the couple's first child,[72] and she gave birth to a son on November 27.[73][74]
Philanthropy
On February 27, 2020, Son donated ₩100 million to Community Chest of Korea in Daegu to help fight the spread of COVID-19. Daegu is Son's hometown.[75]
On March 8, 2022, Son and Hyun Bin donated
₩200 million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help those affected by the massive wildfire that began in Uljin, Gyeongbuk and spread to Samcheok, Gangwon.[76]
^[공식] 현빈♥손예진 열애 인정 "'사랑의 불시착' 종영 후 연인으로 발전" [[Official] Hyun Bin ♥ Son Ye-jin admitted to devotees "Developing as a lover after the end of 'Crash Landing of Love'"]. Seoul Economic Daily (in Korean). January 1, 2021.
Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
^Lee Woo-joo (February 10, 2022).
"현빈♥손예진, 결혼 발표 "남은 인생을 함께 할 사람" [전문]" [Hyun Bin ♥ Son Ye-jin, Marriage Announcement "The person I will spend the rest of my life with" [Professional]]. Sports Chosun (in Korean).
Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022 – via
Naver.
^"孙艺真生了! 提前阵痛顺产男宝宝" [Son Ye-jin gave birth to a son, after some abdominal pains]. Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). Singapore. November 27, 2022.
Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^Hwang So-young (November 27, 2022).
"현빈·손예진, 오늘(27일) 득남 "산모 아기 모두 건강"" [Hyun Bin · Son Ye-jin, today (27th), "Both mother and baby are healthy] (in Korean).
JTBC.
Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022 – via
Naver.
^Kang Hyo-jin (March 8, 2022).
"현빈♥손예진, 결혼 앞두고 산불 성금 2억 기부...선행 펼치는 예비부부" [Hyun Bin ♥ Son Ye-jin, donated 200 million won for forest fire before marriage... Pre-married couple] (in Korean). SPOTV News.
Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via
Naver.
^Kim Myung-mi (June 30, 2021).
"손예진 '서른, 아홉' 출연확정, 3년만 JTBC 드라마 복귀(공식입장)" [Son Ye-jin Confirmed to Appear in 'Thirty, Nine', Returning to JTBC Drama after 3 Years (Official Position)]. Newsen (in Korean).
Naver.
Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Son Ye-jin.