Kim Sun-a
{{Short description|South Korean actress (born 1973)}}
{{family name hatnote|Kim||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kim Sun-a
| image = Kim Sun-ah in July 2024 01.png
| caption = Kim in July 2024
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1973|10|1}}
| birth_place = Daegu, South Korea{{cite web|url=https://cinefox.com/actor/view?isb=Y&movieman_seq=13218|script-title=ko:김선아|website=Cinefox (씨네폭스)|access-date=2024-10-12|language=ko}}
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1996–present
| education = Ball State University - Piano Major
Kyung Hee University - Theater and Film
| agent = Y1 Entertainment
| module = {{Infobox Korean name/auto|child=yes|headercolor=transparent
| hangul = %김선아
| hanja = 金宣兒
}}
}}
Kim Sun-a ({{Korean|김선아}}; born October 1, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her title role as Kim Sam-soon in the popular television series My Lovely Sam Soon (2005). Other notable series include City Hall (2009), Scent of a Woman (2011),The Lady in Dignity (2017), Should We Kiss First? (2018), Children of Nobody (2018) and Secret Boutique (2019).
Early life
Kim Sun-a was born in Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea in 1973.{{cite web|script-title=ko:연예인 '고무줄 나이' 밝혀지지 않은 스타는?|url=https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/10/31/2010103100736.html|language=ko|website=Sports Chosun|date=31 October 2010|access-date=2 February 2015|archive-date=20 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220160419/http://sports.chosun.com/news/ntype.htm?id=201011010100004830015995&servicedate=20101031|url-status=live}} She is the eldest of three siblings, with a younger brother and sister. When Kim was in middle school, her family immigrated to Japan, and she spent much of her adolescence in Chōfu, Tokyo, where she learned to speak Japanese fluently.
In 1993, Kim enrolled at Ball State University in Indiana, United States as a Piano major (she also became fluent in English).{{cite web|url=https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=020&aid=0000160404|title=[씨네피플]김선아 "꽃치마 '공주'가 애들 혼좀 빼놨죠"|date=6 November 2002|website=The Dong-A Ilbo|language=ko|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224436/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=020&aid=0000160404|url-status=live}}
Career
While in South Korea for summer vacation in 1996, Kim stood in for a friend in a modeling job, thus inadvertently making her entertainment debut. Despite her inexperience in show business, she left college and subsequently appeared in a Hanbul Cosmetics commercial with the slogan "I felt his scent on a strange woman," which jump-started her career. She then appeared in a music video by Kim Hyun-cheol, and in 1997 began getting cast in supporting roles on TV but did not emerge as a star. Kim would first become well known as a film actress, debuting in the big-budget box office failure Yesterday,{{cite web|url=https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=001&aid=0000074546|title=탤런트 김선아 영화 데뷔|date=22 May 2001|website=Yonhap News Agency|language=ko|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223345/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=001&aid=0000074546|url-status=live}} but going on to play a lead role as a student teacher in the unexpected hit Wet Dreams.{{cite web|url=http://www.cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=9358|title=김선아, <몽정기>에서 섹시한 선생님되다|date=2 May 2002|website=Cine21|language=ko|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223024/http://www.cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=9358|url-status=live}}[http://www.koreanfilm.org/actors2.html#kimsa "Actors and Actresses of Korean Cinema: Kim Suna"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224024525/http://www.koreanfilm.org/actors2.html#kimsa |date=2018-02-24 }}. Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 9 October 2012. Initially Kim had considered a singing career and successfully auditioned to join Park Joon-hyung and Park Jin-young's project mixed-gender group "GOT6" in 1997 but left the following year to pursue acting. The group then became the five-piece boy band g.o.d. Kim's identity as the anonymous female singer who was originally part of "GOT6" was only revealed by Park Joon-hyung and confirmed by Kim herself in 2015.{{Cite episode|title=We Can See Korea Trip (part 2)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi9Bq7hEP1U|series=2 Days & 1 Night|network=KBS2|date=18 October 2015|season=3|number=414|access-date=12 June 2018|archive-date=21 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721125254/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi9Bq7hEP1U&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}{{cite news|script-title=ko:'명단공개' 김선아,god 원년멤버였다…'멤버들과 동고동락'|url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/10/24/2016102403103.html|work=The Chosun Ilbo|date=24 October 2016|language=ko|access-date=27 September 2017|archive-date=27 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927202303/http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/10/24/2016102403103.html|url-status=live}}
Following her film success, Kim began to establish a niche for herself in comedies, often appearing as a straight-talking and not particularly demure comic heroine. She appeared in three films in 2003: a memorable cameo appearance in the period comedy Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield, opposite Im Chang-jung in the commercially successful The Greatest Expectation, and together with Cha Tae-hyun in the little-watched Happy Ero Christmas.{{cite web|url=https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=140&aid=0000001614|title=<위대한 유산><황산벌><내 이름은 김삼순>의 배우 김선아|date=30 December 2005|website=Cine21|language=ko|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215222912/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=140&aid=0000001614|url-status=live}} In 2004 she took the lead role in S Diary as a jilted woman who decides to get revenge on her ex-boyfriends.{{cite web|url=http://www.cine21.com/news/view/mag_id/26845|script-title=ko:몰래카메라로 찍고 싶은 그녀,
The early part of 2005 saw her star in the action-comedy She's on Duty,{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Gyu-han|script-title=ko:(인터뷰) <잠복근무> 김선아 - 진심은 내 영화의 힘|url=http://news.maxmovie.com/movie_info/sha_news_view.asp?newsType=&page=&contain=&keyword=&mi_id=MI0001073792|website=MaxMovie|language=ko|access-date=2013-08-30|date=11 March 2005|archive-date=2015-02-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218122438/http://news.maxmovie.com/movie_info/sha_news_view.asp?newsType=&page=&contain=&keyword=&mi_id=MI0001073792|url-status=live}} but she would follow up by returning to the realm of TV dramas. It proved to be the best move of her career, as My Lovely Sam Soon ended up becoming the most-watched drama of 2005.{{cite web|title=MBC Drama Sparks Kim Sam-soon Syndrome|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/07/04/2005070461021.html|publisher=The Chosun Ilbo|date=4 July 2005|access-date=22 November 2012|archive-date=16 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016212908/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/07/04/2005070461021.html|url-status=live}} The forthright, independent personality she displayed in her leading role as a woman who finds unexpected success in life as a baker endeared her to women across Korea, and later Asia, establishing her as a top star.{{cite web|title=Kim Sun-a Gains Weight to Win Hearts|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/07/20/2005072061032.html|publisher=The Chosun Ilbo|date=20 July 2005|access-date=22 November 2012|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510234729/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/07/20/2005072061032.html|url-status=live}} Later that year, Kim decided to finish her college degree by transferring to Kyung Hee University as a Theater and Film major (she graduated in 2009 and received an Achievement Award from the College of Art and Design).
Her first post-Sam Soon project was supposed to have been the movie Thursday's Child, but the project ran into problems midway through filming. The film production company Yoon and Joon sued Kim for breach of contract and damages worth {{SK won|1 billion}}, claiming that the actress was liable for their losses of more than {{SK won|2.3 billion}}. She won the lawsuit in 2007, with the Seoul Central District Court ruling that Kim bore no responsibility for the shutdown of the movie.[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/12/14/2007121461023.html "Kim Seon-ah Wins Breach-of-Contract Suit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912142438/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/12/14/2007121461023.html |date=2012-09-12 }}. The Chosun Ilbo. 14 December 2007. After undergoing script revisions and a change of director and lead actress (to Yunjin Kim), Thursday's Child was eventually renamed and released as Seven Days.
After a three-year hiatus caused by legal and contractual disputes, Kim finally got back to work in 2008, starring in the big-screen comedy Girl Scout,{{cite web|last=Ki|first=Sun-min|title=No pain, no gain for the streetwise ajumma squad|url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2008/06/10/artsDesign/No-pain-no-gain-for-the-streetwise-ajumma-squad/2890943.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629150340/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2890943|url-status=live|archive-date=29 June 2013|website=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=June 10, 2008}} and the poorly received TV drama Night After Night (also known as When It's At Night).[http://content.mbc.co.kr/english/interview/1700615_56322.html "Night after Night premiered on June 16, 2008 and actress Kim Seon-a plays the main character Hur Cho-hee"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714020438/http://content.mbc.co.kr/english/interview/1700615_56322.html |date=July 14, 2014 }}. MBC Global Media. 2 July 2008. 2009's City Hall, where she played a low-ranking city official whose life takes a turn when she wins a pageant and later becomes the mayor, was a modest hit, with fans crediting its success to Kim's chemistry with her co-star Cha Seung-won.Han, Sang-hee (21 April 2009). [https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/09/201_43548.html "City Hall to Bring Public Officials to TV"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420084047/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/09/201_43548.html |date=2023-04-20 }}. The Korea Times.{{cite web|last=Oh|first=Jean|title=More romantic comedy for prime time|url=http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20090429000088|publisher=The Korea Herald|date=29 April 2009|access-date=18 July 2012|archive-date=6 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240806140949/https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20090429000088|url-status=live}}
Originally cast as the lead actress for 2010's I Am Legend, Kim quit before filming started due to issues with the production (she was replaced by her good friend Kim Jung-eun). Instead she chose the 2011 melodrama Scent of a Woman, which centers on a spinster who, after slaving herself at a travel agency for many years, is diagnosed that she only has six months left to live, and decides to live the rest of her life happily, turning in her resignation and leaving for a vacation of luxury.Park, So-jung (1 June 2011). [http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011060119101491761 "Kim Suna, Lee Dong-wook and Um Ki-joon cast in new drama"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215404/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011060119101491761 |date=2013-10-04 }}. 10Asia.Lee, Ga-on (4 November 2011). [http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011110415555270773 "Actress Kim Suna's Song Picks"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006080051/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011110415555270773 |date=2014-10-06 }}. 10Asia. She next starred in the movie Pitch High (in Korean, Fighting Spirit), in which she played the supportive wife of a second string baseball pitcher.Hong, Lucia (16 February 2010). [http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011021610032132174 "Kim Suna and Kim Ju-hyeok cast in new drama movie"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006142129/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011021610032132174 |date=2014-10-06 }}. 10Asia.
In the 2012 romantic comedy series I Do, I Do, Kim's character is a workaholic shoe designer who gets pregnant after a one-night stand with a much younger newbie employee, then meets a charming obstetrician.Hong, Lucia (17 May 2012). [http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2012051714543979832 "Kim Suna, Lee Jang-woo's I Do I Do to air later this month"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807141739/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2012051714543979832 |date=2024-08-07 }}. 10Asia.{{cite web|last=Oh|first=Jean|title=Kim, well-shod, chic and ready for her close-up|url=http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20120525000785|publisher=The Korea Herald|date=25 May 2012|access-date=28 June 2012|archive-date=7 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807141747/https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120525000785|url-status=live}} She returned to the big screen in 2013 thriller The Five, based on the popular webtoon by Jeong Yeon-shik, in which Kim played a woman who plots revenge against the serial killer who murdered her family and left her crippled (her performance later won Best Actress at the 34th Golden Cinema Festival).{{cite web|last=Sunwoo|first=Carla|title=Kim Sun-a to make way back to the big screen|url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2013/01/29/etc/Kim-Suna-to-make-way-back-to-the-big-screen/2966291.html|website=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=29 January 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216075657/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2966291|archive-date=February 16, 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Jeon|first=Su-mi|title=Kim Sun Ah to Star in The 5ive Hearts|url=http://enewsworld.mnet.com/enews/contents.asp?idx=27729|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216111825/http://enewsworld.mnet.com/enews/contents.asp?idx=27729|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 February 2013|publisher=enewsWorld|date=29 January 2013}}
In 2015, Kim was then cast in Masked Prosecutor, about a prosecutor by day who turns into a masked vigilante by night; Kim plays the chief of a detective squad in the violent crimes unit.{{cite web|last=Jin|first=Min-ji|title=Actors team up on Masked|url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3002964|website=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=10 April 2015|access-date=24 April 2015|archive-date=15 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715101400/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3002964|url-status=live}}
In October 2015, Kim signed an exclusive contract with management agency C-JeS Entertainment.{{cite web|last=Jo|first=Ji-young|script-title=ko:김선아, 최민식-설경구 있는 씨제스 손잡는다|url=http://www.tvreport.co.kr/?c=news&m=newsview&idx=811774|publisher=TV Report|date=27 October 2015|language=ko|access-date=27 October 2015|archive-date=31 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031074253/http://www.tvreport.co.kr/?c=news&m=newsview&idx=811774|url-status=live}}
In 2017, Kim starred in the mystery thriller series The Lady in Dignity, playing a woman from a poor family whose ambition is to become a member of the upper class.{{cite web|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2017/06/688_231605.html|title=Actress plays double-face in 'Woman of Dignity'|publisher=The Korea Times|date=June 2017|access-date=2024-05-01|archive-date=2023-04-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415221506/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2017/06/688_231605.html|url-status=live}} The series was a commercial and critical success, becoming JTBC's highest rated drama with a single episode rating of 12.065%.{{cite web|url=http://star.mt.co.kr/stview.php?no=2017082009440267165|script-title=ko:종영 '품위녀' 12.1%로 자체 최고 기록..무서운 뒷심|date=20 August 2017|website=Star News|language=ko|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622083951/http://star.mt.co.kr/stview.php?no=2017082009440267165|url-status=live}}
In December 2017, Kim left C-JeS Entertainment and signed with new management agency Good People Entertainment.{{cite web|last=Park|first=Jin-young|script-title=ko:김선아, 굳피플과 전속계약..이영애·양세종과 한솥밥|url=http://osen.mt.co.kr/article/G1110800909|publisher=OSEN|date=23 December 2017|access-date=23 December 2017|archive-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223160448/http://osen.mt.co.kr/article/G1110800909|url-status=live}}
In 2018, Kim starred in the romance melodrama Should We Kiss First?, playing a divorced flight attendant who finds a new love,{{cite web|url=https://www.hancinema.net/kim-sun-ah-to-come-back-with-another-legend-115664.html|title=Kim Sun-ah to Come Back With Another Legend|date=19 February 2018|website=HanCinema|publisher=Segye|access-date=19 February 2018|archive-date=7 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807142317/https://www.hancinema.net/kim-sun-ah-to-come-back-with-another-legend-115664.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3047649|title=Veteran actor Kim Sun-a still finds time to practice|date=3 May 2018|website=Korea JoongAng Daily|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-date=2 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502233751/http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3047649|url-status=live}} and mystery thriller drama Children of Nobody.{{cite web|url=https://entertain.naver.com/now/read?oid=241&aid=0002834302|title=[단독]김선아·이이경, MBC '붉은달 푸른해' 주인공 확정|date=28 September 2018|website=Ilgan Sports|language=ko|access-date=28 September 2018|archive-date=13 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313045122/https://entertain.naver.com/now/read?oid=241&aid=0002834302|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://kpopherald.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=201811201751452113673_2|title=Kim Sun-a discusses 'fun' thriller 'Children of Nobody'|date=20 November 2018|website=Kpop Herald|access-date=20 November 2018|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120141254/http://kpopherald.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=201811201751452113673_2|url-status=live}}
In January 2025, Kim signed with the new agency Y1 Entertainment.{{Cite web|script-title=ko:김선아, 황정음 이범수 류승범과 한솥밥 "연기 열정에 시너지"[공식]|trans-title=Kim Sun-ah, Hwang Jung-eum, Lee Beom-soo, and Ryu Seung-beom are all in the same boat, "Synergy in our passion for acting" [Official]|url=https://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=202501130802111910|publisher=Newsen|language=ko|date=January 13, 2025}}
Personal life
In early 2008, Kim was involved in another controversy. Na Hoon-a, a successful trot singer with a career spanning over 40 years, was falsely rumored to had been castrated by yakuza, because he was having an affair with the mistress of a gang boss. The mistress was wildly guessed at, with the names of actresses Kim Hye-soo and Kim Sun-a thrown around (both issued official denials). Na ended up holding a press conference in which he almost stripped in order to prove the rumor was untrue, and demanded that the media apologize to the two actresses.Park, Sang-woo (26 January 2008). "Na Hoon-a denies gangster rumors, drops his trousers". Korea JoongAng Daily.[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/01/28/2008012861015.html "Na Hoon-a and the {{Not a typo|Posion}} of Celebrity Rumor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807142251/https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/01/28/2008012861015.html |date=2024-08-07 }}. The Chosun Ilbo. 28 January 2008.
In 2015, Kim won the lawsuit she had filed against a plastic surgery clinic in Busan for breaching her publicity rights by using her name and photos in their advertising without her permission; she received ₩25 million in damages.
Filmography
=Film=
=Television series=
=Music video appearances=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Song title ! Artist |
|---|
| rowspan="4" | 2000
| "I Realized Too Late" | Yoo Ji-min |
| "Serenade"
| Jinu |
| "I Didn't Go to School"
| Ryang Hyun, Ryang Ha |
| "Time Out"
| J |
| 2007
| "Three People" |
Musical theatre
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role |
|---|
| 2000
| |
Accolades
= Awards and nominations =
= State honors =
Notes
{{NoteFoot}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{HanCinema person}}
- {{kmdb person|00039214|Kim Sun-a}}
- {{IMDb name|1205351|Kim Sun-a}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Kim Sun-a
|list =
{{Baeksang Arts Award for Most Popular Actress}}
{{Grimae Awards for Best Actress}}
{{Korea Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress}}
{{MBC Drama Awards for Grand Prize (Daesang)}}
}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Sun-a}}
Category:People from Jung District, Daegu
Category:South Korean television actresses
Category:20th-century South Korean actresses
Category:21st-century South Korean actresses
Category:South Korean film actresses