Gong Hyo-jin
Gong Hyo-jin (born April 4, 1980) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading role in the film Crush and Blush (2008), as well as for her popular television series Sang Doo! Let's Go to School (2003), Thank You (2007), Pasta (2010), The Greatest Love (2011), Master's Sun (2013), It's Okay, That's Love (2014), The Producers (2015), Don't Dare to Dream (2016), and When the Camellia Blooms (2019). She is considered to be the queen of romantic comedies due to her successful portrayals in her rom-com dramas. In 2019, she was Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year. Early life Gong Hyo-jin was born in 1980 in Sinwol-dong, Gangseo District, Seoul, South Korea. When she was a junior in high school, she moved to Australia with her mother and younger brother, while her father remained in Korea to support the family. Kong attended high school at John Paul College in Brisbane. Kong has spoken fondly of her memories of her time there, and in 2011 she was designated as one of the goodwill ambassadors for "Year of Friendship," the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between Australia and South Korea. After three years in Australia, the Gong family moved back to Korea in 1997 due to the Asian financial crisis. Career Early work Upon her return to Korea, Gong began working as a model. She appeared in advertisements, notably the "Happy to Live" commercial for telecom 700–5425. After a year and a half of modeling, she made her acting debut in a supporting role in Memento Mori. Co-directed by Kim Tae-yong and Min Kyu-dong, the comedy film reinvented its genre with its fresh approach on teenage femme sexuality and its destructive force, melding sapphism and the supernatural at a girls' high school. Although it was not a box office hit in 1999, the film is frequently cited by young Korean filmmakers and cinema fans as a modern-day classic. At first Gong wasn't serious about acting and couldn't wait for filming to be over, but Memento Mori'''s critical success encouraged her to continue acting, and she followed that with a role in 2000 sitcom My Funky Family. In 2001, she was cast in the 25-episode television series Wonderful Months, where she played a bus conductor with a one-sided crush on Ryoo Seung-bum's character (Gong and Ryoo later won Best New Actress and Best New Actor in the TV category at the Baeksang Arts Awards). After appearing in small roles in Jang Jin's comedy Guns & Talks and teen martial arts flick Volcano High, the young actress had her breakthrough year in 2002, landing lead roles in Emergency Act 19 and A Bizarre Love Triangle. Gong's performance in Ruler of Your Own World grabbed the industry's attention. The TV series was praised for its realistic writing and strong acting, earning it "mania drama" (or cult hit) status in Korea. That same year, she again acted opposite Ryoo in Conduct Zero, earning praise for her role as the tough-talking "boss"