Ha Ji-won (하지원)

In the 27 years since she debuted in the 1996 teen drama Generation Report: Adults Don't Understand Us, Ha Ji-won, born Jeon Hae-rim, has become a bonafide Hallyu superstar — one of the most sought-after, award-winning, and well-known film and television actresses both at home and throughout Asia.

Photo from AsianWiki

Birthday: June 28, 1978 Instagram: hajiwon1023

“The reason I first wanted to become an actress was because I thought of [the job] as being like a ‘superwoman’ who could make people both laugh and cry,” Ha Ji-won shared in a 2020 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.

And what a superwoman she is.

Ha Ji-won has carved out a name for herself as an actress who loves to take on tough roles, never shying away from the opportunity to do her own stunts. In constantly challenging herself, she has gained a huge following and helped lead many of her dramas to ratings success. She credits the historical drama Damo: The Legendary Police Woman (2003) for opening many doors.

Her performances in two other popular historical dramas, Hwang Jini (2006) and Empress Ki (2014), were so strong that she was awarded the Daesang (Grand Prize) for both.

At home in both historical and modern dramas, as well as melodramas and rom-coms, she is also known for her performances in What Happened in Bali (2004), Secret Garden (2010), and The King 2 Hearts (2012).

She has also won acclaim for many of her films, such as Ditto (2000), Tidal Wave (2009), and Closer to Heaven (2009), where she played a woman who cares for her husband (Kim Myung-min) with Lou Gehrig's disease.

This superwoman of an actress, who has moved countless viewers to laugh and cry with her throughout her impressive career, most recently starred alongside Go Doo-shim and Kang Ha-neul (Insider) in the 2022 KBS drama Curtain Call.

Ha Ji Won is reportedly considering the offer to star in the new drama Murder Case of a Visiting Tutor in J Apartment (literal title).