K-rush of the Week: Seo Hyun-jin

This award-winning actress has a range she seamlessly flexes across interesting and high-rating dramas. Never one to back down from a challenging role, Seo has usually opted to play complex and even unlikeable characters that somehow make you hate her and yet root for her at the same time.

We take a tour of some of her most popular roles in K-drama:

"Another Miss Oh" (2016)

Seo Hyun-jin won a number of acting awards as the eponymous lead in the melodrama "Another Miss Oh." A sound engineer (Eric) gets dumped by a woman named Oh Hae-young on their wedding day. Filled with anger, he vows to make his ex-fiancee miserable but soon finds himself involved in the life of another woman coincidentally named Oh Hae-young as well (this time, played by Seo Hyun-jin). Will they ever learn to leave their bitterness behind and take a second shot at love? Or will a too-familiar name get in the way?

This melodrama about getting over painful exes won Seo a Baeksang award for Best Actress in 2017, among other prizes.

"Temperature of Love" (2017)

Seo enters the "noona romance" genre as a drama writer who crosses paths with a young cook (Yang Se-jong) who dreams of becoming a skilled chef. Seo's Baeksang luck must've rubbed off on her young co-star, as Yang would also go on to win his own Baeksang award for Best New Actor for his role.

"Black Dog" (2019)

Acclaimed as one of the best-written but underrated gems of 2019, "Black Dog" is a tour of Korea's tough education system as seen through the eyes of a new teacher. In the drama, Seo plays Ko Ha-neul, an idealistic teacher who has to quickly adapt to the realities and difficult demands of a private high school.

Read our review of "Black Dog" here.

"You Are My Spring" (2021)

Seo plays a competent hotel manager who is often derailed by her poor choice of men. Her neighbor, Ju Young-do (Kim Dong-wook), is a psychiatrist who specializes in desperate cases. Their lives become entwined as a local murder case brings them together. Will two very wounded people be able to heal each other, or will they only hurt each other more?

"Dr. Romantic" (2016)

The first season of "Dr. Romantic" introduced us to the wise Kim Sa-bu (Han Suk-kyu), a genius surgeon whose murky past has exiled him to a small hospital. Seo plays Yoon Seo-jung, a young surgeon who is also trying to move on from her past medical mistakes. She finds herself exiled to the same hospital and starts working under Kim Sa-bu. With his mentorship and the support of the warm-hearted hospital crew, Dr. Yoon soon learns to heal and forgive herself. She even finds a romance along the way.

"Why Her?" (2022)

Seo returns as the frosty defense lawyer Oh Soo-jae, a rising legal star who has made a name for herself in one of the best law offices in the country. However, a terrible incident leads to her demotion at work, and soon, she is forced to teach at a local law school.

In her class, she meets Gong Chan (Hwang In-youp) and eventually, she finds herself growing more fond of the young man. Will she find both love and justice with him by her side, or will she have to give up one for the other?

She's set to star in a new Netflix drama The Trunk with Gong Yoo.

Which is your favorite Seo Hyun-jin drama?