Actor You Need to Know: Kim Jiwon

This South Korean actress, who is also a trained singer, decided to pursue a career in acting, and what a career graph she has had so far; a fantastic body of work that will make for an impressive showreel.

In the K-drama universe, Mrs. Saigon marked the debut of the debutant. Just like a first impression that creates a lasting impression, the actress showed early on in her career the qualities of a seasoned actor and proved her worth with the 2011 sitcom High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged. There was no looking back past that with a range of offers that started pouring in. Kim’s breakthrough role came with the musical drama What’s Up and she also did her first film, Romantic Heaven. Thereafter, the high school drama To the Beautiful You and the horror flick Horror Stories featured the actress, gaining her further notoriety. Do you remember her from Baek Seungheon’s “Till the Sun Rises” music video? In the song, Kim Jiwon and Kim Jaejoong of JYJ shared screen time.

In 2013, the Waiting for Love actress co-starred with Lee Minho, Park Shinhye, and Kimwoobin in the superhit teen romance drama The Heirs (The Inheritors). Kim gave an outstanding performance as snobbish chaebol heiress ‘Rachael Yoo’, becoming a household name in the country and winning the ‘New Star Award’ at the ‘SBS Drama Awards’. For her, the next two years were quite eventful. She continued to appear in shows like Gap-dong, The Reason I’m Getting Married, One Sunny Day, and Hidden Identity.

Descendants of the Sun, a military romance drama in which Kim Jiwon played First Lieutenant ‘Yoon Myeongjoo’, an army surgeon, proved to be a turning point in her career. This character is, in my opinion, one of Kim’s most iconic. Her presence, her expressions, especially the ongoing struggle the character goes through torn between her service, responsibilities, and her love life, as well as the professionalism with which Kim played the role, made the character a cut above the rest. Needless to say, she received multiple accolades in recognition of her efforts. Descendants of the Sun was a global success, hailed as one of the classic Korean dramas to date.

The actress was cast as the female lead in the 2017 rom-com television series Fight for My Way opposite Park Seojoon. Once again, she outperformed herself as a diligent girl next door who dreams of becoming an announcer. This act cemented her status as a heroine, and the ‘KBS Drama Awards’ honored her with the ‘Excellence Award’ for the same. Besides, her superb aegyo (In Korean, ‘Aegyo’ denotes show of affection via cute voice or speech, facial expression, or action) skills as displayed in the drama have always been a topic of discussion.

Kim has quite a few period-historical dramas to her credit, like Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead, Mr. Sunshine, and Arthdal Chronicles. In 2020, she was paired with Ji Changwook in the romantic comedy web series Lovestruck in the City, where an architect (Ji) becomes a jilted lover after losing his heart to a bohemian girl (Kim) and ventures out to reunite with her on the streets of Seoul.

The recent My Liberation Notes, a poignant tale of three siblings and a stranger, captures the 29-year-old as ‘Yeom Mijung’, the youngest of the three, who seeks liberation from her mundane life, but she is coy, reluctant, lonely, and dissatisfied. The JTBC television series premiered on April 9th, 2022.