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Ha Ji-won is a Actor Sud coréenne born on 28 june 1978 at Seoul (Coree du sud)
Jeon Hae-rim (Hangul: 전해림) (born 28 June 1978), better known by her stage name Ha Ji-won (Hangul: 하지원) is a South Korean actress. She is best known amongst international viewers for playing "Hwang Jini" in KBS's historical drama Hwang Jini, "Gil Ra-im" in SBS's romantic comedy Secret Garden, and "Empress Ki" in MBC's historical drama Empress Ki . She starred in several films and television series, winning various awards and accolades along the way in both films and TV series.
Ha Ji-won is one of South Korea’s most sought after actresses, known for her versatility in pulling off roles in various genres such as action (including martial arts), comedy, drama and sports.
In 2013, Ha Ji Won set up her own agency, Haewadal Entertainment, while being simultaneously signed to BM+ Entertainment which manages her activities abroad. In the same year, she also signed with Hollywood agency United Talent Agency (UTA), allowing them to manage her American ventures. She is the first Korean actress to sign a contract with UTA. In 2015, Ha Ji Won signed with Invincible Plan to manage her Chinese ventures.
Jeon Hae-rim was scouted by an agency when she was still a senior high school student. She later graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Film and Television or BFTV in Dankook University. “Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamed of becoming an actress. When I was a senior in high school, an agency contacted me after seeing my picture at a photography studio.” In 2012, the actress also revealed that she had failed over 100 auditions before her debut. “I passed my college entrance and written exams and was accepted to the department of theater and film. Before my debut, I auditioned for 100 or so projects but didn’t get the roles.”
Jeon candidly revealed that she adopted “Ha Ji-won” as her stage name as a favor for her previous manager as it was the name of his first love. “When I was about to debut, the first love of my manager’s name was Ha Ji-won. I think he wanted to at least use the name of his love that was not fulfilled. The first time I heard the name Ha Ji-won, I thought it was pretty and also bold.”
Acting career
Ha Ji-won made her TV debut in the 1996 teen drama New Generation Report: Adults Don’t Understand Us. She continued to play supporting roles in dramas Dragon’s Tears and Dangerous Lullaby in 1998 and 1999 respectively. But it was through the 1999 popular drama School 2, where she played the role of a troubled teen named Jang Se-jin, when she was finally recognized as actress Ha Ji-won.
In 2000, Ha made her movie debut in the thriller movie Truth Game alongside Ahn Sung-ki, where she portrayed a bipolar character, and she was awarded Best Rookie Actress both at the 37th Grand Bell Awards and at the 1st Busan Film Critics Awards. In the same year, she won the 21st Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Supporting Actress for the movie Ditto, where she played a supporting role with main leads Kim Ha-neul and Yoo Ji-tae. Also in year 2000, she starred in Ahn Byeong-ki’s horror movie Nightmare. Later that year, Ha reunited with Kim Ha-neul in the drama Secret, landing her an antagonist role. On the contrary, the actress received much love despite the fact she played the antagonist. The drama earned her Best Rookie Actress Award at the 2000 MBC Drama Awards as well as Best Rookie TV Actress Award at the 37th Baeksang Arts Awards in year 2001.
Ha had her first lead role in the 2001 drama Beautiful Life, where she played the role of a chaebol hotelier’s daughter, opposite actor Kim Rae-won.
The following year, in 2002, Ha had her another lead role in the drama Days in the Sun, where she acted as a hotel chambermaid, opposite actor Ji Sung. In the second half of the same year, she starred in another Ahn Byeong-ki’s horror movie Phone, officially dubbing her as “Asia’s Horror Princess”. Following Phone in the same year was Yoon Je-kyoon’s American Pie inspired movie Sex Is Zero, co-starring Im Chang-jung. The movie was the 3rd most popular Korean movie of 2002 and ranked 5th among all films released in that year. Ha was also given a Photogenic Award at the 3rd Korea Visual Arts Festival, and she also won Popularity Award at the 39th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2003 for the movie.
In 2003, Ha proceeded to her next movie Reversal of Fortune alongside actor Kim Seung-woo. The movie, unfortunately, was not successful with the audiences. Afterwards, the actress’ popularity skyrocketed through the 14-episode period drama Damo, directed by Lee Jae-kyoo. In her first lead role in a period drama as Jang Chae-ok, together with actors Lee Seo-jin and Kim Min-joon, she was highly praised for her efforts and was given the Top Excellence Award, Miniseries in the 2003 MBC Drama Awards as well as Netizen Popularity Award and Best Couple Award with Lee Seo-jin. Damo was highly popular, and this can be attested by the huge popularity it enjoyed online, causing MBC to earn an estimated ₩10 million a day through Internet residual fees.
Ha continued playing lead roles in dramas and won awards for each effort. In 2004, she starred in the heavy melodrama What Happened in Bali, where she played the role of Lee Soo-jung, who was stuck in a complicated love square with Jo In-sung, So Ji-sub and Park Ye-jin. She then won Best TV Actress Award at the 40th Baeksang Arts Awards and Top Ten Stars Award and Top Excellence Award, Drama Special at the 2004 SBS Drama Awards. What Happened in Bali was a huge success, with its final episode reaching a peak rating of 39.7%, and is still Ha’s drama with the highest viewership rating up to date. While the actress was conquering the small screens through What Happened in Bali, she also made her way to the big screens with two movies, 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant and Love, So Divine. Ha starred opposite actor Kim Jae-won in an internet fiction themed movie 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant while opposite actor Kwon Sang-woo in Love, So Divine. Both, however, were not as successful with audiences.
Afterwards, in 2005, Ha took a break from dramas and returned with two movies. She played the role of the female protagonist in Daddy-Long-Legs, which was inspired by the novel of the same title written by Jean Webster, alongside actor Yeon Jung-hoon. She then starred in Lee Myung-se’s martial arts film Duelist, where she portrayed the character of a detective named Namsoon, opposite actor Kang Dong-won. The movie also had her reunited with Korea’s National Actor Ahn Sung-ki, whom she had previously worked with in Truth Game. The actress also won Popularity Award at the 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards. Ha later quoted Director Lee’s line, “An actor never stops learning,” which she said she had always been applying in her life as an actress. Also in the same year, Ha made a cameo appearance in the movie All For Love.
2006 was a great year because of the award-winning period drama Hwang Jin Yi. Ha played the titular character Hwang Jin Yi, who lived in 16th-century Joseon and is considered the most famous gisaeng in Korean history. Jang Keun-suk’s and Kim Jae-won’s character are among others who vied for the heart of Ha’s Hwang Jin Yi. The drama was critically acclaimed, and lead actress Ha Ji-won bagged a total of 5 awards for her performance including Netizen Popularity Award, Best Couple Award with Jang Keun-suk and even Daesang (Grand Prize) at the 2006 KBS Drama Awards as well as Best Actress Award each from the 34th Korean Broadcasting Awards and BNT 32nd Golden Chest International TV Festival, both in year 2007.
In 2007, Ha reunited with Director Yoon Je-kyoon and actor Im Chang-jung, whom she had worked with in Sex Is Zero, in the movie Miracle on 1st Street and challenged herself as she played the role of a female boxer. Coming from the team behind Sex Is Zero, the movie ended up as the 5th most popular movie of the year. Later that year, Ha made a cameo appearance in Sex Is Zero 2, sequel of Sex Is Zero, reprising her role in the movie.
Ha continued taking lead roles in numerous movies in 2008. She played a role of a pianist in the movie Miracle of Giving Fool, which was based on a popular webcomic, alongside actor Cha Tae-hyun, and won Popularity Award at the 44th Baeksang Arts Awards. She also had a cameo appearance in Shin Hyun-joon’s movie His Last Gift.
2009 was another great year. Ha worked with Director Yoon Je-kyoon for the third time through the blockbuster disaster film Haeundae with A-list actors Sol Kyung-gu, Park Joong-hoon and Uhm Jung-hwa. The movie was funded by CJ Entertainment with a budget estimated at US$10–15 million, one of the largest for a Korean production. Haeundae was both critically acclaimed and commercial success. It had received a total of 11,301,649 admissions in South Korean theaters, making Ha “The 10 Million Movie Actress” for bringing the glory of more than 10 million audiences, also causing the movie to be the 4th highest-grossing film in South Korea that time but was later outperformed by The Thieves, Masquerade, Miracle in Cell No. 7, The Admiral: Roaring Currents and Ode to My Father. In addition to that, distribution rights for the movie have been sold to 15 countries. Ha won HOT Movie Star Award at the 2009 Mnet 20's Choice Awards, Best Actress Award at the 5th Korean University Films Festival and Popularity Award at the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards for her performance in the blockbuster movie. Furthermore, also in 2009, the actress starred in Park Jin-pyo’s Closer to Heaven, a melodrama movie about a man who has been battling Lou Gehrig's disease and his wife, who works as a funeral director. Ha portrayed a character of a dedicated and loving wife to actor Kim Myung-min’s sick character, which later earned Best Actress Award at the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards and Best Movie Actress Award at the 46th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2010, officially taking her spot as an A-list movie actress.
After taking a 4-year break from dramas, Ha made a very successful comeback through the romance, comedy, fantasy, action drama Secret Garden, opposite actor Hyun Bin. She played the role of a stunt woman Gil Ra-im, who magically switches bodies with Hyun Bin’s wealthy CEO character. Proven to be a commercial success, it was reported that Secret Garden had already been sold abroad before its premiere in South Korea. The drama had high ratings, and Ha received the following awards for recognition: Best Couple Award with Hyun Bin, Top Ten Stars Award, Netizen Popularity Award and Top Excellence Award, Drama Special at the 2010 SBS Drama Awards and Best Actress Awards at the 2011 Grimae Awards.
Once again, Ha worked with Director Yoon Je-kyoon and actor Ahn Sung-ki through the science fiction, action 3D movie Sector 7, alongside actor Oh Ji-ho. Although the 14 billion-won project had a disappointing 2.2 million in admissions in South Korea, it garnered over 20 million yuan in China after just one week, beating previous records set by 200 Pounds Beauty at 16 million yuan and The Host at 14 million yuan. The actress later revealed that she had received psychiatric treatment after filming Sector 7. After filming Sector 7 I received psychiatric help. I could not break away from my character. In the movie Sector 7 the monster dies, and all the people I love die and I am the only one left alive and for some reason I could not break away from the pain of that character for quite some time. After the conclusion of Sector 7 I needed to go in for the script reading for Secret Garden, but I could not break away from my character on Sector 7 so the entire script reading was a mess. I knew I could not do it alone so I sought out professional help.
In 2012, Ha surprised everyone for playing the role of a North Korean Special Forces Officer named Kim Hang-ah in The King 2 Hearts, an alternate history drama in which South Korea is a constitutional monarchy, and singer-actor Lee Seung-gi’s South Korean King character and Ha’s North Korean Special Forces Officer character marry as a political strategy. The drama also reunited the actress with Director Lee Jae-kyu, who had also helmed Damo before. Despite the drama’s decreasing viewership ratings, Ha and Lee were both praised for their performance. It was also revealed that Ha had studied the North Korean dialect to make her portrayal more realistic. She was also nominated in Best Actress International Category at the 2012 Seoul International Drama Awards for her performance and was the only Korean actress to have done so in that year. Her next movie was As One, a cinematic retelling of the first ever post-war Unified Korea sports team which won the gold at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan. Ha played the role of South Korean table tennis player Hyun Jung-hwa, alongside actress Bae Doona, who played the role of North Korean table tennis player Lee Bun Hui. The real Hyun Jung-hwa said that Ha was her first choice to play her role. “I requested that Ha Ji Won play my role. It was difficult to make the actresses into table tennis players within 3 months. The actresses were very passionate and picked up table tennis very quickly.” Ha kept up with highly intensive training as she enjoyed the physical challenges of learning the sport with a goal to retell a true story. She also observed Hyun Jung-hwa’s speech and body language carefully during training, striving to embody all of Hyun's playing habits and techniques. The actress was said to be crossing boundaries by appearing as a North Korean on the small screen and a South Korean on the big screen.
The following year, in 2013, Ha was reported to be leaving Wellmade STARM, her agency for 10 years. She declined all the love calls sent by other agencies with giant contracts and decided to establish her own one-person agency Haewadal Entertainment (lit. Sun and Moon Entertainment) instead. “Ha Ji-won came up with the name for the agency herself. She said it expressed her wishes to become an actress who shines bright like the sun and the moon.” Also in the same year, Ha signed with United Talent Agency, one of the largest talent agencies in the world, for her Hollywood venture. Haewadal Entertainment released a statement saying, “Ha Ji Won became the first female Korean star to sign with one of Hollywood’s largest agencies UTA and plan to kick off her advancement overseas in full-swing.”
Also in 2013, after 7 years since the period drama Hwang Jin Yi, Ha returned to the world of sageuk (historical/period dramas) through Empress Ki, where she was stuck in a love triangle between actors Joo Jin-mo and Ji Chang-wook. The 51-episode drama is a fictional account about the love and struggles of a Goryeo born woman named Ki Seung-nyang and her long journey to becoming Yuan dynasty’s Empress Ki. The drama was a winner in terms of viewership ratings during its entire run that lasted for 6 months. The actress, who played the titular character, won PD Award, Popularity Award and her second Daesang (Grand Prize) at the 2013 MBC Drama Awards, following her first one back in 2006 for her performance in Hwang Jin Yi. Along with actress Kim Hee-ae, Ha was also again nominated in Best Actress International Category at the 2013 Seoul International Drama Awards, where the drama Empress Ki was awarded Best Series Drama (Golden Bird Prize). Particularly in Taiwan, the drama reached a peak rating of 5.35%, making it the second Korean drama that had surpassed the 5 percent mark in the ratings, next to Dae Jang Geum’s 6.22% in 2004.
In 2014, Ha, together with actress Kang Ye-won and idol-actress Son Ga-in of Brown Eyed Girls, played lead roles in the Charlie's Angels-inspired action, adventure, fusion sageuk (period dramas with a modern touch, have all the elements needed to attract national and international viewers alike: captivating plots, mesmerizing characters, fascinating costumes and sweet romance) The Huntresses.
In 2015, Ha was cast by actor-director Ha Jung-woo to play his character’s wife in his self-directed movie Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, a film adaption of the bestselling 1995 Chinese novel of the same title written by Yu Hua. In 2015, Ha, alongside actor Lee Jin-wook starred in the Korean remake of the 2011 hit Taiwanese drama In Time with You titled The Time We Were Not in Love. She reportedly earned a salary of $41,800 per episode for the drama. However in contrast to her previous dramas The Time We Were Not in Love received low ratings scoring viewing figures in the 6% to 7% range. However Ha commented she was happy with the drama and enjoyed filming. And stated she considered her character of Oh Ha-Na closest to her real life personality.
Music career
Ha Ji-won made an appearance in the music video of Wax's debut song "Mother's Diary" in 2000. Soon after, she performed Wax's song "Oppa" on stage.
Ha Ji-won released her debut album Home Run in 2003. The eponymous single from the album Home Run, featuring singer Psy, was later used as the OST for her movie Reversal of Fortune. She later performed the song on live music broadcast to help promote the movie. Ha Ji-won has jokingly mentioned that she was tricked by the CEO of her agency CEO to perform on stage, and that she felt bashful of the performances and disliked to be reminded of them.
In 2004, Ha Ji-won recorded the OST for her movie Love, So Divine (여자를 내려주세요) with her co-actors, Kwon Sang-woo and Kim In-kwon.
After an eight-year hiatus on stage, Ha Ji-won performed with her labelmates
AA for their debut at the K-pop Super Concert in 2011.
On June 13, 2014, Ha Ji Won released a digital single 나 지금 이자리에 "Now In This Place" for the fans who have been so supportive of her drama Empress Ki. The lyrics of the song was written by the scriptwriter of Empress Ki, Jung Kyung Soon. The song was composed and produced by popular music producer Jae Chong (also known as Jung Jae Yoon).
Source : Wikidata
Ha Ji-won
Birth name Jeon Hae-rim전해림
Nationality Coree du sud
Birth 28 june 1978 (46 years) at Seoul (Coree du sud)
Nationality Coree du sud
Birth 28 june 1978 (46 years) at Seoul (Coree du sud)
Jeon Hae-rim (Hangul: 전해림) (born 28 June 1978), better known by her stage name Ha Ji-won (Hangul: 하지원) is a South Korean actress. She is best known amongst international viewers for playing "Hwang Jini" in KBS's historical drama Hwang Jini, "Gil Ra-im" in SBS's romantic comedy Secret Garden, and "Empress Ki" in MBC's historical drama Empress Ki . She starred in several films and television series, winning various awards and accolades along the way in both films and TV series.
Ha Ji-won is one of South Korea’s most sought after actresses, known for her versatility in pulling off roles in various genres such as action (including martial arts), comedy, drama and sports.
In 2013, Ha Ji Won set up her own agency, Haewadal Entertainment, while being simultaneously signed to BM+ Entertainment which manages her activities abroad. In the same year, she also signed with Hollywood agency United Talent Agency (UTA), allowing them to manage her American ventures. She is the first Korean actress to sign a contract with UTA. In 2015, Ha Ji Won signed with Invincible Plan to manage her Chinese ventures.
Biography
Early careerJeon Hae-rim was scouted by an agency when she was still a senior high school student. She later graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Film and Television or BFTV in Dankook University. “Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamed of becoming an actress. When I was a senior in high school, an agency contacted me after seeing my picture at a photography studio.” In 2012, the actress also revealed that she had failed over 100 auditions before her debut. “I passed my college entrance and written exams and was accepted to the department of theater and film. Before my debut, I auditioned for 100 or so projects but didn’t get the roles.”
Jeon candidly revealed that she adopted “Ha Ji-won” as her stage name as a favor for her previous manager as it was the name of his first love. “When I was about to debut, the first love of my manager’s name was Ha Ji-won. I think he wanted to at least use the name of his love that was not fulfilled. The first time I heard the name Ha Ji-won, I thought it was pretty and also bold.”
Acting career
Ha Ji-won made her TV debut in the 1996 teen drama New Generation Report: Adults Don’t Understand Us. She continued to play supporting roles in dramas Dragon’s Tears and Dangerous Lullaby in 1998 and 1999 respectively. But it was through the 1999 popular drama School 2, where she played the role of a troubled teen named Jang Se-jin, when she was finally recognized as actress Ha Ji-won.
In 2000, Ha made her movie debut in the thriller movie Truth Game alongside Ahn Sung-ki, where she portrayed a bipolar character, and she was awarded Best Rookie Actress both at the 37th Grand Bell Awards and at the 1st Busan Film Critics Awards. In the same year, she won the 21st Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Supporting Actress for the movie Ditto, where she played a supporting role with main leads Kim Ha-neul and Yoo Ji-tae. Also in year 2000, she starred in Ahn Byeong-ki’s horror movie Nightmare. Later that year, Ha reunited with Kim Ha-neul in the drama Secret, landing her an antagonist role. On the contrary, the actress received much love despite the fact she played the antagonist. The drama earned her Best Rookie Actress Award at the 2000 MBC Drama Awards as well as Best Rookie TV Actress Award at the 37th Baeksang Arts Awards in year 2001.
Ha had her first lead role in the 2001 drama Beautiful Life, where she played the role of a chaebol hotelier’s daughter, opposite actor Kim Rae-won.
The following year, in 2002, Ha had her another lead role in the drama Days in the Sun, where she acted as a hotel chambermaid, opposite actor Ji Sung. In the second half of the same year, she starred in another Ahn Byeong-ki’s horror movie Phone, officially dubbing her as “Asia’s Horror Princess”. Following Phone in the same year was Yoon Je-kyoon’s American Pie inspired movie Sex Is Zero, co-starring Im Chang-jung. The movie was the 3rd most popular Korean movie of 2002 and ranked 5th among all films released in that year. Ha was also given a Photogenic Award at the 3rd Korea Visual Arts Festival, and she also won Popularity Award at the 39th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2003 for the movie.
In 2003, Ha proceeded to her next movie Reversal of Fortune alongside actor Kim Seung-woo. The movie, unfortunately, was not successful with the audiences. Afterwards, the actress’ popularity skyrocketed through the 14-episode period drama Damo, directed by Lee Jae-kyoo. In her first lead role in a period drama as Jang Chae-ok, together with actors Lee Seo-jin and Kim Min-joon, she was highly praised for her efforts and was given the Top Excellence Award, Miniseries in the 2003 MBC Drama Awards as well as Netizen Popularity Award and Best Couple Award with Lee Seo-jin. Damo was highly popular, and this can be attested by the huge popularity it enjoyed online, causing MBC to earn an estimated ₩10 million a day through Internet residual fees.
Ha continued playing lead roles in dramas and won awards for each effort. In 2004, she starred in the heavy melodrama What Happened in Bali, where she played the role of Lee Soo-jung, who was stuck in a complicated love square with Jo In-sung, So Ji-sub and Park Ye-jin. She then won Best TV Actress Award at the 40th Baeksang Arts Awards and Top Ten Stars Award and Top Excellence Award, Drama Special at the 2004 SBS Drama Awards. What Happened in Bali was a huge success, with its final episode reaching a peak rating of 39.7%, and is still Ha’s drama with the highest viewership rating up to date. While the actress was conquering the small screens through What Happened in Bali, she also made her way to the big screens with two movies, 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant and Love, So Divine. Ha starred opposite actor Kim Jae-won in an internet fiction themed movie 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant while opposite actor Kwon Sang-woo in Love, So Divine. Both, however, were not as successful with audiences.
Afterwards, in 2005, Ha took a break from dramas and returned with two movies. She played the role of the female protagonist in Daddy-Long-Legs, which was inspired by the novel of the same title written by Jean Webster, alongside actor Yeon Jung-hoon. She then starred in Lee Myung-se’s martial arts film Duelist, where she portrayed the character of a detective named Namsoon, opposite actor Kang Dong-won. The movie also had her reunited with Korea’s National Actor Ahn Sung-ki, whom she had previously worked with in Truth Game. The actress also won Popularity Award at the 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards. Ha later quoted Director Lee’s line, “An actor never stops learning,” which she said she had always been applying in her life as an actress. Also in the same year, Ha made a cameo appearance in the movie All For Love.
2006 was a great year because of the award-winning period drama Hwang Jin Yi. Ha played the titular character Hwang Jin Yi, who lived in 16th-century Joseon and is considered the most famous gisaeng in Korean history. Jang Keun-suk’s and Kim Jae-won’s character are among others who vied for the heart of Ha’s Hwang Jin Yi. The drama was critically acclaimed, and lead actress Ha Ji-won bagged a total of 5 awards for her performance including Netizen Popularity Award, Best Couple Award with Jang Keun-suk and even Daesang (Grand Prize) at the 2006 KBS Drama Awards as well as Best Actress Award each from the 34th Korean Broadcasting Awards and BNT 32nd Golden Chest International TV Festival, both in year 2007.
In 2007, Ha reunited with Director Yoon Je-kyoon and actor Im Chang-jung, whom she had worked with in Sex Is Zero, in the movie Miracle on 1st Street and challenged herself as she played the role of a female boxer. Coming from the team behind Sex Is Zero, the movie ended up as the 5th most popular movie of the year. Later that year, Ha made a cameo appearance in Sex Is Zero 2, sequel of Sex Is Zero, reprising her role in the movie.
Ha continued taking lead roles in numerous movies in 2008. She played a role of a pianist in the movie Miracle of Giving Fool, which was based on a popular webcomic, alongside actor Cha Tae-hyun, and won Popularity Award at the 44th Baeksang Arts Awards. She also had a cameo appearance in Shin Hyun-joon’s movie His Last Gift.
2009 was another great year. Ha worked with Director Yoon Je-kyoon for the third time through the blockbuster disaster film Haeundae with A-list actors Sol Kyung-gu, Park Joong-hoon and Uhm Jung-hwa. The movie was funded by CJ Entertainment with a budget estimated at US$10–15 million, one of the largest for a Korean production. Haeundae was both critically acclaimed and commercial success. It had received a total of 11,301,649 admissions in South Korean theaters, making Ha “The 10 Million Movie Actress” for bringing the glory of more than 10 million audiences, also causing the movie to be the 4th highest-grossing film in South Korea that time but was later outperformed by The Thieves, Masquerade, Miracle in Cell No. 7, The Admiral: Roaring Currents and Ode to My Father. In addition to that, distribution rights for the movie have been sold to 15 countries. Ha won HOT Movie Star Award at the 2009 Mnet 20's Choice Awards, Best Actress Award at the 5th Korean University Films Festival and Popularity Award at the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards for her performance in the blockbuster movie. Furthermore, also in 2009, the actress starred in Park Jin-pyo’s Closer to Heaven, a melodrama movie about a man who has been battling Lou Gehrig's disease and his wife, who works as a funeral director. Ha portrayed a character of a dedicated and loving wife to actor Kim Myung-min’s sick character, which later earned Best Actress Award at the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards and Best Movie Actress Award at the 46th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2010, officially taking her spot as an A-list movie actress.
After taking a 4-year break from dramas, Ha made a very successful comeback through the romance, comedy, fantasy, action drama Secret Garden, opposite actor Hyun Bin. She played the role of a stunt woman Gil Ra-im, who magically switches bodies with Hyun Bin’s wealthy CEO character. Proven to be a commercial success, it was reported that Secret Garden had already been sold abroad before its premiere in South Korea. The drama had high ratings, and Ha received the following awards for recognition: Best Couple Award with Hyun Bin, Top Ten Stars Award, Netizen Popularity Award and Top Excellence Award, Drama Special at the 2010 SBS Drama Awards and Best Actress Awards at the 2011 Grimae Awards.
Once again, Ha worked with Director Yoon Je-kyoon and actor Ahn Sung-ki through the science fiction, action 3D movie Sector 7, alongside actor Oh Ji-ho. Although the 14 billion-won project had a disappointing 2.2 million in admissions in South Korea, it garnered over 20 million yuan in China after just one week, beating previous records set by 200 Pounds Beauty at 16 million yuan and The Host at 14 million yuan. The actress later revealed that she had received psychiatric treatment after filming Sector 7. After filming Sector 7 I received psychiatric help. I could not break away from my character. In the movie Sector 7 the monster dies, and all the people I love die and I am the only one left alive and for some reason I could not break away from the pain of that character for quite some time. After the conclusion of Sector 7 I needed to go in for the script reading for Secret Garden, but I could not break away from my character on Sector 7 so the entire script reading was a mess. I knew I could not do it alone so I sought out professional help.
In 2012, Ha surprised everyone for playing the role of a North Korean Special Forces Officer named Kim Hang-ah in The King 2 Hearts, an alternate history drama in which South Korea is a constitutional monarchy, and singer-actor Lee Seung-gi’s South Korean King character and Ha’s North Korean Special Forces Officer character marry as a political strategy. The drama also reunited the actress with Director Lee Jae-kyu, who had also helmed Damo before. Despite the drama’s decreasing viewership ratings, Ha and Lee were both praised for their performance. It was also revealed that Ha had studied the North Korean dialect to make her portrayal more realistic. She was also nominated in Best Actress International Category at the 2012 Seoul International Drama Awards for her performance and was the only Korean actress to have done so in that year. Her next movie was As One, a cinematic retelling of the first ever post-war Unified Korea sports team which won the gold at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan. Ha played the role of South Korean table tennis player Hyun Jung-hwa, alongside actress Bae Doona, who played the role of North Korean table tennis player Lee Bun Hui. The real Hyun Jung-hwa said that Ha was her first choice to play her role. “I requested that Ha Ji Won play my role. It was difficult to make the actresses into table tennis players within 3 months. The actresses were very passionate and picked up table tennis very quickly.” Ha kept up with highly intensive training as she enjoyed the physical challenges of learning the sport with a goal to retell a true story. She also observed Hyun Jung-hwa’s speech and body language carefully during training, striving to embody all of Hyun's playing habits and techniques. The actress was said to be crossing boundaries by appearing as a North Korean on the small screen and a South Korean on the big screen.
The following year, in 2013, Ha was reported to be leaving Wellmade STARM, her agency for 10 years. She declined all the love calls sent by other agencies with giant contracts and decided to establish her own one-person agency Haewadal Entertainment (lit. Sun and Moon Entertainment) instead. “Ha Ji-won came up with the name for the agency herself. She said it expressed her wishes to become an actress who shines bright like the sun and the moon.” Also in the same year, Ha signed with United Talent Agency, one of the largest talent agencies in the world, for her Hollywood venture. Haewadal Entertainment released a statement saying, “Ha Ji Won became the first female Korean star to sign with one of Hollywood’s largest agencies UTA and plan to kick off her advancement overseas in full-swing.”
Also in 2013, after 7 years since the period drama Hwang Jin Yi, Ha returned to the world of sageuk (historical/period dramas) through Empress Ki, where she was stuck in a love triangle between actors Joo Jin-mo and Ji Chang-wook. The 51-episode drama is a fictional account about the love and struggles of a Goryeo born woman named Ki Seung-nyang and her long journey to becoming Yuan dynasty’s Empress Ki. The drama was a winner in terms of viewership ratings during its entire run that lasted for 6 months. The actress, who played the titular character, won PD Award, Popularity Award and her second Daesang (Grand Prize) at the 2013 MBC Drama Awards, following her first one back in 2006 for her performance in Hwang Jin Yi. Along with actress Kim Hee-ae, Ha was also again nominated in Best Actress International Category at the 2013 Seoul International Drama Awards, where the drama Empress Ki was awarded Best Series Drama (Golden Bird Prize). Particularly in Taiwan, the drama reached a peak rating of 5.35%, making it the second Korean drama that had surpassed the 5 percent mark in the ratings, next to Dae Jang Geum’s 6.22% in 2004.
In 2014, Ha, together with actress Kang Ye-won and idol-actress Son Ga-in of Brown Eyed Girls, played lead roles in the Charlie's Angels-inspired action, adventure, fusion sageuk (period dramas with a modern touch, have all the elements needed to attract national and international viewers alike: captivating plots, mesmerizing characters, fascinating costumes and sweet romance) The Huntresses.
In 2015, Ha was cast by actor-director Ha Jung-woo to play his character’s wife in his self-directed movie Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, a film adaption of the bestselling 1995 Chinese novel of the same title written by Yu Hua. In 2015, Ha, alongside actor Lee Jin-wook starred in the Korean remake of the 2011 hit Taiwanese drama In Time with You titled The Time We Were Not in Love. She reportedly earned a salary of $41,800 per episode for the drama. However in contrast to her previous dramas The Time We Were Not in Love received low ratings scoring viewing figures in the 6% to 7% range. However Ha commented she was happy with the drama and enjoyed filming. And stated she considered her character of Oh Ha-Na closest to her real life personality.
Music career
Ha Ji-won made an appearance in the music video of Wax's debut song "Mother's Diary" in 2000. Soon after, she performed Wax's song "Oppa" on stage.
Ha Ji-won released her debut album Home Run in 2003. The eponymous single from the album Home Run, featuring singer Psy, was later used as the OST for her movie Reversal of Fortune. She later performed the song on live music broadcast to help promote the movie. Ha Ji-won has jokingly mentioned that she was tricked by the CEO of her agency CEO to perform on stage, and that she felt bashful of the performances and disliked to be reminded of them.
In 2004, Ha Ji-won recorded the OST for her movie Love, So Divine (여자를 내려주세요) with her co-actors, Kwon Sang-woo and Kim In-kwon.
After an eight-year hiatus on stage, Ha Ji-won performed with her labelmates
AA for their debut at the K-pop Super Concert in 2011.
On June 13, 2014, Ha Ji Won released a digital single 나 지금 이자리에 "Now In This Place" for the fans who have been so supportive of her drama Empress Ki. The lyrics of the song was written by the scriptwriter of Empress Ki, Jung Kyung Soon. The song was composed and produced by popular music producer Jae Chong (also known as Jung Jae Yoon).
Usually with
Filmography of Ha Ji-won (21 films)
Actress
Add to a movie list
Manhunt (2017)
, 1h46Directed by John Woo
Origin Chine
Genres Thriller, Action, Adventure, Crime
Actors Masaharu Fukuyama, Tao Okamoto, Ha Ji-won, Jun Kunimura, Naoto Takenaka, Nanami Sakuraba
Roles Rain
Rating52%
Accusé d'un meurtre qu'il n'a pas commis, un procureur (Zhang Hanyu) est traqué sans relâche par un policier très tenace (Masaharu Fukuyama).
, 2h3Directed by Ha Jeong-woo
Genres Drama, Historical, Romance
Actors Ha Jeong-woo, Ha Ji-won, Yoon Eun-hye, Jang Gwang, Nam Da-reum, Jung Man-sik
Roles Heo Ok-ran
Rating67%
Set in a village right after the Korean War, poor but good-hearted Heo Sam-gwan sets out to win the most beautiful girl in the village, Heo Ok-ran, by selling his blood to earn money. Years later, the two are happily married with three children, but their family undergoes a crisis when Sam-gwan's eldest son doesn't resemble him and rumors spread about the boy's paternity.
The Huntresses (2014)
, 1h47Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure
Actors Ha Ji-won, Kang Ye-won, Gain, Joo Sang-wook, Ko Chang-seok, Jin Ji-hee
Roles Jin-ok
Rating55%
The intelligent and talented martial arts swordswoman Jin-ok (Ha Ji-won), housewife and fighter Hong-dan (Kang Ye-won), and Ga-bi (Son Ga-in), the youngest of the trio: These three women are the Joseon dynasty's top bounty hunters, and they never fail to capture a target, no matter the criminal or the crime. They set out on a secret mission commissioned by the king to search for the stauroscope, and in doing so, prevent a powerful group from gaining absolute power and overturning the royal family.
As One (2012)
, 2h7Genres Drama, Biography
Themes Sports films
Actors Ha Ji-won, Bae Doona, Han Ye-ri, Oh Jung-se, Choi Yoon-young, Lee Jong-suk
Roles Hyun Jung-hwa
Rating72%
Beijing, 11th Asian Games, autumn 1990. In the women's table tennis competition, North Korea's Ri Bun-hui (Bae Doona) faces off against South Korea's Hyun Jung-hwa (Ha Ji-won); Bun-hui loses, but Jung-hwa is beaten by China's Deng Yaping (Kim Jae-hwa), who takes the gold. Six months later, in Busan, Jung-hwa is finishing her preparation for the 41st World Table Tennis Championships, to be held in Chiba, Japan; aside from caring for her father in the hospital, she is under huge local pressure to win a gold medal this time. Just prior to leaving, it is announced that, following a North-South Summit, the North and South Korean teams will compete as a single unit for the first time, under a newly designed Korean Unification Flag and with a North Korean, Jo Nam-poong (Kim Eung-soo), as its chief trainer. In Chiba, quarrels and fights break out between the two, mutually suspicious sides, exacerbated by young Northern hothead Choi Kyung-sub (Lee Jong-suk) and Southern joker Oh Doo-man (Oh Jung-se). Jung-hwa shares a room with fellow player Choi Yeon-jung (Choi Yoon-young), who fancies Kyung-sub. Bun-hui rooms with Yu Sun-bok (Han Ye-ri) who suffers badly from competition nerves. During the trials for the women's team, Sun-bok performs poorly and steps down in favor of Jung-hwa for the good of the team. Now paired together, Jung-hwa and Bun-hui settle their differences as the players finally start to bond. As they train for 46 days, game-by-game, the two find a budding friendship. But as the finals versus the Chinese team looms, the Koreans' unity is threatened from another direction. When political winds change again and just as suddenly an announcement is made to disband team Korea, the two young women must prove to their people and the world that teamwork can outshine the dark shadows of a painful history.
Sector 7 (2011)
, 1h44Directed by Kim Ji-hoon, Kim Ji-hoon
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Horror
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Underwater action films, Giant monster films, Disaster films
Actors Ha Ji-won, Oh Ji-ho, Ahn Sung-ki, Song Sae-byeok, Park Chul-min, Cha Ye-ryun
Roles Cha Hae-joon
Rating47%
A small team of oil rig workers are searching for undiscovered oil at the oil rig Sector 7, off the coast of Jeju Island. After the tension builds from countless failures, the main character Hae-joon's uncle returns with the hope of finding the untapped wells of oil. What they don't realize is that he has a much different motive. Working together with a researcher on board the rig, he plans to breed a newly discovered life-form whose bodily fluids can burn for longer than 30 hours, as a new form of fuel instead of oil.
Tidal Wave (2009)
, 2hDirected by Yoon Je-kyoon
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Action, Adventure
Themes La fin du monde, Disaster films, Films about earthquakes
Actors Sol Kyung-gu, Ha Ji-won, Lee Min-Ki, Kang Ye-won, Park Joong-hoon, Uhm Jung-hwa
Roles Gang Yeon-heui
Rating56%
Located on the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula, Haeundae district of Busan, South Korea draws one million visitors to its beaches every year. Several years ago, Man-sik, a Haeundae local, lost Yeon-hee's father due to his mistake in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake while deep-sea fishing together at the Indian Ocean. Because of this, for years, Man-sik wasn't able to become involved with Yeon-hee, who runs an unlicensed seafood restaurant, despite her attempts to start a relationship (Yeon-hee doesn't know that her father was killed due to Man-sik's mistake.).
Closer to Heaven (2009)
, 2h1Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Kim Myung-min, Ha Ji-won, Im Ha-ryong, Kim Kwang-kyu, Jung Eui-chul, Sol Kyung-gu
Roles Lee Ji-soo
Rating65%
Lee Ji-soo is a twice-divorced funeral director, and no stranger to death or loss. She reunites with old friend Baek Jong-woo when he arranges for funeral services for his deceased mother. Jong-woo has been battling Lou Gehrig's disease since he was a teenager. The two fall in love and get married. As Jong-woo's symptoms continue to worsen and he begins to lose control over his body, he lashes out at Ji-soo. Despite her hurt, all Ji-soo wants is to stay by his side and hope for a cure.
, 1h38Genres Drama, Comedy, Romance
Actors Cha Tae-hyun, Ha Ji-won, Sulli (설리), Park Hee-soon, Park Ha-sun, Jeon Mi-seon
Roles Ji-ho
Rating72%
Ji-ho is a promising pianist who has been studying and playing abroad for years, but her career takes a blow when she is struck with stage fright. Returning home, Ji-ho is reunited with her old school friend, Seung-ryong, who, although now in his twenties, has been left with the mind of a six-year-old following an accident.
His Last Gift (2008)
, 1h45Directed by Kim Young-jun
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes Medical-themed films
Actors Shin Hyun-joon, Kim Sang-ho, Kwon Oh-joong, Jo Soo-min, Huh Joon-ho, Park Min-ji
Roles Hye-yeong
Rating68%
Tae-joo, a murderer serving a life sentence in prison, is given a temporary release to save the life of a seriously ill young girl, Se-hee, who suffers from Wilson's disease and desperately needs a liver transplant. Se-hee is the daughter of Yeong-woo, and old friend of Tae-joo's who is now a police officer. Upon discovering that Se-hee's now deceased mother was his ex-wife, Tae-joo realises that he is in fact her biological father, and does everything he can to try and save her life.
Miracle on 1st Street (2007)
, 1h53Directed by Yoon Je-kyoon
Genres Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Gangster films
Actors Ha Ji-won, Im Chang-jung, Im Chang-jung, Joo Hyun, Jeong Doo-hong, Kang Ye-won
Roles Myung-ran
Rating63%
Pil-je is a gangster who has been sent by his bosses to evict the residents of a poor neighborhood on the edge of Seoul, so that their homes can make way for some new luxury apartments. But after he befriends some of the locals, including female boxer Myung-ran and a group of young children, he starts to have a change of heart.
Sex Is Zero 2 (2007)
, 1h55Genres Comedy, Romance
Themes Films about sexuality, Erotic films
Actors Im Chang-jung, Song Ji-hyo, Im Chang-jung, Yoo Chae-yeong, Lee Sang-yoon, Shin Yi
Roles Eun-hyo
Rating59%
Having broken up with his girlfriend, law student Eun-sik is keen to consummate a new relationship with Kyung-ah, a popular swimming champion with a painful past. Despite help from his friends, Eun-sik begins to doubt himself when Gi-joo, a suave prosecutor, tries to compete for Kyeong-ah's affections.
Daddy Long Legs (2005)
, 1h38Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Ha Ji-won, Yeon Jung-hoon, Park Eun-hye, Shin Yi, Hyun Bin, Geum Bo-ra
Roles Cha Young-mi
Rating62%
Young-mi Cha (Ha Ji-won), is a young woman who has lost her parents and struggling to fend for herself. She receives the assistance of a stranger who pays her university fees and sends her gifts. She affectionately nicknames her benefactor “Daddy-Long-Legs”.
Duelist (2005)
, 1h51Directed by Lee Myeong-se
Genres Martial arts, Action, Crime, Martial arts
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films
Actors Ha Ji-won, Kang Dong-won, Ahn Sung-ki, Yoon Joo-sang/윤 주 상, Kim Bo-yeon
Roles Nam-soon
Rating58%
The movie opens with a fish tale narrated by a low-class metalsmith in a tavern in Joseon-era south-western Korea. The scene then cuts to a street circus, in which an elegant masked swordmaster (Kang Dong-won) fascinates his market-place audience. Undercover detective Ahn (Ahn Sung-ki), and his protégé Namsoon (Ha Ji-won) are tracking down suspected money-counterfeiter gang, when the masked swordmaster ends his show by killing a government official who carries the kingdom's currency metal cast.
All for Love (2005)
, 2h9Directed by Min Gyoo-dong
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Uhm Jung-hwa, Hwang Jeong-min, Im Chang-jung, Im Chang-jung, Seo Young-hee, Kim Su-ro
Roles Cameo
Rating66%
A lovely week in the lives of these people. An elderly woman (Oh Mi-hee) rents a coffee shop from a gruff theater owner (Joo Hyun).
100 Days with Mr. Arrogant (2004)
, 1h35Origin Coree du sud
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Sexploitation films
Actors Ha Ji-won, Kim Jae-won, Jin Tae-hyun, Kim Chang-wan, Lee Eung-kyung, Kim Yong-gun
Roles Kang Ha-young
Rating60%
After being dumped by her boyfriend just before their 100 day anniversary, Ha-Yeong (Ha Ji-won) meets a college guy named Hyung-Jun (Kim Jaewon) when she kicks a can that accidentally hits him in the face and causes him to scratch his Lexus. He demands she pay him $3000 on the spot. She escapes from him, leaving her wallet behind.