Han Hyo Joo is synonymous with the South Korean beauty and film industry. Since her film debut in 2005, Han has gone ahead to become a top actress in her nation’s film and television industry and gained Pan Asian viewership. She is best known for her roles in tv series: Spring Waltz, Brilliant Legacy, Dong Yi, W as well as the film Cold Eyes and has won a number of coveted awards.
Han Hyo Joo Biography
The Brilliant Legacy actress was born on February 22, 1987, in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Her father is an air force officer while her mother is an inspector for public schools. She decidedly followed a path she must have discovered made for her very early in her life – acting. Although she was good in athletics particularly track and field, Han didn’t view sports as her forte but rather sought her niche in show business. She attended Yullyang Primary school, Cheongju and then moved to Seoul despite her father’s objection, to attend Bulgok High School. Following her high school graduation, she enrolled in Dongguk University’s department of theatre and film.
Han Hyo Joo was discovered in 2003 in a beauty contest organized by Binggrae (a food company) for teenagers which she won. She debuted with small roles in 2005 in the sitcom Nonstop 5 and the gangster comedy film My Boss, My Teacher, cementing her foothold in the film industry. In 2006, she was cast in the main role in the series Spring Waltz as well as in the indie film Ad-lib Night for which she won the Best New Actress awards at the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards and Singapore International Film Festival.
With each of her portrayals and consistency in maintaining her form, she clinched major roles in no time setting her on her way to wide prominence. Han’sroles in series like KBS daily drama Heaven & Earth in 2007 and Iljimae in 2008 got her on the way to fame avenue. She also starred in critically and commercially acclaimed films like Always, Masquerade, Cold Eyes (which won her Best Actress from the Blue Dragon Film Awards).
However, her breakthrough came in the series Brilliant Legacy in 2009. It became a massive hit and earned her many awards including the SBS Drama Awards and the Outstanding Korean Actress award at the Seoul International Drama Awards as well as a slew of endorsement deals and media requests for interviews. The following year, Han took up another hit project, the titular character (Choi Suk-bin) in the series Dong Yi for which she clinched the MBC Drama Awards’ Daesang (Grand Prize) and the Best Actress award at Baeksang Arts Awards.
Subsequently, her fame found a place in the international scene scoring her roles across her country. She appeared in the Japanese film Miracle: Debikuro-Kun no Koi to Maho (“Miracle Devil Claus’ Love and Magic”) in 2014. After a major role in the 2015 film, The Beauty Inside and Love, Lies, Han was set to make a comeback to the small screen after 6 years. She was cast in the MBC’s fantasy suspense series W in 2016 which was well-received, the thriller Golden Slumber in 2018, and as the female lead in sci-fi action thriller Illang: The Wolf Brigade.
Besides her acting career, Han has appeared in commercials, variety shows, music videos, and is also an acclaimed singer. She is a goodwill and PR ambassador for several organizations including the Republic of Korea Air Force.
Han Hyo Joo Husband
She is an exceptional actress and has often been lauded for bringing her characters to life. Consequently, Han Hyo Joo has been linked and shipped with most of her co-stars in films and television either for having good chemistry on-screen or for simply being cute together.
These actors have been rumored to have something going with her. They include her co-star in W, Lee Jong Suk which was her most popular pairing, Dong Yi castmate Bae Soo Bin. The next bloke on her dating list was Lee Seung Gi, a notable actor who she worked within Brilliant Legacy, then the actor turned businessman Kang Do Han made the rounds in 2009 but she described him as a brother and someone she feels at ease talking with as well as can confide in.
Han Hyo Joo is not known to be in any relationship and is not married. However, she believes in the institution of marriage and hopes to enroll someday when the right man comes along. She describes her ideal man as someone who has a lot of understanding, one with whom she can be open and speak a lot which is basically her friend, as well as somebody who is cheerful and healthy.
She is not asking for too much, or is she? We wish her all the best.
Other Facts You Need To Know
Her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, reading books, playing the piano, writing poems and short stories.
She is an avid fan of Japanese movies and learned the language by watching Japanese movies.
Han has starred in their films including the joint Korean-Japanese production Postman to Heaven and is signed with the Japanese agency FLaMme which handles her work in the country.
She participated in a “barrier-free” version (featuring descriptive audio and subtitles for people with hearing or visual impairments) for the release of the Japanese film My Back Page in South Korea. Han also provided the descriptive audio for the movie which was released on March 15, 2012.
In her book of favorites, her food is bibimbap and potato stew, fruit is grape while her color is pink and blue.
Her blood type is A, and according to Han, her calm, not easily angered, and persevering personality fits the classification.
Han Hyo Joo stands at 5′ 8″ (1.72 m) tall and weighs 48 kg.
