Kim So-hyun Profile
Kim So-hyun (Korean: 김소현;born June 4, 1999) is a South Korean actress who began her career as a child in 2006, initially gaining public attention for playing pivotal roles in Moon Embracing the Sun (2012) and Missing You (2013).
She took on her first leading role in teen drama Who Are You: School 2015 (2015) and since then has starred in Page Turner (2016), The Emperor: Owner of the Mask (2017), Radio Romance (2018), Hey Ghost, Let’s Fight (2016), Love Alarm (2019–2021), The Tale of Nokdu (2019) and Korean folklore River Where the Moon Rises (2021). Kim was the regular host of MBC’s music program Music Core and survival reality show Under Nineteen in 2019.
Basic Information
| Name: | Kim So-hyun |
| Hangul: | 김소현 |
| Nick Name: | Nation’s Little Sister, Goddess of Historical Drama, Queen of Child Actor. |
| Date Of Birth: | 4 June 1999 |
| Place Of Birth: | Australia |
| Age: | 22 Years |
| Nationality: | South Korean |
| Zodiac sign: | Gemini |
| Occupation: | Actress, Model, Host |
| Agent: | Culture Depot |
| Years Active: | 2006 – Present |
| Height: | 5 ft 5 (164 cm) |
| Weight: | 46 kg (101 lbs) |
| Education: | Hanyang University |
| Blood Type: | O |
| Net Worth: | (Approx) $17 million |
Early Life and Education
Kim So-hyun was born on June 4, 1999, in Australia, and has a younger brother. She moved to South Korea in 2003, when she was four years old,and her father died when she was nine years old. Kim transferred from Hoe-ryong Elementary School in Gyeonggi-do to Towol Elementary School and graduated in February 2012. She then graduated from Yongin Munjung Middle School in 2015.
Kim So-hyun was subsequently home schooled for her secondary education, and passed her high school graduation exams by 2017. The same year, she enrolled at Hanyang University’s Department of Theater, through rolling admission. Kim attended the 79th entrance ceremony held at Hanyang University in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on 28 February 2018.
Career
Kim So-hyun debuted as a child actress in 2006, playing a supporting role in the Drama City special “Ten Minute Minor”. Then, she diligently increased her appearances from A Happy Woman (2007), Que Sera Sera (2007), My Name Is Pity (2008), Hometown of Legends (2008), Ja Myung Go (2009) and Wife and Woman (2009).
She was confirmed to make her big-screen debut in Man of Vendetta (2010) as Joo Hye-rin, a daughter of a well-respected pastor who gets kidnapped. She continued to portray the child counterparts of the female protagonists in television series such as The Thorn Birds (2011),Sin of a Family (2011) and The Duo (2011). She then starred in a family comedy film, Spy Papa, about parents and children’s relationship during inter-Korean relations in 1974.
In 2012, Kim So-hyun appeared in six works in the first half of the year: a romantic fantasy television series, Padam Padam; a historical comedy film, I Am the King; a fantasy-period drama Moon Embracing the Sun, in which she gained recognition as the younger version of the second female lead.
Kim So-hyun simultaneously became “Korea’s little sister”; followed by a fantasy-comedy Rooftop Prince in the role as an evil sister; Love Again and a high school student whose roommate is a female idol star in Ma Boy. In 2013, Kim made a surprise appearance on Iris II: New Generation as the childhood counterpart of the female protagonist and starred in The Secret of Birth as a girl with a genius-level brain. Then, she played the younger version of Lee Bo-young’s character in the popular Korean drama I Can Hear Your Voice.
On June 20, Kim So-hyun co-hosted MBC’s music program Music Core along with Minho of SHINee and Noh Hong-chul. Kim was cast as a child actor beside Oh Yeon-soo in the MBC drama, Triangle in 2014. In 2015, She made a special appearance as the sister of the male lead in A Girl Who Sees Smells. Kim starred in KBS’s school series Who Are You: School 2015, playing dual roles as twins Lee Eun-bi and Go Eun-byul. Kim became the MC of the 2015 KBS Drama Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Park Bo-gum.
Kim So-hyun switched back to live-action and co-led the historical and political drama The Emperor: Owner of the Mask with Yoo Seung-ho, She made a special appearance in drama While You Were Sleeping. In August 2017, she ended her contract with SidusHQ after seven years, and in December Kim launched her one-person agency, E&T Story Entertainment, in partnership with LOEN Entertainment The agency is currently led by Park Chan-woo, Kim’s manager in her SidusHQ days.
Kim So-hyun played the lead role in Netflix’s original production Love Alarm, based on the popular webtoon of the same name. she was cast alongside Jang Dong-yoon in a romantic comedy drama set in the Joseon dynasty, The Tale of Nokdu On January 15, 2021, E&T Story Entertainment released an official statement stating that Kim would be leaving the agency.
On January 18, Kim signed an exclusive contract with the Culture Depot. In February 2021, Kim starred as the alter-ego protagonists in the historical drama River Where the Moon Rises which premiered on February 15.
Endorsements
Kim So-hyun is an active celebrity endorser for several brands and products. Her first endorsements were fabric softener Downey and junior apparel brand, Apple Pink. She became the face of Nintendo 3DS real-time pet simulation video game, Nintendogs + Cats with Kim Yoo-jung, Yuhan-Kimberly’s “Teen’s Nature” brand, Union Bay with Park Seo-joon and Lee Hyun-woo, and Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun with Yoon Doo-joon.Kim also appeared in commercials for the Post cereal Honey Oh’s, and Korea’s school uniform Elite. Kim became the longest Elite endorsement model from 2014 until 2016. She was chosen to become the face of a women’s clothing brand, Soup because of her “girl’s liveliness and a romantic lady’s vibe”.
By April 16, 2016, Kim So-hyun was selected for two consecutive years to become the 2016 Pocari Sweat model to commemorate the brand’s 30th anniversary. The same year, G-Market announced Kim as their model for the launch of Korea’s first integrated brand lift package through cable channels and online.
In 2015–17, Kim So-hyun was appointed as the face for young girls’ makeup brand PeriperaKim continued endorsing various products that ranged from food to clothing and cosmetics such as, Norwegian fashion shoes brand Skono, chicken brand Pelicana Chicken, Samsung Securities, naturalism-oriented cosmetics Hanyul, colour contact lenses Bausch & Lomb’s Lacelle, and Soup as a representative and model since 2015.
In April 2020, Samsung Electronics introduced Bixby Celebrity Voice, an AI voice assistant with Kim as their speakers. Kim’s “Celeb Alarm” gained popularity in South Korea and overseas, and topped the Popular Download Ranking in the Galaxy Store.
Ambassadorship
| Year | Activity | With |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | National Representative of Honorary Smile | Yoo Seong-min |
| 2016 | 2016 Festive Korea Ambassador | N/A |
| 2015 | Prevention of School Violence | Who Are You: School 2015’s cast |
| 2014 | Korean Language and Culture Youth Ambassador | Oh Jae-moo |
| 2014 | Korea Guardian Angel | N/A |
| 2013 | Honor Peer Counselling Ambassador | N/A |
| 2013 | Honor Peer Counselling Ambassador | N/A |
Movies
- The Last Princess(2016) as Deok Hye.
- Pure Love (2016) as Soo Ok.
- We All Cry Differently (2014).
- Killer Toon (2013) as Seo Mi Sook.
- I Am The King (2012) as Sol-Bi
- Spy Papa (2011) as Soon-Bok
- Sin of a Family (2011) as Jung Myung-Hee
- Man Of Vendetta (2010) as Joo Hyerim
K-Dramas
- River Where The Moon Rises (2021) as Pyong Gang / Yeom Ga-Jin / Queen Yeon
- Love Alarm Season 2 (2021) as Kim Jo-Jo
- The Tale of Nokdu (2019) as Dong Dong-Ju
- Love Alarm (2019) as Kim Jo-JoDrama Series
- Radio Romance (2018) as Song Geu-Rim
- The Emperor: Owner of the Mask (2017) as Han Ga-Eun
- While You Were Sleeping (2017) as cameo
- Goblin 2016-2017 – Queen (special appearance)
- Page Turner 2016 as Yoon Yoo-Seul
- Hey Ghost, Let’s Fight (2016) as Kim Hyun-J
- Nightmare High (2016) as Kang Ye-Rim
- Who Are You: School (2015) Lee Eun-Bi / Ko Eun-Byeol
- The Girl Who Sees Smells (2015) as Choi Eun-Seol (Moo-Gak’s younger sister)
- Reset 2014 as Seung-Hee (Woo-Jin’s first love) / Jo Eun-Bi
- Triangle (2014) as Hwang Shin-Hye (young)
- Secret of the Birth (2013) as Jung Yi-Hyun (young)
- The Suspicious Housekeeper (2013) as Eun Han-Gyeol (Sang-Chul’s first daughter)
- I Can Hear Your Voice (2013) as Jang Hye-Sung (young)
- IRIS 2 (2013) as Soo-Yeon (teen)
- Love Again (2012) as Jung Yoo-Ri (Ji-Hyun’s daughter)
- I Miss You (2012) as Lee Soo-Yeon (young)
- Rooftop Prince (2012) as Hong Se-Na | Crown Princess Hwa-Yong (child)
- Ma Boy (2012) as Geu-Rim
- Padam Padam… The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats (2012) as Jung Ji-Na (teen)
- Moon Embracing The Sun (2012) as Yoon Bo-Kyung (teen)
- The Thorn Birds (2011) as Seo Jung-Eun (young
- The Duo (2011) as Geum – Han Eun-Soo (young)
- Que Sera Sera (2011) as Ok (young)
- Bread, Love and Dreams (2010) as Koo Ja-Rim (young)
Awards
- 2016 Multimedia & Film Technology Awards | Shining Actress Award
- 2015 29th KBS Drama Awards | Best New Actress, Netizen Award Actress, Best Couple with Yook Sungjae (“Who Are You: School 2015”)
- 2015 30th Korea Best Dresser Swan Awards | Rising Star Award
- 2015 8th Korea Drama Awards | Star of the year (“Who Are You: School 2015”).
- 2014 14th MBC Entertainment Awards | Most Popular Award in a Variety Show (“Show! Music Core”).
- 2014 28th KBS Drama Awards | Popular Actress in a One-Act / Special Drama (“We All Cry Differently”).
- 2013 21st SBS Drama Awards | New Star Award (“The Suspicious Housekeeper”).
- 2013 6th Herald-Donga TV Lifestyle Awards | Style Icon Rookie Award.
- 2013 13th Korea Youth Film Festival | Best Young Actress (“Moon Embracing The Sun”, “Missing You”).
- 2013 13th MBC Entertainment Awards | Best Female Newcomer in a Variety Show (“Show! Music Core”).
- 2012 1st K-Drama Star Awards | Best Young Actress (“Missing You”, “Ma Boy”).
Soundtrack Appearances
| Year | Song title | Work |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | “Can’t You Hear My Heart” | The Emperor: Owner of the Mask |
| 2016 | “Violet Fragrance” | Pure Love |
| 2016 | “Dream” | Hey Ghost, Let’s Fight |
| 2014 | “Reset” | Reset |
| 2013 | “First Love” | The Suspicious Housekeeper |
| 2011 | “Daddy and Me” | Spy Papa |
| 2011 | “Family Picture” | Sin of a Family |
Net Worth
Kim So-hyun has a net worth that is estimated to be $17 million
