Im Soo-jung is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in the South Korean films I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006), Happiness (2007), and All About My Wife (2012).
Wiki/Biography
Im Soo-jung was born on Wednesday, July 11, 1979 (age 42 years; as of 2021), in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Her zodiac sign is Cancer. She did her schooling at Seoul Myongwon Elementary School, Myungil Middle School, and Myungduk High School, all in Seoul, South Korea.
Im Soo-jung in her school days
She did graduation in theater & film from The University of Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 4½” (164 cm)
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Black
Family
She has a younger brother.
Relationships
After the movie ‘Finding Mr. Destiny’ was released in 2010, she was rumored to be in a relationship with the South Korean actor and co-star Gong Yoo. Their on-screen pairing led to the rumor. There was even speculation of them getting married in the United States, which was denied by both the actors’ agencies.
Im Soo-jung with Gong Yoo
She was once in a relationship with the South Korean actor So Ji-sub, who she had previously worked with in the South Korean series ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’ (2004).
Im Soo-jung with So Ji-sub
Career
Agency
- YNK Entertainment (2015-2018)
- King Kong by Starship (2018-Present)
Early Career
In 1998, she debuted as a cover model for the fashion magazine ‘Ceci.’
Im Soo-jung on the cover of Ceci
She appeared as a teen model in various magazines like Kiki and Fashion Communication. She also appeared in commercials for Cafe Latte, Johnson & Johnson, and Radio Garden. She then decided to move to acting.
Kdramas
In 2001, she made her acting debut with the Kdrama ‘School 4’ as ‘Oh Hye-ra.’
Im Soo-jung in School 4 (2001)
In 2004, she played the lead role of ‘Song Eun-chae’ in ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You.’ The story is about an attractive scam artist from Australia, Cha Moo-hyuk (played by the South Korean actor So Ji-sub), who is about to die and wanted to find his parents before death. He finds that he has a sister who was also abandoned like him by their mother, who was a famous South Korean actress. He decides to take revenge on his mother; meanwhile, he is falling in love with Eun-chae. The series was a hit with nationwide average ratings of 20.1%. The series won many awards including 9 awards at KBS Drama Awards, 6 awards at Baeksang Arts Awards, and an award at Korean Broadcasting Awards.
I’m Sorry, I Love You (2004)
After working in South Korean films for a long time, Soo-jung returned to television with the Kdrama ‘Chicago Typewriter’ that aired on tvN in 2017. In the drama, Im Soo -jung plays the resistance fighter Jeon Seol during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea, and reincarnate into the present as a literary fanatic and fan of Ha Se-joo (played by the South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in).
Chicago Typewriter (2017)
Soo-jung next appeared in the 2019 South Korean television series ‘Search: WWW’ in the lead role of ‘Bae Ta-mi,’ the director of the top web portal company ‘Unicon’ who is intellectual, goal-oriented, and a person of high moral who joins Barro (the competitor of Unicon) after being fired by Unicon. The series that aired on tvN focuses on women in their thirties, which include Ta-mi, Cha Hyeon, and Song Ga-kyeong.
Search: WWW (2019)
In 2021, she appeared in the television drama ‘Melancholia’ that aired on tvN. She played the role of ‘Ji Yoon-soo,’ a mathematics teacher at a private school, where she meets Baek Seung-yoo (played by Lee Do-hyun), a troubled student who is good at maths. The story is about the beautiful relationship between the two and how they expose the Ahseong High School known for corruption.
Melancholia (2021)
Films
In 2002, she made her film debut by appearing in the South Korean film ‘The Romantic President’ directed by Jeon Man-bae. In the film, she plays ‘Han Young-hee,’ a high school student and daughter of the President of South Korea, Han Min-wook (played by Ahn Sung-ki). The story explores the love story of President Han with Young-hee’s homeroom teacher ‘Choi Eun-ju (played by Choi Ji-woo).
Im Soo-jung in a scene from The Romantic President (2002)
She played her first lead role in ‘A Tale of Two Sisters,’ a 2003 South Korean psychological horror-drama film written and directed by Kim Jee-woon. The film was inspired by a Joseon Dynasty folktale and focuses on Bae Su-mi (played by Im Soo-jung) returning home from a mental institution with her sister when she began facing disturbing events due to tragic deaths in the family. The film was a very big commercial success in South Korea and became the highest-grossing South Korean horror film. It was also the first South Korean picture that was screened in American theaters.
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
She then played lead roles in the South Korean films …ing (2003), Sad Movie, (2005), and Lump Sugar (2006). In 2006, she appeared in the superhit South Korean film ‘I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK’ as ‘Cha Young-goon.’ The film chronicles the love story of a Young-goon, who is a mental institution and thinks she is a cyborg, and Park Il-soon (played by the South Korean singer and actor Rain) who thinks he can steal people’s souls. The film won Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival (2007).
I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006)
She played memorable roles in the South Korean films Happiness (2007), Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard (2009), Finding Mr. Destiny (2010), Come Rain, Come Shine(2011), and All About My Wife (2012). In 2012, she appeared alongside Lee Jung-jae in another short film ‘El Fin del Mundo,’ a 13-minute split-screen film made by visual artists Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho screened at the prestigious contemporary art exhibition dOCUMENTA. Other South Korean films in which she appeared are- Perfect Proposal (2015), Time Renegade (2016), The Table (2017), Mothers (2018), Our Cat (2019), and Single in Seoul (2022).
Music Videos & Singing
In 1999, she was seen in the music video of the South Korean music group Y2K’s song ‘Deep Sadness.’ She also appeared in the music videos Go (2000) by South Korean rapper Oh Yumi, I’m Sorry (2001) by South Korean singer Kim Jang-hoon, and White Night (2012) by South Korean band Nell. In 2004, she sang the OSTs of the Kdrama ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’. Some of them were 은채 & 무혁 첫키스 (lit. Eunchae & Moohyuk’s first kiss), “윤아, 괜찮아. – 은채 Narrative (lit. Yoona, it’s okay. – Eunchae Narrative), and 은채의 고백 – 은채 Narrative (lit. Confession of Eunchae – Eunchae Narrative).
Other Works
From October 24 to October 30, 2012, she served as a special DJ of MBC FM4U’s program FM Music City. She has a podcast named ‘Kim Hyeri’s Film Club,’ which she hosts with Cine21 reporter Kim Hye-ri and SBS PD Choi Da-eun. The podcast running since 2016 focuses on discussions related to the music and film industry.
Kim Hyeri’s Film Club
She has worked as a model for the brands such as Maeil Dairies, Johnson & Johnson Kore, Yahoo! Korea, Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Dongsuh Foods, and Piaget. She has been the ambassador for Asian Racing Conference (ARC) (2005), an honorary ambassador for Gwangju Biennale (2012), and a cultural ambassador for Korea-U.K. Creative Futures mutual exchange (2017). Reportedly, she was designated as the first cultural ambassador by the British Council since the beginning of the exchange between the countries in 1973.
Lim Soo-jung being appointed as the cultural ambassador by Martin Fryer, the director-general for British Culture in Korea, and Charles Hay, U.K. ambassador at the British Embassy in Jung District
She also judged Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival (2007), Great Short Film Festival (2012), Art Star Korea (2014), Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (2014), and Melodrama Division of Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival (2015). She participated in the Korean Pavilion at Venice Biennale in 2015 in the work of Moon Kyungwon & Jeon Joonho ‘The Ways of Folding Space & Flying.’ She also did the narration for the movie ‘Touch of the Light’ (2012) in 2013 and the trailer of the movie ‘Tasha Tudor: A Still Water Story’ (2017) in 2018.
Awards & Achievements
Blue Dragon Film Awards
- Best Bew Actress for ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ in 2003
- Best Leading Actress for ‘All About My Wife’ in 2012
Im Soo-jung with her Blue Dragon Film Award
KBS Drama Awards
- Best New Actress for ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’ in 2004
- Netizen Award for ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’ in 2004
- Popularity Award for ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’ in 2004
- Best Couple Award with So Ji-sub for ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’ in 2004
Im Soo-jung (second from right) during the award acceptance speech at KBS Drama Awards
Other Awards
- Korean Film Awards for Best New Actress for ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ in 2003
- Korean Association of Film Critics Awards for Best New Actress for ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ in 2003
- Busan Film Critics Awards for Best New Actress for ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ in 2003
- Director’s Cut Awards for Best New Actress for ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ in 2003
- Cine 21 Awards for Best New Actress for ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ in 2003
- Screamfest Horror Film Festival for Best Actress for ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ in 2003
- Fantasporto Film Festival for Best Actress in an International Fantasy Film for ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ in 2004
- Premiere Rising Star Awards for Best Actress for the film ‘Lump Sugar’ in 2006
Im Soo-jung giving her award acceptance speech at Premiere Rising Star Awards
- Style Icon Awards -Style Icon in 2012
- Women in Film Korea Awards for Best Actress for ‘All About My Wife’ in 2012
- Female Filmmaker of the Year Award – Acting Award for ‘All About My Wife’ in 2012
Im Soo-jung with her Female Filmmaker of the Year Award
Controversy
In 2016, she was subjected to controversy when she posted a picture of herself without makeup on her Instagram account. After receiving a ton of backlash and hate comments, in an Instagram post, she wrote,
I don’t typically like to wear makeup in my daily life. Of course, for important events, I do. When I’m trying to look my best as an actress, I enlist the help of skilled experts. People like stylists, makeup artists, and hairstylists. With their special touches, I transform into the actress Im Soo Jung. That is why those people are always a thankful existence in my life and also people I love dearly. But as for the regular me, the theme in these photos is as good as it gets. It’s not like I have incredible confidence in my bare face so I wish I could upload a prettier me..but what can you do when I’m at an age where even the slightest changes in my body show themselves on my face haha.”
Autograph
A poster autographed by Im Soo-jung
Favorites
- Food: Vegan rice cake soup, Vegan pad thai, Seaweed soup, Vegan kimchi
- Restaurant: Zero Complex in Seoul
- Travel Destination: Paris
- Painting(s): Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, View of Delft by Johannes Vermeer, Morning sun by Edward Hopper
Facts/Trivia
- Her name was given by her grandfather, and it means outstanding and bright.
- In her school days, she wasn’t a keen student and had no interest in studies. Her teachers say that she was not into studies but she was very pretty.
- In high school, she decided to become an actor after watching a play performance. In an interview, she said that she vaguely decided to act after watching the play and felt the blood rushing in her body; she also said that she can’t remember the title or the actors.
- She is a vegan and become one after she witnessed allergic reactions to animal protein in 2015. She had intense allergic reactions to milk, cheese, yogurt, and eggs, and so she decided to become a vegan.
- She knows how to play the piano and has learned the modern dance.
- She likes listening to music and watching films in her spare time. She also writes songs and plays the guitar.
- Her ideal type is a man who can converse and is smart and intelligent. As she likes surprises, she believes that her ideal type should be able to surprise her. She doesn’t like jealous men, but neither does she like indifferent ones.
- According to Im Soo-jung, marriage is a serious step, and she will only move forward to it if she meets her significant other. She believes that marriage is deeper, more serious, and comes with many responsibilities. She wishes to have a big family in the future.
- Her date preferences are going out to beaches or picnic lunch. She also prefers fun activities like feeding wild ducks, playing beach volleyball, flying kites, and playing in a corn maze. She also wants to do activities like learning musical instruments together or dancing.
- She is an introvert. When she was a child, she would fret when met with the audience. Things haven’t changed for her at all and it’s still hard for her when she’s in the spotlight.
- In an interview, she said that she wanted to have a talk show under her name like The Ellen Show.
- She never cooked in her life. However, after she turned vegan, she learned cooking.
- She is close to the South Korean actresses Gong Hyo-jin and Shin Min-a. They are often seen going out together.
Gong Hyo-jin and Shin Min-a
- She occasionally drinks alcohol with her close friends.
- From time to time, she follows a detox routine. During the detox period, she doesn’t drink coffee, alcohol, or black tea. She only eats two meals a day and warm water.
- She also likes doing photography and clicking pictures of nature and food whenever she finds time.
Im Soo-jung’s Instagram post showcasing her photography skills
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
