Actor · South Korea
Kim Ji Won
김지원
Kim Ji-won is a South Korean actress known for Descendants of the Sun (2016) and My Liberation Notes (2022), who starred as Hong Hae-in in the record-breaking drama Queen of Tears (2024).
Biography
Kim Ji-won was born on October 19, 1992, in Geumcheon District, Seoul, South Korea. She was scouted on the street in 2007 and trained for three years in singing, dancing, and acting; in 2008, while still a trainee, she worked as a keyboardist and backing vocalist for singer Younha on the music video for "Gossip Boy." She had been set to debut as a singer under the name "JessicaK," but chose acting instead, making her screen debut in the 2011 omnibus film Romantic Heaven before enrolling in the Department of Theatre at Dongguk University later that year.
Her first widely noticed role came in 2013, in the teen drama The Heirs, where she played Yoo Rachel, an heiress with a guarded exterior; the performance earned her the New Star Award at the SBS Drama Awards. Three years later, she starred opposite Jin Goo in Descendants of the Sun (2016) as First Lieutenant Yoon Myung-joo, winning the Excellence Award at the KBS Drama Awards and the Best Supporting Actress prize at the APAN Star Awards. The series went on to win the Grand Prize for Television at the Baeksang Arts Awards, and its overseas popularity raised Kim's profile well beyond Korea.
In 2017, she took her first leading role in Fight for My Way, playing Choi Ae-ra, a department-store worker chasing a career as a broadcaster, alongside Park Seo-joon; the role brought her another Excellence Award at the KBS Drama Awards. She went on to play the priestess Tanya in the historical fantasy Arthdal Chronicles (2019), and Lee Eun-oh in the romance web series Lovestruck in the City (2020), for which she trained in surfing to work through a childhood fear of water.
In 2022, Kim played Yeom Mi-jeong, an introverted office worker, in the slice-of-life drama My Liberation Notes, earning a Best Actress nomination at the Baeksang Arts Awards. Two years later, she starred as chaebol heiress Hong Hae-in opposite Kim Soo-hyun in Queen of Tears (2024), which became tvN's highest-rated drama with a finale rating of 24.9 percent and stayed on Netflix's global non-English Top 10 for fifteen straight weeks. The role brought her the Prime Minister's Commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards and a third-place finish in Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year poll in both 2024 and 2025. She is currently signed with HighZium Studio and next stars as a surgeon in Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia.
Profile data
- Stage name
- Kim Ji Won
- Native name
- 김지원
- Nationality
- South Korean
- Gender
- Female
- Religion
- Christian, per her own statement (Marie Claire Korea interview, cited by Wikipedia); she has also mentioned playing piano at church during middle school.
- Date of birth
- 19 October 1992
- Age
- 33
- Birthplace
- Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, South Korea
- Zodiac
- Libra
- Chinese zodiac
- Monkey (born 1992)
- Height
- 164 cm (5'5")
- Children
- None
- Reported pairings
- <ul><li><p><strong>Jin Goo</strong> (<em>Descendants of the Sun</em>, 2016) — Best Couple Award, KBS Drama Awards 2016.</p></li><li><p><strong>Park Seo-joon</strong> (<em>Fight for My Way</em>, 2017) — Best Couple Award, KBS Drama Awards 2017.</p></li><li><p><strong>Kim Soo-hyun</strong> (<em>Queen of Tears</em>, 2024) — Best Couple Award, Korea Drama Awards 2024.</p></li></ul><p>These are onscreen pairings recognized by award shows, not confirmed real-life relationships. Source: Wikipedia; retrieved September 27, 2026.</p>
- University
- Dongguk University — Department of Theatre (B.A., major in acting), entered 2011. Source: Wikipedia.
- Agency
- HighZium Studio (since September 2022; previously King Kong Entertainment, December 2014–December 2019, and Salt Entertainment, February 2020–June 2022). Source: Wikipedia, retrieved September 27, 2026.
- Siblings
- Kim is the younger of two daughters (has one older sister); no names have been made public. Source: Wikipedia, citing Marie Claire Korea.
- Traits
- Known in Korean media as the "Diction Fairy" (딕션 요정) for her clear enunciation onscreen (Top Star News, February 2021).
- Skills
- Dubbing/voice work (tried a fan dubbing app for her own character in 2018); piano/keyboard, from her training as a singer-trainee and church performances in middle school. Source: Wikipedia.
- Instruments
- Piano/keyboard — played at church during middle school and worked as a keyboardist/backing vocalist for singer Younha in 2008. Source: Wikipedia.
- Portrait source
- TMDB API
- Rights holder
- TMDB / respective copyright holder
- Usage basis
- Editorial use via TMDB API, non-commercial reference
- Metadata source
- TMDB, Wikipedia, and other sources cited in the record
- Last updated
- 29 September 2026
- Editor
- Claude (AI content review)
About Kim Ji Won
Hobbies
Piano
Kim played piano at church during middle school and took part in Christmas performances there; in 2008, while still a trainee, she worked as a keyboardist and backing vocalist for singer Younha on the music video for "Gossip Boy."Dubbing her own roles
In a February 2018 interview with Herald Pop, Kim said she tried a fan dubbing app for her Fight for My Way character Choi Ae-ra and found it harder than expected, even though "it's mine."
Source: Wikipedia, citing JTBC (March 7, 2012) and Herald Pop (February 3, 2018); retrieved September 27, 2026.
Interests
Music
Kim trained in singing for three years after being scouted in 2007 and was initially set to debut as a singer under the stage name "JessicaK" before choosing acting instead (Sports Chosun, July 3, 2011).Theatre
She majored in acting at the Department of Theatre, Dongguk University, which she entered in 2011.
Source: Wikipedia; retrieved September 27, 2026.
Facts
Korean media nicknamed her the "Diction Fairy" (딕션 요정) for her clear pronunciation onscreen, a title repeated in a February 2021 Top Star News feature (source: Top Star News).
After signing more than ten brand deals in 2016 following Descendants of the Sun, outlets began calling her the "CF Queen" (Sports Donga, July 2016).
Following Queen of Tears (2024), several Korean outlets started calling her the "Queen of Romantic Comedy" ("로코퀸") (My Daily; Xports News, March 2024).
She placed third in Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year poll in both 2024 and 2025, and ranked 23rd on Forbes Korea's Power Celebrity 40 list in 2025.
She was scouted and trained to debut as a singer under the stage name "JessicaK" between 2007 and 2010, before choosing an acting career instead.
Source: Wikipedia, citing the outlets above; retrieved September 27, 2026.
Funny moments
In a February 2018 interview with Herald Pop, Kim said she tried a fan-made dubbing app to redo lines as her own character, Choi Ae-ra from Fight for My Way, joking that even though "it's mine, it was hard." Her aegyo scene from the same drama had already gone viral in 2017 and helped spark a wider "dubbing challenge" trend among viewers (Sports Trends, October 26, 2017).
Fears and dislikes
Kim has spoken about a longstanding fear of water (aquaphobia) that began after a near-drowning incident in a bathhouse as a child (News En, May 28, 2013). To play surfer Lee Eun-oh in Lovestruck in the City (2020), she trained in surfing and said, in a December 2020 interview with MK Sports, that she worked to get past the fear for the role.
Commercials and endorsements
2010 — LG Electronics Cyon "Lollipop 2" (with Big Bang)
2014–2017 — Dr.G (skincare)
2016 — signed more than ten brand deals in a single year; Korean media dubbed her the "CF Queen" (Sports Donga, July 2016)
2017–2021 — Mediheal (global ambassador)
2024 — Bulgari, its first Korean ambassador for jewelry, watches and fragrance
2024 — The Whoo (LG H&H, global ambassador)
2024 — Stonehenge (jewelry, exclusive model)
2024 — Duvetica (Italian outerwear brand, ambassador)
Source: Wikipedia "Endorsements" section, citing Korean press reports; retrieved September 27, 2026.
Sports and fitness
Surfing — Kim learned to surf specifically to play surfer Lee Eun-oh in Lovestruck in the City (2020), working through a childhood fear of water in the process (MK Sports, December 22, 2020).
Musical instruments
Kim Ji Won shows and movies
Main roles 3 titles
Frequently worked with
Counted from shared credits across the database, most shared titles first.
