1. Han Hyo-joo first received recognition for her leading roles in television series and earned the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actress for her character in the drama Dong Yi.
34 Facts About Han Hyo-joo
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Han Hyo-joo was born in Yullryang-dong, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.
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Han Hyo-joo's mother was an elementary school teacher before becoming an inspector for public schools, and her father was an air force lieutenant colonel who served at a reserve.
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At the time of her birth, Han was given the name Han Ji-yeong but when she entered the third grade, she changed it to her current name.
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Han Hyo-joo has a younger brother and attended Deokseong Elementary School.
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Han Hyo-joo was first discovered in a teenage beauty pageant organized by food corporation Binggrae in 2003.
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Han Hyo-joo began her acting career in the sitcom Nonstop 5 and the gangster comedy film My Boss, My Teacher.
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Han Hyo-joo later raised her profile by starring in Spring Waltz, the fourth and final installment of TV director Yoon Seok-ho's "season drama" series.
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Han Hyo-joo won the Best New Actress awards at the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards and Singapore International Film Festival for her performance.
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Han Hyo-joo then filmed the Korean-Japanese telecinema co-production Heaven's Postman, which featured pop star Jaejoong from TVXQ.
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Later that year Han Hyo-joo wrapped up her starring role in the musical drama Soul Special, which aired on KBS Joy.
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In 2010, Han Hyo-joo took on the titular character in MBC's 49th anniversary project Dong Yi.
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Han Hyo-joo won several acting awards for her portrayal of Choi Suk-bin, including the Daesang award at MBC Drama Awards and the coveted Best Actress award at Baeksang Arts Awards.
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In 2011, Han Hyo-joo played a blind telemarketer opposite So Ji-sub's ex-boxer in the melodrama film Always.
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Han Hyo-joo later contributed voice narration to the "barrier-free" version of Japanese film My Back Page, which features descriptive audio and subtitles for people with hearing or visual impairments.
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Han Hyo-joo then played the queen to Lee Byung-hun's Gwanghae in the 2012 blockbuster period film Masquerade, which became one of the highest-grossing Korean films of all time.
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Han Hyo-joo followed that with Love 911, an unlikely romance between a doctor and a firefighter.
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In 2013, Han Hyo-joo starred opposite Sul Kyung-gu and Jung Woo-sung in action thriller Cold Eyes, a remake of the 2007 Hong Kong film Eye in the Sky.
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Han Hyo-joo received acting recognition for her performance, winning Best Actress from the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Buil Film Awards.
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Han Hyo-joo then ventured into the overseas market by starring in her first Japanese film, Isshin Inudo's Miracle: Debikuro-kun no Koi to Maho.
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In 2015, Han Hyo-joo starred in the musical biopic C'est Si Bon, which depicted the ups and downs of the folk music group Twin Folio, which was active from the 1960s to 80s.
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Famous for its live performances, C'est Si Bon was the name of a popular music lounge located in Mugyo-dong in the 1970s, where Twin Folio got its start; Han Hyo-joo played the group's muse.
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Later that year, Han Hyo-joo got together with Yoo Yeon-seok and Chun Woo-hee, both of her co-stars in The Beauty Inside, again for Love, Lies, a movie which depicts the last story of gisaeng during the Japanese occupation in the 1940s.
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In 2016, Han Hyo-joo returned to the small screen with MBC's fantasy suspense series W alongside Lee Jong-suk.
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In 2018, Han Hyo-joo starred in the thriller Golden Slumber alongside Kang Dong-won.
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In 2019, Han Hyo-joo was confirmed as part of the main cast of American television series Treadstone, an offshoot from Universal's Bourne franchise.
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In 2020, Han Hyo-joo was cast in a Japanese action film Taiyo wa Ugokanai, directed by Eiichiro Hasumi.
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In 2021, Han Hyo-joo acted as a member of a counter-terrorist squad in the apocalyptic thriller drama Happiness, starring opposite Park Hyung-sik.
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In 2022, Han Hyo-joo starred alongside Kang Ha-neul and Lee Kwang-soo in The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure, the sequel to the 2014 blockbuster The Pirates.
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Han Hyo-joo played the role of Hae-rang, the captain of the pirate ship.
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In 2023, Han Hyo-joo starred in the Disney+ series Moving alongside Ryu Seung-ryong, Zo In-sung, Cha Tae-hyun, Ryoo Seung-bum, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Jung-ha, Go Youn-jung, and Kim Do-hoon.
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In November 2023, Han Hyo-joo was named the first ever winner of the Best Actress award in the Series Category at the 59th Grand Bell Awards for her role in Moving.
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Han Hyo-joo is trilingual; she is able to speak fluently in Korean, English, and Japanese.
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The negative publicity was exacerbated by Han Hyo-joo herself having once been appointed as a goodwill ambassador for the Republic of Korea Air Force.