1. Jang Na-ra is a South Korean actress and singer who has been active in both the South Korean and Chinese entertainment industries since 2001.
65 Facts About Jang Na-ra
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Jang Na-ra rose to prominence with her hit studio album Sweet Dream in 2002, and starred in well-received television series Successful Story of a Bright Girl, My Love Patzzi, Wedding, My Bratty Princess, You Are My Destiny, Confession Couple, The Last Empress, VIP, and Sell Your Haunted House.
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Jang Na-ra appeared with her father, actor Ju Ho-seong, which real name is Jang Yeon-gyo, in the play Les Miserables in her primary school days, thus sparking her interest in becoming an actress.
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Jang Na-ra went on to become a model for television advertisements in her high school days before entering Chung-Ang University's Department of Theater, Faculty of Fine Arts where she majored in Theater and Film in March 2000.
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Jang Na-ra graduated 10 years later, on February 19,2010.
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Jang Na-ra received an alumni association award for her contributions to the university during the graduation rites.
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Jang Na-ra made her debut in the entertainment world as a singer in May 2001.
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Jang Na-ra started her singing career by becoming a trainee and by signing a contract with SM Entertainment.
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Jang Na-ra released her debut album First Story with the title track Burying My Face In Tears.
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Jang Na-ra then became a host for MBC's music show, Music Camp and KBS's talk show Love Story.
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In October 2002, Jang Na-ra released her second album, Jjang Nara Vol.
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Jang Na-ra received the Korean Singer of the Year from China's CCTV-MTV Awards in 2003.
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Jang Na-ra released a Best Hits Album in 2004 consisting of songs from her 3 previous albums.
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Jang Na-ra followed it up with her fourth album titled My Story released in December 2004, consisting of hit songs such as I Love School and Winter Diary.
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Jang Na-ra's first Chinese album was a huge success, making her the first foreign artist in China with over 1 million copies sold.
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Jang Na-ra held a mini concert in Beijing to promote the album.
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In 2012, four years after releasing Dream of Asia, Jang Na-ra returned to the Korean music scene with the digital single I Only Think of You.
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On May 20,2018, Jang Na-Ra performed Sweet Dream, I am a Woman Too, April Story on Sugar Man season 2, which was the highest audience rating among all terrestrial and non-terrestrial programs broadcast at the same time.
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Sweet Dream by Jang Na-ra Nara became the most-viewed performing video among all Sugar Man singers.
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Jang Na-ra first appeared in the popular MBC TV sitcom New Nonstop, and received attention for her cute image.
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In 2002, Jang Na-ra landed her first leading role in a drama in SBS's romantic comedy Successful Story of a Bright Girl.
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Jang Na-ra won the Best New TV Actress Award at the 2003 Baeksang Arts Awards.
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Jang Na-ra made several other drama series in China which includes Good Morning Shanghai in 2007, Iron Masked Singer in 2010, and Unruly Qiao in 2011.
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However, despite the controversy, Jang Na-ra won the Best Actress for a Foreign Film Award at the 19th China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards.
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In May 2011, Jang Na-ra starred in the KBS romantic-comedy Baby Faced Beauty.
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Jang Na-ra later won the Excellence Award for an Actress in a mini-series at the 2011 KBS Drama Awards.
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Jang Na-ra made a cameo appearance in another Chinese film starring Jaycee Chan titled Whoever.
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In December 2012, Jang Na-ra reunited with her Baby Faced Beauty co-star Choi Daniel for KBS's teen drama School 2013.
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Jang Na-ra received her second consecutive Excellence Award for an Actress in a mini-series at the 2012 KBS Drama Awards.
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In July 2014, Jang Na-ra played the lead role in You Are My Destiny, the Korean adaptation of the 2008 Taiwanese hit drama Fated to Love You.
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Shortly after, Jang Na-ra starred in a one-episode drama special entitled Old Farewell for MBC's Drama Festival, pairing her with Jang Na-ra Hyuk.
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Jang Na-ra then took on the lead role opposite Shin Ha-kyun in the fantasy-romantic-comedy drama, Mr Back.
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Jang Na-ra later won the Top Excellence Award at the 2014 MBC Drama Awards for both television series she starred in that year.
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In 2015, Jang Na-ra played a police detective in the mystery thriller Hello Monster.
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In 2017, Jang Na-ra was cast in the romantic fantasy drama Confession Couple.
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Jang Na-ra won the Excellence Award for an Actress in a mini-series at the 2017 KBS Drama Awards.
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In 2018, Jang Na-ra was cast in the mystery thriller drama The Last Empress, playing a musical actress who becomes the Empress of a modern-day monarch.
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The series received high ratings and Jang Na-ra was praised for her performance with her wide range in acting.
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In 2019, Jang Na-ra returned to the small screen with the office mystery drama VIP.
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Jang Na-ra won the Producer Award for her role as Na Jeong-seon at the 2019 SBS Drama Awards.
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In 2020, Jang Na-ra starred in the romance comedy drama Oh My Baby as manager of a magazine, The Baby.
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In 2024, Jang Na-ra won the Grand Prize at the 2024 SBS Drama Awards for her role in Good Partner as Cha Eun-kyung.
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In 2025, Jang Na-ra signed with LAELBnc after working for 23 years under her own agency, Rawon Culture.
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Jang Na-ra established a US$10,000 Jang Na-ra scholarship foundation in the Philippines.
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In 2007, Jang Na-ra held a fund-raising concert for child patients of leukemia in China.
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Jang Na-ra is known to contribute her talent in singing for charitable causes.
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Jang Na-ra performed with Jackie Chan at his charity concert "Jackie Chan and his friends" on June 24,2006, at Nanjing, Jiangsu province of China.
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In 2015, Jang Na-ra was recognized for her charity activities by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
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In 2017, it was revealed that Jang Na-ra had secretly donated more than 13 billion won, or close to 12 million US dollars, since her debut in 2001 to various charities, disaster reliefs, and academic organizations.
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Jang Na-ra is known to have a big affection for animals.
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Jang Na-ra served as the public relations envoy for fair elections in the 2002 South Korean presidential election.
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Jang Na-ra renewed this commitment as she was chosen as one of the honorary public relations ambassadors for the 2017 South Korean presidential election.
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In 2004, Jang Na-ra was named public relations envoy for China by the Embassy of China, Seoul.
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In 2011, Jang Na-ra was appointed as Seoul's Gangnam District's ambassador to promote tourism in the area.
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In 2002, Jang Na-ra was named as "CF Queen" by various news outlets.
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In March 2020, it was revealed that Jang Na-ra had signed an exclusive model contract with air purifier brand Clair back in December 2019.
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Jang Na-ra signed a contract with Korean cosmetic brand CharmZone as an official model, as revealed in April 2020.
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In June 2010, Jang Na-ra was appointed as an associate professor at the Beijing Huajia University.
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Jang Na-ra halted her singing activities in 2014 due to stage phobia and focused her work on acting.
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Jang Na-ra's father, Ju Ho-seong, is a theater actor, producer, and director.
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Jang Na-ra has been managing Jang's career since her debut.
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Jang Na-ra has her own agency, Rawon Culture, which was established by her father.
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Jang Na-ra is known for her youthful appearance and has expressed her Christian faith numerous times at the SBS Drama Awards.
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On June 3,2022, Jang Na-ra announced that she would be marrying her non-celebrity boyfriend.
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Jang Na-ra's husband is a cinematographer who is 6 years younger than her, they first met on the set of the drama VIP.