1. Affectionately called the "Nation's Little Sister", Moon began modeling at the age of 10, then made her acting debut in 1999 as a child actress.
31 Facts About Moon Geun-young
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Moon Geun-young first rose to stardom through her role as the young Eun-suh in the hugely popular television drama series Autumn in My Heart, followed by a well-received turn in Kim Jee-woon's critically acclaimed horror film A Tale of Two Sisters.
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Moon Geun-young solidified her star status by headlining the box-office hit My Little Bride.
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Moon Geun-young started modeling at the age of 12, and first appeared onscreen on the 1999 documentary drama On the Road directed by Choi Jae-eun.
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Moon Geun-young's rise to fame came in 2000 when she starred as the younger counterpart of Song Hye-kyo's character in the pan-Asia hit drama Autumn in My Heart.
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Moon Geun-young won the Best Young Actress award at the 2000 KBS Drama Awards for her role, together with her co-star Choi Woo-hyuk.
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In 2002, Moon Geun-young made her film debut in Lovers' Concerto, playing a supporting role as Cha Tae-hyun's younger sister.
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Moon Geun-young was launched as a major star with her role in Kim Jee-woon's critically acclaimed horror film A Tale of Two Sisters.
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In 2004, Moon Geun-young headlined the romantic comedy film My Little Bride.
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In 2005, Moon Geun-young starred in Innocent Steps where she played the role of an ethnic Korean living in China, who finds herself to be a complete fish out of water after moving to South Korea.
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That year, Moon Geun-young ranked first among actresses in the Korean film industry as the most bankable star.
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In 2006, Moon Geun-young starred in Love Me Not, a Korean big-screen remake of popular Japanese TV drama Ai nante iranee yo, natsu, where she played a cold-hearted blind heiress.
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In 2008, Moon Geun-young returned to television in the period epic Painter of the Wind, where she played the lead role of Shin Yun-bok, a painter who disguises herself as a man and becomes mentored by the master Kim Hong-do.
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Moon Geun-young received acting acclaim for her performance, including Best Actress at the 2008 Grimae Awards, Best TV Actress at the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards, and the Daesang at the 2008 SBS Drama Awards, making her the youngest recipient of a Daesang in the drama awards history of all three networks.
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In 2010, Moon Geun-young starred in Cinderella's Sister, a modern fairy tale retelling of the contentious relationship between two stepsisters.
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Moon Geun-young caused a stir as the strip dancing, promiscuous Alice, opposite Um Ki-joon's Dan.
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Moon Geun-young returned to TV, playing a struggling young designer in Cheongdam-dong Alice.
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Moon Geun-young then starred in Goddess of Fire, playing Yoo Jung, a character based on Baek Pa-sun, the first female potter and porcelain artist of the Joseon Dynasty.
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Moon Geun-young made her long-awaited return to the big screen in Lee Joon-ik's period film The Throne, in which she played Lady Hyegyeong, the wife of Crown Prince Sado.
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In 2016, Moon Geun-young starred in her second theater play, Romeo and Juliet alongside Park Jeong-min.
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Moon Geun-young was cast in the mystery film Glass Garden, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in 2017.
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In 2019, Moon Geun-young was confirmed to make her small-screen comeback in the tvN's crime drama Catch the Ghost.
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Moon Geun-young graduated from Gwangju Gukje High School in February 2006.
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Moon Geun-young was known for being a diligent student and had a solid attendance record, a rarity among Korean celebrities in college.
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Moon Geun-young was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, and received emergency treatments to treat her arm muscle pain.
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Moon Geun-young made the contributions secretly through her mother, Ryu Seon-young, but her good deeds became known when Morning Reading revealed its 2007 account information online.
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Moon Geun-young had wanted to remain an anonymous donor, but the organization was pressured by a media frenzy to identify her.
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Moon Geun-young's donations were used to build children's libraries and subsidize hospital costs for children suffering from leukemia or cancer.
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Apart from the Community Chest of Korea, Moon Geun-young has given several hundred millions of won to scholarship foundations.
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Moon Geun-young again showed her generosity by building a Korean library for young Korean expatriates in Australia.
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Moon Geun-young has been donating books with her own money since 2006, when she saw during a visit to her relatives in Australia how young Korean students there did not have enough books or places to learn Korean.