Yunjin Kim
South Korean-American actress

Yunjin Kim

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Intro
South Korean-American actress
A.K.A.
Kim Yun-jin, Yun-jin Kim, Kim Yoon-jin, Yoon-jin Kim, Yoon Jin Kim, Kim Yun Jin, Kim Yoon Jin, Yoonjin Kim
Gender:
Female
Birth:
7 November 1973(Seoul, South Korea)
Star sign:
Instruments:
Education:
Boston University
British American Drama Academy
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
Boston University College of Fine Arts
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Biography

Introduction

Yunjin Kim (Hangul: 김윤진; born November 7, 1973), also known as Kim Yun-Jin is a South Korean-American film and theater actress. She is best known for her role as Sun on the American television series Lost, and as the North Korean spy Bang-Hee in the South Korean film Shiri. She also starred as Dr. Karen Kim in the ABC drama seriesMistresses.

Early life

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea on November 7, 1973. She emigrated to the United States with her family in 1980. They lived in Staten Island, New York. She joined the middle school drama club in the 7th grade and performed in the musical My Fair Lady.

Kim attended high school at the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, a public high school located in Manhattan. From there, she went on to study drama at the London Academy of Performing Arts and later earned her BFA degree in drama at Boston University. Kim has remarked that in her zeal to become Americanized quickly, she studied acting, academics and pronunciation with equal intensity. She is also a trained dancer and martial arts fighter.

Career

After graduation, Kim devoted herself full-time to acting. She garnered several minor parts on MTV, in soap opera-style dramas on ABC, and on the off-Broadway stage. In 1997, she starred in Splendid Holiday, a Korean TV drama shot on location in New York. Kim decided to return to Korea. She was cast in the TV drama Wedding Dress and was also invited to act in Lee Kwangmo's feature Spring in My Hometown, although she ended up not taking this role. Her breakthrough debut came in the 1999 film Shiri, South Korea's first blockbuster film. Shiri became the highest-grossing film in Korean history at the time. In November 2000, she continued her association with Kang Je-gyu in The Legend of Gingko.

After acting in a Japanese film and a feature set in Los Angeles, Kim appeared in the sci-fi feature Yesterday. Then in 2002, Kim took the lead role in Ardor, the feature film debut of documentarist Byun Young-ju. The film was invited to screen in a non-competitive section at the 2003 Berlin film festival.

In 2004, Kim started appearing in the U.S. television series Lost, which ran for six seasons.

In May 2006, Maxim named Kim number 98 on its annual Hot 100 List. In October 2006 she was featured on the cover of Stuff, as well as an inside spread.

In 2013, she had a leading role in the ABC drama series Mistresses.

In 2018, Kim returned to Korean television by headlining the series Ms. Ma, Nemesis.

Personal life

Kim married her former manager Park Jeong-hyeok in March 2010 on the island of Oahu, after shooting her final scenes for Lost.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
1999 35th Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actress Shiri Nominated
36th Grand Bell Awards Best New Actress Won
19th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Won
22nd Golden Cinematography Awards Won
20th Blue Dragon Film Awards Nominated
2000 21st Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Supporting Actress The Legend of Gingko Nominated
2002 23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actress Milae Won
5th Director's Cut Awards Won
7th Women Viewers Film Awards Won
2003 40th Grand Bell Awards Nominated
2nd Korean Film Awards Nominated
2004 Online Film Television Association Best Supporting Actress Lost Nominated
2005 Nominated
3rd Gold Derby Awards Nominated
2006 Asian Excellence Awards Outstanding Television Actress Won
12th Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Won
4th Gold Derby Awards Ensemble of the Year Nominated
2007 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Dresser Award N/A Won
5th Gold Derby Awards Ensemble of the Year Lost Nominated
Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actress Nominated
2008 2nd Asian Film Awards Best Actress Seven Days Nominated
44th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress Nominated
45th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress Won
5th Max Movie Awards Won
29th Blue Dragon Film Awards Nominated
7th Korean Film Awards Nominated
JC Penney Asian Excellence Awards Outstanding Television Actress Lost Nominated
Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actress Nominated
6th Gold Derby Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Ensemble of the Year Won
2009 35th Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actress - Drama Series Nominated
2010 Nominated
8th Gold Derby Awards Ensemble of the Year Nominated
Scream Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated
47th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress Harmony Nominated
31st Blue Dragon Film Awards Nominated
2015 52nd Grand Bell Awards Ode to My Father Nominated
8th Seoul Senior Citizen Movie Awards Movie in couple Award (with Hwang Jung-min) Won
2017 2017 Korean Film Shining Star Awards Star Award House of the Disappeared Won
1st The Seoul Awards Best Actress (Film) Nominated
2018 SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Daily and Weekend Drama Ms. Ma, Nemesis Nominated