Jang Hye-jin

Hye-jin was born in Busan on September 5, 1975. Her acting career began in the 1990s, with a minor role in the 1998 feature film If It Snows On Christmas. She began to gain media attention in her native country in the mid-2000s when she played the role of Park Myung-suk in the dramatic film Secret Sunshine under the direction of filmmaker and novelist Lee Chang-dong and with her appearance in SBS's My Sweet Seoul TV series.^[3]

At the end of the decade she appeared in the films Marine Boy by Yoon Jong-seok and Poetry by the aforementioned Lee Chang-dong. In 2016 she was cast in Yoon Ga-eun's The World of Us and Shin Joon's Yongsoon, before playing Jung-hee in Lee Dong-eun's feature film Mothers with Im Soo-jung, Yoon Chan-young and Lee Sang-hee.^[3]

After playing supporting roles in the films Adulthood and Youngju and in the TV series Hold me Tight, the actress gained international recognition^[4] by playing the lead role of Kim Chung-sook in Bong Joon-ho's award-winning film Parasite, which won four Academy Awards in 2020 in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Film.^[2] In the movie she plays a mother who irregularly gets the job as a housekeeper for a wealthy family.^[5]

After her participation in Parasite, the actress was featured in the 2020 TV series A Piece of Your Mind, How to Buy a Friend, True Beauty and Birthcare Center,^[6][7] in addition to playing the role of Seon-myeong in the comic feature film More Than Family alongside Krystal Jung and Choi Deok-moon.^[8][9]

In 2021, she played the role of Court Lady Seo in MBC historical drama The Red Sleeve.^[10] And in 2022 she stars in JTBC television series Green Mothers' Club^[11]