Kim Saebyuk, born in 1986, grew up watching countless movies as her parents were running a video rental shop. She enjoyed watching movies so much that she wouldn’t mind skipping a class if it allowed her to attend a rare screening of an indie film. Yet, it was only when she was in her mid-twenties that she first thought about becoming an actor. She left for Seoul almost overnight and attended an acting class for three months, and before she knew it, she found herself cast ...More

Kim Saebyuk, born in 1986, grew up watching countless movies as her parents were running a video rental shop. She enjoyed watching movies so much that she wouldn’t mind skipping a class if it allowed her to attend a rare screening of an indie film. Yet, it was only when she was in her mid-twenties that she first thought about becoming an actor. She left for Seoul almost overnight and attended an acting class for three months, and before she knew it, she found herself cast in minor roles in Lee Kwangkuk’s critically acclaimed debut <Romance Joe> (2011) and the sensation nostalgia fest drama <Sunny> (2011). She immediately drew attention with her first lead role in Kim Kyungmook’s drama <Stateless Things> (2011), thanks to her convincing interpretation of a Chinese person of Korean descent being exploited by her boss. After appearing in the docudrama <MANSHIN: Ten Thousand Spirits> (2013), Kim worked again with Kim Kyungmook, joining the ensemble cast of his social comedy <Futureless Things> (2013), a composite film revolving around the workers of a 24/7 convenience store over a single day. Her delightful performance as the lead in Jang Kunjae’s critically acclaimed <A Midsummer’s Fantasia> (2014) was lauded by the critics and led her to be nominated for several awards, making her the new face of Korean independent cinema. In 2017, she starred in two of the most well-regarded Korean movies of the year, Hang Sangsoo’s satirical comedy <The Day After>, which debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and Kim Daehwan’s <The First Lap>, Best New Director winner in Locarno. Both movies explored relationships through subtle social cues and therefore relied heavily on the actors’ performance, providing plenty of opportunities for Kim to shine with her natural acting. After working again with Hong Sangsoo in 2017 on <Grass>, Kim starred alongside Ko Asung in the Japanese Occupation-set drama <A Resistance> (2018). She earned several Best Supporting Actress Awards, including from the Baeksang Arts Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics, for her performance in the indie darling <House of Hummingbird> (2018) as a Chinese character teacher who becomes a meaningful source of inspiration to the protagonist. After that, she reunited with Hong in <The Woman Who Ran> (2019) and <IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE> (2020), and she starred in the political drama <Kingmaker> in early 2022. Less