Lee Joon-gi’s girl in Flower of Evil, Moon Chae-won, has been acting up a storm since her 2008 breakthrough: here are 5 things you might not know about her
One of the most awarded actresses in Korea originally wanted to be a painter and was made an honorary prosecutor in Seoul, but The Princess’ Man star remains something of an enigma
Moon Chae-won stands apart from other South Korean actresses for one main reason – a surprisingly high number of dramas and films she stars in become critically-acclaimed and bag her awards.
Take War of the Arrows, the action flick in which she scored the sole female role, and which went on to become the highest grossing Korean film of 2011, drawing an impressive 7.48 million people to the cinema. That same year, television drama The Princess’ Man was also well-received critically and commercially, leading to a Top Excellence award at 2011’s KBS Drama Awards.
As she celebrates her 34th birthday on November 13, here are some of the things you might not know about her.
She made history in her breakthrough role
Although she made her acting debut in 2007, she gained attention for her supporting role in 2008 period drama Painter of the Wind in which she portrayed a beautiful gisaeng, an outcast woman trained to be a courtesan, who falls for a female painter (played by Moon Geun-young) passing herself off as a man.
Despite the sexual conservatism in South Korea, their on-screen chemistry was so well-received it led to them winning the award for Best Couple at the 2008 SBS Drama Awards – making history as the first two women to win the award.
She wanted to be an artist