Meet Lim Ji-yeon, playing The Glory’s oh-so hateable villain: besides starring with Song Hye-kyo in Netflix’s most-watched TV series, she’s also in Money Heist Korea and is friends with Exo’s Suho

Mar 22 , 2023

Lim Ji-yeon is enjoying skyrocketing fame after the success of Netflix’s smash hit The Glory. Photo: @limjjy2/Instagram

Lim plays Park Yeon-jin in Korean revenge drama The Glory part 2, which grabbed 124 million viewing hours within its first week; she also appears as Seoul in Money Heist Korea: Joint Economic Area

She’s besties with co-star Song despite their on-screen rivalry, is signed with the same agency as Squid Game ’s Lee Jung-jae and is rumoured to be dating a tycoon … although appears happily single

K-dramas continue to rank among Netflix’s most-watched TV shows: Song Hye-kyo’s latest revenge drama The Glory has just taken the top spot as the most-watched non-English language global release on the streaming platform.

NME reported that the show’s newly released part two amassed a staggering 124 million hours of views from March 6 to 12, and made it into the Top 10 in 79 countries around the world. The Glory has also become the most-watched TV series among both English and non-English shows on Netflix.

Lim Ji-yeon in a still from The Glory. Photo: Netflix

As the buzz surrounding The Glory continues to grow, it’s impossible not to focus on the incredible supporting cast members, such as Lim Ji-yeon who stars as Park Yeon-jin, the grown-up bully in the series who fans love to hate and simply can’t get enough of.

So, what else do we know about the 32-year-old star?

Lim Ji-yeon is also in Money Heist Korea

Song Seung-heon as Colonel Kim Jin-pyeong and Lim Ji-yeon as Jong Ga-heun in the South Korean film Obsessed. Photo: Handout

Lim is no stranger to the world of Korean entertainment, having made her debut in the industry back in 2014 with Obsessed, an erotic romance film opposite Song Seung-heon.

Since then, she has appeared in a number of popular TV shows and films, earning a reputation as a versatile and talented performer. She played a supermarket worker in High Society (2015), followed by the box-office action-fantasy film Spiritwalker (2021) and Money Heist Korea: Joint Economic Area (2022) where she played Seoul, a mercenary leader, in the show’s second part.

Lim Ji-yeon plays Seoul, a mercenary leader in Money Heist Korea. Photo: @limjjy2/Instagram

It’s worth noting that Seoul is a new character added specifically for the Korean adaptation, as no such character existed in the original Spanish version.

Since 2020, Lim has been signed with Artist Company, which represents many esteemed Korean stars such as Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae, Park So-dam and Jung Woo-sung, per Hellokpop.