Kim came to Beijing, China with her family at the age of three in 1994 after being born in Seoul, South Korea in 1991. She spent ten years there, where she learned to speak Mandarin with ease.
Kim was accidentally directed to the theatre after repeatedly watching Chen Kaige’s Together and making the decision that she wanted to be a filmmaker. She attended Kaywon High School of the Arts after moving back to South Korea, then continued on to study drama at Korea National University of Arts.
Regarding Kim, director Jung Ji-woo said, “She is gutsy and naturally curious. She is strong in the sense that she is not easily swayed. She doesn’t follow others’ lead in doing things.”
Quick Biological facts to check out
Birth: 2 July 1991
Nationality: South Korean
Occupation: Actress
Alma Mater: Korea National University of Arts
How is Kim Go-eun’s career and professional life?
When Kim was chosen to play Eun-gyo, a 17-year-old high school student who arouses the passion of two men, in the 2012 film A Muse, she was propelled from obscurity to the centre of intense media attention. The Best New Actress awards that year were won by her portrayal.
The 21-year-old had only ever performed in student productions or school plays; she had never been in a movie or television drama, not even in a supporting role. She was not even aware that there were any auditions taking place for the movie when she first met director Jung Ji-woo of A Muse through a group of friends. She claimed that without any preparation, she ended up having an audition after speaking with the director.
Kim chose to take a two-year vacation from acting after A Muse despite receiving numerous offers, returning to school to finish her degree. In 2014, she made a comeback to the big screen and showed off her range in the Monster, in which she portrayed a differently-abled woman whose younger sister is murdered by a serial killer. The woman’s grief and rage nearly send her into a psychotic break as she plots her retaliation.
Kim Go-eun and Kim Hye-soo were cast in the 2015 thriller Coin Locker Girl, which is inspired on the 1980 Japanese book Coin Locker Babies. For this movie, she was invited to the 2015 Festival de Cannes for the first time along with the director and cast. As her lifelong idol, actress Jeon Do-yeon, Kim next appeared in the martial arts historical drama Memories of the Sword. She portrayed an aggressive prosecutor in the courtroom drama The Advocate: A Missing Body. Next, she starred with veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung in the family drama Canola, which focused on a girl’s reunion with her grandma.
In the popular cable series Cheese in the Trap, which was adapted from the same-named webtoon, Kim made her television debut. She also sang vocals on the Tearliner song “Attraction” for the drama’s OST. Later same year, she and Gong Yoo co-starred in Kim Eun-wildly sook’s popular fantasy drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God. The drama was a critical and commercial success throughout Asia, becoming a craze in South Korea. The fifth-highest rated Korean drama in cable television history as of June 2021, it was also the first Korean cable drama to achieve ratings that were higher than 20%.
Kim was given a role in the fantasy drama The King: Eternal Monarch in 2019. The series was hailed as one of the most anticipated shows in the first half of 2020 because of its stunning cast, illustrious screenwriter, publicity, and massive budget. It also broke records for SBS’s highest Friday-Saturday drama premiere ratings on its first episode and held the top spot on the weekly Wavve drama chart for eight weeks, but it also received criticism for its screenplay, direction, and performances, resulting in lower-than-expected ratings.
In 2019, Kim also received a role in Hero, South Korea’s first musical film and adaptation of the smash popular musical Youngwoong. Kim plays the role of a former Gungnyeo turned Geisha who joins the Korean independence movement. The movie is based on the life of activist An Jung-geun after the murder of It Hirobumi. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the movie’s premiere, which was initially slated for July 2020, to be postponed.
Kim was chosen as one of the seven faces of Chanel’s campaign in 2020 after being appointed as a Chanel Ambassador for South Korea in 2019. For the Resource Circulation organised by the Korean Ministry of Environment on August 30 at the Korea Press Center in 2019, Kim was chosen as an honorary ambassador.
Kim gave 20 million (around US$17,460) in April 2019 for the Gangwon Province Wildfire victims. When the COVID-19 outbreak hit South Korea in February 2020, the Korean NGO Good Neighbors announced that she had donated 100 million (about $82,640) to buy 40,000 masks for low-income households there. She gave the Children’s Hospital of the Seoul National University Hospital 50 million won (about $44,000) in observance of Korean National Children’s Day. In March 2022, Kim gave the National Disaster Mitigation Association 50 million dollars to aid the communities impacted by the Uljin wildfire (Hope Bridge).
How is Kim Go-eun as an individual?
Out of the around 300 actresses that tried out for the role of Eun-gyo in The Muse, Kim was picked. Jung claimed that Kim matured during the movie. He claimed that her facial expressions in the movie’s final few moments were noticeably different from those in the opening. When she learned how valuable she is to both herself and others, the director wanted to capture those moments. He believed she had traits that could only be seen in someone who is ignorant of her own beauty and her abilities.
Kim frequently discusses how terrified she felt the first time she stood on stage and how difficult it would be to continue doing this for the rest of her life. However, after her second performance, she began to feel happy and never wanted to leave the platform. It was as though she had wings on her back. Kim continues to act because she wants to hang onto that sensation. She claims that when choosing the next film production, she never considered her image or potential endorsement deals, which led her to minimise her appearance in advertising. She is concerned about the effect appearing in ads will have on her acting parts.
What is Kim Go-eun’s personal life like?
Since they were paired together in the well-known Korean drama The King: Eternal Monarch, Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun’s alleged relationship has been the most talked-about issue. There are currently rumours that Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun will wed shortly. They have just started arranging a wedding and have been meeting in secret at various locations.
Actor Shin Ha Kyun, who is seventeen years older than Kim Go-eun, is rumoured to have been one of her lovers. They first met while scuba diving and continued to get to know one another as they pursued acting careers. Despite having a significant age gap, they reportedly lived together for a while and maintained their romance.
What are the honours and accolades received by Kim Go-eun?
In 2012, she was awarded the Outstanding New Artist at the SACF Artist of the Year Awards. For her role in the critically acclaimed A Muse, she won Best New Actress at the Grand Bell Awards, Moet Rising Star Award at the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival. In 2013 she won the Star Asia Rising Star Award at the New York Asian Film Festival and Best New Actress at the KOFRA Film Awards.
In 2015, for Kim’s performance in Coin Locker Girl, she received the Poplarity Award at the Korean Film Actors’ Guild Awards.
2016 was a phenomenal year for Kim. She won the title of Best New Actress –Television for her role in Cheese in the Trap, at the illustrious Baeksang Arts Awards. Favorite Rookie Actor at the Korea Youth Film Festival for her portrayal in The Advocate: A Missing Body, Amazing Rising Start at the Style Icon Awards. In the 2017 Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list, Kim was ranked 36.
In 2022, almost 20 years since the inception of Kim’s Career, she won Best Leading Actress at the Blue Dragon Series Awards.
What is Kim Go-eun’s net worth?
Kim Go Eun is said to have a stunning $5 million in net worth, with blockbuster movies, sponsorship deals, and her high-rating K-dramas serving as the main sources of her income.