Who is Kang So-ra? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Height: 5'6" (168 cm), 5'6" Females

More Facts

awards: Baeksang Arts Award for Most Popular Actress in Film

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Childhood & Early Life

Kang So-ra was born on 18 February 1990 in Gangdong District, Seoul, South Korea. She was interested in music and dancing from early childhood and wanted to become an actress when she grew up.

After completing high school she did a degree in Theatre and Film from Dongguk University, South Korea. While at the university she started appearing in the music videos of artists like Halla Man, PK Heman, JK Kyung-min and Hong Kyung-min. She also featured on the cover of the album titled ‘Gloria’ by PK Heman and actively participated in the university’s cultural activities.

In 2009, she made her acting debut in the Korean horror movie, ‘4th Period Mystery’ that gave her exposure to the film industry. The film was directed by Lee Sang-youn who was impressed by her acting skills. This was closely followed by her role as Ji-hyo in the short film titled ‘Kwang-tae’s Basic Story’.

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Career

By 2010 she became a full time television artist and appeared as herself in the serial ‘Rude Miss Young-ae’ seasons 7 and 8. She also had a minor role in the love triangle serial “Dr Champ’ on SBS network. Her performances received positive reviews in social media and she earned recognition in film and television circles.

Kang So-ra first made it big when she got a role in the super hit comedy drama movie titled ‘Sunny’ in 2011, which was about a middle aged woman who tries to reunite her group of high school friends after 30 years. The film alternates between the past and the present in which Kang plays the role of Ha Chun-hwa in her adolescence. She was just the correct age to fit the role and did full justice to the character in the script. She also did the voice for the Korean dubbing of the American 3D computer animated fantasy film ‘Brave’ the following year.

Having made her mark on the silver screen, she went on to appear in prime time television serials such as the musical ‘Dream High 2’ and the family drama ‘Ugly Alert’ which were aired on KBS2 and SBS respectively in 2013. The same year she also appeared in the movies ‘My Paparotti’ and ‘Cheer Up, Mr Lee’, where she had a cameo role of herself.

She soon gained celebrity status and participated in the third season of the reality show ‘We Got Married’, where she was paired up with Leeteuk from the K-pop group ‘Super Junior’. She also made guest appearances in the serials ‘Strong Heart’ and ‘Top Gear Korea’.

The CEO of MBC network was impressed with her performance in ‘We Got Married’ and invited her to be the MC for the MBC Music Festival in 2011 and MBC Entertainment Awards in 2012. She also did the MC for the 31st Golden Disc Awards on tvN.

Her popularity rose in 2014 with her appearance in the hit serials ‘Doctor Stranger’ and ‘Misaeng’ that were widely viewed in South Korea, Japan and China. The following year saw her in the romantic comedy, ‘Warm and Cozy’ and the legal drama, ‘My Lawyer, Mr Jo’.

Her latest release is the true life biographical film about the famous South Korean cyclist Uhm Bok-dong and the romantic comedy ‘Revolutionary Love’ on tvN, with co-star Choi Si-won. She also appeared in the music video ‘Curtain’ by Suho ft and Song Young-joo in 2017.

Major Works

Her Movies include ‘4th Period Mystery’ (2009), ‘Sunny’ (2011), ‘Brave’ (2012), ‘My Paparotti’ (2013) and ‘Uhm Bok-dong’ (2017).

She has appeared in the television serials ‘Dr Champ’ (2010), ‘The Women of Our Home’ (2011), ‘Dream High 2’ (2012), ‘Ugly Alert’ (2013), ‘Doctor Stranger’ (2014), ‘Warm and Cozy’ (2015) and ‘My Lawyer, Mr Jo’ (2016).

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She has been the MC for the MBC Music Festival (2011), MBC Entertainment Awards (2012) and 31st Golden Disc Awards (2017).

Kang has been one of the cast members for the reality shows ‘We Got Married’ (2011 – 2012) and ‘My Soul’s Table’ (2013).

She has appeared in a number of music videos including ‘This Good Day’ by Halla Man, ‘Happy Me’ by Hong Kyung-min and ‘I Told You I Wanna Die’ by Huh Gak.

Awards & Achievements

For her performance in the movie ‘Sunny’ she won the multiple awards of Hot Movie Star at the 5th Mnet 20’s Choice Awards, Best New Actress at the 20th Crystal Film Awards, Content of the Year in Film at the 4th Syile Icon Awards and Most Popular Actress at the 48th Paeksang Arts Awards.

She won the Popularity Award (Variety Show) at the 12th MBC Entertainment Awards for her performance in ‘We Got Married’.

At the 21st SBS Drama Awards, she was awarded the New Star Award for her role in the movie ‘Ugly Alert’.

For her performance in ‘Doctor Stranger’ she won the Excellence Award (Actress in a Miniseries) at the 7th Korean Drama Awards. She also won the Excellence Award (Actress in a Miniseries) at the 34th MBC Drama Awards for her role in ‘Warm and Cozy’.

In 2014, she won the Popular Star Award at the 9th Asian Model Festival Awards, Asia New Star Award at the Miss Asia Pacific World Super Talent Awards and the Best Style of the Year at the 7th Herald Donga Lifestyle Awards.

In 2015, she won the Best Model at the Korean Advertisers Association Awards.

Personal Life

She has been in a regular relationship with actor Hyun Bin about which both have made public statements.

Trivia

She is the brand ambassador for Dongguk University with celebrities Park Min-young and Son Na-eun.

She picked up fluent English in her childhood by watching videos. She also learnt a bit of Russian for her role in ‘Misaeng’.

Kang So-ra Biography