Kim Ji-won: 5 things to know about the ‘Queen of Tears’ star

Who’s the ice-cold actress behind Hong Hae-in in ‘Queen of Tears’? Here’s all you need to know about Kim Ji-won

This year’s best K-drama yet has been the talk of the town, exceeding expectations and astounding audiences worldwide. Queen of Tears has been hailed as the next best thing after Crash Landing on You, owing to the spectacular screenplay and impressive performances from the two main leads, Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won.

Queen of Tears tackles the topic of a tumultuous marriage crisis and the remarkable revival of a love story between Baek Hyun-woo, a farmer’s son who has made a name for himself as a lawyer, and Hong Hae-in, a seemingly selfish third-generation chaebol (conglomerate) heiress and granddaughter of the Queens Group family.

Kim Ji-won, the actress who plays Hong Hae-in, has been praised for her exceptional talent in portraying the character, exuding strength while displaying vulnerability simultaneously. Her standout performance in bringing Hong Hae-in to life and nailing emotionally charged scenes have boosted her stature in the Korean entertainment industry and beyond.

But who is Kim beneath the ice-cold demeanour of Hong Hae-in? Here are five things you need to know about the actress.

She could’ve debuted under the stage name JessicaK

Above Kim Ji-won as a keyboardist and background vocalist for singer-songwriter Younha

In 2007, Kim was cast on the streets by singer-songwriter Younha’s label. Before becoming an actress, Kim was trained in singing and dancing for over three years and was set to debut under the stage name JessicaK. She would often perform on stage with Younha as a keyboardist and background vocalist, and she has even appeared in Younha’s music video, Gossip Boy. Ultimately, she decided to go with the acting route. Film director Jang Jin offered her a role in Romantic Heaven, which allowed her to debut as an actress.

“I thought that I had to give up singing. I thought it would be better to give the chance to those who are talented in singing. Fortunately, I’m now focusing on my acting career and I just want to focus on this,” Kim said in a 2018 interview.

When asked what her career choice would’ve been if she weren’t an actress, Kim revealed that she would’ve become a kindergarten teacher.

Her memorable pre-debut days

Above Kim Ji-won singing and dancing in an Oran C commercial

She was popularly known as a “CF princess” and an in-demand model for advertisements before debuting as an actress. In 2010, she made her television debut in a commercial for LG Cyon’s Lollipop 2 with K-pop group Big Bang and thus became known as the ‘Lollipop Girl’. Kim later appeared in a carbonated vitamin drink commercial in which she played various characters and performed a song and dance number. This gave her the title, ‘Oran C Girl’.

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She was also called ‘little Kim Tae-hee’ due to her resemblance to the Lies Hidden in My Garden actress.

How she’s able to speak English so fluently

Above Clips of Kim Ji-won speaking English fluently in ‘The Heirs’ and ‘Queen of Tears’

Despite it not being her native language, there are scenes in The Heirs (2013) and Queen of Tears (2024) when Kim speaks English fluently and without a strong Korean accent. This is because Kim lived and attended school in Chicago, where her maternal relatives lived when she was in middle school. Additionally, she enjoys watching and reading books in English.

Kim has also been taking English classes to improve her proficiency in the language further.

She fought and overcame her worst fear by facing it head-on

Above The surfing scene from ‘Lovestruck In The City’, starring Ji Chang-wook and Kim Ji-won

Kim has aquaphobia, which is a severe fear when they see or think about water; hence, they may be afraid of large bodies of water or swimming pools. She also revealed that she cried during a Descendants of the Sun retreat when she was playfully pushed into the water. However, while filming Lovestruck in the City (2020), a scene required her to surf. Kim bravely fought her worst fear and successfully wrapped up filming, crediting the K-drama for helping her overcome aquaphobia.

“It was a big challenge. I’m very afraid of water, so I rarely go to the sea. But my character was supposed to surf. ‘I want to remove words like scared, can’t, and afraid and start a new life.’ For some reason, those words really touched my heart. So in the spur of the moment, I said I wanted to be in that drama. I wanted to overcome my fear. I regretted the moment I kept falling into the water though. I would fall into the water, and then get back on the surfboard. I repeated that for about a week. It wasn’t easy at all. Nonetheless, I’m no longer afraid of water. Thanks to the drama, I overcame my fear,” she revealed in an interview.

Being active on social media is not one of her priorities

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Despite having 11 million followers on her Instagram account, Kim is not on social media much. In 2018, while shooting Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead, Kim revealed that she prefers to steer clear of social media platforms. “I’m the type that separates my personal life from my work. When I appear in a drama, I’d like people to focus on that character only,” she said, adding that in real life, she prefers to be called one of her characters’ names instead of her real name.

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She also said that she’s very much of an introvert, preferring to stay home and lie on her bed, and listening to the rain.

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