K-drama enigma Han So-Hee: How did she get her start?

Choi Ha Rin, South China Morning Post

<p>With her acting skills and an eye for picking successful drama series, Han So-hee is an emerging icon of K-drama. As she turns to 26 on November 18, here are five things you need to know about her.</p><div><strong>She had only part-time jobs before moving to Seoul</strong></div><p>With her looks and chic fashion taste, it’s hard to imagine how she spent her life before her debut – taking part-time jobs in a bar, restaurant, clothing store and accessory store. She majored in arts at high school – which is why we see her drawings on Instagram – but turned to her dream of pursuing a career as an actress in her senior year.</p><p>In a personal blog post in 2018, she revealed her lowly beginnings by commenting: “Still can’t imagine how I came to Seoul, only bringing 300,000 South Korean won (US$270) at the age of 19. It already feels like things [that] happened 10 years ago.” She said, “I went to the bar to work once I opened my eyes and I even worked until sunrise the next day. I believe those days made [me] who I am right now.”</p><div><strong>Her love for her grandmother is touching</strong></div><p>Many of her grandmother’s photos can be seen on her Instagram. She has called her grandmother “her everything”, and even mentioned “my grandmother feeds me once every 24 minutes” by posting photos of food served by her. Her handwriting on letters saying, “You slept late and you’re still sleeping. Eat this once you wake up,” even made many netizens cry.</p><p>Han spent most of her life living with her grandmother before she moved to Seoul to try to make it as an actress. She was raised by her grandmother since she was only three years old which has made Han regard her as both a friend and a mother. After her appearance on The World of the Married , many netizens noticed her tattoo on her arm and criticised it. However, in an interview with Dispatch, she revealed the design of the tattoo is the birth flower of her grandmother and she decided to get the tattoo to feel as though she is always with her.</p><div><strong>Her real name is Lee So-hee</strong></div><p>Most K-stars separate their real names from their working names. Just as Kim Tae-hyung from BTS uses V and Kim Ki-bum from Shinee uses Key, stars usually change at least their first names. Han chose to be different though, changing her last name from Lee. She hasn’t revealed the reason for changing her last name publicly, which just adds to her air of mystery.</p><div><strong>Her debut was not in a drama, but in a Shinee MV</strong></div><p>Her acting skills would make anyone curious about where she made her debut: which role, in what drama. Surprisingly though, apart from appearances in advertising while she was still working part-time jobs, she first appeared in a Shinee music video.</p><p>In this music video, Han played Minho’s girlfriend, with whom Taemin was also obsessed. In an interview with BNTNews, she said, “I didn’t even have an agency at that time so I got scouted through my own SNS [social media]. I even went to the meeting on my own.” She said she really liked the concept and atmosphere of the video and really enjoyed being a part of it which even made her bring her own clothes to be shown in the shots.</p><div><strong>She is the double of Ryujin from Itzy</strong></div><p>K-pop fans really enjoy finding lookalikes among different K stars – such as Irene from Red Velvet and actress Seo Ji-hye, or Park Bo-gum and Lee Hyun-woo. In Han So-hee’s case, people have compared her to Ryujin from girl band Itzy. A photo of Ryujin sitting inside a car went viral as fans questioned whether it was her or Han. Fans were saying, “I would trust even if they say they’re sisters” and suggesting that Ryujin’s Han-like good looks mean she might make a good actress too.</p><p>Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .</p>

<p>Han So-Hee has become an emerging K-drama icon following her appearance in “The World of the Married.”</p>

Han So-Hee has become an emerging K-drama icon following her appearance in “The World of the Married.”

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K-drama enigma Han So-Hee: How did she get her start?

K-drama enigma Han So-Hee: How did she get her start?

Choi Ha Rin,

South China Morning Post

Published Nov 18, 2020 01:47 PM PHT

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Updated Nov 18, 2020 02:15 PM PHT

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Hallyu

K-drama

Korean drama

The World of the Married

Han So-Hee

Korean celebrities

SCMP

South China Morning Post

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