Why Jun Ji-hyun is K-drama’s top paid star – from My Sassy Girl kick-starting the Hallyu wave to Alexander McQueen choosing its first Korean brand ambassador
Apart from a brief cameo in Netflix’s Kingdom, Jun Ji-hyun has been off our screens since the K-drama double whammy of My Love from the Star and Legend of the Blue Sea – but has finally announced a comeback in 2021’s Cliffhanger
So as the nation’s sweetheart turns a year older, 39 on October 30, STYLE looks back at her life before the fame and the career milestones that define her ascent to the top.
Before she became Korea’s top-paid actress, Jun was already quite the teen heartthrob
Jun’s natural good looks prompted friends to suggest a career in modelling and acting, but her teenage dream was in fact to become a flight attendant. Nevertheless, while she was still in school, she was scouted by an agency and did in fact become a model. In 1997, she got her first break modelling for Ecole magazine.
In 1999, she starred in a Samsung Myjet printer commercial, which had her dancing around in a carefree fashion, garbed in an outfit so chic it made her a teen icon at the time.
After starring in 2001 mega-hit My Sassy Girl, Jun became everyone’s girl crush thanks to her feisty yet cute character
Romcom My Sassy Girl wasn’t just a huge hit in Korea – where it became the most successful comedy ever released – but was also a blockbuster in Japan, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, earning comparisons to Titanic and firing the international Korean Wave breakthrough to come.
“My role in the film My Sassy Girl is a far cry from my real personality”, the actress told an interviewer on China Central Television (CCTV). “I don’t know how I managed to become so rude during shooting … even (co-star) Cha Tae-hyun was shocked.”
Jun can claim several fashion firsts