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- by Christopher Weatherspoon / Jan 08, 2018
- 4 Aging Korean Actresses That Have Defied the Odds
In the 1996 American comedy The First Wives Club, Goldie Hawn’s middle-aged actress character Elise delivers the now famous quote “There are only three ages for women in Hollywood; “Babe”, “District Attorney”, and “Driving Miss Daisy”. The same harsh truth seems to ring true for Korean actresses who also have an additional category to be boxed in to; “mother”. Many aging but talented Korean actresses, regardless of pedigree or past accolades, find it difficult to get cast once they reach a certain age, a problem their male counterparts of the same age manage to mostly avoid. When cast, many are relegated to limiting roles of supportive mother or grandmother. Though this problem is widespread and needs to be addressed, not all actresses have seen their career stymied by age. NA Moon-he, KO Doo-shim, KIM Hae-sook and YOUN Yuh-jung are four veteran actresses that have managed to defy the odds by not just maintaining their acting careers, but also thriving as they reach their golden years.NA Moon-hee
When it comes to film careers, NA Moon-hee is an anomaly, regardless of age or gender. At 76 years young, the veteran actress, who has been active in the Korean entertainment industry for nearly 6 decades, has only seen her career continue to flourish. NA debuted in 1961 as a voice actress for MBC Radio and in the 1970s successfully made the transition to television, appearing in the original version of drama series Girl’s High School Days (1976). NA’s popularity and strong dramatic chops would launch a prolific television career that would see the actress consistently appear in dramas nearly every year for the next 4 decades.It would take NA 35 years to make her silver screen debut. Through her television career, the actress had built a strong reputation for playing caring, but firm motherly-types, and would again be cast as a mom in black-comedy film The Quiet Family (1998), the feature debut of KIM Jee-woon, now one of Korea’s most renowned directors. Though she would continue to mostly be cast as a mother, NA would go on to win critical acclaim for her supporting roles in films such as Crying Fist (2005), You Are My Sunshine (2005) and Cruel Winter Blues (2006), the last being the film that would see the actress win her first Blue Dragon Award (Best Supporting Actress). NA’s popularity in both film and television continued to grow and later films allowed the actress to show off her range, specifically her comedic skills. Her leading roles in such outrageous films as Kidnapping Granny K (2007), Girl Scouts (2008), and Twilight Gangsters (2010) would only help to cement the star as a household name to multiple generations. However NA would still see her star get even brighter. NA’s turn as foul-mouthed, curmudgeon grandmother OH Mal-soon in the blockbuster film Miss Granny (2014), as well as her cantankerous but poignant turn as former comfort woman NA Ok-boon in the 2017 Chuseok sleeper hit I Can Speak would prove once and for all that NA Moon-hee is a bankable box-office golden girl. For her role in I Can Speak, NA would not only win her first Blue Dragon Award for Best Actress, but she would also receive a special award from Amnesty International.Having successfully overcome the age barrier, NA seems poised to continue a busy acting career as she approaches her 8th decade. She has top billing in HUH In-moo’s drama The Little Princess (translated title) which is scheduled to be released in the spring.KO Doo-shim
KO Doo-shim is known for playing devoted, self-sacrificing Korean mother characters in film and television, but it is the devotion to her craft that has made her one of the most decorated Korean actresses of all time. She currently holds the record for receiving the most Daesang Awards, Korea’s highest acting prize, with 7. In addition, she is the only actress to receive the Best Actress drama award from South Korea’s three major broadcasters, SBS, KBS and MBC.KO’s interest in acting began from a young age, ignited after legendary Korean actor SHIN Seong-il visited her middle school in Jeju. KO began her television career in 1972 appearing in MBC drama Chief Inspector. This would also be the year that PARK Chung-hee’s military government would put censorship laws in place, bringing Korea’s post-war Golden Age of cinema to a quick end. During this time period, propaganda films and erotic movies became common. KO made her feature film debut at the end of the decade in PARK Yong-jun’s melodrama The Woman Who Leaves Work in the Morning which was quickly followed by starring roles in prolific Korean director IM Kwon-taek’s anti-communist work No Glory (1980) and HA Hwe-ryong’s The Two Women (translated title) (1980). KO received widespread acclaim for her role in KIM In-soo’s Jealousy (translated title) (1983), earning a Best Supporting Actress award at the 22nd Grand Bell Awards.KO only appeared in a handful of films during the late 80s and 90s but still kept busy, appearing in 27 television dramas in the 90s alone. She would see great success with her return to film in the early 2000s. Her portrayal of cynical, battle hardened mother Yeon-soon in PARK Heung-sik’s time-slip drama My Mother, the Mermaid (2004) earned her Best Supporting Actress honors at the Busan Film Critics Awards, the Chunsa Film Art Awards and the Korean Film Awards that year. KO followed her critically acclaimed performance in My Mother, the Mermaid with roles in Long & Winding Road (2005) and Family Ties (2006), earning accolades for each. Her most recent appearance on the silver screen, 2017 drama The Preparation, came after a 7 year absence, but during that time the actress kept busy with television and theater work, also performing humanitarian work in her free time, and picking up additional drama awards in 2014 and 2015.KIM Hae-sook
After being cast in only one film over the course of a decade, many people would question the direction of their acting career. During the 90s, veteran actress KIM Hae-sook had plenty of television drama roles, but during that time was only cast in one feature film, KO Jin-a’s 1992 drama Winter Galaxy. Since then, KIM, who is also frequently cast as a mother, has had a huge reversal of fortune with the actress now being cast in Korea’s largest film productions.Like KO Doo-shim, KIM debuted on the former, long-running MBC television drama Chief Inspector, though her appearance would come 2 years later in 1974. KIM would later begin her film career by appearing in PARK Ho-tae’s melodrama Angry Apple (1997) and would go on to play in several films throughout the 70s and 80s with most of her work coming from television dramas.After garnering praise for her performance in the 1999 drama Did We Really Love?, KIM would be cast the following year in the television drama Autumn in My Heart, a series so popular that many credit it with igniting Hallyu culture (the Korean Wave). The installment served as the first part of a 4-part series and was soon followed by Winter Sonata, Summer Scent and Spring Waltz. KIM would be the only actor to appear in all four installments of the series and would later write a memoir about the experience titled Mother of Hallyu Stars: KIM Hae-sook’s Story. From there KIM would see her career grow exponentially, landing increasingly larger roles. Known for her ability to portray complex characters that operate in moral shades of grey, KIM would find herself frequently cast in crime thrillers, including titles such as Open City (2008), Tough As Iron (2013) and RV: Resurrected Victims (2017). KIM continues to see her star rise, being cast in Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds, one of the biggest releases of 2017. KIM will next be seen in the comfort woman drama Her Story.YOUN Yuh-jung
Many actresses spend a lifetime working to achieve fame with no success, but actress YOUN Yuh-jung has managed to become a star twice. YOUN, who debuted on the television drama Mister Gong in 1967 was still early in her career when she had the fortune of working with legendary auteur KIM Ki-young, director of such seminal Korean films as The Housemaid (1960) and Ieoh Island (1977). YOUN would make her feature film debut playing the femme fatale character in Woman of Fire (1971), the second film in KIM’s The Housemaid trilogy. Her performance would earn her best actress at the Sitges Film Festival that year. YOUN developed a reputation for being an unconventional, modern woman who welcomed risqué roles. She would pair with KIM again to star in the Kafkaesque The Insect Woman (translated title) (1972).At the height of her career, YOUN would abandon acting. In 1975, the actress married Korean folk singer JO Young-nam and moved to the United States to be a wife and raise a family. 10 years later, YOUN returned to Korea to pick up where she left off, before eventually divorcing JO in 1987. YOUN had to overcome the challenge of making a comeback as a middle-aged actress and reestablish her acting career from the bottom. Having built a reputation as a non-conventional actress, YOUN found success being cast in compelling roles shortly after her return, albeit still as the middle age mother. The first film after her acting hiatus would be PARK Chul-soo’s 1985 revenge thriller Woman Requiem (1985). She would follow with 1990 melodrama Angel, Become an Evil Woman, the final film from KIM Ki-young.In 2003, YOUN earned widespread critical acclaim for her performance in IM Sang-soo’s A Good Lawyer's Wife. Her role as an adulterous, fun loving mother would go on to earn her Best Supporting Actress awards at the 2003 Busan Film Critics Awards and Korean Film Awards, while earning a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2004 Grand Bell Awards and be catapulted back to stardom. Since then, YOUN has frequently collaborated with IM, with her career coming full circle when she appeared in his 2010 The Housemaid remake. Though YOUN is now frequently cast as a mother in IM Sang-soo’s films, it is never a conventional role, which is quite fitting for both the director and actress. YOUN’s career continues to flourish, with frequent collaborations with well-known directors, including Hong Sangsoo and even roles in international productions, having appeared in the Netflix series Sense8. After a career spanning nearly 50 years, YOUN continues to play provocative characters, including a turn as an elderly prostitute in her most recent outing, E J-yong’s drama film The Bacchus Lady (2016). She will next appear as a mother of colorful character in the comedy drama Keys to the Heart.
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