Born JUNG Yong-nye in 1945, SEONWOO Yong-nyeo studied ballet during her teenage years but a film adaptation of Swan Lake convinced her to pursue a career as a diplomat. Having not been accepted to a school in that field, she followed her sister’s advice and applied to the Seorabol Art College (now Chung-Ang University). She was still in her first year at the Theater and Film College of Chung-Ang University when she passed an open recruitment held in 1965 by TV network TBC ...More

Born JUNG Yong-nye in 1945, SEONWOO Yong-nyeo studied ballet during her teenage years but a film adaptation of Swan Lake convinced her to pursue a career as a diplomat. Having not been accepted to a school in that field, she followed her sister’s advice and applied to the Seorabol Art College (now Chung-Ang University). She was still in her first year at the Theater and Film College of Chung-Ang University when she passed an open recruitment held in 1965 by TV network TBC (now JTBC). Although she first appeared as a dancer on various TV shows, it didn’t take long before TBC asked her to play in TV series. Noticed by famed director KIM Ki-young, she was cast in 1966 as one of the protagonists of his war drama <A Soldier Speaks After Death>, thereby making her film debut. She may have since remained mainly active in television, but she still left her mark on the big screen with works such as KIM Ho-sun’s <Winter Woman> (1977) and KIM Soo-yong’s <Forest Fire> (1997), the latter of which earning her the Grand Bell Award for Best Supporting Actress. Having later immigrated to the U.S., she put her career on hold for a while but made an impressive comeback in 1998 with her surprisingly funny portrayal of a stubborn mother in the sitcom <Soonpoong Clinic> (1998-2000), which gave her a new image. Her big screen appearances have grown infrequent in recent years, but still drew attention as the mother-in-law of LEE Byung-hun’s relentless playboy in romantic comedy <Everybody Has Secrets> (2004). She last appeared in the CHA Tae-hyun vehicle <BECAUSE I LOVE YOU> (2016).Less