Han Ye-seul

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Han Ye-seul
Han in October 2020
Born
Leslie Kim

(1981-09-18) September 18, 1981 (age 42)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
CitizenshipSouth Korea
United States (until 2004)[1]
OccupationActress
Years active2001–present
AgentHigh Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul
한예슬
Revised RomanizationHan Ye-seul
McCune–ReischauerHan Yesŭl

Han Ye-seul (Korean한예슬; born Leslie Kim, September 18, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in the sitcom Nonstop 4 (2003), and has since played leading roles in television dramas such as Couple or Trouble (2006), Tazza (2008), and Birth of a Beauty (2014), as well as the films Miss Gold Digger (2007) and Penny Pinchers (2011).

Early life[edit]

Leslie Kim was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.[2] She attended Cerritos High School and graduated from Cerritos College with an associate degree in Computer Graphics.[3] She is fluent in both English and Korean.[2][4]

Career[edit]

Acting debut[edit]

She began her modeling career in South Korea after winning the SBS Supermodel Contest in 2001.[5] Under the stage name Han Ye-seul, she made her acting debut in the popular sitcom Nonstop 4 in 2003.[6] Han quickly rose to fame, and she renounced her U.S. citizenship in 2004 and became a naturalized South Korean citizen to continue establishing herself in Korean entertainment.[7] Her performances in Forbidden Love (2004) and That Summer's Typhoon (2005) received poor reviews,[8][9] with critics dismissing her as primarily a commercial model and not a real actress.[10]

Breakthrough[edit]

Han proved her detractors wrong with Couple or Trouble (also known as Fantasy Couple, 2006), a remake of Overboard written by the Hong sisters. Playing a spoiled heiress who becomes an amnesiac after a yacht accident, Han was praised for her comic timing and the series was a hit.[2][11]

She further embraced the screwball comedy genre with her first film Miss Gold Digger (2007).[12] Despite the film's lackluster box office, Han's portrayal of an advertising executive who juggles four different men in order to catch the ideal husband won her several Best New Actress accolades from local award-giving bodies, including the prestigious Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards.[13][14][15][16][17]

Han Ye-seul in 2008.

Han next starred in Tazza (2008), a TV adaptation of Huh Young-man's manhwa of the same name about gamblers and card sharks.[18] This was followed up with the Lee Kyung-hee-penned Will It Snow for Christmas?, a melodrama about childhood sweethearts who reunite as adults in 2009.[19][20]

Spy Myung-wol controversy[edit]

In 2011, Han was cast as the titular character in Spy Myung-wol, as a North Korean agent on a mission to kidnap a top South Korean Hallyu star, who ends up falling for him.[21][22][23] The series gained notoriety when Han failed to show up for her scheduled filming on August 14–15 and instead flew to Los Angeles on August 16; it was the first instance of a leading actor abruptly leaving in the middle of a Korean drama shoot.[24] Her then-agency SidusHQ cited conflicts with television director Hwang In-hyuk over her hectic working conditions, and that exhaustion had compromised her judgment.[25][26] Han's absence effectively halted production, and the KBS network lambasted her actions as "unilateral, irresponsible and will not be tolerated," while the drama's production company Victory Contents (then known as Victory Productions) threatened legal action.[26][27] After extensive press coverage, Han returned to Korea and continued filming Spy Myung-wol on August 18.[28] Upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, she apologized but maintained that her demands had been legitimate, stating "I want to believe that I did the right thing."[29] Han drew harsh criticism from TV industry professionals and viewers, but some fans defended her, saying the stressful Korean drama live-shoot system was at fault.[24][30]

Romantic comedy film Penny Pinchers was released two months after Spy Myung-wol finished airing. In it, Han shed her glamorous image to play an extremely frugal woman who considers love a frivolous expense and teaches an unemployed playboy the art of penny pinching.[31][32]

Comeback[edit]

After the Spy Myung-wol fiasco, public backlash forced Han to go on a three-year hiatus from acting.[33][34][35]

In late 2014, she made a successful comeback in Birth of a Beauty, where Han played a warm-hearted ajumma who overcomes her husband's infidelity by undergoing a head-to-toe makeover involving plastic surgery and weight loss.[36][37][38] This was followed with leading roles in romantic comedies Madame Antoine: The Love Therapist (2016) where she plays a fake fortune teller,[39] and 20th Century Boy and Girl (2017).[40]

In 2019, Han starred in SBS drama Big Issue, playing a paparazzi journalist who chases after celebrity scandals.[41][42]

In June 2021, Han signed with new agency High Entertainment.[43]

Personal life[edit]

On May 2, 2011, Han hit a man surnamed Do on the hip with the wing mirror of her Porsche while driving into the parking lot of her home in an apartment building in Samseong-dong. Do sustained minor injuries and Han's lawyers offered him ₩5 million in compensation, but Do claimed that she had fled the scene.[44] Her then-agency SidusHQ denied this, saying she had apologized and checked if he was okay, but did not step out of her vehicle.[45] After an investigation, police cleared Han of the hit-and-run allegations.[46][47]

Han began dating YG Entertainment record producer Teddy Park in May 2013.[38][48][49] The two were reported to have broken up on October 24, 2016.[50]

In January 2015, the FSS included Han in a list of people who were found to have violated the foreign currency-related law by failing to report their asset acquisition, such as real estate overseas, to relevant authorities.[51] This referred to a commercial building in Koreatown, Los Angeles that Han had bought in 2011, but her then-agency KeyEast issued a statement that the omission had been a technical mistake, because Han had transferred the building's ownership to a company in which she was the major shareholder and was unaware that she should report it.[52]

On May 13, 2021 Han revealed through an update from her Instagram that she is currently dating theatrical actor Ryu Sung-jae, who is 10 years younger than her.[53][54]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Ref.
2007 Miss Gold Digger Shin Mi-soo
2009 Monsters vs. Aliens Susan Murphy/Ginormica (voice, Korean dubbed) [55]
2011 Penny Pinchers Gu Hong-sil

Television series[edit]

Year Title Role Ref.
2003 Nonstop 4 Han Ye-seul
2004 Forbidden Love Chae-yi
Nonstop 5 Han Ye-seul (cameo)
2005 That Summer's Typhoon Han Eun-bi
2006 Couple or Trouble Anna Jo / Na Sang-shil
2008 Tazza Lee Nan-sook / Mi-na
2009 Will It Snow for Christmas? Han Ji-wan
2011 Spy Myung-wol Han Myung-wol
2014 Birth of a Beauty Sara / Sa Geum-ran
2016 Madame Antoine: The Love Therapist Go Hye-rim
2017 20th Century Boy and Girl Sa Jin-jin
2019 Big Issue Ji Soo-hyun
TBA The Queen Lives in Seoul Nam Da-la [56]

Hosting and variety show[edit]

Year Title Network Role Notes Ref.
2001 Midnight TV Entertainment SBS Host [57]
2004–2005 Section TV MBC [58]
Inkigayo (Popular Music) SBS [59]
2007 She's Olive: Han Ye-seul in L.A. O'live Cast [60]

Music video appearances[edit]

Year Song Title Artist
2003 "With Me" Wheesung
2010 "Love Song"[61] Rain

Discography[edit]

Year Title Artist Notes
2004 "You Are Different" Han Ye-seul Track 6 on Nonstop 4 OST
"Say It" Shinhwa feat. Han Ye-seul Track 11 on Winter Story 2004–2005
2005 "Memory" Han Ye-seul Track 2 on That Summer's Typhoon OST
2007 "Make Me Shine" Han Ye-seul Track 1 on Miss Gold Digger OST
2009 "Love Class" Mighty Mouth feat. Han Ye-seul Track 2 on Love Class EP

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year presented, name of the award ceremony, award category, nominated work and the result of the nomination
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2001 SBS Supermodel Contest Juliet Award Won
2004 6th Mnet Asian Music Awards Best OST "You Are Different" - Nonstop 4 Nominated
MBC Entertainment Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Sitcom/Comedy Nonstop 4 Won [62]
2006 MBC Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress Couple or Trouble Won [63]
Popularity Award, Actress Won
Best Couple Award with Oh Ji-ho Won
2007 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress (TV) Nominated
Most Popular Actress (TV) Won [64]
2008 3rd Asia Model Awards Model Star Award Won [65]
44th Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actress (Film) Miss Gold Digger Won [66]
45th Grand Bell Awards BMW Popularity Award, Actress Won [67]
Best New Actress Won [15]
31st Golden Cinematography Awards Won [68]
7th Korean Film Awards Nominated
29th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actress Won [16]
4th Asian Festival of First Films Best Actress Nominated
SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Planning Drama Tazza Won [69]
Top 10 Stars Won
2009 45th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress (TV) Nominated
2014 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special Birth of a Beauty Won [70]
Best Couple Award with Joo Sang-wook Won [71]
Top 10 Stars Won
2015 15th Huading Awards Best Global Actress in a TV series Won [72]
2016 9th Korea Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress Madame Antoine Nominated
2017 MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama 20th Century Boy and Girl Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ "한예슬 '미국 국적 포기하겠다'". Korea Daily. March 17, 2004. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Yang, Sung-jin (December 12, 2007). "Herald Interview: Han Ye-seul, a bilingual beauty, eyes foreign entertainment markets". The Korea Herald via Hancinema. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  3. ^ "Han Ye-seul (한예슬)". Korea Tourism Organization. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  4. ^ "An Eclipse for Han Ye-seul?". Korea JoongAng Daily. December 8, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  5. ^ Lee, In-kyung (January 13, 2012). "Han Ye Seul to Rejoin Her Former Manager's Agency". enewsWorld. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  6. ^ "Actors/Actresses Who Debuted from Sitcoms". Hancinema. March 30, 2017.
  7. ^ "Actress Han Ye-Seul's New Sexy Looks". The Seoul Times.
  8. ^ <인터뷰>한예슬 "섹시한 구미호 한번 보실래요?". Newsis (in Korean). July 5, 2004.
  9. ^ "<연합인터뷰> SBS 새 주말극 '그 여름의 태풍' 정다빈". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). April 12, 2001.
  10. ^ "When Stars Bank on Advertising Only". The Chosun Ilbo. September 5, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  11. ^ "Han Ye Seul Wins Over Detractors as Amnesiac Heiress". The Chosun Ilbo. October 28, 2006. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  12. ^ Yang, Sung-jin (December 18, 2007). "Movie Review: Gold Digger buffs Han's charm, but misses". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  13. ^ Yang, Sung-jin (December 26, 2007). "Christmas blues besiege three Korean actresses". The Korea Herald via Hancinema. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  14. ^ Lee, Hyo-won (June 29, 2008). "Daejong Film Fest Showcases Trends". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  15. ^ a b D'Sa, Nigel (July 1, 2008). "The Chaser Top Winner at Grand Bell Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Blue Dragon Award Goes to Sports Drama". The Chosun Ilbo. November 21, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  17. ^ D'Sa, Nigel (November 26, 2008). "Forever Wins Korea's Top Blue Dragon". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  18. ^ Han, Sang-hee (July 8, 2008). "Movie-Based Dramas to Fill TV Screens". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  19. ^ "SBS drama Will It Snow On Christmas? is all about love". 10Asia. November 27, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  20. ^ Han, Sang-hee (December 1, 2009). "New Drama to Bring Warmth This Christmas". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  21. ^ Oh, Jean (July 5, 2011). "Eric comes back with TV rom-com". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  22. ^ Hwang, Hyo-jin (July 7, 2011). "Preview: KBS TV series Spy Myung-Wol". 10Asia. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  23. ^ Kwon, Mee-yoo (July 10, 2011). "Drama explores inter-Korean love story". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  24. ^ a b "Han Ye-seul Walks Away from Soap Opera Flop". The Chosun Ilbo. August 16, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  25. ^ "AWOL Actress Willing to Return to Set". The Chosun Ilbo. August 17, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  26. ^ a b Kim, Yoon-mi (August 16, 2011). "Actress Han under fire for abandoning role". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  27. ^ Do, Je-hae (August 16, 2011). "Actress Han Ye-seul returns from LA". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  28. ^ Chung, Ah-young (August 16, 2011). "After much ado, actress Han to return to drama". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  29. ^ "AWOL Soap Actress Returns". The Chosun Ilbo. August 18, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  30. ^ Choung, Hyuk-min (August 19, 2011). "Han mends fences with KBS, not crew". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  31. ^ Lee, Jin-ho (October 19, 2011). "Han Ye Seul at Love and Cash Press Conference". enewsWorld. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  32. ^ Lee, Jin-ho (November 2, 2011). "Love and Cash Director Praises Han Ye Seul". enewsWorld. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  33. ^ Sunwoo, Carla (November 20, 2012). "Han Ye-seul talks about her off-year". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  34. ^ Yun, Chloe (October 2, 2013). "Han Ye Seoul gets on the stage as BEDNI creative director". BNTNews. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  35. ^ Lee, Min-ji (October 30, 2014). "Han Ye Seul Had a Tough Time Returning After Three Years". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  36. ^ Lee, Sung-eun (October 1, 2014). "Han Ye-seul makes comeback". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  37. ^ "Han Ye-seul returns to acting". Korea JoongAng Daily. November 1, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  38. ^ a b Lee, Min-ji (January 18, 2015). "Interview: Han Ye Seul Shares Boyfriend Teddy's Reaction to Her Acceptance Speech". enewsWorld. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  39. ^ "Han Ye-seul, Sung Joon in new JTBC drama". The Korea Times. October 26, 2015.
  40. ^ "Han Ye-seul and Kim Ji-seok to star in "Boy and Girl from the 20th Century"". Hancinema. July 10, 2017.
  41. ^ "Han Ye-seul to star in SBS drama". Korean Film Biz Zone. December 14, 2018.
  42. ^ "Han Ye-seul Excited to Try Something Different in New TV Series". The Chosun Ilbo. March 9, 2019.
  43. ^ "한예슬, '10살 연하♥' 열애→소속사 계약 직접 발표..조여정과 한솥밥". OSEN. June 1, 2021.
  44. ^ "Actress Charged in Hit-and-Run Accident". The Chosun Ilbo. May 6, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  45. ^ Kim, Jessica (May 6, 2011). "Han Ye-seul to be questioned for hit-and-run charge". 10Asia. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  46. ^ Kim, Rahn (May 20, 2011). "Actress Han cleared of hit-and-run allegations". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  47. ^ Kim, Jessica (May 20, 2011). "Actress Han Ye-seul cleared of hit-and-run charges". 10Asia. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  48. ^ Im, Woo-jung (November 25, 2013). "Han Ye-seul and Teddy in a relationship". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  49. ^ Lee, Sun-min (November 26, 2013). "Teddy, Han Ye-seul admit to dating". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  50. ^ "New couples emerge, others break up in 2016 celebrity dating scene". Yonhap. December 20, 2016.
  51. ^ Bae, Hyun-jung (January 13, 2015). "FSS detects celebrities' illicit overseas asset deals". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  52. ^ Kim, Jae-won (January 13, 2015). "Chaebol scions, SM chief and actress in W130 bil. illegal FX deals". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  53. ^ Jeon, Jae-kyung (May 13, 2021). "한예슬 "제 남자친구를 소개합니다"…깜짝 공개". Newsis via Naver. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  54. ^ "'공개 열애' 한예슬, 10살 연하 배우 출신 훈남과 1년째 만남(종합)". star.ytn.co.kr (in Korean). May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  55. ^ 한예슬, 닮은꼴 애니 캐릭터 더빙…“색다른 경험 즐거워”. Nonews (in Korean). March 18, 2009.
  56. ^ Jang Jin-ri (January 11, 2023). "[단독]한예슬, 4년 만에 안방 컴백…'서울에 여왕이 산다' 캐스팅" [[Exclusive] Han Ye-seul, home screen comeback after 4 years... Casting for 'The Queen Lives in Seoul']. Spotv News (in Korean). Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  57. ^ 얼짱 리포터 민송아? 원조는 배우 한예슬. TV Report (in Korean). February 9, 2001.
  58. ^ "한예슬, '섹션TV 연예통신' 새MC". Newsis (in Korean). February 28, 2004.
  59. ^ "한예슬, '생방송 SBS 인기가요' 새 MC". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). October 7, 2004.
  60. ^ "사장님 된 '한예슬' LA서 하는 사업? 역시". Asiae (in Korean). March 20, 2012.
  61. ^ "Rain's Love Story music video to be released today". 10Asia. April 2, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  62. ^ "이경규, 'MBC 방송연예대상' -"천재지변 피해자에 송구, 코미디팬에 감사"". My Daily (in Korean). December 30, 2004.
  63. ^ "MBC 연기대상 '3관왕' 한예슬 "쟁반짜장 쏠게요"". My Daily (in Korean). December 30, 2006.
  64. ^ 이범수 김태희 한예슬 이준기, 백상 인기상 수상. Star News (in Korean). April 25, 2007.
  65. ^ "2008 Asia Model Awards Model Star Award (Korea) Joo Ji Hun & Han Ye Seul". AMFOC.
  66. ^ 한예슬, 백상예술대상 여자 신인연기상 수상. Osen (in Korean). April 24, 2008.
  67. ^ 김윤석·한예슬, 대종상 남녀인기상 수상. My Daily (in Korean). July 27, 2008.
  68. ^ "Filmmakers Honored at Golden Cinematography Awards". HanCinema. KBS World. December 23, 2008.
  69. ^ "문근영 대상, '조강지처클럽' 10개 부문 수상...SBS 연기대상(종합)". edaily (in Korean). September 1, 2009.
  70. ^ "2014 SBS연기대상은 전지현…"김수현 너 덕분"". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). January 1, 2015.
  71. ^ Kim, Min-jin (January 1, 2015). "Four couples win best couple prize in SBS Drama Awards". K-pop Herald. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  72. ^ Sung, So-young (January 20, 2015). "Kim, Han take awards at Hwajeong". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved January 23, 2015.

External links[edit]