Kim Ok-vin (born 3 January 1987) is a South Korean actress. She is also known as Kim Ok-bin. She made her acting debut in the 2005 film Voice after winning an online beauty contest in 2004. She appeared in films such as Dasepo Naughty Girls, The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan, and The Villainess, as well as the television drama series Over the Rainbow. She has been nominated for several awards and won Best Actress at the 2009 Sitges Film Festival for her role in Thirst.
Kim grew up as the eldest of three siblings. She began training in martial arts as a child and has earned the rank of third dan in Hapkido and second dan in Taekwondo. She also engages in Muay Thai and boxing. She enjoys cars and motorcycles, speed racing, computer building, and sports such as soccer and baseball. She has ambidextrous hands.
Career
Work from 2004 to 2008
In 2004, Kim made her debut in an online beauty contest hosted by the web portal Naver. Despite having little prior acting experience, she was cast as one of three leads in the 2005 horror film Voice, for which she received Best New Actress nominations from both the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Baeksang Arts Awards.
She then starred in Hanoi Bride, a two-part SBS drama that aired during the Chuseok holidays to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Her portrayal of Vietnamese girl L Th V piqued the interest of film director E J-yong, who cast her as the lead in his 2006 film Dasepo Naughty Girls, which was based on a popular webcomic. E remarked, "Few young actresses are mature enough to fully comprehend the heroine who must support her family by selling herself as a prostitute... However, Kim appeared to be an actress who understood the character." She was hesitant at first because the original comic had some explicit scenes, but she decided to trust the director based on his previous work.
Kim auditioned for the role of confidence trickster Seo Eun-hye in the 2006 KBS drama series Hello, God, and after impressing director Ji Yeong-soo with her "intense determination," she was given the lead role. During filming, she expressed self-doubt, saying, "I used to cry two or three times everyday [sic] when the shooting began because I felt that I was a rubbish actress," and was reported to have collapsed on set due to a tight schedule that allowed her less than two hours of sleep per day. Later that year, she starred as aspiring pop singer Jeong Hee-su in the MBC drama Over the Rainbow, a role that required her to sing as well as master difficult breakdance moves. Han Hee, the series' producer, complimented Kim, saying, "She is a daring actress. She is ecstatic about her role and has an almost perfectionist attitude towards it." She did, however, raise some eyebrows when she admitted to only eating one meal per day while filming the drama.
In her next film, The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan, she played a Joseon-era kisaeng alongside Lee Jung-jae. She admitted that it was difficult for her to play a historical figure, but she was helped by consultations with director Yeo Gyoon-dong and two months of traditional Korean dance training. The film premiered in South Korea in December 2008.
Kim was cast as the female lead in Park Chan-Thirst wook's in February 2008, a role that required numerous adult scenes with co-star Song Kang-ho. Kim felt she learned a lot from working with Song, while Park praised her versatility in portraying the various sides of her character. Thirst topped the South Korean box office with over one million admissions during its opening weekend, and it was invited to the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. Time's Richard Corliss praised Kim's performance in the film, saying, "The revelation here is the lovely Kim, who is only 22 years old. She can be a creature of mute docility, then searching ardour, then explosive eroticism, then murderous intent. Lady Chatterley and Lady Macbeth rolled into one smouldering package." The Hollywood Reporter's Maggie Lee was more critical, commenting, "[Kim's] high-pitched neurosis is sometimes grating, but for a relative newcomer, she keeps her continuous personality transformations in stride," while Kyu Hyun Kim of OhmyNews said, "Kim is stunningly sexy in both wilted-housewife and full-blown femme fatale modes, and throws all of herself into the role," but considered her "a bit too young and contemporary" for the role. She shared the Best Actress award at the 42nd Sitges Film Festival with Elena Anaya for Hierro, and she was nominated for Blue Dragon Film Awards, Green Globe Film Awards, and Baeksang Arts Awards.
Kim reunited with director E J-yong for the low-budget film Actresses, in which she and five other leading Korean actresses play themselves at a special Vogue magazine shoot. Kim, like her co-stars, agreed to participate with no guarantees and to share writing credits. The film premiered on December 10, 2009.
Kim was set to star alongside Eric Mun in KBS's action drama Poseidon, which was set to air in July 2011. They dropped out, however, when production was halted following the bombing of Yeonpyeong in November 2010. Kim then starred as a sharpshooter in the war film The Front Line.
Then, as part of the Samsung Galaxy Note-sponsored film Cine Note, Kim collaborated with E J-yong once more on the short How to Fall in Love in 10 Minutes. E J-yong approached actors he knows personally and offered them the roles, which most of them accepted without pay because of their friendship and loyalty to him, including Kim. Behind the Camera, E's 2013 mockumentary with a similar concept to Actresses, depicted the filmmaking process.
Kim then dyed her hair pink for the 2012 comedy Over My Dead Body, which she said she enjoyed filming because she is a fan of the genre. Following that, he starred in the science fiction-thriller film 11 A.M., which was released in the second half of 2013.
Kim made her first television appearance in seven years in the KBS period epic The Blade and Petal, set in the Goguryeo dynasty. In 2014, Kim played a pickpocket in the jTBC cable comedy series Steal Heart. Minority Opinion, a courtroom drama she co-wrote with Yoon Kye-sang and Yoo Hae-jin that began filming in 2013 and was released in theatres in 2015.
Kim appeared in the action thriller film The Villainess in 2017. The film was selected for the Cannes Film Festival and had its world premiere there.
Kim appeared in the military thriller The Discloser in 2018. The following year, she appeared in OCN's fantasy thriller drama Children of a Lesser God.
Kim appeared in the historical fantasy drama Arthdal Chronicles in 2020, alongside Song Joong-ki, Kim Ji-won, and other notable actors.
Kim signed with Ghost Studio in November 2022.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Voice | Park Young-eon | |
| 2006 | Arang | Cameo appearance | |
| Dasepo Naughty Girls | Poor Girl | ||
| 2008 | The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan | Seol-ji | |
| 2009 | Thirst | Tae-ju | |
| Actresses | Herself | Also co-screenwriter | |
| 2011 | The Front Line | Cha Tae-gyeong | |
| 2012 | Over My Dead Body | Han Dong-hwa | |
| 2013 | Behind the Camera | Herself | |
| 11 A.M. | Young-eun | ||
| 2015 | Minority Opinion | Gong Soo-kyung | |
| 2017 | The Villainess | Sook-hee | |
| The Discloser | Jung-sook | ||
| 2022 | Life Is But A Dream | Sable | Short film[46] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Hanoi Bride | Lý Thị Vũ | |
| 2006 | Hello, God | Seo Eun-hye | |
| Over the Rainbow | Jeong Hee-su | Also sang "Start" on the soundtrack | |
| 2007 | War of Money | Lee Soo-young | Appeared in the four bonus episodes[47] |
| 2013 | The Blade and Petal | Princess So-hee/Moo-young | |
| 2014 | Steal Heart | Kang Yoo-na | |
| 2018 | Children of a Lesser God | Kim Dan | |
| 2019–2023 | Arthdal Chronicles | Tae Al-ha | Season 1–2[48] |
| 2021 | Dark Hole | Lee Hwa-sun |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Love to Hate You | Yeo Mi-ran |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Saturday Night Live Korea | Host | Episode 8 – Season 3 |
| Year | Song title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "A Cold Heart" | Lee Seung-chul |
| 2006 | "Tomorrow" | Hwanhee |
| 2006 | "Dangerous Love" | Lena Park |
| 2007 | "Absentmindedly" | Zi-A |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actress | Voice | Nominated |
| 2006 | 42nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress | Nominated | |
| MBC Drama Awards | Best New Actress | Over the Rainbow | Nominated | |
| PD Award | Won | |||
| KBS Drama Awards | Best New Actress | Hello, God | Nominated | |
| 2009 | 45th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress | The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan | Nominated |
| 42nd Sitges Film Festival | Best Actress | Thirst | Won | |
| 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Green Globe Film Awards | Best International Actress | Nominated | |
| 46th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
| Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama | The Blade and Petal | Nominated |
| 2014 | 3rd APAN Star Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama | Steal Heart | Won |
| 2015 | 51st Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (TV) | Nominated | |
| 2016 | 21st Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Minority Opinion | Nominated |
| 2017 | 26th Buil Film Awards | Best Actress | The Villainess | Nominated |
| 1st The Seoul Awards | Nominated | |||
| 54th Grand Bell Awards | Nominated | |||
| 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | 54th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
| 23rd Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actress | Won |
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