BEAUTIFUL MY LADY
Shim Eun-ha
Complete filmography:
Interview (2000)
Tell Me Something (1999)
The Uprising (1999)
Art Museum by the Zoo (1998)
Christmas in August (1998)
Born to Kill (1996)
My Old Sweetheart (1995)
Shim Eun-ha (b. September 23, 1972) debuted in 1994 in the basketball-themed TV drama The Last Match, and quickly became the nation's most popular and talked-about star. After acting in three more television dramas and two lesser-known films (including
Born To Kill with Jung Woo-sung), she made a permanent mark in the film industry with her performance in Hur Jin-ho's modern-day classic
Christmas in August (1998). Later that year
Art Museum by the Zoo, which presented a more down-to-earth side of the actress, saw her win over more critical praise for her acting abilities. Throughout this period, Shim consistently topped magazine polls as the most popular actress in the film industry.
In Tell Me Something, her star power combined with Han Suk-kyu to create one of the most highly anticipated works in Korean film history (though most viewers ultimately expressed disappointment at the film's convoluted narrative). The following year she appeared in Korea's first Dogme film
Interview, which would end up being her last appearance.
In 2002, after rumors surfaced of an engagement which was later called off, Shim decided to give up her entertainment career. In the ensuing years, despite periodic rumors that she would resume her film career, Shim has tried her best to remain out of the public eye, studying in France and taking up painting. However despite (or perhaps because of) her long absence, she remains the undisputedly most popular actress of the last decade. In October 2005 she was married to a professor from Yonsei University, and at the time she re-affirmed that she will not return to acting.
Lee Byung-heon
Complete filmography:
A Bittersweet Life (2005)
Everybody Has Secrets (2004)
Addicted (2002)
My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002, voice)
Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001)
Joint Security Area (2000)
Harmonium in My Memory (1999)
Elegy of the Earth (1997)
Kill the Love (1996)
Armageddon (1996) (voice)
Runaway (1995)
Who Drives Me Mad? (1995)
Lee Byung-heon (b. July 12, 1970) majored in French at Hanyang University before making his television debut on KBS in 1991. A fixture in TV dramas throughout the decade, Lee has continued to work in television even after becoming a major film star. His movie debut came in 1995 as the lead in
Who Drives Me Mad?, and he worked off and on in the film industry up until his breakthrough film in 2000, Joint Security Area.
For a long time thought of as just another pretty face, Lee eventually earned great praise for his acting, both for his turn in
JSA and especially in
Bungee Jumping of Their Own. He also starred in the popular television drama
Beautiful Days, which screened in spring 2002 on SBS and would later be exported across Asia.
In 2002, Lee starred with actress Lee Mi-yeon in
Addicted, a melodrama about two brothers who fall into a coma on the same day. The following spring he also took the lead role in the highly popular TV drama
All In, about a successful gambler.
In 2004, Lee appeared opposite actresses Choi Ji-woo, Choo Sang-mi and Kim Hyo-jin in
Everybody Has Secrets, a remake of the Irish comedy About Adam. Also that year, several of Lee's TV dramas began to screen in Japan, and his popularity there started to soar. He eventually became even more popular in Japan than he is in Korea.
Then in 2005, Lee appeared in Kim Jee-woon's highly anticipated action-noir
A Bittersweet Life. Although the film ended up performing below expectations in both Korea and Japan, it was selected to screen in the Official Selection (out of competition) at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, giving Lee the opportunity to "walk the red carpet" for his biggest moment of fame.
Deep gratitude to
koreanfilm.org for the information & captures.
