KOREAN STARS
MOON GEUN YOUNG
PROFILE
Name: 문근영
/ Moon Geun Young (Mun Kun Yeong)
Nickname: Gamza, Mungujeom
Profession: Actress and model
Birthdate: 1987-May-06
Birthplace: Gwangju, South Korea
Height: 162cm
Weight: 43kg
Star sign: Taurus
Blood type: B
Family: Younger sister
Talent agency: Namoo Actors
Education: Gwangju Kukje High School, Sungkyunkwan
University (Korean Literature degree)
Hobbies: Listening to music, reading and dancing
Moon Geun-Young was born on May 6, 1987 in Gwangju, South
Korea. Her immediate family consists of parents and one younger sister. Moon
Geun-Young began her acting career from a young age as a child actor. During
the third grade of her elementary school, Moon Geun-Young performed in her
school's play and became enthusiastic towards acting.
After her performance in the play, Moon Geun-Young asked her
parents to send her to an acting institute. At first her parents rejected her
idea, but Moon Gun-Young did not give up. The following year, while in the 4th
grade of elementary school, Moon Geun-Young asked her parents again. This time
around, her parents replied if presidential candidate Kim Dae-jung won the
election they would send her to acting school. Fortunately for Moon-Geun-Young,
Kim Dae-Jung won the presidential election in 1997. By the 6th grade of Moon
Geun-Young's schooling she enrolled in an acting institute in Gwangju. While
learning acting at the institute her profile was sent by the institute to Seoul
and in the following year she was cast as an extra for a few television dramas.
Television
Debut
After more CF roles, Moon Geun-Young made her proper TV
drama debut in 1999 with the KBS children's drama "Potato" ("누룽지선생과 감자 일곱개"). Moon Geun-Young also acted
in the documentary "On The Way" ("길 위에서") directed by Choi Jae-Eun.
In 2000, her big break came while performing as the child
character Eun-Seo in the KBS2drama
"Autumn in my Heart".
With the drama's large following, she became recognized by the Korean public.
In 2010, while promoting the theatrical play "Closer" Moon Geun-Young
was asked what was her favorite performance and she stated that it was "Autumn in my Heart" due to her acting
inexperience at the time and having to act on pure instinct.
Movie
Debut
After acting in more dramas, Moon Geun-Young performed in
the motion picture "Lover's Concerto". In 2003, Moon Geun-Young took
on her first lead role in the critically praised and commercially successful
horror film "A Tale of Two
Sisters," directed by Kim Ji-Woon. "A Tale of Two Sisters"
sold over 3 million tickets and helped display Moon Geun-Young's acting ability
in a more dynamic setting.
With Moon Geun-Young's romantic comedy "My Little Bride" in 2004, she perfected her
cute wholesome image and found further commercial success at the box office.
"My Little Bride"
sold over 3 million tickets and became the second highest domestic grossing
film for that year. During this time, Moon Geun-Young picked up the nickname
"the nation's younger sister" (Gukmin yeo-dong-saeng") due to
her cute little sister image. Interesting to note, Moon Geun-Young mentioned
that her management company was happy with her performance, but she was not. At
the time she still could not let her Su-Yeon character from "A Tale of Two Sisters" go.
Her next films, 2005 "Innocent Steps" & 2006 "Love Me Not" were not as commercially
successful nor did they receive favorable critical reviews. "Innocent Steps" would follow Moon Geun-Young's
"cute" image set in "My Little Bride," while the darker "Love Me Not," followed more along the
lines of "A Tale of Two
Sisters".
In 2006, Moon Geun-Young was accepted at Sungkyunkwan
University and majored in Korean Language and Literature. During this time,
Moon Geun-Young took a break from acting and did not perform in any titles.
Return
to Acting
In 2008, Moon Geun-Young made her return to acting in
the SBS period drama "The Painter of Wind". The role marked a departure
for Moon Geun-Young as she played a woman who disguises herself as a man to
become a painter. Primarily due to the risky decision to cast Moon Geun-Young
in the lead character role, the production company were worried about the
commercial viability of the drama series. Filming also came with some
difficulties. On October 9th, Moon Geun-Young fractured her nose while filming
a scene for "The Painter of Wind." The accident occurred when co-star Park Shin-Yang inadvertently hit Moon
Geun-Young with his elbow while filming an argument scene. Shooting for the
series halted for one week while Geun-yeong recovered. As it turns out, "The Painter of Wind" received solid ratings (13.2%
weekly average) and received favorable critical reviews. Moon Geun-Young
also garnered the top prize (Daesang Award) at the SBS Drama Awards for her
performance in "The Painter of Wind".
In 2010, Moon Geun-Young made another bold step in her
acting career by performing as the sometimes villain in the KBS2 drama
"Cinderella's
Stepsister". "Cinderella's
Stepsister" was a hit, regularly
receiving ratings in excess of 20%. During the press conference for "Cinderella's
Stepsister," Moon Geun-Young stated that
an actress should step outside of her "safety fence" and take on
risk.
In 2010, Moon Geun-Young took on another new challenge by
performing in the theatrical play "Closer". Moon Geun-Young played
twenty something year old Alice, who works as a strip dancer. In November of
2010, Moon Geun-Young also took on another lead role in the romantic-comedy
drama "Marry Me, Mary!".
Moon Geun-Young stated she was ready to take a break from acting at the time,
but on the strength of the scenario for the series, the talented staff and the
casting of Jang Geun-Suk in
the lead male role, she was persuaded to take on the role in "Marry Me, Mary!".
Family
Background & Her Philanthropic Deeds
Moon Geun-Young's grandfather is the late political prisoner
Ryu Nak-Jin. He died on April 1, 2005. Also, Moon Geun-Young's great uncle was
shot to death during the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. Due to the political strife
in Moon Geun-Young's family, Moon Geun-Young's parents placed a condition on
their daughter to donate a portion of her earnings to needy causes. Throughout
her career and, often anonymously, Moon Geun-Young has made small and large
donations to different charitable causes. In November 2008, the non-profit
group "Korean Community Chest'" revealed that actress Moon Geun-Young
has donated over 850 million Won (approx. $800,000 USD) anonymously to the
charity group over the past 5 years. In 2009, Moon Geun-Young donated the
Haenam Children's Center to the NGO group Good People. The building was
originally financed at a cost of 300 million Won ($230,000) by Moon Geun-Young
after she heard of the pastor and his wife who were in financial difficulties
and the school, which taught underprivileged children in the area, was going to
be shut down.
Special
Relationship With Her Grandmother
As a child, both of Moon Geun-Young's parents worked and,
because of this, she spent a lot of time with her grandmother. Her grandmother
has also often spent time on the shooting set with Moon Geun-Young. A famous
incident exists of Moon Geun-Young and her grandmother while on the shooting
set for the movie "My Little Bride".
During this time, they were observed together picking up discarded cigarette
butts off the floor before throwing it away in a trash can.
Notes
1.
Actress Geun-yeong Mun fractured her
nose on Oct 9, 2008 while filming a scene for "The Painter of Wind".
Co-star Shin-yang Park accidentally hit Geun-yeong with his elbow while
shooting an argument scene. Filming for the show halted for one week while
Geun-yeong recovered.
TV Dramas
Movies
Awards
§ 2006
29th Golden Director Awards: Best Female Actress Award
(Love Me Not)
§ 2005
26th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Most Popular Female Actress
Award (Innocent Steps)
§ 2005
42nd Daejong Film Awards: Most Popular Female Actress
Award (Innocent Steps)
§ 2004
25th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Most Popular Female Actress
Award (My Little Bride)
§ 2004
12th Choonsa Film Awards: Best New Female Actress Award
(My Little Bride)
§ 2004
41st Daejong Film Awards: Best New Female Actress Award
(My Little Bride)
§ 2004
41st Daejong Film Awards: Most Popular Female Actress
Award (My Little Bride)
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