My Name Is: Jung So-min

76 June 25, 2010June 25, 2010

by javabeans

This profile features new actress Jung So-min, who was a no-name rookie before taking on the role of Mo-nae in the current SBS series Bad Guy. Although the drama has only showed five episodes so far, the public was quick to pick up on the new talent in 21-year-old Jung. She hadn’t been a draw amongst much bigger names like Kim Nam-gil, Han Ga-in, and Oh Yeon-soo, but buzz began building almost as soon as the show premiered, and there are some who went as far as to proclaim her a star-in-the-making.

Personally, I wouldn’t say she blows me away in the drama, but I do think she’s doing a solid job, particularly for a drama debut. (She has prior CF experience, but this is her first screen acting credit.) I find that there’s something very appealing and natural about her; I agree that she’s one to watch in the future.

In the past I’ve translated these actor profiles myself, but as it turns out, this one has already been translated by the source. Less work for me!

My name is Jung So-min. My friends and I had a contest to pick out my stage name but I myself chose the name.

I was born on March 16, 1989. I am a junior at the Korea National University of Arts majoring in acting but I’m currently taking a semester off.

My family consists of my mom, dad and my little brother who is a senior in high school. I get into fights with my brother but they don’t last for more than five minutes. We hang out a lot because I really like him and I’m glad he doesn’t think I’m annoying. (laugh)

I learned ballet from elementary school until middle school. I had to quit because my parents were against it and I started to learn Korean traditional dance when I was in high school. If I continued to dance I probably would have done work relating to visiting other countries to spread the Korean traditional dance.

When I was a senior in high school, my dad didn’t know that when I took my college entrance exam I changed my major to acting. I told him after I was accepted and he was furious. I think my dad began to change his mind when he received the tuition bill for my college and saw that it was zero won because of my scholarship. (laugh) I think that was when he began to trust me.

However, my grades after entering school were… We have a saying in our school, “Don’t think about graduating if you haven’t been on academic probation at least twice.” It’s because we are assigned a lot of work and the schedule is tight. It was hard to maintain my grades while working really hard and sleeping only three or four hours a day.

This year for the school play, I was cast to play the role of Hermia for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and it was quite sad because I had to take a semester off to shoot Bad Guy. There aren’t that many opportunities to be in a traditional play.

When I was still in school I really liked physical education. I remember that I won an award in the long run against other students at school and I’m also good at physical fighting.

I actually like to take part in sports rather than watch them. I was the only girl who took part in the soccer match during the Bad Guy rally. I’m better in baseball than other girls and actor Kim Jae-wook told that my pose is similar to that of a major league baseball player. (laugh)

I’ve only seen actor Kim Nam-gil on television and it was hard to approach him at first because he seemed so serious but after getting to know him, we joked around a lot.

The yacht scene during the first half of Bad Guy was shot during March. So it was really cold and after the cameras went off I was shaking because I was wearing just a dress.

There are people who say I look younger than my age and others say that I’m very grown-up-like. Veteran actress Kim Hae-ok, who plays my mom in Bad Guy, said I’m like a high school student wearing regular clothes and kept saying, “You’re like a 15-year-old!” (laugh)

My first paid gig was a commercial for SK Telecom (a telecommunication company in Korea). I gave the entire paycheck to my mom but she accepted it without even blinking an eye. She said, “Don’t think that you can make things up to me with this. You don’t know how much money I spent on you!” (laugh) Of course I still get an allowance.

When I get my allowance all I do is eat. (laugh) I also like to buy things for others. When I have the money I spend it and buy things thinking, “So and so will like this!”

I try to watch a play at least once a week or every other week. My managers and I bawled after we watched the play The Most Beautiful Goodbye, which was originally written by writer Noh Hee-kyung. Afterwards when I went home, I told my mom that I would do my best. (laugh)

I am also interested in musicals. I began to learn to sing after my college entrance exam but unfortunately I’m not gifted in it. I thought if I practiced I would get better but if I had to evaluate myself objectively? I don’t see it happening. (laugh)

My favorite movie genre is thrillers and reasoning movies where you have to use your brain. I became interested in thrillers because of the movie Identity. I also enjoyed watching Our Town. I don’t really like action movies but I like films that have action and create tension like Taken.

The thing that I want to do the most is to get a florist license. I don’t have any skills in art but I like flowers and matching them with different colors. When I act or dance my actions are shown directly but I really want to learn how to create a different feeling with these pieces. However, the tuition fee is a bit too expensive…

Via 10 Asia, English version

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Tags: interviews, Jung So-min

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1 maria

June 25, 2010 at 7:33 PM

wow-- i didn't even know Bad Guy was just her debut! i was underwhelmed by her, but put into this perspective, i must say, i'm actually quite impressed!

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2 Trishia Mallari

June 25, 2010 at 8:06 PM

she is cute. :) hahaha.

we have the same birthdate. :) --

i will look forward to her shows.

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glenda

December 28, 2010 at 5:03 AM

yeah, started to be a fun with her.

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cen

July 22, 2011 at 3:30 AM

me too. we have the same birth-date.

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3 Ladymoonstone143

June 25, 2010 at 8:23 PM

I really love her in Bad Guy. Her acting is natural and she got this innocence that is just so appealing. Infact, I am rooting for her and Gunwook..:))

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4 Darymi

June 25, 2010 at 8:32 PM

She reminds of Yoon Eunhye. She seems like s sweet gal, I hope she finds success in the industry.

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cen

July 22, 2011 at 3:31 AM

we know that but the topic was all about jung so min not yoon eunhye.

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5 sophia

June 25, 2010 at 9:18 PM

yesss ^ that's what i was thinking too. she really reminds me of yoon eun hye at times!

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6 winnie

June 25, 2010 at 9:35 PM

Aww...she laughs so many times during the interview but the thing I found most interesting? That you can actually study at a university for flower arranging.

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7 okdubu

June 25, 2010 at 9:42 PM

lol i'd be miserable if my parents took my paychecks, but i guess that is the right thing to do...

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8 reese

June 25, 2010 at 10:04 PM

I haven't started watching Bad Guy yet, but I read the first few recaps and saw a few scenes on youtube. I think she's a good actress, but she definitely has a lot she can learn and improve on. She's also pretty adorable and I would never imagine her as someone liking sports and physical education. I guess appearances can definitely be deceiving.

@Okdubu: Actually I think it's a tradition in South Korea to give your parents your first paycheck or at least a portion of it. I remember that from a drama...but I could be horribly wrong on that cause dramas don't always represent "real life" all that well on certain things. But it's something I would do, or I'd at least take them out to dinner to thank them for all the money they've spent on me...

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9 mary

June 25, 2010 at 10:13 PM

Jung So-Min is so cute. Her character is treated like a princess and she's rebellious. Love her clothes in the drama. She's spoiled but innocent. I like her more than the main girl cuz the main girl just wants money at the moment. Though I like the lead actress, her character is quite annoying. Thanks for providing the info. We'll be seeing a lot her in the future.

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10 tombrady

June 25, 2010 at 10:16 PM

Too bad she feels she's not a strong singer and not fit for a musical. She's so lovely, acts well and very young. I would have loved to see her in a musical with SHINee's Onew. They would look good together being both so young and adorable!

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11 Jo

June 25, 2010 at 10:47 PM

it is tradition to give your first paycheck to your parents, or buy them undergarments...like socks and stuff. (In America socks might be a sucky gift, but thats because we have ugly thick cotton things from HANES. But korean style socks....CUTE!!)

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12 yuvee

June 26, 2010 at 2:47 AM

I want her pink shorts!!!

That aside, I quite like her as an actress, she's really natural :)

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13 Manouchkaa

June 26, 2010 at 3:15 AM

I love Her soOo much >O<//

She could be Yoon Eun Hye-shii's little sister =)

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14 plue

June 26, 2010 at 3:45 AM

ROFL at siwon's nerdy look! but it does fits his newbie data analyst look XD

i might watch this, i wasn't fond of Iris because it stole you're beautiful's limelight! i am that biased! haha~ maybe... if i have spare time... i'll go watch iris :D

let's hope this one is entertaining! :D

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15 plue

June 26, 2010 at 3:46 AM

omg! i posted wrongly! can you plz delete this? am so sorry!

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cen

July 22, 2011 at 3:36 AM

hey!!!your so bad...

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16 corrakun

June 26, 2010 at 7:57 AM

haha i found it interesting that she chose bad guy over her school play but still felt like she was giving something important up.

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17 Steph

June 26, 2010 at 10:07 AM

She's adorable! I've only seen the first ep of BG, but she's pretty good for a beginner.

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18 Endroine

June 26, 2010 at 10:41 AM

cute ;]

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19 supah

June 26, 2010 at 11:18 AM

I agree, she does have an earthy, natural vibe about her and doll-like and adorable.
(Although I can't help but cringe everytime Mo Ne calls out: ''Gun-wook oppaa!'')

All the best to her!

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20 wriggleman

June 26, 2010 at 11:24 AM

I had never seen her face until yesterday but she certainly meets all of the physical requirements to become a face with a name... I am elated by the fact that she enjoys sports and likes playing better than watching. The "can do" attitude is always appealing. It seems that there is a goodly amount of substance to this young lady. Best of luck to her with her career.

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21 Simmy

June 26, 2010 at 11:30 AM

I didn't like her at first, but now I think she is a sweetheart. Also, I find myself judging her acting skills differently now that I've learned about her background and that she seems to try hard. cute!

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22 Cam

June 26, 2010 at 11:30 AM

Seriously?! O_______________o

I am really surprised that Jung So Min is her first-time-debut in this awesome drama "Bad Guy", oooh! I think that she's really good at acting like that -- I hope I will looking forward for her in another new drama project someday! (thumbs-up)

Impressive! She's older (1989) than me, like, for one year! Mine is 1990, heh!

Oh my! I really like Jung So Min and I love reading this interview during she talked by their questions, lolz!

Yaayyy! FIGHTING & Try your best, Jung So Min! ^____^

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23 sajor

June 27, 2010 at 8:12 AM

her acting is good for a debut

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24 bd

June 28, 2010 at 8:37 AM

Pretty girl - has real nice/interesting eyes.

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25 nana

June 28, 2010 at 9:18 AM

she is so lovely

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26 Dlover

July 13, 2010 at 10:52 PM

i think her acting is good and i find her character soo cute and innocent
if not a little bit Naïve ^^ but i still i always enjoy her on bad guy ^^
hope to see her in more projects. jung so-min fighting ! ^^

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27 anna

July 26, 2010 at 10:58 AM

she's pretty and sexy. she's got a good legs.I like her in "bad guy", her acting is good as a beginner. go girl...congrats... i'll wait for u in "playfull kiss". I see some chemistry in you and with kim hyun joong. good luck, pls work hard....I'll be watching u. so exited to watch u and Kim Hyun Joong...Ur "bad guy" drama is also good...i'm a fan...

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28 jung so min fan

September 6, 2010 at 1:07 AM

Follow @JungSoMin on twitter to support this new actress.
twitter.com/JungSoMin

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29 nzm

October 5, 2010 at 7:24 PM

her acting is good...like her in Playful Kiss...hope to see her more in other projects.

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30 Thea Ferina V. Vital

October 9, 2010 at 8:18 AM

i thought she was only a teen-ager, aged 15-16, BUT WHEN I SAW HER BIO-DATA, I SAID "WHOA!". her face is very innocent and very sweet. i really like her drama "Mischievous Kiss". She really has a good chemistry with Kim Hyun-Joong oppa in this drama especially when i saw the kissing scene. i felt like i'm in the clouds flying.

yes! me too! she also reminds me of Yoon Eun-hye, one of my favorite actress of all time

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31 ayin

October 22, 2010 at 7:18 PM

i like jung so min!!! she's pretty and she's good in acting... :-) i like her smile..... i like her!!! i've watched playful kiss... and i will watch bad guy too... and kim hyun joong and jung so min look good together in playful kiss... and i hope soon in real life.... :-)

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32 Hannah

October 27, 2010 at 7:51 AM

You look so cute in drama "Playful Kiss" Kim Hyung Joong too. Keep going Good Luck to Both and have a good life

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33 honeylyn

November 1, 2010 at 7:42 AM

i came to like Kim Yoon Ji when I saw the koreanovela "Mischievous kiss"... i really like it superb!!!!! hmmm... i also like her because aside from having the same age.. i like her as an actress and she has this natural beauty. How I wish I can see her in person someday. Hope that my profession as a nurse will help me reach this goal.... =) LOL!.. FIGHTING!!!! from Philippines! =)

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34 donna riza labrador

November 3, 2010 at 5:39 AM

..she's so pretty and sexy. and i like her coz she has a natural beauty. she's my idol.lol.hehe.. i was addicted by your movie, playful kis.. how i wish you and kim hyun joong it wil truly a real relationship..hehehe

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35 urisomin

November 6, 2010 at 8:45 PM

love her acting skill, she is so cute, I can't imagine if were OHN cast by another actress. She is the best cast as KOTOKO. not annoyed as Ariel Lin does or over act as Miss Sato on Taiwanese and Japanese version, first time I love Kotoko character.
Natural beauty, yes she is, natural acting actually yes she is.
She's not too pretty that make we say wow but like a magnet, she have thing that make every person would close to her, seeing her adorable laugh and cuteness face. She have open minded, humble and acceptable to any person which she know even she come from very rich fam/chaebol

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36 sheena leng

November 18, 2010 at 12:36 AM

i like jung so min so much she's very pretty
they are good pair of kim hyun joong
hope they will have another movie kim hyun joong (seoung jo) and jung so min (Hani)