Im Yoon Ah, everyone’s sweetheart
16-year veteran actress and singer
King the Land, Cheon Sa Rang
Male stars across all generations, including Jung Woo-sung, Joo Jin-mo, Lee Seung-gi, Onew, and Lee Teuk, have named this actress as their ideal type. During her heyday, everyone called out her name when asked about their ideal type, earning her the nickname ‘everyone’s woman.’
The protagonist of this story is Yoon Ah, who is now a 16-year veteran actress and singer. Let’s look at the path the nationwide ideal type Yoon Ah has walked.
A girl who debuted as an actress before becoming a singer at 18
Yoon Ah has dreamed of becoming a singer since second grade, inspired by the first-generation girl group S.E.S. To achieve her dream, she auditioned for SM Entertainment, and in 2002, she passed the SM Entertainment Saturday Open Audition with a high score.
At the audition, Yoon Ah sang Wax’s “Please” and danced to Britney Spears’s “Oops!… I Did It Again,” becoming an SM trainee at 13.
She made her face known to the public before her official debut by appearing in TVXQ’s “Magic Castle” and Super Junior’s “Marry U” music videos in 2004 and 2007, respectively.
She also debuted as an actress before becoming a singer by playing the role of internet novel writer Shin Joo-young in the drama Two Outs in the Ninth Inning.
Yoon Ah, nearing her debut, received vocal lessons from Dana of The Grace and practiced singing. After 5 years and 2 months of being a trainee, she debuted as a member of the girl group Girls’ Generation in August 2007.
With her typical beauty, she took over more than 70% of the choreography for the title track “Girls’ Generation” from their first full-length album, earning her the nickname “Center Yoon Ah.”
A top girl group and a growing actress
In addition to her activities with Girls’ Generation, Yoon Ah has consistently pursued her acting career.
In 2008, she was cast in the lead role of Jang Sae-byuk in the daily drama You Are My Destiny, acting alongside actors Park Jae-jung and Lee Ji-hoon. This drama, her first leading role, recorded a peak viewership rating of 43.6% and was hugely popular then.
Afterward, Yoon Ah took on the lead role in the 2009 drama Cinderella Man, even cutting her long hair for the role, but the drama failed to achieve commercial success.
In 2012, she played dual roles in Love Rain, and the following year, she starred alongside Lee Beom-soo in Prime Minister & I. Yoon Ah, who had disappointing results in all three of her subsequent works, decided to venture into Chinese dramas.
In the Hunan Satellite TV drama God of War, Zhao Yun played the lead roles of Hahukyeong and Maokyu, breaking 10 billion views in China and gaining immense popularity.
Yoon Ah, who made a successful comeback, received rave reviews for her performance alongside Ji Chang-wook in a Korean drama that same year, and in 2017, she made headlines by challenging her first Korean fusion historical drama with The King in Love.
Successful screen challenge
Not only dramas, but Yoon Ah also ventured into films, showing her face on the big screen. In the 2017 film Confidential Assignment, she was cast in a supporting role, playing Min-young, who falls in love with Hyun-bin at first sight.
Despite being her first film appearance, she showcased a natural performance based on her accumulated acting experience, and the film was a box office success, attracting 7.8 million viewers.
Two years later, she starred in her first leading role in Exit. She received praise for her solid acting skills and seamlessly handled the action scenes alongside Jo Jung-suk.
Thanks to the chemistry between the two actors, who filmed 80% of the action scenes without a stunt double, Exit the film was a huge box office success, attracting 9.4 million viewers.
After gaining recognition as an actress through Exit, Yoon Ah was also cast in the lead role in director Lee Jang-hoon’s film.
In the film, she played the role of Ra-hee, the girlfriend of actor Park Jung-min. She reprised her role as Min-young in the sequel to Confidential Assignment, Confidential Assignment 2: International, acting alongside Hyun-bin, Yoo Hae-jin, and Daniel Henney.
In 2020, Yoon Ah starred in the JTBC drama Hush, and in 2022, she played the role of Ko Mi Ho in the MBC drama Big Mouth, acting alongside Lee Jong-suk.
This year, she played the role of Cheon Sa Rang in the JTBC drama King the Land, showing perfect chemistry with fellow idol-turned-actor Lee Jun Ho. We look forward to the future endeavors of Yoon Ah, who continues to show unlimited potential as an actress.
By. Lee Ro Woon
Most Commented