13 Jun Ji Hyun K-Dramas And Movies To Add To Your Must-Watch List
*November 2021 Update*
Model, actress, and mom-of-two Jun Ji Hyun (also known as Gianna Jun) has been active in the industry for more than two decades now! While she keeps her private life...well...private, we've been keeping track of her onscreen projects. One of Ji Hyun's earliest acting projects was a series called Steal My Heart (1988), where she played a supporting character called Ga Yeong. She also starred in the K-drama Happy Together (1999), where five siblings who have gone their separate ways are reunited.
If you want to see more of her, here's a list of Jun Ji Hyun movies and TV shows you need to add to your must-watch list:
Early career projects
1. Il Mare (2000)
This story takes place within two different timelines! Ji Hyun's character, a voice actor, is in 1999, while Lee Jung Jae, an architecture student, is in 1997. They start exchanging letters through a mysterious and *magical* mailbox, not knowing that they're separated by two years.
Where to watch it: iQIYI
2. My Sassy Girl (2001)
This film shot Jun Ji Hyun to fame and was so successful that an American remake was released in 2008! It's a rom-com about—you guessed it—a sassy girl (Ji Hyun) and her boyfriend, played by Cha Tae Hyun. After 15 years, Ji Hyun and Tae Hyun even had a *reunion* when he made a cameo in her 2016 drama Legend Of The Blue Sea.
3. The Uninvited (2003)
"In this supernatural horror film, an interior designer's wedding plans are upended by a mysterious, alluring woman with sinister powers." (via Amazon Prime Video)
Where to watch it: iQIYI, Amazon Prime Video
3. Windstruck (2004)
Some say it's an ~indirect~ prequel to My Sassy Girl. People refer to Windstruck as "a romance that lasts through death" after a police officer (Ji Hyun) and a school teacher's (Jang Hyuk) romance is cut short by his untimely passing.
4. A Man Who Was Superman (2008)
Jun Ji Hyun plays a "gutsy yet jaded" reporter who meets a man that believes he's "the sole survivor of the planet Krypton and a friend to humanity" aka everyone's fave superhero—Superman (played by Hwang Jung Min).
Where to watch it: iQIYI
5. Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)
The movie's official synopsis tells us that in the story, Jun Ji Hyun is a half-human + half-vampire named Saya who *uses her samurai skills to rid the world of vampires*! "When she is sent onto an American military base in Tokyo by the clandestine organization she works for, Saya immediately senses that this may be her opportunity to finally destroy Onigen, the evil matriarch of all vampires."
Where to watch it: iQIYI
6. The Thieves (2012)
"This slick caper flick finds Korean and Chinese professional thieves joining forces to pinch a $20 million diamond from an impenetrable casino vault." (via Netflix)
Where to watch it: Netflix, iQIYI
7. My Love From The Star (2013)
An alien named Do Min Joon (Kim Soo Hyun), who's been stuck on Earth for hundreds of years, meets a celebrity named Song Yi (Ji Hyun). Fashionable Song Yi is one of Korea's most popular actresses, but she's kinda...lonely. They develop a *connection*, but what happens when Do Min Joon has to go back home? (P.S. There are even Filipino and Thai remakes of this drama!)
Where to watch it: Netflix, Viu, iQIYI
8. Assassination (2015)
Her most recent film is set during the Japanese occupation in 1933! According to the film's trailer: "Orders are given to assassinate the commander of the Japanese troops in Korea and a pro-Japanese Korean business tycoon. Yeom Seok Jin, an agent of the provisional Korean government in exile in Shanghai, breaks out top-notch sniper Ahn Ok Yun from a prison where she's been sentenced to death, in order for her to lead the plot."
9. Legend Of The Blue Sea (2016)
Ji Hyun plays the role of a mermaid who comes from the Joseon period. She somehow ends up in present-day Seoul, where she "crosses paths with a swindler (Lee Min Ho) who may have ties to someone from her past." (Via Netflix)
During a press conference for the show, Ji Hyun joked that she doesn't want to be a mermaid ever again: "Every day I think about how I never want to play a character that requires water, fire, and special vocational training. But I have no regrets when I see my mermaid self on screen. I gained a lot of courage from that."
Where to watch it: Netflix, Viu, iQIYI
Recent projects
10. Kingdom: Season 2 (2020)
Netflix's zombie series featured Jun Ji Hyun as a zombie hunter during the Joseon period! She made a much-anticipated cameo appearance in the second season's last episode and spurred rumors that a third season—or a prequel—starring the actress is in the works.
Where to watch it: Netflix
11. Kingdom: Ashin Of The North (2021)
Yes, the prequel turned out to be real! This special episode delves into the history of Ashin, the Jun Ji Hyun character we met in Season 2. It also shows us where *exactly* the zombie epidemic started. In a press conference for Ashin Of The North, Kingdom writer Kim Eun Hee also confirmed that a third season of the show is coming soon!
Where to watch it: Netflix
12. Jirisan (2021)
According to iQIYI, Jirisan is "set against the backdrop of towering views of Mount Jiri, where rangers and other employees of the Jirisan National Park climb through the mysterious and unexplored regions of the mountain, trying to rescue the survivors and lost trekkers." Ji Hyun plays the park's top ranger Seo Yi Kang, who becomes the partner of rookie Kang Hyun Jo (Ju Ji Hoon). Oh Jung Se and Sung Dong Il are also part of the star-studded cast.
Where to watch it: iQIYI
DON'T MISS:
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