Who is Chun Woo-hee, star of Netflix K-dramas The Atypical Family and The 8 Show and a long-time supporter of Korean independent films?

Chun Woo-hee has been acting in South Korea for 20 years, but this month she appears as you have never seen her before in Netflix’s dystopian The 8 Show.

In a role that is bound to generate plenty of conversation, Chun plays “8th Floor”, a larger-than-life character who lives on the top floor of an eight-storey building as part of a unique game show – and she is at her most vivacious and surprising.

Chun is currently pulling double duty – she is also the co-lead in fantasy romantic drama The Atypical Family alongside Jang Ki-yong. In it, she plays a woman who begins to live with, and help, a family of super-powered individuals, all of whom have lost those powers.

Why we love her

Chun Woo-hee in a still from The Atypical Family. Photo: JTBC

Chun began acting while still in high school, taking a small role in the 2004 theatrical romantic comedy Love So Divine, which was released when she was just 17.

The actress worked for several years before getting noticed, and has not shied away from taking risky roles.

She has split her time between independent and commercial productions and, before her big breakthrough a decade ago, had several roles that helped to raise her profile in the entertainment industry.

Chun Woo-hee in a still from Sunny (2011).
Among them was her role in Bong Joon-ho’s Mother in 2009 as the neighbourhood girl that Won Bin’s character has a crush on, and a turn as the scene-stealing antagonist in Kang Hyoung-cheol’s 2011 nostalgia-driven hit Sunny.

The star-making roles

All it takes is one role to put someone on the map. For Chun, this came in the form of a small indie film – she was chosen to lead filmmaker Lee Su-jin’s debut movie, Han Gong-ju.

Chun Woo-hee in a still from Han Gong-ju (2013).
Han Gong-ju debuted at the Busan International Film Festival in 2013 and it sparked a strong reaction – not just from viewers and critics, but from festival programmers and sales agents who sent it on a tour around the international festival circuit.

Chun stars as a teenager forced to transfer schools and who tries to live her life quietly until a terrible secret from her past catches up with her. The film was a memorable one that touched on very sensitive issues, but it was Chun’s vulnerable performance that really connected with viewers.

Her performance earned her wide praise, including from French actress Marion Cotillard, and won several awards, including the best actress trophies at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards – rare wins for an independent film.

Chun Woo-hee in a still from The Wailing (2016).
Chun appeared in supporting roles in several major films after that. The one that cemented her status as a leading lady was in Na Hong-jin’s acclaimed shamanistic horror The Wailing, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.

In a hypnotic performance that gets under your skin, she plays a mysterious woman in a Korean village who is witness to horrible events. The Wailing is considered by many to be the greatest Korean horror film of all time.

The iconic parts

Although Chun is known as a big-screen star, she is steadily being recognised for her small-screen work as well. Her first appearance in a television series came in 2010 with a small part in the 2010 romantic drama The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry.

Chun Woo-hee in a still from Be Melodramatic (2019).

Her first signature television role came in 2019 as one of the leads in Be Melodramatic, in which she plays an unorthodox television drama writer.

The vibrant series was not a ratings hit when it first aired, but it has since developed a huge fan following and now enjoys a reputation as one of the best K-dramas of the past decade.

It would be four years before she would lead another Korean drama, but Delightfully Deceitful was worth the wait. She stars as a brilliant, but cold-hearted con artist who has recently been released from jail and manipulates those around her to get what she wants.

The unheralded performances

Chun Woo-hee in a still from The 8 Show. Photo: Netflix

In 2015 Chun starred in The Piper, a film with a similar vibe to The Wailing. The rural-set horror drama puts a dark Korean twist on the Pied Piper of Hamelin fairy tale.

Her first leading television role came in the 2017 media drama Argon, in which she starred alongside actor Kim Joo-hyuk. It was his final small-screen appearance – Kim died in a car crash a month after the show aired.

Tomorrow’s turns

After The 8 Show and The Atypical Family, Chun has earned herself a short break – but the versatile actress will no doubt return to our screens before long, whether it be in a major series or film, or an independent production to challenge herself once again.

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