Kil Hae-yeon

Gil Hae-yeon (; born April 11, 1964) is a South Korean actress. She is best known to North American audiences for her performance in the film In Her Place, for which she garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards in 2015 and won the Wildflower Film Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 3rd Wildflower Film Awards in 2016.

In South Korea, her roles have included the television series Goodbye Mr. Black, Working Mom Parenting Daddy, Possessed, Something in the Rain, One Spring Night, Encounter (2018–19), and Woman of 9.9 Billion. She is most active as a supporting actress, playing role of main characters' mothers.

Gil also writes children's plays and children's books. She has written over 10 children's books and children's play scripts. She also wrote 'Intensive for Children' based on her experience teaching children in a children's theater class.

In 2020, Gil took office as third Chairman of The Korea Theater Welfare Foundation which was established in 2005 to support theater practitioners so that they do not give up theater even in difficult circumstances and are guaranteed basic treatment. The first Chairman Park Jeong-ja and the second Chairman Yoon Seok-hwa.

Early life and education Gil Hae-yeon was born in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on April 11, 1964 and raised in Seoul. She showed her writing talent from a young age and won many awards in elementary school. She attended Pungmoon Girls' High School, where she took literature class because of her dream of becoming a writer. During high school, she watched Jean-Paul Sartre's play , that elevated her awareness of the charm of theatre. Still, She never dreamed of acting.

In 1983, She enrolled in the Korean Literature Department at Dongduk Women's University. When she was a freshman, she chose bowling for her physical education class. She also joined a theater club. It marked the beginning of her career in theater. They created a theater company with the idea of just doing it for 10 years.

The theater company's motto is "With the Heart of Sprinkling a Lantern of Water in the Desert!". One notable work by 'Little Shinhwa' is the play 'New Year's Day,' which premiered at the Dongsung Arts Center in 2001. 'New Year's Day' achieved significant recognition, winning the 10th Daesan Literary Award in the play category upon its premiere. It was also selected as one of the BEST3 plays by the Korea Theater Critics Association in 2001 and received the Best Picture, Best Directing (Choi Yong-hoon), and Acting Award (Hong Seong-kyung) at the 2002 Donga Theater Awards.

After graduating, she also became an acting lecturer. Since the early 1990s, she has been working with children through children's theater classes.

She was featured as DongA Theatre Princess of the Month in December 2010. The 47th Donga Theater Awards took place on January 24, 2011, at the Grand Theater of Daehakro Arts Theater in Daehakro, Seoul. Actress Gil Hae-yeon, known for her role in "Here Comes Love" (written by Bae Bong-gi and directed by Shim Jae-chan), received the acting award at the ceremony.

In 2011, Gil Hae-yeon was honored with the 'Theater of the Year Award' at the '16th Hiseo Theater Awards'. The awards ceremony took place on December 30 on the 3rd floor of Arko Arts Theater. This year, Gil Hae-yeon appeared in encore such as "Here Comes Love", 'Dream within a Dream', and 'New Year's Day', and was praised for creating a deeper character than when she first performed.

She made her TV debut in 2012 through director Ahn Pan-seok's series How Long I've Kissed. In the series, she portrayed the character Ha Seom-jin, a Korean-Chinese domestic helper. Her realistic acting in the role received praise, as she convincingly portrayed a native Yanbian. After that, her collaboration with Director Ahn continued. In the following years, she worked on one drama each year, including "The End of the World," "Secret Affair," and "Heard It Through the Grapevine.

Gil made her mark in 2015 when she appeared in director Ahn Pan-seok's drama Heard It Through the Grapevine. Her role as Yang Jae-hwa, the secretary to Han Jeong-ho (played by Yoo Jun-sang), resonated with viewers and left a lasting impression.

In 2023, Gil was cast in director Bae Doo-ri's independent film "Dolphin" alongside Kwon Yuri. Since its premiere at the Jeonju International Film Festival, the film has garnered attention as it was invited to prominent domestic and international film festivals, including the Seoul Independent Film Festival, the Muju Mountain Film Festival, and the Vancouver Asian Film Festival in Canada.

Personal life Gil married Cho Won-ho, a fellow founding member of the theater group Little Shinhwa, and they had a son. Gil's husband suddenly died in 2007 due to a myocardial infarction. She became a single mother to her son, who was still in middle school and dealing with an illness. She remained busy with five or six theater appearances, working as a college lecturer, and conducting acting lessons every year. As a result, she earned the nickname "Guillery," a portmanteau of her surname and "Hillary." This nickname reflected the perception that she was even busier than Hillary Clinton.

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2021

Unlocked Je-yeon Unforgivable Hae-yeon

Dolphin Jeong-ok About Family Mother superior Television series Year Title RoleNotes 2012 How Long I've Kissed Ha Sum-jin 2013 The End of the World Jung Sang-sook2014 Secret Affair Ms. Baek Doctor Stranger Kim Eun-hee (Oh Soo-hyun's mother) 2015 Miss Mamma Mia Ma Hae-yeon Heard It Through the Grapevine Yang Jae-hwa Assembly Chun No-shim Cheer Up! Director Lee Riders: Catch Tomorrow Bae Mi-Sun 2016 Puck! Gyeong-pil's mother Moorim School: Saga of the Brave Gye Mi-sook (special appearance) Yeah, That's How It Is So-hyang Babysitter Yoo Sang-won's mother Goodbye Mr. Black Hong In-ja Working Mom Parenting Daddy Lee Hae-soon My Fair Lady Kim Young-ji 2017 Naked Fireman Jeong-soon Queen of Mystery murderer (special appearance) Hospital Ship Hwang In-kyung's mother (special appearance) The Most Beautiful Goodbye Dr. Yoon Two Cops nun 2018 Something in the Rain Kim Mi-yeon (Jin-ah's mother) What's Wrong with Secretary Kim woman at parking (special appearance) The Ghost Detective Hwang Young-hee Too Bright for Romance Pil-yong's mother KBS Drama Special (special appearance) Matrimonial Chaos Jin Yoo-young's mother (special appearance)EncounterTeacher Lee (Tea house)2019 Possessed Shin Geum-jo (Seo-jung's mother) My Fellow Citizens! Kim Kyung-ae (Sang-jin's mother) One Spring Night Shin Hyeong-seon (Jeong-in's mother) Melting Me Softly Yoo Hyang-ja (Mi-ran's mother) Woman of 9.9 Billion Jang Geum-ja2020 Find Me in Your Memory Seo Mi-hyun Do You Like Brahms? Song Jeong-hee 2021 Beyond Evil Do Hae-won Law School Oh Jung-Hee Voice Gam Jong-suk Season 4 Drama Special – Scenery of Pain old woman 2022 Cleaning Up Bo-ran If You Wish Upon Me Choi Deok-ja Mental Coach Jegal Shim Bok-ja 2023 Strangers Again Hong Yeo-rae 2025Head over HeelsOh Ok-soonThe Winning TryKang Jeong-hyo

Web series Year Title Role Notes 2021 You Me Up Do Yong-shik's mother Cameo The Silent Sea Director Choi 2023One Day Off Koo Young-sook Cameo

Theater

Awards and nominations