Woo Mi-hwa

Woo Mi-hwa (, February 2, 1974) is a South Korean actress. She began her career in theater before transitioning to supporting roles in television and film. She debuted as a theater actress in 1998, playing Petra in the Korean adaptation of the play An Enemy of the People.

Woo has performed in over 60 theater productions. Some of her notable stage roles include acclaimed revivals of Three Sisters and Dear Elena. She has received several theater acting awards, including the 2011 Seoul Theater Festival Female Acting Award and Best Actress at the 2011 Korea Acting Awards for Blowing Songs Flowers in the Rain, Best Actress of the 2013 Korean Drama Awards for Three Sisters, and the 2017 SACA Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Elena in Dear Elena.

She has appeared in supporting roles in various films and television dramas. Her first notable supporting role on television was in the drama series Life (2018). In the same year, she also appeared in Sky Castle (2018), Doctor Prisoner (2018), and Black Dog: Being A Teacher (2018). Before acting in the crime drama Voice Season 4 (2020), She signed with her current agency D-plan Entertainment.

Her most recognized role in television is Lee Myung-shin, Hye-jin's stepmother in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021). She has also played significant supporting roles in Bloody Heart and Link: Eat, Love, Kill. She also known for her role as Dok Go-soon, chief of firefighter squad in drama The First Responders.

After completing high school, Woo enrolled in the Department of German Literature at Sookmyung Women's University, which had a tradition of staging annual German translation plays. During a summer break, she participated in a play reading and production class and was unexpectedly chosen as an actress. Despite her initial shyness and the challenges of adapting to city life, she developed a strong interest in acting and decided to pursue it further. After obtaining her bachelor's degree in German Literature, Woo transferred to Dongguk University's Department of Theater and Film to further her studies in acting. group=note and becoming a trainee member, Woo made her acting debut in 1998 at the age of 24, playing Petra in the Korean adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's play An Enemy of the People.

2001–2014: Yeonwoo Theater Company and Iru Theater Company From 2001 to 2004, Woo was a member of the Yeonwoo Theater Company participating in over ten stage productions, including Lee (2001), Korean Wooturi (2002), and That Guy Looks Like a Radish (2003).

From 2008 to 2010, Woo appeared in the plays The People Who Lived in Gampo, Deok-yi, and Yeol-soo. In 2009, she reprised her roles in these plays while also participating in a preview performance of the Korean adaptation of the play We Love Too Much To Meet Everyday, based on the French play by Guy Alloucherie. In 2010, she took part in the 6th Women's Director's Fair productions, specifically Fighting Women and Who Else Said We Would Be Like Us?.

In 2013, Woo portrayed Olga in the Korean adaptation of Anton Chekhov play Three Sisters. directed by Moon Sam-hwa and staged at the Seoul Arts Center's Free Small Theater.

In 2017, Woo played the title role of Elena in Dear Elena, Oh In-ha's Korean adaptation of Lyudmila Razumovskaya's play Dorogaya Yelena Sergeyevna, for which she won the 2017 SACA Best Actress Award.

In 2018, Woo was cast in the theater play Warrior of Sunshine. During the same year, she took on several minor television roles, the most notable being Do-hoon's mother in the JTBC drama Sky Castle, where she portrayed a mother who flirts with Han Seo-jin (Yeom Jeong-ah) for her son education. Woo also secured her first supporting role in a television series as gynecologist Kim Jung-hee in the drama Life. She expressed gratitude for this role, noting it was the first time she could discuss the character's thoughts and values.

In 2019, Woo and Seo Yi-sook were double cast as Nora Helmer in the Korean adaptation of A Doll's House Part 2 by American playwright Lucas Hnath. This play serves as a sequel to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, originally released in 1879. In the original play, Nora Helmer, a mother of three and wife of Torvald, leaves her family to seek independence. A Doll's House Part 2, set in 1894, follows Nora, now a successful writer, as she returns after 15 years to file for divorce.

Woo made her feature film debut in 2020 as the titular character in Han Jae-yi's melodrama Ivy, which follows the lives of Eun-soo and Ye-won, a lesbian couple who must care for Eun-soo's niece, Su-min, after her mother dies in an accident.

In March 2021, Woo was offered the role of Anita in the MPN Company play Vincent River, adaption of Philip Ridley's play, directed by Shin Yoo-cheong. Anita is a mother who has lost her gay son, Vincent, in a homophobic assault. The play focuses on the conversations between Anita and Davy, addressing issues of homophobia and discrimination. The play was the second collaboration between MPN Company and Ateod, which aimed to revitalize the Daehangno performance market and create a stable production environment. It premiered in Korea in April 2021. Woo reprised her role in 2022.

In 2021, Woo starred alongside Song Kang-ho in Han Jae-rim's film Emergency Declaration.

Take Me Home (Ivy) 담쟁 Jung Eun-soo Honest Candidate 정직한 후보 Seulgi's mom

Emergency Declaration 비상선언 Hye-yoon Television series

Web drama

Television shows

Stage

Musical

Discography + List of Single(s)TitleYearAlbumNotes "Super Star" 2022 Hot Singers Part 2Songs were performed in variety show Hot Singers

Awards and nominations +List of Award(s)AwardYearCategoryWorkResult Seoul Theater Festival Acting Award 2011 Best Actress AwardBlowing Song Flowers in the Rain 4th Korea Drama Awards 2011 Best Actress Award