Yum Jung-ah

Yum Jung-ah (; born July 28, 1972) is a South Korean actress and beauty pageant titleholder. Her notable films include A Tale of Two Sisters, The Big Swindle (2004), The Old Garden (2006), and Cart (2014), as well as the television series Royal Family (2011), and Sky Castle (2018). She was the first runner-up at Miss Korea 1991 and represented South Korea in Miss International 1992 and finished as the second runner-up.

Career

Early career and Miss Korea After graduating from Chung-Ang University's Department of Theater and Film, Yum Jung-ah entered the entertainment industry through beauty pageants. She was the first runner-up at the Miss Korea 1991 pageant. That same year, she made her acting debut in the MBC drama Our Heaven. In 1992, she represented South Korea in the Miss International pageant, where she also finished as the second runner-up.

Early in her career, public recognition was not immediate. Yum Jung-ah recalled that even in her twenties, she was persistently known by the modifier "actress who was a Miss Korea," stating, "There were times when I complained, 'Why do I only get flashy roles?'"

In 2004, she further established herself as a prominent actress with her portrayal of a mature femme fatale in director Choi Dong-hoon's debut film, The Big Crime. This role earned her the Best Actress award at the Blue House Film Critics Association Awards, marking the beginning of her golden era. That same year, in Teacher vs. Student, she showcased her versatility as an "acting chameleon" by taking on a comedic role that was a stark contrast to her typical characters. Beyond her acting talent, she made a name for herself with this film, leading it to box office success. They have 2 children.

Her younger sister Yeom Jeong-yeon participated in the 1st KBS Super Talent Contest in 1995 along with Song Yoon-ah and Cha Tae-hyun and won a prize.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1992 Jazz Bar Hiroshima Sayuri 1995 Terrorist Hwang Chae-eun 1999 Tell Me Something Oh Seung-min 2002 H Detective Kim Mi-yeon 2003 A Tale of Two Sisters Heo Eun-joo 2004 The Big Swindle Seo In-kyeong Lovely Rivals Yeo Mi-ok Three... Extremes Actress playing a vampire Segment: "Cut" (cameo) 2005 Twentidentity Segment: "20mm Thick" Sad Movie Yeom Ju-young Boy Goes to Heaven Bu-ja 2006 The Old Garden Han Yun-hee 2007 The Worst Guy Ever Oh Joo-yeon Small Town Rivals Tearoom madam Cameo 2009 Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard Actress Cameo 2012 The Spies Assistant manager Kang Love Potion Wife Short film 2014 Cart Sun-hee 2017 The Mimic Hee-yeon 2018 Intimate Strangers Soo-hyun 2019 Hit-and-Run Squad Yoo Ji-Hyun Trade Your Love Mrs. Cheon Another Child Young-joo Start-Up Yoon Jung-hye 2020 Steel Rain 2: Summit First lady Cameo 2022 Alienoid Heug-seol Life Is Beautiful Oh Se-yeon 2023 Smugglers Um Jin-sook 2024 Alienoid: Return to the FutureHeug-seol Mission: CrossMi-seon Starlight Falls Cameo LandHwa-sook

Television series Year Title Role Notes 1991 Our Paradise 1993 January Good Morning, Yeongdong! Hye-jin Iljimae Seol-hwa 1994 Ambition MBC Best Theater:"Man and Woman" A Human Land Kim Geum-dan 1995 The Blue Sky Park Yoon-jung Good Man, Good Woman Kang Yeon-joo Korea Gate Shin Jae-soon 1996 Colors:"Opening the Violet Blinds" Lee Hong-ryeol's Eat Drink Man Woman The Scent of Apple Blossoms Park Shin-hee The Brothers' River Kim So-hee 1997 Model Park Soo-ah Fences on Fire 1998 Until the Azalea Blooms Seven Brides Legendary Ambition Park Jae-hee MBC Best Theater:"Fanny and Alexander" Soo-mi You Are My Song Lee Jae-sook 1999 School Korean language teacher Cha Hyun-joo Crystal Jo Soo-ah Rising Sun, Rising Moon Kim Yoon-ji 2000 Emperor Wang Gun Queen Janghwa 2001 Drama City:"Yoon Sa-wol" Jae-kyung Purity Jang Ho-sook 2003 Lovers Jo Jin-seo 2004 Say You Love Me Jo Yi-na 2008 Working Mom Choi Ga-young 2011 Royal Family Kim In-sook 2012 Flower Band Kwon Ji-hyuk's mother Cameo (episode 15) My Lover, Madame Butterfly Nam Na-bi 2013 After School: Lucky or Not Cameo (episode 2) Your Neighbor's Wife Chae Song-ha 2016 Secret Healer Shaman Hong-joo 2018 Sky Castle Han Seo-jin / Kwak Mi-hyang 2021 Snowdrop Song Hye-joo Cameo 2022 Cleaning Up Eo Yong-mi 2024 No Way Out: The Roulette Ahn Myung-ja 2025The DefectsKim Se-hee Love, Take TwoLee ji-an

Variety shows

Music videos Year Song title Artist 2005 "I'm Not Laughing" Leessang feat. Ali

Musical theatre Year Title Role 1993 Beauty and the Beast

Accolades

Awards and nominations + Sortable table of awards and nominations received by Yeom Jung-ah Year Award ceremony Category Nominee / Work Result 1991 Miss Korea Pageant First Runner-up Miss Photogenic 1992 Miss International Pageant Second Runner-up 1998 KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress 2003 6th Director's Cut Awards Best Actress A Tale of Two Sisters 24th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Supporting Actress 2004 22nd Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Best Supporting Actress 41st Grand Bell Awards Best Actress 24th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards The Big Swindle 25th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Supporting Actress 6th Asian Film Critics Association AwardsBest Supporting Actress 2006 12th Chlotrudis Awards A Tale of Two Sisters 2007 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress – Film The Old Garden 2008 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special Working Mom 2011 4th Korea Drama Awards Best Actress Royal Family MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries 2012 SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend/Daily Drama My Lover, Madame Butterfly 2013 SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend/Daily Drama 2014 15th Women in Film Korea Awards Woman in Film of the Year Cart 2015 51st Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress – Film 20th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Actress 24th Buil Film Awards 2017 54th Grand Bell Awards The Mimic 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Leading Actress 2018 27th Buil Film AwardsBest Actress 201955th Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) for TelevisionSky Castle Best Actress – Television 2019 12th Korea Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) 2022 31st Buil Film Awards Best Supporting Actress Alienoid 58th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress Life Is Beautiful 43rd Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Leading Actress 2023 Director's Cut Awards Best Actress 59th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress – Film Best Supporting Actress – Film Alienoid 2023 32nd Buil Film Awards Best Actress Smugglers 59th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress 44th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Leading Actress 202460th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress – Film Best Supporting Actress – Film Alienoid: Return to the Future

Listicles