A Movie Lover’s Guide To All 21 of Son Ye-jin’s Films
From critically-acclaimed period drama ‘The Last Princess’ to action flicks ‘The Pirates’ and ‘The Negotiation,’ Son Ye-jin is a veritable box office queen!
Is there anything our favorite drama queen can’t do? Son Ye-jin has undoubtedly conquered Korean TV and cinema with her sheer talent—and captured hearts all over the world for her grace, style, and charm along the way.
With an incredible acting career that spans two decades, Son Ye-jin has worked on a whopping total of 21 films—many of which went on to become commercial hits both globally and in Korea. A true box office queen, she received much acclaim and admiration in her portrayal of a variety of different roles in multiple genres. Critics especially adored her in period drama The Last Princess where she brought to life the character of Princess Deokhye, the last princess of the Joseon Dynasty, and her portrayal Captain Yeo-wol in The Pirates, a period adventure film that brought audiences along for a thrilling ride and grossed millions of US dollars in the process.
Son Ye-jin is Princess Deokhye in 'The Last Princess' | Lotte Entertainment
To say Son Ye-jin’s filmography is impressive is an understatement; anyone can tell that the actress has truly honed her craft in a wide range of roles and films. During her time in the industry, she has consistently received well-earned nominations and awards throughout her career from prestigious awards-giving bodies including the Baeksang Arts Awards and Grand Bell Awards. In recent years, Son starred alongside So Ji-sub in a hit romance flick Be With You (2018) and crime thriller The Negotiation opposite Hyun Bin. In 2019, she reunited with Hyun Bin in the global sensation Crash Landing On You which told the story of Captain Ri, a North Korean commission officer, and Yoon Se-ri, a South Korean heiress who inevitably falls for him.
We heart Son Ye-jin this much! Scene from 'Crash Landing on You' | Netflix
And yes, we definitely love her dramas but we also love all the films she’s worked on so far in her 20-year-long career! In this feature, we round up all 21 of Son Ye-jin’s movies in which she gets to show off her acting chops and prove, through her versatility, that she’s a true force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.
Your Ultimate Son Ye-Jin Movie Guide
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Secret Tears (2000)
Gu-ho (Kim Seung-woo) is a drunken insurance agent who knocks down a girl named Mi-jo, who turns out to have paranormal powers, that soon develop to a dangerous and uncontrollable level.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service
Secret Tears (2000)
While Ye-jin's first drama was Sun-hee and Jin-hee in 2001, this horror film marks Son Ye-jin's first foray into acting.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service
Painted Fire (2002)
It's 1850 and Kim Byung-Moon (Ahn Sung-Kee) saves a young boy Jang Seung-Up (Choi Min-Sik) from being beaten by a group of drifters. To thank the man, Jang Seung-Up draws him a picture. Kim Byung-Moon examines the boy's picture and realizes that he is immense potential as a painter. Years later, Kim Byung-Moon encourages Jang Seung-Up to pursue the arts and gives him the pen name of Oh-Won.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service
Painted Fire (2002)
Jang Seung-Up eventually meets Mae-Hyang (Yoo Ho-Jeong), a daughter of nobility. They share passionate feelings but Mae-Hyang must flee from persecution. Jang Seung-Up then wanders the land in pursuit of of his art. He discovers that only through pleasure can he paint greatness. Son Ye-jin plays So-Woon in this period drama.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service
Lover's Concerto (2002)
A testament to to the importance of love and friendship, this film follows three friends. It begins with Ji-Hwan (Cha Tae-Hyun) who receives letters from an unidentified person. The letters, containing black-and-white photos of happy children playing, remind Ji-Hwan of his old two friends. We travel five years earlier, while Ji-Hwan is taking pictures with his camera, two girls, Soo-In (Son Ye-Jin) and Gyung-Hee (Lee Eun-Ji), walk into the frame. Ji-Hwan falls in love with Soo-In at first sight. When he eventually confesses his love to her, she refuses him politely. Even so, Ji-Hwan doesn't give up and tells them that he wants to be friends the next time they meet. Ever since then, the three of them start a wonderful friendship.
Photo Credit: Korea Pictures and Popcorn Films
Lover's Concerto (2002)
The three spend time each other all the time, considering this time shared the most precious moments of their lives. They start to become confused between love and friendship and, finally, Gyung-hee and Soo-in leave Ji-Hwan without a word. The random letters convince Ji-Hwan to start a journey to find his old friends, but while looking for Soo-in and Gyung-hee, he confronts a beautiful yet sad secret.
Photo Credit: Korea Pictures and Popcorn Films
Classic (2003)
Ji-Hye (Son Ye-jin) attends university with her friend Soo-Kyoung (Kee Tae-Kyng). They both have a crush on Sang-Min (Zo In-Sung) who is a member of their drama club. Soo-Kyoung asks Ji-Hye to write a love letter to Sang-Min for her, as a favor. Ji-Hye pours her heart out but sadly pens the letter with her friend's name. Sang-min was touched by the letter and becomes attracted to Soo-young. Ji-Hye becomes uncomfortable with this and tries to avoid him but can't seem to do so successfully.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service
Classic (2003)
Ji-Hye's estranged dad passes away unexpectedly and with her mother on a trip, Ji-Hye begins to clean the attic. She finds a secret box, in which her mom kept all her memories of a love story lone gone.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service
Crazy First Love (2003)
Son Tae-il (Cha Tae-hyun) is a rambunctious and a problem student at Kang High, not because of his grades—he has an incredible IQ of 148—but because he's only interested in marrying his first love Ju Il-mae (Son Ye-jin). He demands marriage with Il-mae and gets even more distracted from school. Il-mae and her father Young-dal come up with a proposal to 'bring Tae-il back on track'—he may marry Il-mae if he could raise his rank up to top 3,000 nationwide in academics.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service
Crazy First Love (2003)
Without giving it a second thought, Tae-il accepts the ridiculous proposal and after two years, achieves it. However, Young-dal gives him more challenges before he can marry Il-mae, and as they grow older, Il-mae also wants to enjoy her university years and date boys. This frustrates Tae-il—who has done so much to be with her. When he has achieved the final challenge of passing the first level judicial examination, Il-mae confesses she loves another and Tae-il can't believe his ears. What is he to do now?
Photo Credit: Cinema Service
A Moment To Remember (2004)
Son Ye-jin is Soo-jin, a 27-year old fashion designer, who meets Cheol-Su (Jung Woo-sung) outside of a convenience store. She accuses him of stealing the can of soda she bought inside, only to realize she was mistaken. One day, while surveying a construction site that her father is in charge of, Soo-jin recognizes this same man. Soo-jin begins to fall for Chul-Soo and begins to woo him. A relationship develops and the two eventually marry.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
A Moment To Remember (2004)
Life is great for the young married couple but Soo-jin's forgetfulness becomes worse and the two soon learn that she has a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
April Snow (2005)
In-su (Bae Yong-Joon) and Seo-young (Son Ye-jin) meet in a hospital after their respective spouses were both seriously injured in an accident while traveling in the same car, leading to their discovery that their spouses had been having an affair. The two are miserable and with a shared sense of betrayal and anger for their comatose partners, they grow closer while sharing their grief, anger and fear for their loved ones' recovery.
Photo Credit: Show East
April Snow (2005)
They fall in love with each other, gradually and then all at once. In-su's wife wakes up from her coma and she tells him that she regrets having the affair, her past actions. This puts In-su in a situation where he faces a difficult decision.
Photo Credit: Show East
Art of Seduction (2005)
Son Ye-jin plays Han Ji-won who is a successful banker graced with beauty which she uses to her advantage. With a plethora of men to choose from, she seeks more of a challenge and they all seem to bore her. She meets Seo Min-Jun (Song Il-Kook) who is a successful architect but is a bit of a playboy and enjoys it fully. They meet when Han Ji-Won crashes her car into Min-Jun's—attraction is sparked instantly—but with both of them enjoying the art of seduction, they don't show how they fall for each other right away.
Photo Credit: Showbox
Art of Seduction (2005)
These two proud, attractive individuals battle it out to see who will give in first? Has Ji-won finally met her match in Min-jun?
Photo Credit: Showbox
Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox (2007)
Son Ye-jin brings the character of Yobi with her voice. The animated film begins with a flying saucer crashing into the home of a curious young kumiho or fox spirit who lives on a hilltop. Today, even as the city begins to encroach on the territory, the aliens refuse to leave. Mr. Kang brings his class up to the hilltop for a retreat and the aliens can't resist giving them a scare, while Yobi, the mischievous, shape-shifting kumiho, can't resist investigating the kids.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox (2007)
Yobi falls in love with Geum-yee, one boy from the class, and puts on a masquerade that is all fun... that is, until a fierce, strange hunter crashes into everyone's lives. Things get strange and Yobi worries about her own fate.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
Open City (2008)
This action crime flick is about a pickpocket organization that has ties with the Japanese yakuza and works out of Osaka, Japan. Their leader Baek Jang-Mi (Son Ye-Jin) and her bodyguard Choi Seong-Su (Shim Ji-Ho) are caught at the scene of a crime and they are deported to their native country of South Korea.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
Open City (2008)
Back in Korea, Baek Jang-Mi opens a tattoo parlor, but she decides to start a new pickpocket crime group in Korea. One day, she crosses paths with a rival gang and gets beaten up by them in an alley. A cop, Cho Dae-young, saves Baek Jang-mi and there is instant attraction between the two. She realizes that he's a cop and immediately vanishes. They cross paths yet again when Baek Jang-mi orchestrates her biggest heist yet, made possible with the help of legendary pick pocket Kang Man-ok (Kim Hae-sook). Meanwhile, Detective Cho Dae-young soon learns the identity of the woman he saved in the alley when handed new files at the station.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
My Wife Got Married (2008)
Based on the novel by Park Hyun-Wook, My Wife Got Married follows the men that Joo In-ah loves in life. It begins with football where Deok-Hoon (Kim Ju-Hyeok) falls for In-ah who shares his love and passion for the sport. They become lovers and soon after, they are married. Their marriage is like a dream until one day, In-ah declares that she wants to marry another.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
My Wife Got Married (2008)
In-ah doesn't want a divorce because she still loves Deok-hoon, but she also loves this new man just as much. Deok-hoon finds that he cannot leave In-ah in the middle and she goes ahead with her plan to marry her new love. This film got Son Ye-jin the Best Actress award at the 2009 (45th) Baeksang Arts Awards and was recognized at the 2008 Blue Dragon Film Awards and 2009 Shanghai International Film Festival)
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
White Night (2009)
Shortly after his release from prison, a man is murdered. Detective Han Dong-su (Han Suk-Kyu) is on the case which leads him to a homicide case from 14 years ago, a case that still stays with him until now. Son Ye-jin plays Mi-Ho, who is set to marry the chief executive of a large corporation. Si-young, played by Lee Min-Jung, is the assistant to the executive chief and is asked to do a background check on her. She discovered that Mi-Ho's mother was the main suspect in this same unsolved murder case. She also notices Yo-Han (Ko Soo) who always seems to be by Mi-Ho's side.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service, CJ Entertainment
White Night (2009)
Detective Han is convinced that Yo-Han is the victim's son from the 14-year-old murder case and is somehow linked to the current murder investigation. He discovers a hidden relationship between Mi-ho and Yo-Han, and begins a frantic search to uncover the truth.
Photo Credit: Cinema Service, CJ Entertainment
Spellbound (2011)
Ever since she was young, Yeo-Ri (Son Ye-jin) has seen ghosts and has had unexpected things happen to the people who are around her. She isolates herself from the outside world until a street magician named Jo-Goo (Lee Min-Ki) reaches out to her. He asks her if she wants to join his show. A year later, Jo-Goo is performing in large theaters. His show has an edgy horror theme which people seem to love. One day, on stage, Jo-Goo calls out to a ghost from a closet that had been brought on stage. Yeo-Ri performs as the ghost during the show. After, Jo-Goo takes the team out to dinner on the single condition that Yeo-ri joins them. She declines the invitation. Fast forward to her house where she brings out a birthday cake to eat by herself. In her living room is a tent. She talks to her mom who has relocated to Norway on the phone and her mom begins to cry, worrying that Yeo-ri will always live alone.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
Spellbound (2011)
When Yeo-Ri sleeps, she feels something strange and wakes up to face yet another ghost. At their next show, Jo-Goo insists that Yeo-ri joins them for dinner and drinks. She goes with them and Yeo-ri becomes drunk and sits next to Jo-Goo. She makes a scene when she starts to say that he lacks heart. The next day, when Yeo-Ri rememebers, she calls Jo-Goo to apologize. She sees another ghost and Jo-Goo hears a strange sound over the phone. Their conversation abruptly ends and he goes over to her house to check on her. He learns of the difficult world she lives in—can he help her?
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
The Tower (2012)
At the center of Seoul is Tower Sky. It's Christmas Eve and its residents and staff busy themselves with holiday preparations. A small fire in the restaurant kitchen attracts Lee Dae-Ho (Kim Sang-Kyung), a Tower Sky staff member. He learns about the tower's faulty water sprinkler system. The owner of the building, Jo (Cha In-Pyo), disregards this warning and pushes through with the festivities.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
The Tower (2012)
To celebrate, helicopters are hired to circle the building and provide the building with man made snow during the Christmas party. As residents gather for the event, something wild happens—the helicopter loses control and crashes into the building. This sets off a chain of events that threatens the lives of all the residents. The disaster film sees Son Ye-jin play Seo Yun-hee, the restaurant manager.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
Blood and Ties (2013)
After completing graduate school, Da-Eun (Son Ye-jin) sets her sights on becoming a newspaper reporter. She lives with her father, Son-Man (Kim Kap-Soo), who lovingly calls her "my heart." They are close and though her father does menial work, Da-Eun is a proud daughter.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
Blood and Ties (2013)
Da-Eun goes to the movies with her boyfriend Jae-Kyoung (Lee Gyu-Han) and friend Bo-Ra (Jo An). They watch a crime movie where a man kidnaps a boy and demands ransom, only to later on kill the child. No one hears from the killer again and no clue is left except for the ransom phone call. When Da-Eun hears the voice, she freezes—the man's voice sounds like her father who also favors the phrase: "It ain't over 'til it's over." Suspecting her father is the killer, she faces a situation that tears her apart from inside—is her father a monster?
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
The Pirates (2014)
This adventure period film is set during the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty and sees a bunch of envoys lose the Emperor's Royal Seal to a giant whale.
Photo Credit: Lotte Entertainment
The Pirates (2014)
Jang Sa-Jung (Kim Nam-Gil) leads a group of bandits who try to retrieve the seal. In their quest, they encounter a group of pirates led by female captain Yeo-Wol (Son Ye-jin). The movie wrapped up filming with the last scene involving Kim Nam-Gil and Son Ye-jin isolated on an island, finding a lost pirate ship. The film was successful in Korea and globally.
Photo Credit: Lotte Entertainment
Bad Guys Always Die (2015)
A China-South Korea-Hong Kong co-production, this suspense crime action comedy follows the story of Qingzi (Chen Bolin), a Chinese language teacher at an elementary school in Busan, and his younger brother and two friends. While on a tour of Jeju island, they come across what looks like a car accident with an injured Korean woman, Ji-yeon (Son Ye-jin) at the driver's seat.
Photo Credit: Huayi Brothers Media Group, China Film Group Corporation
Bad Guys Always Die (2015)
When Qiangzi, his brother, and two friends attempt to bring Ji-yeon to the hospital, they end up right in the middle of events surrounding a murder and a kidnapping.
Photo Credit: Huayi Brothers Media Group, China Film Group Corporation
The Truth Beneath (2016)
Being a politician's wife is never easy but Yeon-Hong (Son Ye-Jin) seems happily married to Jong-Chan (Kim Ju-Hyeok) and they have a teenage daighter Min-Jin (Shin Ji-Hoon) together. Previously Jong Chan worked as an announcer but he has his eyes set on becoming a National Assembly member. yeon-Hong is enthusiastic to help him in his election campaign until something awful happens on the first day of his campaign.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
The Truth Beneath (2016)
Min-Jin has gone missing and Yeon-Hong becomes desperate to find her. She is devastated to find that her husband, as well as those around him, are more preoccupied with his campaign than finding their daughter. She begins a thorough and frantic search for clues that will lead to answers regarding her daughter's disappearance.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
The Last Princess (2016)
Based on the novel by Kwon Bi-Young, the film is a story about Princess Deokhye (Son Ye-jin)—the last princess of Korea. With Korea under Japanese colonial rule, the princess is taken to Japan as a hostage and to study there.
Photo Credit: Lotte Entertainment
The Last Princess (2016)
With the era's harsh conditions, she struggles to maintain the hope of the Korean people. Jang-Han (Park Hae-Il) is a fighter for Korean independence and his mission is to bring Princess Deokhye back to South Korea. We also find out that he is in love with her, too.
Photo Credit: Lotte Entertainment
The Negotiation (2018)
Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin's first project together, this film saw them on opposite ends of conflict. Son Ye-Jin plays Ha Chae-Yoon, a crisis negotiator for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency with a calm and cool-headed attitude.
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
The Negotiation (2018)
Hyun Bin is Min Tae-Gu, a weapons smuggler for an international crime organization. He stages a terrifying hostage situation and Ha Chae-Yoon only has 12 hours to save the hostages. Will she be able to save them?
Photo Credit: CJ Entertainment
Be With You (2018)
Woo-jin (So Ji-Sub) is a father who takes care of Ji-Ho (Kim Ji-Hwan) his son alone ever since his wife Soo-A (Son Ye-jin) had passed away. Before passing away, she promised him that she would come back on a rainy day one year later.
Photo Credit: Lotte Entertainment
Be With You (2018)
A year later, Soo-A appears... but remembers nothing. Based on a Japanese novel 'Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu' by Takuji Ichikawa, the film was a hit. It surpassed 1 million viewers within seven days of its local release and is ahead of popular melo-romance films Architecture 101 and The Beauty Inside which took eight and nine days respectively to achieve 1 million moviegoers. The film also saw special appearances by Park Seo-Joon and Kong Hyo-Jin.
Photo Credit: Lotte Entertainment
So, Son Ye-jin fans, have you seen them all? And if not, what are you waiting for? Get the popcorn ready!
Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin hold hands in a scene in 'Crash Landing on You' | Netflix
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