Get To Know The Female Lead Stars Of Hit K-Drama "The Penthouse: War In Life"

Eugene

Eugene is perhaps one of the first K-pop idols to cross over to the world of acting. She debuted in 1997 as a member of the top-selling SM Entertainment K-pop girl group S.E.S. (Sea, Eugene, Shoo), which made a brief comeback in 2016 with the release of their seventh and special album, "Remember," the following year. When S.E.S. disbanded in 2002, Eugene ventured into a solo career and started acting and hosting.

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39-year-old Eugene's real name is Kim Yoo-jin. She was born on March 3, 1981 in Seoul. She and her family lived for a while in Guam. When she returned to South Korea to finish high school, she debuted as a singer not long after.

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Eugene's first-ever foray into acting was via the KBS2 drama series "Loving You." She went on to star in more K-dramas, with titles like "Save the Last Dance for Me," "Wonderful Life," "I Really Really Like You," "One Mom and Three Dads," "Creating Destiny," "King of Baking, Kim Takgu," "A Hundred Year Legacy," "Can We Fall In Love, Again?," and "All About My Mom." "The Penthouse: War in Life" marked her small screen comeback after about five years of hiatus. The ongoing SBS series stars Eugene as a single mother who grew up in poverty and a talented singer who lost the opportunity to shine because of a traumatic incident that involved her ultimate rival, Cheon Seo-jin (portrayed by Kim So-yeon).

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In 2020, she also returned to film after an 11-year break via "Paper Flower," which also featured her as a single mother. Of this comeback, she told The Korea Times, "It was good to be back on a film set. Honestly, I haven't been asked to act in a film for a long time, and I was a bit discouraged by the lack of opportunities. I'm so thankful for the filming staff for creating a good atmosphere and my husband for looking after the kids when I'm away." The other films she worked on in the past were "Unstoppable Marriage," "Heartbreak Library," "Romantic Island" (which was set in Boracay, Philippines), and "Yoga."

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Unlike the 2020 characters she breathed life into, Eugene is happily married in real life. She and her "Creating Destiny" co-star Ki Tae-young tied the knot in July 2011. In 2015, Eugene gave birth to their first child whom they named Ro-hee, and three years later, they welcomed their second daughter, Ro-rin. She stepped away from the limelight to focus on her family life, but she's been given a chance to return to acting and is thankful that there are still a lot of interesting roles she can play even at her age now.

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Lee Ji-Ah

Lee Ji-ah started as an actress much later than her "The Penthouse: War in Life" co-stars Eugene and Kim So-yeon. She only got a feel of being in the limelight in 2007, when she starred in historical fantasy series "The Legend" with Bae Yong-joon; the two previously worked on a TV commercial in 2004. The series was a great way to kick-start her acting career, as it immediately earned her acting and popularity awards from the 2007 MBC Drama Awards and the 44th Baeksang Arts Awards. She was a talent under Bae Yong-joon's agency, KeyEast, until 2011; she's currently under BH Entertainment, which she became a part of in 2016.

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Before she adopted the stage name Lee Ji-ah, she was known as Kim Sang-eun and Kim Ji-ah. Now 42, she was born on August 6, 1978 in South Korea, but their family moved to the US and they stayed there for a decade. However, questions were raised about her original name and real age, and she's been dubbed as "Alien" because of her mysterious identity and family background. It seems she shares similarities with her current on-screen character, the rich and sophisticated "penthouse queen" Shim Su-ryeon, as she also comes from an affluent family and is fluent in English (and Japanese!).

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When asked about her role, however, Lee Ji-ah was quoted in a Her World article, saying, “I tried thinking of similarities, but I cannot think of any. I like to wear comfortable clothes (Shim Su-ryeon does not). I do not even know if the way we talk or act is similar. I think the way we bottle up our anger is a little similar? There are so many differences. The biggest difference is that she is the type that plans very carefully. I cannot do that.”

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If you've just discovered Lee Ji-ah, thanks to "The Penthouse: War in Life," her other K-dramas that are worth checking out are "Beethoven Virus," "Style," "Athena: Goddess of War," and "Thrice Married Woman"—all of which earned her acting nominations in various award-giving bodies. She also starred in TV series "Me Too, Flower!" and "The Ghost Detective," and had a supporting role in "My Mister." She has only done three films throughout her acting career.

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As for her family life, in 1997, she secretly got married to singer/songwriter/record producer Seo Taiji, who’s been dubbed as “The President of Culture” because of his influence in the South Korean entertainment industry. Their marriage ended in a messy divorce; their separation was made official in 2009. She was also reported to have dated actor Jung Woo-sung in 2011.

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Kim So-Yeon

40-year-old Kim So-yeon got her training in acting from Dongguk University, where she majored in theater and film; her fellow alums there include Jun Ji-hyun, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Seung-gi, and Im Yoon-ah. Kim So-yeon has been acting since 1994; she earned her first-ever acting award that year with the Best Young Actress recognition she received for “Dinosaur Teacher” from the SBS Drama Awards. She worked on a number of TV series in the years that followed. But her breakthrough role came in 2000, when she starred as an anchorwoman (a villainess!) in the high-rated K-drama “All About Eve,” which boosted her popularity big time but also came with the challenge of proving her versatility.

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Later on, she proved that she wasn’t all about cold-hearted characters in melodramas, and that she can take on roles in lighter genres as well, as evident in rom-com dramas “Gourmet,” “Prosecutor Princess,” and “Beating Again.” Her other K-dramas that earned her awards are “Iris,” “Dr. Champ,” “The Great Seer,” “Two Weeks,” “Happy Home,” “Secret Mother,” and “Mother of Mine.” On the big screen, she starred in “Iris: The Movie” (the offshoot of their hit TV series) and “Gabi” (which earned her the Best Actress award at the 20th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards).

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Speaking of “Happy Home,” it was this series that introduced her to her co-actor Lee Sang-woo and brought them closer. Joining the list of Korean celebrities who have been happily married with their co-stars, the two announced they were dating in September 2016, and by June 2017, they were married with a ceremony held at a wedding hall in Gangnam.

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In an interview, she praised her husband, saying, "Lee Sang-Woo had a fair amount of good points when we dated, and I began to see that good points expand once we got married, He is such a nice person. He always has a positive mindset and strives to do his best... I think I made the right choice in marrying him." On Instagram, Kim So-yeon is fond of posting photos and videos of them together, including shots from their campaigns with clothing brand All For You. Lee Sang-woo is known for dramas like "First Wives' Club," "Life is Beautiful," "Feast of the Gods," "Goddess of Marriage," and "Marry Me Now." He also starred in "All About My Mom" with his wife's "The Penthouse: War in Life" co-star Eugene.

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On what drew her in to the character of Cheon Seo-jin in “The Penthouse: War in Life,” Kim So-yeon mentioned in a Her World article that “the strong female character looked very cool” in dramas like the “Game of Thrones,” and so she found the villainess role appealing the moment she first read the script of the SBS series. Cheon Seo-jin is a soprano singer and one of the mentors at the the Cheong-ah Arts School; she’s talented in piano, too, and so to make the portrayal convincing, Kim So-yeon revealed that she actually learned how to play the piano to execute well one particular scene that required her “to play it intensely.”

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Shin Eun-Kyung

The 47-year-old actress majored in theater and film at Dankook University, which her fellow Korean actresses like Kim Hyun-joo, Ha Ji-won, and Park Bo-young also attended. Born in Busan, South Korea on February 15, 1973, she made her TV debut at just 15 via the film "Kuro Arirang."

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She's been an actress for more than three decades, and has worked on more than 20 films and almost 30 TV projects. The titles that earned her awards are dramas "General Hospital," "Bad Couple," "Flames of Desire," "Still You," and "The Scandal," as well as films "Downfall" and "My Wife is a Gangster."

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To this day, her most memorable project is inarguably the 1997 film "Downfall," where she took on the role of a prostitute. Also notable were her portrayals as a female gang boss in "My Wife is a Gangster" and "My Wife is a Gangster 2." She currently stars in "The Penthouse: War in Life" as a wealthy, protective mother and a condescending resident of Hera Palace, who's secretly working as a masseuse.

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Shin Eun-kyung was married to talent agency CEO Kim Jung-soo from to 2006, until she filed for divorce in 2007 because of financial issues. They have a son who was diagnosed with hydrocephalus. She was criticized for not taking care of her son, as she left him under the care of her ex-mother-in-law and would only visit him. On the "Lee Eon-kyeong's Straightforward Talk" show, she explained why she doesn't see her son often, saying, "I can't communicate with my child fully. If I do visit the child and see him every now and then, he will ask for me for the next 3-4 days. It's been painful for me... If a child who can't even express himself asks for me, it's hard on him and I can't spend too much time with him. Just two or three hours with him is torture for him."

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Shin Eun-kyung is also one of the Korean actresses who opened up about undergoing a cosmetic surgery, specifically a jaw realignment surgery, to improve her appearance and hopefully get her more acting roles. She later admitted that she regrets going under the knife purely for aesthetic purposes.

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Yoon Joo-Hee

The 35-year-old actress was born on February 21, 1985 in Daejeon, South Korea. She entered the entertainment scene in 2004 via the movie "Someone Special" where she had a supporting role as a flight attendant.

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Yoon Joo-hee made her TV debut in 2007 with the series "H.I.T," taking on the role of a nurse. Since then, she's had K-dramas every year, including "Likeable or Not," "First Wives' Club," "Creating Destiny" (with her "The Penthouse: War in Life" co-star Eugene), "Three Brothers," "The Great Seer" (with Kim So-yeon), "Iris II: New Generation," "Flowers of the Prison," "Whisper," "Risky Romance," "Return," "The Fiery Priest," and "I Wanna Hear Your Song."

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Her most notable project is the crime/medical/mystery drama "Quiz of God," wherein she played the role of a detective. It was a series that ran for five seasons from 2010 to 2018. It featured her as a main cast member in seasons 1, 2, 4, and 5, and a guest character in season 3.

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Since she worked on "Quiz of God" for eight years, Yoon Joo-hee shared in an interview with Hallyu SG that working on its season 5 made her feel pressured yet excited at the same time. She said, "My character, Kang Kyoung-hee has evolved and get more mature along the way, so I paid much effort in her changing interactions with different characters... Working on the same series for 8 years made the set feel like home to me, and everyone feel like family that’s always been there for you, and won’t go anywhere."

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In "The Penthouse: War in Life," she plays the role of Go Sang-ah, a former announcer and the wife of lawyer Lee Kyu-jin (portrayed by Bong Tae-kyu). They have a son who's enrolled at the Cheong-ah Arts School. Their family lives in the Hera Palace.

Photo Credit: SBS