Yoon So-yi (born Moon So-yi on January 5, 1985) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a print and commercial model, then began acting in Ryoo Seung-wan's action-comedy film Arahan in 2004, followed by Shadowless Sword in 2005. Yoon has had leading roles in television dramas, notably in Goodbye Solo (2006), Glass Castle (2008), Hero (2009), and Warrior Baek Dong-soo (2011).

Biography

Yoon So-yi debuted as a model in Graffiti Magazine in 2001. After a few years of print and commercial modeling, she auditioned for Ryoo Seung-wan's action comedy Arahan in 2004. Based on a popular South Korean comic, Arahan explored the consequences of unleashing an ancient evil spirit into a modern city, with Yoon's character part of a hidden school of ancient masters who train a naive young policeman to fight this evil force. Yoon underwent strict training for six months in a film action school, where she had to overcome her phobia of heights. The film was a relative commercial success, with one review describing her as "tall and attractive in an excellently non-cutesy way." She received a Best New Actress nomination at the 2004 Blue Dragon Film Awards.

Yoon next starred in the TV drama Say You Love Me, a dark, twisted love story between four people. This led to a friendship with her co-star Kim Rae-won, with whom she starred in a series of advertisements for Samsung Digital Plaza. When Kim later launched his own management company Bless Entertainment, she would also join his stable of stars.

After playing Jung Joon-ho's love interest in The Twins, Yoon was cast in Shadowless Sword, a wuxia martial arts epic set in ancient China. In the role of a beautiful young swordswoman who protects the future king, Yoon said that she was inspired by Anita Mui in The Heroic Trio, and that the strong-willed female character appealed to her. She learned wushu for three months in Korea, then wire action from the Chinese stunt team.

In 2006 she became part of the ensemble cast of Goodbye Solo, written by renowned drama writer Noh Hee-kyung. Even though her dramas do not attract a large number of viewers, Noh has gained a cult following for her in-depth portrayal of ordinary characters, taking a more human natural approach through realistic and yet emotional lines. Goodbye Solo featured seven characters of different generations and backgrounds, as they reflect on human nature and relationships. Yoon would later work again with mostly the same crew in the 2-episode TV special Several Questions That Make Us Happy.

Goodbye Solo's writer Noh and veteran actress Bae Jong-ok introduced Yoon to Join Together Society (JTS), a Seoul-based Buddhist international relief agency (Yoon herself is a Buddhist). Since then she has been extremely active in charity work for JTS, spearheading street fund drives and various programs to benefit underprivileged children in North Korea and developing countries.

An athlete in junior high, Yoon was a Sports Model major at Dongduk Women's University, but eventually dropped out due to showbiz commitments. She later enrolled in Dongguk University as a Theatre and Film major, slowing down her acting activities to focus on her studies and becoming known in the Korean press as one of the very few celebrity model students, with regular attendance and good grades. Yoon graduated in 2011.

Her next project Auction House attempted a different format from the standard serialized Korean drama. The twelve-episode season 1 had four directors and four writers, airing one episode every week, with each director producing his own segment in his own style, crossing genres. The episodic format was not a hit with Korean audiences (despite a season 2 focusing on plastic surgeons with a completely different cast).

Yoon played a former reporter struggling to adjust to life as a chaebol daughter-in-law in Glass Castle; the drama was a modest success. In 2009 she was cast as a last-minute replacement leading lady in the quirky Lee Joon-gi-starrer Hero. Despite being praised as a well-acted and solid drama, Hero received low ratings. Yoon's next film Try to Remember, about lovers in the past whose love transcends time and brings them together in the present day, premiered at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival.

She was cast as Queen Seondeok in a specially commissioned 20-minute film for the Gyeongju World Culture Expo. Titled Byeongnucheon ("The Bracelet of Blue Tears"), the fantasy adventure aims to spearhead Korea's nascent stereoscopic film industry, and combines live action sequences with 3D animated computer graphics.

In 2011, Yoon's fusion sageuk Warrior Baek Dong-soo brought in high viewership ratings, topping its timeslot for 3 straight months. She immediately followed that with the Channel A cable series Color of Woman, replacing Eugene as the romantic comedy lead when the latter dropped out in the aftermath of her sister's car accident.

For her first variety MC job, Yoon co-hosted the 2012 televised magicians tournament King of Magic, which aired on cable for three weeks.

A supporting role followed in 2013 spy action series Iris II: New Generation, in which she played a South Korean college student who defects to North Korea, trains in the special forces and counter-terrorism units, then returns to her home country as a North Korean spy. She next headlined the 2014 daily drama Angel's Revenge, playing a nun who avenges her sister.



^ "Two Female Action Figures Compete on Screen". The Chosun Ilbo. May 10, 2004.

^ Kim, Kyu Hyun. "Arahan". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-08-16.

^ "Awards and Nominations" (in Korean). 25th Blue Dragon Film Awards. November 29, 2004.

^ "Say You Love Me". MBC Global Media. Retrieved 2012-08-16.

^ "무영검 (Shadowless Sword) Production Meeting Report". Twitch Film. September 27, 2005.

^ "nKino Interview: Yoon So-Yi and Lee Seo-Jin talk 무영검 (Shadowless Sword)". Twitch Film. November 9, 2005.

^ "무영검 (Shadowless Sword) Press Screening Report". Twitch Film. November 15, 2005.

^ Park, Chung-a (February 24, 2006). "Drama Breaks From the Traditional". The Korea Times via Hancinema.

^ "윤소이, "나눔은 즐거워요"" (in Korean). Join Together Society. May 5, 2009.

^ "한지민, '빈곤퇴치 우리 함께해요~'" (in Korean). Join Together Society. December 19, 2009.

^ "김수로·윤소이, 18일 동국대 나란히 졸업 '공로상'" (in Korean). Dongguk University Cyber Alumni Association. February 11, 2011.

^ "Auction House". MBC Global Media. Retrieved 2013-06-22.

^ Moon, Yong-sung (November 4, 2009). "Yoon Soy-yi picks up Hero". 10Asia.

^ Wee, Geun-woo (November 17, 2009). "Lee Jun-ki says Hero is the perfect fit". 10Asia.

^ "Try to Remember 우리 만난 적 있나요". 14th PiFan History. Retrieved 2012-08-16.

^ Chung, Ah-young; Lee, Hyo-won (May 30, 2011). "Gyeongju World Culture Expo ready for grand opening". The Korea Times.

^ Hong, Lucia (October 12, 2011). "The Warrior Baek Dong-soo bows out atop Mon-Tues lineup for 13th win". 10Asia.

^ Kim, Jessica (November 23, 2011). "Yoon Soy to replace Eugene in new series". 10Asia.

^ Lee, Dong-hyun (April 18, 2012). "King of Magic to Follow Comedy Big League 2". enewsWorld.

^ Ho, Stewart (January 25, 2013). "Yoon Soy Joins Iris 2 as a Beautiful and Brainwashed Spy". enewsWorld.

^ Jun, Ji-young (March 14, 2013). "Actress Yoon So-yi Set to Appear as Beautiful Elite Spy". KBS Global.

^ "Yoon Soi, Lee Se-eun's Sincere Tearful Acting". KBS Global. January 10, 2014.