Though Kim Ji-won has been known for her talent and beauty for a long time, it was not until “Queen of Tears” that the actress’ popularity truly reached a breakthrough. In particular, despite being well-known for supporting roles in K-dramas such as “The Heirs” or “Descendants of the Sun”, Kim Ji-won’s works where she assumed leading roles never quite achieved commercial success.
Now, “Queen of Tears” not only helped Kim Ji-won increase her recognition, evidenced by her Instagram followers increasing by over 1.5 million after just 10 episodes, but also helped her achieve something unprecedented in the K-drama industry.
Particularly, Kim Ji-won has become the first actress in Korea to star in works of the 4 most renowned K-drama screenwriters: Kim Eun-sook, Im Sang-chun, Park Hae-young, and Park Ji-eun.
In the K-drama industry, screenwriters can be considered the most respected members of a team. Their influence is on par with, or sometimes even surpasses, that of directors. Famous screenwriters like the 4 mentioned above receive fees equivalent to A-list actors. Therefore, starring in works written by all 4 of these “legendary K-drama screenwriters” is an outstanding feat – achieved by none other than Kim Ji-won.
Beside Park Ji-eun’s “Queen of Tears”, It is known that Kim Ji-won has worked with screenwriter Kim Eun-sook for 3 times through the K-dramas “The Heirs” and “Descendants of the Sun”, along with a cameo in the critically acclaimed work “Mr. Sunshine”. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Kim Eun-sook played a significant role in laying the foundation for Kim Ji-won’s bright career today.
Additionally, Kim Ji-won starred in “Fight for My Way” and “My Liberation Notes” – the works of Im Sang-chun and Park Hae-young, respectively. Her roles in these projects have earned the actress myriad critical acclaim, with the latter even earning Kim Ji-won a nomination for Best Actress at the 2023 Baeksang Arts Awards.
On the other hand, with praise flooding in for the actress one episode after another, audiences are confident that after “Queen of Tears”, Kim Ji-won’s career will continue to flourish, deserving of her beauty and outstanding talent.
