Born in Seoul in 1995, Kim initially dreamed of becoming a designer or a nurse, but caught the acting bug after taking part in a middle-school talent show. Despite receiving little support from her parents initially, she enrolled in the theatre and film department at Hanyang University.While at university, she landed her first roles in advertisements, as well as a leading part in the GL (“girls’ love”) web series Lily Fever (2015). The following year, she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live Korea, partly to build her confidence on stage.She made the transition to major Korean dramas with a supporting role in the first season of the 2016 medical hit Dr Romantic. Although her part was small, her career took off in the years that followed, prompting the show to bring her character back in the Dr Romantic 3 season finale in 2023.Kim Hye-jun in a still from A Shop for Killers season two. Photo: Disney+Why we love herWhat sets Kim apart from her peers is her consistent track record in edgy genre fare, from period horror (Kingdom, 2019) and serial killer thriller (Inspector Koo, 2021) to disaster drama (Sinkhole, 2021) and superhero comedy (Cashero, 2025).