From a cold-hearted politician who pursues power to a lobbyist in the large military industry, an infectee who lost control, and a worker whose iron will stands strong against water cannon, Moon Jeonghee has deftly played all sorts of different characters. With refined acting without excess or deficiency, Moon exudes unique elegance through her acting as well as her looks and voice.
Majoring in Theater Studies at the Korea National University of Arts and making her theatrical debut in 1998 as a member of Hakjeon, one of the leading theater companies in Korea, Moon Jeonghee started her film career with I Wish I Had a Wife (2001). After playing minor roles in several films, she began to meet works that would reveal her versatility. As a salsa dancer who got an award in an international competition, the actor made a brief but intense impression by playing a femme fatale dancer in the dance sports comedy Dance With The Wind (2004). In the period drama Low Life (2004), which depicts the life of gangsters during the turbulent period of Korea between the 1950s and 1970s, Moon played a top star actor who cursed at gangsters without hesitation. Although her roles in both films were minor, it is fascinating to watch her betray her innate elegance.
Since then, the actor has expanded her character spectrum both through films and TV drama series. Playing the most ideal romance character, and then the extremely realistic neighborhood woman, and the queen of a TV period drama, Moon has been establishing herself as a popular actor. The first work that won Moon Jeonghee the first acting award is the unique disaster film Deranged (2012), which is about a mutant parasite. Moon played a character that got infected with the mutant parasite and lost control due to extreme thirst. The stark differences between her peaceful face at the beginning of the movie and the one distorted with madness in the later part deeply impressed the audience.
After winning the Best Supporting Actress with the role in the Blue Dragon Award, Moon won another award for the mystery thriller Hide and Seek (2013) and the film Cart (2014), which deals with labor disputes at a major supermarket. Her broad-acting spectrum has been proved by winning two consecutive acting awards for playing the character overwhelmed with madness and the one firmly confronting inequality. The radioactive disaster film Pandora (2016) also features Moon’s performance at the center of the tragedy. In addition to her impressive performance in many different genres, the actor boasts fluent foreign language skills, singing talent recognized on the musical stage, on top of her dancing skills. Given that she still has much more things to offer, her real heyday has yet to come. Park Hyeeun