Yeom Hye-ran

Yeom Hye-ran is a South Korean actress known for powerful supporting roles that often outshine the leads. She spent many years on the theatre stage before television found her. Global fans know her as Kang Hyeon-nam in The Glory (2022) and as the healer Chu Mae-ok in The Uncanny Counter (2020).

Yeom Hye-ran is 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) tall.

Early life

Yeom Hye-ran was born on October 30, 1976, in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. She studied Korean language and literature at Seoul Women's University. She made her stage debut in 2000 and acted in plays for many years, winning a rookie acting prize at the Dong-A Theatre Awards in 2006.

Career and breakthrough

Her first film role was a small part in Memories of Murder (2003), offered after director Bong Joon-ho saw her on stage. She made her television debut in Dear My Friends (2016). The same year, she reached a wide audience in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, playing Ji Yeon-sook, the heroine's greedy aunt who slowly shows a human side.

Popular roles

In The Uncanny Counter (2020), Yeom Hye-ran plays Chu Mae-ok, a noodle shop cook with healing powers and a mother's heart. In The Glory (2022), she plays Kang Hyeon-nam, a housekeeper who suffers abuse at home yet helps the heroine with courage and humour. Viewers around the world praised her warm, brave acting, and the role made her famous far beyond Korea.

Recent work and why fans love her

She won major praise and awards for Mask Girl (2023) and moved audiences as the heroine's mother in When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025). Fans love Yeom Hye-ran because she plays everyday women with uncommon strength. She can break your heart in one scene and make you laugh in the next, and she never wastes a single line.