Bae Doo Na/About

Career

While studying at Hanyang University in 1999, she caught the interest of a talent scout of a model talent agency while walking the streets of Seoul. That gave way to her first steps in the world of modeling, where she debuted modeling clothing for the COOLDOG's clothing catalog as well as other clothing brands from that point forward. Modeling wasn't enough, she started to make plans to perform in both the big and small screen, that didn't take long as she was cast to appear in her first role in KBS1 drama School, it was right before completing her studies in Hanyang University.

Also in 1999, she mde the big leap into the big screen by appearing as the ghost in Ring Virus, wich was a korean remake of the highly successful and very popular Japanese supernatural horror film The Ring, that came out the year before. It diverged significantly from the original film and novel that it was based, but it was a critical and adience success in South Korea, her acting as the ghost earned her quite a lot of praise.

A year later, in 2000, acclaimed director Bong Joon Ho gave her the opportunity to take the lead role in the dark comedy-drama film Barking Dogs Never Bite, she has stated in an interview for Kim So Young's documentary Women's History Trilogy (2000–2004), that her most memorable scene is in the movie, is the scene where she is being chased by a homeless man throughout the apartment complex. The movie was well received critically and her acting alongside co-star Lee Sung Jae earned her several acting accolades. She was even applauded by several critics and moviegoers for performing her leading role without an ounce whatsoever of makeup, a rare feat for a leading actress to do in a nationwide movie release.

She was getting started, in that same year she gave her more risque performance at the time (albeit with a body double who took her place in a few intense scenes) in the coming-of-age film Plum Blossom, it made her gain recognition and it managed to raised a few eyebrows in moviegoers as well. She was also keeping up with several roles on television, turning her in one of South Korea's most recognizable figures.

She continued to appeared in a couple of highly successful and widely lauded films, such as 2001's Take Care of My Cat, once again a coming-of-age film, directed by Jeong Jae Eun, one of South Korea's most important directors and 2002's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, an action thriller film directed by highly acclaimed director Park Chan Wook. Bae Doo Na's acting in both films were very well received.

She went through a rough patch the following year, in 2003, with two movies underperforming at the box office, both movies were Tube and Do You Like Spring Bear?, the first being a sophisticated action thriller film that received some mute response financially with so-so response by several film critics and the second one being a romantic comedy film that was a disappointment critically as well financially, after finishing both movies she decided to take a time off from films.

During her film hiatus, she decided to devote herself to a hobby that satisfied her and made her feel good during her period of absence in front of the cameras, many fans of the actress could see her artistic photographs in her own personal blog and a series of photo-essay books that were later released and managed to sell remarkably well. She decided to continue appearing on television sometime later during that period when she agreed to appear on MBC's Country Princess and KBS2 Rosemary. She also decided to for the first time on stage, just like her mother did before her, in 2004's production of Sunday Seoul, a theater play that it was co-written by her Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance director Park Chan Wook. The play itself was well received by audiences and critics nationwide, her acting drew a lot of praise.

In 2005, she decided to appear in the lead role in the Japanese film Linda Linda Linda, it was a memorable performance because he portrayed a Korean exchange student named Son, it made her be the first Korean actress to portray a lead role in a Japanese film. A year later, in 2006, she reunited with director Bong Joon Ho in the film The Host, the film itself was at the time the highest-grossing film in South Korean box office history, it was a success both critically and financially in several countries, and is considered one of 2000's best films by several top film critics. Bae Doo Na herself went through a rigorous training, she trained for many months archery in preparation for her role for the movie, the extra effort paid off nonetheless, as her performance was acclaimed and well received by critics.

In that same year, she decided to make her television comeback on SBS romantic comedy-drama series How to Meet a Perfect Neighbor, the drama was a huge success and it received high viewership through the drama series run and it was well reviewed by critics as well.

A few years later, in 2009, she decided once again to appear in a lead role in a Japanese film, this time being Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda's Kuuki Ningyo 空気人形, based on the Japanese manga of the same name, Bae Doo Na's acting received huge praise but the film as a whole was criticized as being "underdeveloped" and "lacking substance". In the film, she portrayed the role of a sex doll that starts to develop humanity and starts to fall in love with a human. During that she starred in a couple of television dramas, she portrayed a high school teacher in KBS2 God of Study and a nightclub singer in MBC's Gloria. Both television dramas were hugely successful.

In 2012, she appeared alongside co-star Ha Ji Won in the sports film As One, it was based on the real-life story of a world table tennis championship held in Chiba Japan, in 1991, where a North Korean and South Korean tennis player managed to beat the odds and managed to play as a team to defeat an unbeatable Chinese team. Bae Doo Na portrayed North Korean player Ri Bun Hui, Bae Doo Na was specifically trained by Hui herself and Bae Doo Na even managed to play tennis lefthanded just like Hui herself did over her sports career in especially at the world table tennis championship.