Kim So-hyun (; born November 12, 1975) is a South Korean musical theatre actress. A classically-trained former opera singer, she switched to musical theater and debuted in 2001 as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. She immediately rose to musical theatre stardom and has since starred in South Korean stage productions of Jekyll & Hyde, My Fair Lady, The Three Musketeers, Elisabeth, and Marie Antoinette.
Early life and education Kim is the oldest of three children. The children grew up in a musical household as their mother, mezzo-soprano Jang Kyung-ae, was a former opera singer who gave up a promising career to raise her children.
In contrast to many of her peers, Kim did not attend a performing arts high school and has stated in a 2013 interview that she had started out playing the violin and actually shunned singing. She injured her wrist in middle school and decided to try singing after listening to a recording of La bohème.
In 1994, Kim was admitted to Seoul National University's College of Music, majoring in voice. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in 1998. In 2012, shortly after the birth of her son, she completed her master's degree.
Career Opera beginnings Initially Kim intended to pursue a career in opera, following in her mother's footsteps. She participated in various vocal competitions, placing in the top three or reaching the semi-finals in all of them. Prior to switching to musical theater, she made her Seoul Arts Center debut, starring in La bohème (as Mimi) and The Magic Flute (as Pamina).
Musical theater and television In 2001, then a graduate student, Kim was given the opportunity to try musical theater despite having no experience outside of opera and classical music. She successfully auditioned for the role of Christine Daaé in the Korean-language production of The Phantom of the Opera. Musical theater had only been recently introduced into South Korea, spurred by the advent of Korean-language versions of popular musicals, with The Phantom of the Opera being one of the most famous and well-attended productions. Up until then, Kim had rarely sung in Korean as she had mostly been performing opera repertoire from the Western classical tradition. She has come to be associated with the role, having portrayed Christine Daaé in the 2009 run of The Phantom of the Opera and two productions of Phantom.
When Kim first entered musical theater, classically-trained singers were uncommon as singers with her training often preferred to pursue careers as opera singers in Europe while most musical actors were primarily trained in acting rather than singing. Her powerful bel canto voice subsequently led to her being cast as female protagonists, particularly royalty; she has portrayed Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Elisabeth, Empress Myeongseong in The Last Empress and Marie Antoinette in Marie Antoinette to critical acclaim. In 2008, she won her first acting award, being named Best Actress at the Korean Musical Awards that year for her role as Eliza in My Fair Lady.
Kim gained wider public recognition through her appearances on variety shows and televised music programs. Together with her husband, the couple have performed together multiple times on Open Concert and Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend.
Personal life Kim married musical actor Son Jun-ho in 2011 and they have a son (born in 2012). They first met in the 2009 production of The Phantom of the Opera as he was cast as Raoul. As working musical actors, they largely avoid starring as a married couple in the same production but made a rare exception for The Last Empress and Elisabeth.
Credits Opera Year Title Role 1996 La bohème Mimì 2000–2001 The Magic Flute Pamina/The Queen of the Night
Musical theater Year Title Role 2001–2002 The Phantom of the Opera Christine Daaé 2002 West Side Story Maria 2003 Grease Sandy 2003–2004 The Sorrows of Young Werther Lotte 2004 Go-Go Beach Mindy Chinchilla Jekyll & Hyde Emma Carew 2005 Guys and Dolls Sarah Brown 2005–2006 Pippin Catherine 2006 Brooklyn Brooklyn Jesus Jesus Mary Magdalene Grease Sandy 2007 Love in the Rain Yoo Mi-ri A Day Min Yeon-doo Dae Jang Geum Seo Jang-geum Mad Kiss Shin-hee 2008 Separated Man and Woman Yoon Ji-ah My Fair Lady Eliza Doolittle 2008–2009 Jekyll & Hyde Emma Carew 2009 The Three Musketeers Constance Bonacieux Romeo and Juliette Juliet 2009–2011 The Phantom of the Opera Christine Daaé 2010–2011 Jekyll & Hyde Emma Carew 2011 2013 The Three Musketeers Constance Bonacieux 2013 Elisabeth Elisabeth2014 Le Roi Soleil Françoise d'Aubigné Wicked Glinda 2014–2015 Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette2015–2016 The Last Empress Empress MyeongseongGone with the WindScarlett O'Hara2016MozartBaronin von Waldstätten 2016–2017 Phantom Christine Daaé 2018 The Last Empress Empress Myeongseong 2018–2019 Elisabeth Elisabeth2019Anna Karenina Countess Anna Arkadyevna Karenina Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette2020MozartBaronin von Waldstätten 2021 The Last Empress Empress Myeongseong Phantom Christine Daaé Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette2025The Last EmpressEmpress Myeongseong
Filmography Television series Year Title Role Notes 2007–2008 The King and I Lady Jung 2022 Twenty-Five Twenty-One Na Hee-do (adult) CameoBehind Every Starherself Cameo (episode 7)
Television shows Year Title Network Notes 2003–present Open Concert KBS1 2012 Star Audition: The Great Birth - Season 3 MBC Judge 2013 Women, Take a Trip MBC QueeN 2013–present Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend KBS2 2014–2016 Oh! My Baby SBS Cast member
Web shows Year Title Platform Role 2021 Ssangssang Invitational Naver TV, YouTube Cast Member
Awards Vocal competitions 1995: Schubert Competition – consolation prize (semi-finalist) 1996: JoongAng Music Concours – 3rd place 1997 Korea Youth Vocal Competition (college division) – 1st place
Musical theater Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2006 12th Korea Musical Awards Popular Star Award 2008 14th Korea Musical Awards Best Actress My Fair Lady 25th Korea Best Dresser Swan Awards Culture Award 2009 3rd Daegu International Musical Festival Star of the Year 2011 5th Daegu International Musical Festival Star of the Year 2013 19th Korea Musical Awards Popular Star Award 2015 9th Daegu International Musical Festival Star of the Year 2016 5th Yegreen Musical Award Best Actress The Last Empress 2018 12th Daegu International Musical Festival Star of the Year 2019 2018 Asia Culture Awards Best Actress Elisabeth
References
External links n