Kim Tae-ri: Korea's Most Acclaimed Actress

Kim Tae-ri (김태리) has quietly built one of the most respected careers in modern Korean entertainment. Born in Sangbong-dong, Seoul, the Kyung Hee University journalism graduate did not set out to become a household name — yet today she stands as a three-time Baeksang Arts Award winner and the actress that Gallup Korea named Television Actor of the Year in 2024. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Kim Tae-ri does not flood her schedule with projects. Each Kim Tae-ri Korean drama and film is a deliberate choice, a careful selection that has produced one of the most consistent, critically acclaimed filmographies in K-entertainment history.

This complete guide walks through every Korean drama Kim Tae-ri has starred in — Mr. Sunshine, Twenty-Five Twenty-One, Revenant, and Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born — as well as her full list of feature films, from her The Handmaiden breakthrough to her recent voice-acting debut. We will also explore the question every Kim Tae-ri fan eventually asks: which drama suits her best, and which role do audiences remember most vividly?

Who Is Kim Tae-ri? A Brief Introduction Before the Filmography

Before diving into her work on screen, it helps to understand why every Kim Tae-ri appearance feels like a cultural event. She was chosen from among 1,500 candidates for her breakthrough film role in Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden (2016), and she has since been compared to legends like Choi Min-sik in terms of acting range. Forbes named her to its 30 Under 30 list in Entertainment & Sports in 2019, and she has won the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actress – Television twice — once for Twenty-Five Twenty-One and again for Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born. She has also taken home a Blue Dragon Film Award and a Grand Bell Award nomination on the film side.

Across her career, Kim Tae-ri has appeared in only four full Korean drama series and a handful of feature films. The restraint is the point. Every project has been a curatorial choice, and not a single role has felt like filler.

The Complete Kim Tae-ri Korean Drama List

1. Mr. Sunshine (미스터 션샤인) — 2018

Kim Tae-ri's television debut remains, for many fans, her defining performance. Written by Kim Eun-sook (the screenwriter behind Goblin and Descendants of the Sun) and directed by Lee Eung-bok, Mr. Sunshine aired on tvN from July to September 2018 and reached a peak rating of 18.129 percent, making it one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history.

Set in Hanseong (modern-day Seoul) at the twilight of the Joseon dynasty and the early years of the Korean Empire, the series follows Eugene Choi (Lee Byung-hun), a former Joseon slave who escapes to America and returns as a U.S. Marine Corps captain. He falls in love with Go Ae-shin (Kim Tae-ri), the granddaughter of a powerful nobleman who is secretly training as a sniper for the Righteous Army (의병) — the Korean independence fighters resisting Japanese encroachment.

Kim Tae-ri's portrayal of Go Ae-shin subverted every K-drama damsel cliché. Ae-shin moves through the world wrapped in noble silk while concealing the calluses of a marksman; her smile hides a willingness to die for her country. The role required Kim Tae-ri to balance aristocratic grace with revolutionary steel, and she delivered both without ever letting one cancel out the other. Her work earned her a Baeksang Arts Award nomination for Best Actress in Television and turned Go Ae-shin into one of the genre's most enduring heroines.

2. Twenty-Five Twenty-One (스물다섯 스물하나) — 2022

After a four-year break from television, Kim Tae-ri returned in tvN's Twenty-Five Twenty-One, a coming-of-age romance directed by Jung Ji-hyun. The series, which aired from February to April 2022, became a global phenomenon on Netflix and one of the highest-rated cable dramas in Korean history.

Kim Tae-ri plays Na Hee-do, a high school fencer in 1998 whose team is disbanded due to the IMF financial crisis. Refusing to give up, Hee-do transfers schools, idolizes (and eventually befriends) the national team prodigy Ko Yu-rim (Bona), and slowly falls in love with Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk), a young man whose chaebol family lost everything in the same crisis. The drama spans more than two decades and uses the daughter of a present-day Hee-do to frame the story as a memory.

Kim Tae-ri was 31 when she filmed her 18-year-old character, yet critics and viewers alike praised her uncanny ability to embody adolescent recklessness, joy, and heartbreak. Her performance won her Best Actress – Television and Most Popular Actress at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards, and the role made her, in the words of Korean media at the time, the new "Nation's First Love." Even BTS member Jungkook publicly recommended the series to his fans.

3. Revenant (악귀) — 2023

For her third drama, Kim Tae-ri pivoted hard into supernatural horror. Revenant, written by Kim Eun-hee (the writer behind Kingdom) and starring Oh Jung-se and Hong Kyung alongside Kim Tae-ri, aired on SBS from June to July 2023 and is available on Disney+.

Kim Tae-ri plays Gu San-yeong, a young woman preparing for the civil service exam who works exhausting part-time jobs to support herself and her mother. After inheriting her late father's belongings, she becomes possessed by a vengeful spirit named Hyangi. Folklore professor Yeom Hae-sang (Oh Jung-se), who has seen demons since childhood, recognizes the entity and partners with San-yeong to investigate the mysterious suicides spreading through the city.

The role required Kim Tae-ri to play two characters in one body — the meek, financially crushed San-yeong, and the ravenous, manipulative spirit who hijacks her face when no one is looking. The dual portrayal earned her the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the 2023 SBS Drama Awards and cemented her reputation as one of Korea's most technically gifted screen actresses. Kim Eun-hee's screenplay also used the supernatural premise as a metaphor for how previous generations have sacrificed today's struggling youth — a layer that grounded the horror in something genuinely Korean and contemporary.

4. Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born (정년이) — 2024

Kim Tae-ri's most recent drama is also one of her most ambitious. Adapted from the Naver webtoon by Seo Irae and directed by Jung Ji-in (The Red Sleeve), Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born aired on tvN from October to November 2024 and earned her a second Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actress – Television.

Set in 1950s post-war Korea, the series follows Yoon Jeong-nyeon, a poor but vocally gifted young woman from Mokpo who travels to Seoul to join the Maeran Gukgeukdan, an all-female traditional theater troupe. Gukgeuk — a now-faded musical theater form in which women played all roles, including the male leads — was wildly popular in the post-war years before being eclipsed by film. The drama doubles as a loving revival of gukgeuk and pansori, the traditional Korean genre of musical storytelling that UNESCO recognizes as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kim Tae-ri trained extensively in pansori for the role and performed her own singing on screen. Her work earned the Daesang (Grand Prize) at the 2024 APAN Star Awards and her second Baeksang Best Actress trophy. Gallup Korea then named her Television Actor of the Year. For an actress already at the top of her field, Jeongnyeon was proof she could keep climbing.

The Complete Kim Tae-ri Film List

While Kim Tae-ri is increasingly known for her television work, her career actually began on the big screen — and it is on film that she first announced herself as a generational talent.

1. The Handmaiden / 아가씨 (2016) — Sook-hee

Kim Tae-ri's feature film debut, directed by Park Chan-wook, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and instantly catapulted her into international recognition. Set in 1930s Korea under Japanese colonial rule, The Handmaiden is a sumptuous psychological thriller about a pickpocket named Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri) who is hired as a handmaiden to a wealthy Japanese heiress, Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee), as part of an elaborate con. The film famously layers deception upon deception, and Kim Tae-ri's performance — chosen from 1,500 audition candidates — won her the Blue Dragon Film Award for Best New Actress and multiple other rookie honors.

2. 1987: When the Day Comes / 1987 (2017) — Yeon-hee

In Jang Joon-hwan's politically charged historical drama, Kim Tae-ri plays Yeon-hee, a university freshman whose ambivalence toward politics gradually transforms into fierce defiance during Korea's June Democratic Struggle of 1987. Holding her own among veterans like Kim Yoon-seok and Ha Jung-woo, her performance earned her a Best Actress nomination at the Grand Bell Awards. 1987 remains essential viewing for anyone interested in Korea's road to democracy.

3. Little Forest / 리틀 포레스트 (2018) — Hye-won

Directed by Yim Soon-rye and adapted from the Japanese manga, Little Forest features Kim Tae-ri as Hye-won, a young woman who returns to her quiet rural hometown after burning out in Seoul. Filmed across an entire calendar year to authentically capture the four seasons, the film follows Hye-won as she cooks, forages, and reconnects with childhood friends played by Ryu Jun-yeol and Jin Ki-joo. Kim Tae-ri won the Director's Cut Award for the role and earned Best Actress nominations at the Blue Dragon Film Award, Baeksang Arts Award, and Buil Film Award. The film is widely credited with sparking a healing-content movement in Korea.

4. Space Sweepers / 승리호 (2021) — Captain Jang

Marketed as South Korea's first space blockbuster, Space Sweepers premiered on Netflix in February 2021 after a planned theatrical release was scrapped due to COVID-19. Kim Tae-ri co-stars with Song Joong-ki as Captain Jang, the sharp-tongued, uncompromising leader of a scrappy space-junk salvage crew tasked with protecting a child from a corporate villain. The role marked a major shift in Kim Tae-ri's filmography — her first foray into action and large-scale visual effects.

5. Alienoid: Part 1 / 외계인 1부 (2022) — Lee Ahn

In Choi Dong-hoon's ambitious sci-fi fantasy, Kim Tae-ri plays Lee Ahn, a young woman who can travel between modern-day Korea and the late Goryeo era. To prepare, she trained extensively in action choreography, martial arts, shooting, and gymnastics. The film blends sword-fighting Taoists with robots, alien prisoners, and time travel — and Kim Tae-ri anchors the chaos as the emotional center of the story. Both Alienoid parts were filmed back-to-back over 387 days.

6. Alienoid: Return to the Future / 외계인 2부 (2024) — Lee Ahn

Kim Tae-ri reprised her role as Lee Ahn in the concluding chapter of Choi Dong-hoon's duology. Although the second installment received mixed reviews from critics, it opened at number one on the Korean box office, and Kim Tae-ri's emotional, youthful performance was repeatedly singled out for praise even by reviewers who were lukewarm on the rest of the film.

7. Lost in Starlight / 별을 잃은 밤 (2025) — Nan-young (Voice)

Kim Tae-ri made her voice-acting debut in Lost in Starlight, the first South Korean feature-length animated film released on Netflix. The animated science-fiction romance casts her as Nan-young, and Kim Tae-ri also performed songs for the soundtrack — a natural extension of the vocal work she did in Jeongnyeon. The film was warmly received and confirmed that her instinct for picking out distinctive projects extends beyond live action.

Short Films and Earlier Work

Before her Handmaiden breakthrough, Kim Tae-ri appeared in several short films, including Moon Young (2015), What Are You Looking At? (2015), and Lock Out (2015). These early roles, born from her theater background in Daehakro, are not typically counted in her commercial filmography but are an important part of how she became the actress she is today.

Which Project Suits Kim Tae-ri Best?

Asking which Kim Tae-ri Korean drama or film suits her best is a bit like asking which color suits a prism. The Handmaiden unleashed her cunning. Little Forest showcased her stillness. Twenty-Five Twenty-One showcased her warmth and physical comedy. Revenant proved she can carry a thriller with two characters living inside one body. Jeongnyeon gave her a chance to sing, dance, and inhabit a forgotten Korean art form. Each role demanded something different, and she met every demand.

But if we are talking about the role that fits her most completely — the one where the character and the actress feel inseparable — the strongest argument belongs to Mr. Sunshine.

Why Mr. Sunshine Is the Kim Tae-ri Drama People Remember Most

Among long-time fans, Mr. Sunshine is consistently cited as the role that transformed Kim Tae-ri from a promising young actress into a generational talent. There is a beautiful interpretation, popular among viewers, that Go Ae-shin is not just a character — she is a metaphor for the Korean Empire (Daehan Jeguk, 대한제국) itself. She is what every man around her — Eugene Choi, Kim Hui-seong, Gu Dong-mae — chooses to die for. They give up their futures, their love, and ultimately their lives so that she, and the country she represents, can survive.

What makes the metaphor land is that Ae-shin does not shrink under that weight. After watching the people she loves fall one by one, she does not retreat into mourning. She picks up the rifle they leave behind. The drama ends with her continuing the independence fight in Manchuria, refusing to let their sacrifices be wasted. That ending — grief transformed into action — is why so many viewers say they have never moved on from Mr. Sunshine even years later.

The numbers support the emotional consensus. Mr. Sunshine peaked at over 18 percent in domestic ratings, ranking among the highest-rated Korean cable dramas ever, and continues to draw new viewers on Netflix. International fans on platforms like AsianWiki and IMDb regularly describe Kim Tae-ri's expressions in the role as a masterclass in acting, and the show inspired many overseas viewers to learn Korean history for the first time.

That said, Twenty-Five Twenty-One runs an extremely close second for sheer name recognition, especially among younger international K-drama fans who discovered Kim Tae-ri through Netflix in 2022. For a generation, Na Hee-do's bright laugh and the bittersweet ending are inseparable from Kim Tae-ri's face. On the film side, The Handmaiden remains her most internationally celebrated work, a Cannes-anointed achievement that still appears on critics' lists of the best Korean films of the 21st century.

Kim Tae-ri's Legacy in Korean Drama and Film

What unites Kim Tae-ri's filmography is not genre, era, or co-star. It is the seriousness with which she approaches each role and her refusal to repeat herself. A pickpocket in colonial Korea, a 1900s sniper-noblewoman, a 1990s teenage fencer, a possessed civil-service hopeful, a 1950s gukgeuk prodigy, a space salvage captain, a time-traveling fighter, an animated heroine — there is no formula here, only commitment.

For viewers building a Kim Tae-ri watchlist, the order is genuinely up to taste. Romantics should start with Twenty-Five Twenty-One or Little Forest. History lovers should begin with Mr. Sunshine or 1987. Thriller fans belong with The Handmaiden and Revenant. Anyone interested in traditional Korean arts should not miss Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born. Action fans have the Alienoid duology and Space Sweepers.

But whichever entry point you choose, the destination is the same: a deeper appreciation for one of the most disciplined, fearless, and quietly powerful actresses working in Korean entertainment today. Kim Tae-ri does not chase trends. She makes them — slowly, carefully, and almost always brilliantly.

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Samie | contact@KdramaforHealing.com