I. Introduction
Jung Ho Yeon is a well-known model with a long resume in the Korean fashion industry, with more than 10+ years of experience. She has appeared on the covers of many prestigious advertising publications, magazines and walked countless runway shows.
In 2021 she made her breakout acting debut on the hit Korean Netflix drama, “Squid Game”. After catapulting to stardom in the smash hit drama, the model-turned-actress became the most followed Korean actress on Instagram in a span of two weeks!
II. Profile
Jung Ho Yeon was born on June 23, 1994, from Myeonmok-dong, a suburb of Seoul. She worked as a freelance model as young as 16 years old, getting cast in shows without any help from an agency.
Within six years of working as a freelance model, she’d found representation on her own. In 2013, competing on the fourth season of Korea’s Next Top Model.
She was pushed to the bottom three by episode two and was eliminated the next week, but she returned to the competition in episode five. She went on to win the final two regular competitive episodes and wound up as one of the runner-ups.
Jung Ho Yeon later made an appearance on Devil’s Runway, playing as a mentor for young aspiring models. She steadily appeared in numerous spreads for the local editions of magazines like Vogue, Elle and W for a few years.
In September 2016, she debuted on the international runways. According to Models.com, her first major international runway was for Opening Ceremony’s Spring 2017 show during New York Fashion Week. A few days later, Jung would also walk for Marc Jacobs, then appeared in Milan later that month in shows for Alberta Ferretti and Fendi, and made her Paris debut as an exclusive for Louis Vuitton (she has continued to be a favourite of the Maison).
W Korea would later name her one of the top ten breakout models at the end of 2016.
At this point, Jung Ho Yeon dyed her hair a fiery shade of red that would go on to become her signature look in her early modelling days.
She was praised by Vogue magazine for having the gifted body and talent to become Korea’s top female model.
Due to her impressive media coverage, she would later join Esteem Models – the largest modelling agency in Korea.
Around this time, Jung Ho Yeon became a film connoisseur. As she was constantly on the road modelling, she’d marathon movies as an off-duty escape, watching favourites like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Fargo", and "Kill Bill" repeatedly.
A fan of performers who disappear into their work like Frances McDormand, Doona Bae, Lupita Nyong’o, and Adam Driver, her interest in acting stemmed from a broader desire to understand herself and others better.
Quote from Jung Ho Yeon's interview with Vogue“When I’d travel by myself on airplanes and stay at hotels, I spent most of my days just watching movies,” she says. “[Afterward] I thought more and more about myself and my position in humanity at large. Who was I? What does it mean to be human? The need to answer those questions was what brought me to acting.”
And then on January 13, 2020, Jung Ho Yeon went after her dream. She signed with her first major Entertainment label, SARAM, as an actress that specializes in artist management and film production.
She would later make her acting debut in “Squid Game” on September 17th, 2021.
III. Filmography
IIII. Drama
| Year | Title | Network | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Netflix | Saebyeok |
IV. Music Videos
V. Videography
VI. Facts
- Vogue dubbed her as "Korea's next top model", and is ranked as one of the "Top 50" fashion models by Models.com.
- She auditioned for Squid Game during New York Fashion Week.
Quote from Jung Ho Yeon“It’s been less than a month since I signed with my agency, and I was in New York for Fashion Week, but I was asked to send in a test video as soon as possible. I’ve never shot the audition video myself “So I remember pouring all my energy into the script. I did my best for about three days. I didn’t even know how to approach acting, so I kept thinking about why Sae Byeok said what she said. After some time, I felt like I got close to Sae Byeok.” I forgot about the video after I sent it, but they suddenly told me they wanted to see me in person, so I quickly flew to Korea.”
In a virtual press conference, Squid Game‘s director Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed how he had cast numerous actresses for the role of Sae-Byeok before Jung’s tape landed on his table.
“I knew straight away that she was the perfect fit for Sae-Byeok. I felt it right away – the tone of her voice, the glare and the aura, everything was perfect.”
- She is a fan of action flicks.
- She wants to work with Quentin Tarantino.
Quote from Jung Ho Yeon“I love Kill Bill. I love the girls fighting with the really cool outfits. Since I’m a fashion model, we know the fashion industry, how to make it cool, that stuff. I think Kill Bill is a very good movie to see fashion and drama.”
- She is dating actor Lee Dong Hwi since 2015.
- She is good friends with BLACKPINK’s Jennie.
- She had an embarrassing acting experience.
“I read the monologue and it was so awkward that while I was reading even I could feel that it was very bad, and I could imagine their feeling. They told me, ‘You shouldn’t read like that. Did you practice it?’ They kept saying bad things. It did hurt my feelings.”
- She relates with her Squid Game character.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Ho Yeon disclosed that she shares a deep connection with her character Kang Sae Byeok as loneliness was a common emotion they both experienced. As a model who worked abroad for years and had spent most of her time in solitude, Ho Yeon shared that she empathized with her character Sae Byeok
- Jung Ho Yeon is close to labelmates Gong Myung and Lee Honey.
- Her father runs a gukbap restaurant.
- She’s eager to test her skills with a role in a fantasy story or romantic drama
- Jung Ho Yeon wants to make a name for herself as an actor and model.
- She graduated from the Model Department, Dongduk Woman University College of Performing Arts.
