“Queen of Tears” Kim Ji-won takes the crown with graceful steps

According to Good Data Corporation on March 28th, actress Kim Ji-won, who is currently starring in tvN’s drama “Queen of Tears“, ranked first in the TV-OTT drama cast popularity category for the last week of March.

Following last week, Kim Ji-won maintained the top spot for two consecutive weeks, with a popularity share of 9.4%, slightly ahead of Kim Soo-hyun’s 9.0%.

Moreover, according to Sports Kyunghyang, Kim Ji-won was recently selected as the new advertising model for Hanwha General Insurance and has completed filming. The advertisement is scheduled to be aired this weekend in conjunction with the broadcast of tvN’s “Queen of Tears”.

In addition, she is on her way up by taking over the role of Lotte Chilsung Soju brand “Chum-Churum” model after Han So-hee. The fact that Kim Ji-won follows in the footsteps of Lee Hyori, Shin Min-ah, Suzy and BLACKPINK’s Jennie, who were “Chum-Churum” models, reflects her current popularity. Especially, it is unusual to announce casting news for advertisements one after another before the drama ends. It truly marks the era of Kim Ji-won.

The drama “Queen of Tears” is also popular in many Asian countries, including Japan. According to the Netflix TOP10 series ranking by country (March 18th~March 24th) announced by Netflix on March 27th, it currently ranks first in various Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, including both English and non-English TV series. Especially in Japan, it has maintained its popularity by ranking first in the weekly rankings on Netflix for two consecutive weeks.

Overseas reputable media also highlighted the “Queen of Tears” craze. Real Sound, a Japanese entertainment specialized media outlet, reported on March 23rd, “The love of Kim Soo-hyun & Kim Ji-won in ‘Queen of Tears’ is leading the fifth Hallyu wave.”

Even the unexpected behavior of actress Kim Sae-ron could not stop Kim Ji-won’s rising momentum. Recently, Kim Sae-ron, who is currently in self-reflection for drunk driving, uploaded a picture of herself affectionately posing with Kim Soo-hyun, who plays Kim Ji-won’s husband in “Queen of Tears”, on her SNS, sparking what is called the “self-made dating rumor”. At the time, rather than fans of Kim Soo-hyun, long-time fans of Kim Ji-won flocked to Kim Sae-ron’s SNS, leaving comments such as “Don’t block the way for Kim Ji-won to become a global star“.

With such momentum, it makes everyone curious how far the spotlight on Kim Ji-won will continue to shine both domestically and internationally after the drama ends.

Kim Ji-won gained fame as the “Oran C Girl” for the beverage “Oran C” she shot at the age of 18 in 2010. At the time, she attracted attention for her exotic looks, being called the “Little Kim Tae-hee”.

Afterwards, she appeared in various works, including sitcom “High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged” (2011), dramas “The Heirs” (2013), “Gap-dong” (2014), “Descendants of the Sun” (2016), “Fight For My Way” (2017), “Mr. Sunshine” (2018), movie “Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead” (2018) and web series “One Sunny Day” (2014).

In these works, she seamlessly integrated into various characters such as a high school webtoon author, job seeker and soldier, driving the popularity of the works. After portraying Yeom Mi-jeong in JTBC’s “My Liberation Notes”, she reached the pinnacle of her career by playing Hong Hae-in, a third-generation chaebol heiress with cancer, in “Queen of Tears”.

Kim Ji-won was not an actress with exceptional talent from the beginning, unlike her outstanding appearance. She seemed to know her strengths and weaknesses well and steadily climbed the stairs with supporting characters in the works, rather than roles that accentuate her appearance.

Although she looks elegant on the surface, we know she has been fiercely swimming for 14 years like a swan in the water. Therefore, we warmly welcome her coronation as the queen, earning her the moniker “a beautiful actress who is also good at acting”.