Acting debut

She began her modeling career in South Korea after winning the SBS Supermodel Contest in 2001.^[5] Under the stage name Han Ye-seul, she made her acting debut in the popular sitcom Nonstop 4 in 2003.^[6] Han quickly rose to fame, and she renounced her U.S. citizenship in 2004 and became a naturalized South Korean citizen to continue establishing herself in Korean entertainment.^[7] Her performances in Forbidden Love (2004) and That Summer's Typhoon (2005) received poor reviews,^[8][9] with critics dismissing her as primarily a commercial model and not a real actress.^[10]

Breakthrough

Han proved her detractors wrong with Couple or Trouble (also known as Fantasy Couple, 2006), a remake of Overboard written by the Hong sisters. Playing a spoiled heiress who becomes an amnesiac after a yacht accident, Han was praised for her comic timing and the series was a hit.^[2][11]

She further embraced the screwball comedy genre with her first film Miss Gold Digger (2007).^[12] Despite the film's lackluster box office, Han's portrayal of an advertising executive who juggles four different men in order to catch the ideal husband won her several Best New Actress accolades from local award-giving bodies, including the prestigious Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

Han next starred in Tazza (2008), a TV adaptation of Huh Young-man's manhwa of the same name about gamblers and card sharks.^[18] This was followed up with the Lee Kyung-hee-penned Will It Snow for Christmas?, a melodrama about childhood sweethearts who reunite as adults in 2009.^[19][20]

Spy Myung-wol controversy

In 2011, Han was cast as the titular character in Spy Myung-wol, as a North Korean agent on a mission to kidnap a top South Korean Hallyu star, who ends up falling for him.^[21][22][23] The series gained notoriety when Han failed to show up for her scheduled filming on August 14–15 and instead flew to Los Angeles on August 16; it was the first instance of a leading actor abruptly leaving in the middle of a Korean drama shoot.^[24] Her then-agency SidusHQ cited conflicts with television director Hwang In-hyuk over her hectic working conditions, and that exhaustion had compromised her judgment.^[25][26] Han's absence effectively halted production, and the KBS network lambasted her actions as "unilateral, irresponsible and will not be tolerated," while the drama's production company Victory Contents (then known as Victory Productions) threatened legal action.^[26][27] After extensive press coverage, Han returned to Korea and continued filming Spy Myung-wol on August 18.^[28] Upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, she apologized but maintained that her demands had been legitimate, stating "I want to believe that I did the right thing."^[29] Han drew harsh criticism from TV industry professionals and viewers, but some fans defended her, saying the stressful Korean drama live-shoot system was at fault.^[24][30]

Romantic comedy film Penny Pinchers was released two months after Spy Myung-wol finished airing. In it, Han shed her glamorous image to play an extremely frugal woman who considers love a frivolous expense and teaches an unemployed playboy the art of penny pinching.^[31][32]

Comeback

After the Spy Myung-wol fiasco, public backlash forced Han to go on a three-year hiatus from acting.^[33][34][35]

In late 2014, she made a successful comeback in Birth of a Beauty, where Han played a warm-hearted ajumma who overcomes her husband's infidelity by undergoing a head-to-toe makeover involving plastic surgery and weight loss.^[36][37][38] This was followed with leading roles in romantic comedies Madame Antoine: The Love Therapist (2016) where she plays a fake fortune teller,^[39] and 20th Century Boy and Girl (2017).^[40]

In 2019, Han starred in SBS drama Big Issue, playing a paparazzi journalist who chases after celebrity scandals.^[41][42]

In June 2021, Han signed with new agency High Entertainment.^[43]

Film

Television series

Hosting and variety show

Music video appearances