Kim Su-mi

Who is Kim Su-mi?

Kim Soo-mi is a South Korean actress. She has had a prolific career in film and television. Kim debuted in a talent contest in 1970, then shot to fame in Country Diaries. The landmark TV series aired for almost 20 years, making Kim one of the most popular Korean actresses of the 1980s.

In 2003 she made a memorable cameo as a profanity-spouting ajumma in the Jang Nara comedy Oh! Happy Day. It successfully revamped her image and rejuvenated her fading career. Kim quickly became known in the Korean entertainment industry as the "Queen of Ad-lib," with her comic talent showcased in many of her succeeding projects, notably Mapado, Twilight Gangsters, and the Marrying the Mafia sequels.

Kim also gained attention for her turns in more serious fare, such as 2006's Barefoot Ki-bong, a heartwarming pic about a developmentally disabled man. Her 2011 film Late Blossom is a romance between two elderly couples, a topic rarely explored in Korean cinema. The low-budget indie became a sleeper hit, and for her portrayal of an Alzheimer's-afflicted woman, Kim won Best Supporting Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.