Song Hye Kyo

Song Hye-kyo (born November 22, 1981) is a South Korean actress.

She gained international popularity through her leading roles in television dramas Autumn in My Heart (2000), All In (2003), Full House (2004), That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013), Descendants of the Sun (2016), and Encounter (2018). Her film work includes Hwang Jin Yi (2007), The Grandmaster (2013), My Brilliant Life (2014), and The Queens (2015).

In 2017, she ranked 7th in Forbes magazine's Korea Power Celebrity list and 6th in 2018.

Early Life & Education

When Song was born, she was sick and her parents and doctors thought that she would not survive. Upon her recovery, Song's parents registered her birth on February 26, 1982 (instead of her actual birthdate, November 22, 1981)

Song's parents divorced when she was a young girl, and she was raised by her mother.They moved from her birthplace in Daegu to the Gangnam District in Seoul, where she trained as a figure skater in elementary school but quit when she was in the eighth grade. Though Song considered herself shy and introverted, she was described by her high school teacher as having a "cheerful character, she mixed well with her friends and was always in a bright mood." Song Hye-kyo attended college at Sejong University, where she majored in Film Arts.

Career

1996–2004: Debut, breakthrough and international fame
2005–2012: Film debut and overseas ventures
2013–present: Career resurgence

Personal Life

Marriage

Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo

On July 5, 2017, Song and Descendants of the Sun co-star Song Joong-ki announced through their respective agencies that they were engaged. They married in a private ceremony on October 31, 2017 at Youngbingwan, Hotel Shilla in Seoul, amid intense media interest across Asia. It was attended by the couple's closest family and friends, including actors Lee Kwang-soo, Yoo Ah-in, and Park Bo-gum who also played the piano at the wedding reception. On June 27, 2019, Song Joong-ki revealed that he had filed for divorce with Song Hye-kyo the previous day. The divorce was finalised in July 2019. On July 25, 2019, Song filed a complaint against 15 online netizens for “spread of false information, defamation of character and insult.”^[ While the reason for the divorce was cited by the talent agency as personal differences, rumors surrounding the scandal included claims that Song had entered into a sham marriage for the sake of enhancing her celebrity image. This allegation gained some credence as it was reported that the actress rarely or never attended her husband's family's events and the couple had purchased a $12 million home in Seoul which was never occupied. One of the netizens has been charged with defamation of character for writing a blog post this past June alleging that the reason for Song Hye Kyo and Song Joong Ki's divorce was the actress’ secret “sponsor” in China.

Legal

In August 2014, following inadvertent exposure by a politician overseeing the administration of the National Tax Service of South Korea, Song made a public apology for committing tax evasion when she claimed undocumented expenses. With her omitted income tax from 2009 to 2011 totaling ₩2.56 billion, she argued that her accountant had mishandled her paper work without her knowledge. After receiving notification from the NTS in October 2012, Song paid the tax balance due plus understatement of income tax penalties in the aggregate of ₩3.8 billion (US$3.7 million). Song was again billed another ₩700 million in April 2014 against her 2008 tax filing, a result of the legally required five-year audit neglected since the 2012 notification. On August 18 of that year, Park Beom-gye, a New Politics Alliance for Democracy member, subsequently led the aforementioned governmental inquiries of the NTS, making kompromat of a delinquent taxpayer receiving preferential treatment with reference to an "Actress 'S,'" whom the local newspaper DongA Ilbo the very next day revealed to be Song Hye-kyo.

Collaboration with Professor Seo Kyung-duk

A representative from Song's agency said, "Because Song has travelled extensively for work, she has become aware of how important it is for tourists to be able to read information in their own language.” Song, in collaboration with professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women's University, decided to donate brochures or information in Korean to various historic Korean sites, art galleries, and museums in the world. Professor Seo praised Song who is supporting her country quietly.