The year she turned 25, she debuted in the web drama Short Paper. In 2021, she appeared in the EBS teen drama The Moment the Heart Shines as the lead’s best friend.
The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 28, she joined the cast of Coupang Play’s SNL Korea season 3 in November. Her new-employee character in MZ Office, called the “clear-eyed lunatic,” made her known.
In March 2023, she signed with AIMC, and in July she won Best New Female Entertainer at the Blue Dragon Series Awards. In December she made her first attempt at a straight drama in JTBC’s Welcome to Samdal-ri. In 2024, she appeared in JTBC’s Miss Night and Day and SBS’s The Judge from Hell, and won an Excellence Award in Acting at the SBS Drama Awards in December.
The year she turned 31, she left SNL Korea in March. In June she appeared in KBS2’s The First Night with the Duke, and in October in Netflix’s Genie, Make a Wish.
In December, she appeared in Love Hotel, part of KBS’s Love Track, and won Best Actress in Drama Special at the KBS Drama Awards and a Special Award at the MBC Entertainment Awards.
The year she turned 32, Netflix’s Boyfriend on Demand was released, and in July she showed herself preparing for her first play on Omniscient Interfering View. In August she appeared in tvN’s My Bias, My Boss.
Kim Ah-young (born 1994) debuted in the web drama Short Paper in 2019, the year she turned 25, and became known on Nov 19, 2022, the year she turned 28, when she joined the cast of Coupang Play’s SNL Korea season 3. In 2023, the year she turned 29, she won Best New Female Entertainer at the Blue Dragon Series Awards.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Began acting in the web drama Short Paper. She later also appeared in videos on the YouTube channel Nerdult.
Source 01 · Newsen (Korean) · Special appearance in Ms. Incognito · opens in a new tabSource 05 · SPOTV News (Korean) · AIMC contract · opens in a new tab Only the debut year appears in the articles; the month and day were not confirmed.Played Ji-hye, the lead’s best friend. EBS released it seven years after its previous teen drama in 2014.
Source 02 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · EBS The Moment the Heart Shines · opens in a new tabJoined as a new cast member with Ji Ye-eun and Nam Hyun-woo. Geumgang Ilbo writes of the show as the one that made her known, and Sports World says her face became known through the “clear-eyed lunatic” character in the MZ Office sketch.
Played a new employee in the sketch MZ Office. YTN introduced the sketch as the main hit of season 3.
Source 04 · YTN (Korean) · SNL season 3 MZ Office · opens in a new tab The article is dated Dec. 30, 2022; the sketch’s first broadcast date was not confirmed.Appeared as one of seven SNL Korea season 3 cast members on the show.
Source 06 · JTBC (Korean) · Knowing Bros with SNL cast · opens in a new tabSPOTV News reported exclusively that she signed with AIMC, the agency of Joo Hyun-young.
Source 05 · SPOTV News (Korean) · AIMC contract · opens in a new tab The date is that of the report; the signing date is not in the article.Won Best New Female Entertainer for SNL Korea season 3. Dex won Best New Male Entertainer that year.
Source 07 · Xports News (Korean) · 2nd Blue Dragon Series Awards · opens in a new tabPlayed the second assistant to the photographer played by Shin Hye-sun. It was her first attempt at a straight drama.
Source 09 · Break News (Korean) · Welcome to Samdal-ri casting · opens in a new tabSource 08 · Sports World (Korean) · Taking on straight drama in Welcome to Samdal-ri · opens in a new tabAppeared as a regular guest on DJ Jaejae’s last live broadcast of Two O’Clock Date.
Source 10 · OSEN (Korean) · Jaejae’s last Two O’Clock Date · opens in a new tab The start date of her regular guest work was not confirmed in the articles.Played a beauty YouTuber and longtime friend of the lead character, played by Jung Eun-ji.
Source 11 · JTBC (Korean) · Miss Night and Day · opens in a new tabAppeared in the Friday–Saturday drama, which aired through Nov. 2.
Source 12 · Harper’s Bazaar Korea (Korean) · The Judge from Hell · opens in a new tabSource 13 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award · opens in a new tabAppeared as a cast member from season 3 through season 6.
Source 14 · Geumgang Ilbo (Korean) · Leaving SNL Korea · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Newsen (Korean) · Special appearance in Ms. Incognito · opens in a new tab The timing follows Geumgang Ilbo’s “last November”; the exact date was not confirmed.Won the Excellence Award in Acting in the miniseries human/fantasy category for The Judge from Hell.
Source 13 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award · opens in a new tabHer agency AIMC announced her departure and added that it was meant to let her focus on acting.
Source 15 · TV Daily (Korean) · Leaving SNL Korea · opens in a new tabSource 14 · Geumgang Ilbo (Korean) · Leaving SNL Korea · opens in a new tabAppeared as a guest with Kai of EXO.
Source 16 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Running Man appearance · opens in a new tabPlayed Seol-gi, a shaman at a fortune-telling house, in the Wednesday–Thursday drama.
Source 17 · Global Epic (Korean) · The First Night with the Duke · opens in a new tab The article is dated June 20, 2025 (episodes 3 and 4); the date of her first appearance was not confirmed.News of her special appearance was reported on Oct. 24.
Source 19 · Xports News (Korean) · Special appearance in Ms. Incognito · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Newsen (Korean) · Special appearance in Ms. Incognito · opens in a new tab The broadcast date of her episode was not confirmed.Appeared in the Netflix series Genie, Make a Wish as Do Mit-geol, who proselytizes on the street.
Source 18 · NoCut News (Korean) · Genie, Make a Wish · opens in a new tab The date is the series’ release date; the episode of her appearance is not in the article.In Love Hotel, one episode of the short-drama project Love Track, played Yoon Ha-ri, one of a couple together for seven years.
Source 20 · Dailian (Korean) · Love Track · opens in a new tab Love Track aired Dec. 14 to 28; the broadcast date of Love Hotel was not confirmed.Won the Special Award in the current affairs and culture category for Midnight Horror Story season 5.
Source 21 · Edaily (Korean) · 2025 MBC Entertainment Awards · opens in a new tabWon Best Actress in the one-act drama (Drama Special) category for Love Track: Love Hotel.
Source 22 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · KBS Drama Awards Best Actress in Drama Special · opens in a new tabHankook Ilbo reported that her 2023 contract with AIMC ended in January.
Source 23 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · AIMC contract expires · opens in a new tab The exact expiry date is not in the article.In the Netflix original series Boyfriend on Demand, played several roles in a virtual world.
Source 23 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · AIMC contract expires · opens in a new tabSource 24 · bnt News (Korean) · Boyfriend on Demand stills · opens in a new tabIn episode 408, showed her daily life preparing for her first stage play, The Merchant of Venice.
Source 25 · TenAsia (Korean) · Omniscient Interfering View · opens in a new tabWas in the cast of the Monday–Tuesday drama My Bias, My Boss, which premiered on Aug. 3.
Source 26 · TV Report (Korean) · My Bias, My Boss premiere · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2019–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Film & TV · South Korea
1994 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1994: the year of the event minus 1994, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.03 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.