The year she turned 23, she graduated from Suwon University’s journalism and broadcasting department. In 1998, she joined SBS as a TV writer, and married Jang Hang-jun, her senior in the entertainment department, that year.
The year she turned 34, she debuted with the screenplay for Once in a Summer, starring Lee Byung-hun and Su Ae. Woman Donga wrote that she became interested in film while typing up her husband’s handwritten screenplays. In 2010, she began writing dramas with tvN’s Golden House, co-written with Jang Hang-jun.
The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 39, SBS’s Sign first aired. An investigative drama set at the National Forensic Service, its finale drew 24.9%, and Woman Donga wrote that she made her name with a string of genre dramas starting with this work.
In 2012, SBS’s Phantom first aired. In 2014, SBS’s Three Days first aired.
In 2016, tvN’s Signal first aired, and that year she won the TV screenplay award at the Baeksang Arts Awards and the presidential citation at the Korea Content Awards.
In 2017, the cast of the six-episode Netflix series Kingdom was confirmed. In 2019, Kingdom was released. It was introduced as the first original Korean drama produced by Netflix. In 2020, season 2 was released worldwide.
In 2021, Kingdom: Ashin of the North and tvN’s Jirisan came out, and she was named honorary forensic science team leader at the National Police Agency. In 2023, the film Rebound was released and SBS’s Revenant first aired. In 2024, she won the writer award at the Korea Broadcasting Prizes for Revenant.
In 2025, it was announced that the second season of Signal would be shown on tvN in 2026. In 2026, MBC’s A Bona Fide Killer first aired and ended with a 10.7% finale.
Kim Eun-hee (born Jan 7, 1972) debuted on Nov 30, 2006, the year she turned 34, when the film Once in a Summer, for which she wrote the screenplay, was released, and became known when SBS’s Sign first aired on Jan 5, 2011, the year she turned 39. In 2016, the year she turned 44, she won the Baeksang Arts Awards TV screenplay award for Signal.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Sports Donga’s interview profile lists a 1995 graduation from the journalism and broadcasting department at Suwon University. Wikipedia’s education field names the same department.
Source 01 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Interview with Kingdom writer Kim Eun-hee · opens in a new tabSource 27 · Wikipedia (Korean) · Kim Eun-hee · opens in a new tabStarted as an assistant writer in the entertainment department, where she met her senior, Jang Hang-jun.
Source 01 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Interview with Kingdom writer Kim Eun-hee · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Woman Donga (Korean) · The story of Kim Eun-hee, queen of the genre drama · opens in a new tab The year is from the Sports Donga profile. Woman Donga says she started as an assistant writer in SBS’s entertainment department in the early 1990s, so the timing differs.Woman Donga wrote that at the time of the marriage she had no plan to write dramas or films.
Source 02 · Woman Donga (Korean) · The story of Kim Eun-hee, queen of the genre drama · opens in a new tab The date was not confirmed.Wrote the screenplay for the film starring Lee Byung-hun and Su Ae. Sports Donga and Woman Donga both list it as her debut work.
Source 05 · MyDaily (Korean) · Once in a Summer director Jo Geun-sik · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Interview with Kingdom writer Kim Eun-hee · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Woman Donga (Korean) · The story of Kim Eun-hee, queen of the genre drama · opens in a new tabSource 07 · Nocut News (Korean) · Park Shin-yang and Kim A-joong in Sign · opens in a new tabHer first drama, co-written with Jang Hang-jun. It ran 20 episodes, was 100% pre-produced and starred Shin Ha-kyun, Lee Bo-young and Baek Yoon-sik.
Source 06 · Nocut News (Korean) · tvN’s Golden House confirmed for broadcast · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Interview with Kingdom writer Kim Eun-hee · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Woman Donga (Korean) · The story of Kim Eun-hee, queen of the genre drama · opens in a new tabAn investigative drama set at the National Forensic Service, directed by her husband Jang Hang-jun with Kim Young-min. The finale drew 24.9%.
A Wednesday-Thursday drama about a cybercrime unit, starring So Ji-sub. The first episode drew 7.6%.
Source 08 · Star Today (Korean) · SBS Phantom first airs · opens in a new tabA Wednesday-Thursday drama about the hunt for a missing president, starring Son Hyun-joo and Park Yoo-chun. The first episode drew 11.9%.
Source 09 · The Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · SBS Three Days first airs · opens in a new tabIntroduced as the follow-up to Reply 1988 and the first Friday-Saturday drama of 2016, tvN’s 10th anniversary year. Made with director Kim Won-seok, who directed Misaeng.
Source 28 · MBN (Korean) · tvN Signal poster released · opens in a new tabA Friday-Saturday drama in which a present-day profiler and a detective from the 1980s use a radio to chase long-unsolved cases. Directed by Kim Won-seok, with Kim Hye-soo, Lee Je-hoon and Jo Jin-woong.
Source 10 · Herald Business (Korean) · tvN Signal first airs · opens in a new tabWon for Signal at the ceremony held at the Kyung Hee University Grand Peace Palace.
Source 11 · Ilgan Sports (Korean) · 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards TV screenplay award · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Interview with Kingdom writer Kim Eun-hee · opens in a new tabThe top award in the drama category. It was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency and held at COEX in Seoul.
Source 12 · Star Today (Korean) · 2016 Korea Content Awards · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Interview with Kingdom writer Kim Eun-hee · opens in a new tabIt was announced as a six-episode series directed by Kim Seong-hun, with Bae Doona as the physician Seo-bi. It was 100% pre-produced by Astory.
Source 13 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Bae Doona confirmed for Kingdom · opens in a new tabNetflix announced a Jan. 25, 2019 release at an event in Singapore. A second season was confirmed before the first was released.
Source 14 · OSEN (Korean) · Netflix announces Kingdom release date · opens in a new tabIntroduced as the first original Korean drama produced by Netflix. Ju Ji-hoon, Ryu Seung-ryong and Bae Doona starred.
Source 14 · OSEN (Korean) · Netflix announces Kingdom release date · opens in a new tabReleased worldwide at the same time.
Source 15 · SPOTV News (Korean) · Kingdom season 2 confirmed · opens in a new tabA special episode of the Kingdom series, with Jun Ji-hyun as Ashin.
Source 16 · The Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Kingdom: Ashin of the North released · opens in a new tabAppointed honorary forensic science team leader (police inspector) for writing several investigative dramas. The actor Choi Bool-am became the first honorary head of the criminal affairs bureau the same day.
Source 17 · Digital Times (Korean) · Appointed honorary police officer · opens in a new tabA story about national park rangers, directed by Lee Eung-bok and starring Jun Ji-hyun and Ju Ji-hoon.
Source 18 · TV Daily (Korean) · tvN Jirisan confirmed for broadcast · opens in a new tabKim Tae-ri, Oh Jung-se and Hong Kyung were confirmed in the cast. It was her first SBS work in about nine years, since Three Days ended in 2014.
Source 19 · Sports Donga (Korean) · SBS Revenant casting confirmed · opens in a new tabA film about the true story of the 2012 Busan Jungang High School basketball team. She co-wrote the screenplay with Kwon Seong-hwi, and Jang Hang-jun directed.
Source 20 · Ilgan Sports (Korean) · Film Rebound release confirmed · opens in a new tabA Friday-Saturday drama directed by Lee Jung-rim, which MyDaily described as a Korean-style occult mystery.
Source 21 · MyDaily (Korean) · SBS Revenant first broadcast confirmed · opens in a new tabWon at the ceremony held at the KBS TV Open Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. Revenant won three awards: best program, writer and best performance.
Source 22 · Sports Seoul (Korean) · 51st Korea Broadcasting Prizes · opens in a new tabSource 04 · OhmyNews (Korean) · Genre master Kim Eun-hee’s brilliant start · opens in a new tabAt a CJ ENM event, it was announced that the second season of Signal would be shown in 2026, tvN’s 20th anniversary.
Source 23 · Newsen (Korean) · Signal season 2 slated for 2026 · opens in a new tabSource 26 · TenAsia (Korean) · tvN second-half drama lineup · opens in a new tab In a Sept. 16, 2026 article, TenAsia wrote that the broadcast timing of this work has not been officially announced.A Friday-Saturday drama directed by Yoon Jong-ho and Kim Ji-hoon, with Gong Hyo-jin. The first episode drew 7.4%.
Source 24 · MBC Entertainment (Korean) · A Bona Fide Killer, episode 1 · opens in a new tabIt ended with a 10.7% finale, the series’ highest.
Source 25 · Ilgan Sports (Korean) · A Bona Fide Killer ends · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1995–2026 · 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
Jan 7, 1972 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1972: the year of the event minus 1972, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.21 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.