The breakthrough yearIn 2010, the year she turned 18, she debuted in the ad Lollipop with the group BigBang, and the same year a drink ad, OranC, earned her the nickname “OranC Girl” and made her name known. In October she was admitted to Dongguk University’s School of Theater through its acting-talent track.
In 2011, she appeared in MBC’s High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged. In 2012, she appeared in SBS’s To the Beautiful You. In 2013, she played Yoo Rachel in SBS’s The Heirs. In 2014, she signed with King Kong Entertainment.
In 2016, the year she turned 24, she rose to stardom playing the army doctor Yoon Myung-joo in KBS2’s Descendants of the Sun. That year she won Best New Actress and the Excellence Award in the miniseries category at the KBS Drama Awards.
In 2017, she played Choi Ae-ra in KBS2’s Fight for My Way. In 2018, she took on her first historical drama in the film Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead and made a guest appearance in tvN’s Mr. Sunshine. In 2019, she played Tan-ya in tvN’s Arthdal Chronicles, and her contract with King Kong by Starship ended.
In 2020, she signed with Salt Entertainment and donated 20 million won to help overcome COVID-19. Late that year she also appeared in Kakao TV’s Lovestruck in the City. In 2022, she played Yeom Mi-jeong in JTBC’s My Liberation Notes, and her contract with Salt Entertainment ended.
In 2024, the year she turned 32, she played Hong Hae-in, a third-generation chaebol heir, in tvN’s Queen of Tears. Its final episode recorded 24.850%, the highest of any tvN drama, and Market Economy wrote that it was a second heyday following Descendants of the Sun. She also held her first solo fan meeting, BE MY ONE, 14 years after her debut.
In 2025, she donated 50 million won for wildfire recovery. In 2026, she donated 100 million won to Seoul National University Children’s Hospital and announced a second solo fan meeting, Wonderland. She also taped tvN’s You Quiz on the Block.
Kim Ji-won (born Oct 19, 1992) debuted in 2010, the year she turned 18, in the Lollipop ad, and became known the same year when a drink ad, OranC, earned her the nickname “OranC Girl.” On Feb 24, 2016, the year she turned 24, she rose to stardom in KBS2’s Descendants of the Sun.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Made her entertainment debut in the Lollipop ad with the group BigBang.
Source 01 · News Inside (Korean) · Joins Park Shin-hye’s agency · opens in a new tabSource 31 · MyDaily (Korean) · The Lollipop girl · opens in a new tabIn her final year of high school, an ad for a drink of a little over a minute earned her the nickname “OranC Girl.” She says the nickname became a stepping stone to making her name known.
Passed in the first-round early admission track for exceptional talent (acting category). She was admitted alongside Heo Ga-yoon of the group 4Minute and Sunmi, formerly of Wonder Girls.
Source 02 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Passes Dongguk University’s theater school · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Lee Jong-suk, Baek Jin-hee and others; the first episode aired at 7:45 p.m.
Source 03 · OSEN (Korean) · High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged press conference · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Sulli, Choi Min-ho and others.
Source 04 · OBS (Korean) · To the Beautiful You first broadcast · opens in a new tabPlayed Yoo Rachel. Appeared alongside Lee Min-ho, Park Shin-hye, Kim Woo-bin and others.
Source 05 · OBS (Korean) · The Heirs first broadcast · opens in a new tabSource 06 · Ajunews (Korean) · Exclusive contract with King Kong Entertainment · opens in a new tabShe played Ma Ji-wool in tvN’s Gap-dong in early 2014, and in December her agency announced an exclusive contract.
Source 06 · Ajunews (Korean) · Exclusive contract with King Kong Entertainment · opens in a new tabSource 07 · Insight Korea (Korean) · King Kong by Starship contract expires · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo and Jin Goo, playing the army doctor Yoon Myung-joo. The series ran until April 14, and the Korea Economic Daily wrote that she rose to stardom through it.
Source 08 · Sports Today (Korean) · Descendants of the Sun first broadcast · opens in a new tabSource 09 · Wikitree (Korean) · Descendants of the Sun broadcast period · opens in a new tabSource 10 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Stardom through Descendants of the Sun · opens in a new tabSource 11 · Sports Seoul (Korean) · High Kick alumni · opens in a new tabWon Best New Actress, the Best Couple Award and the Excellence Award in the miniseries category for Descendants of the Sun.
Source 13 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · KBS Drama Awards · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Park Seo-joon, Ahn Jae-hong and Song Ha-yoon; the series ran until July 11.
Source 14 · Polinews (Korean) · Fight for My Way broadcast period · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Kim Myung-min and Oh Dal-su, taking on her first historical drama in the third film of the series.
Source 15 · Joynews24 (Korean) · Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead interview · opens in a new tabAppeared as Hui-jin, a member of the righteous army and mother of Go Ae-sin (played by Kim Tae-ri).
Source 16 · KBS Entertainment (Korean) · Mr. Sunshine guest role · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Song Joong-ki, Jang Dong-gun and Kim Ok-vin.
Source 17 · Herald POP (Korean) · Arthdal Chronicles first broadcast · opens in a new tabThe contract that had run since 2014 ended in early December. Her agency said she planned to continue working without renewing.
Source 07 · Insight Korea (Korean) · King Kong by Starship contract expires · opens in a new tabShe joined the same agency as Park Shin-hye, with whom she had worked on The Heirs.
Source 01 · News Inside (Korean) · Joins Park Shin-hye’s agency · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Star Daily News (Korean) · Salt Entertainment contract expires · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Ji Chang-wook; it was released worldwide on Netflix the same day.
Source 20 · Maeil Business (Korean) · Lovestruck in the City on Netflix · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Lee Min-ki and Son Suk-ku; the series ran until May 29.
Source 21 · Korea Lecturer News (Korean) · My Liberation Notes broadcast period · opens in a new tabThe contract signed in February 2020 ended.
Source 18 · Star Daily News (Korean) · Salt Entertainment contract expires · opens in a new tabAppeared alongside Kim Soo-hyun, playing Hong Hae-in, a third-generation chaebol heir and department store CEO.
Source 22 · SWTV (Korean) · Queen of Tears press conference · opens in a new tabThe final episode recorded 24.850%, passing the 21.7% of Crash Landing on You to become the highest-rated drama in tvN history. Market Economy wrote that it was a second heyday following Descendants of the Sun.
Source 23 · News1 (Korean) · Queen of Tears final-episode ratings · opens in a new tabSource 12 · Market Economy (Korean) · The Whoo global model · opens in a new tabHeld over two days, it was followed from July by her first Asia tour, through Osaka, Tokyo, Taipei and Manila.
Source 24 · Sports World (Korean) · First fan meeting BE MY ONE · opens in a new tabSource 25 · Edaily (Korean) · Asia fan meeting tour · opens in a new tabGave 50 million won through the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association to help the wildfire-hit areas of Ulsan, North Gyeongsang and South Gyeongsang.
Source 26 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Wildfire relief donation · opens in a new tabShe says she was moved to give after hearing the stories of sick children up close while filming SBS’s Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia. The money goes toward improving ward conditions and paying treatment costs for low-income patients.
Source 27 · Kormedi.com (Korean) · Seoul National University Children’s Hospital donation · opens in a new tabHer agency, HighZium Studio, announced a fan meeting for Oct. 24 and 25 at Sungshin Women’s University’s Unjeong Green Campus.
Source 28 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Second fan meeting Wonderland · opens in a new tabIt was her first show with Yoo Jae-suk in 10 years, since they appeared together on Running Man after Descendants of the Sun ended. No broadcast date had been set.
Source 29 · SPOTV News (Korean) · You Quiz taping · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2010–2026 · 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
Oct 19, 1992 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1992: the year of the event minus 1992, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.29 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.