The year she turned 21, she appeared in the film Dear Catastrophe, which some articles give as her debut.
The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 24, Obsessed was released in May, and she played Jong Ga-heun opposite Song Seung-heon. In November she won Best New Actress at the Grand Bell Awards, and TV Report reported that this completed a triple crown of newcomer awards.
The year she turned 25, The Treacherous was released. In July, High Society ended, and in December she received an Excellence Award at the MBC Entertainment Awards. In 2016, Luck Key was released.
The year she turned 29, she appeared in Tazza: One Eyed Jack. In 2021, she played Moon Jin-ah in Spiritwalker.
The year she turned 32, Tving’s Rose Mansion was released in May and Part 1 of Netflix’s The Glory in December.
The year she turned 33, Part 2 of The Glory was released in March, and her role as Park Yeon-jin drew favorable reviews. In April she confirmed a relationship with Lee Do-hyun, and she won Best Supporting Actress – Television at the Baeksang Arts Awards, followed in July by Best Supporting Actress at the Blue Dragon Series Awards.
The year she turned 34, Revolver was released, and in November JTBC’s The Tale of Lady Ok began. In January 2025, The Tale of Lady Ok reached a peak rating of 11.1%, and in November tvN’s Nice to Not Meet You began.
The year she turned 36, SBS’s My Royal Nemesis began in May and ended in June, and she appeared on You Quiz on the Block the same month.
Lim Ji-yeon (born 1990) became known when the film Obsessed was released on May 14, 2014, the year she turned 24, and won Best New Actress at the Grand Bell Awards that year. In 2023, the year she turned 33, she won Best Supporting Actress – Television at the Baeksang Arts Awards for playing Park Yeon-jin in Netflix’s The Glory.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Built her acting career in independent and short films.
Source 02 · Top Star News (Korean) · Lim Ji-yeon profile · opens in a new tabSource 35 · Newsen (Korean) · Hosting a friend’s wedding · opens in a new tab Some articles give this as her debut work, while others give Obsessed. This page treats Obsessed as her debut.Played the lead in her first commercial feature film, opposite Song Seung-heon.
Won Best New Actress at the 51st Grand Bell Awards for Obsessed. TV Report reported that, after the Buil Film Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, this completed a triple crown of newcomer awards.
Source 05 · TV Report (Korean) · Grand Bell newcomer award · opens in a new tabSource 06 · TV Report (Korean) · Triple crown of newcomer awards · opens in a new tabSource 36 · Newspim (Korean) · Grand Bell newcomer award · opens in a new tabWas nominated for Best New Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for Obsessed.
Source 07 · Veritas Alpha (Korean) · Korea National University of Arts School of Drama · opens in a new tab The date of the nomination is not in the article, so the year and month are taken from the Veritas Alpha article dated Dec. 30.The film, in which she appeared with Lee Yoo-young, was released.
Source 08 · News1 (Korean) · Release of The Treacherous · opens in a new tabBegan hosting the entertainment news program in July.
Source 10 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · 2015 highlights · opens in a new tab The article does not give the start day, so only the year and month are given.Her first drama in a lead role ended with a finale rating of 10.1%. She also won Best New Actress at the 8th Korea Drama Awards for the series.
Source 09 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · High Society finale · opens in a new tabSource 10 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · 2015 highlights · opens in a new tabReceived it as host of Section TV.
Source 10 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · 2015 highlights · opens in a new tabAppeared with Yoo Hae-jin, Lee Joon and Jo Yoon-hee.
Source 11 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Luck Key press conference · opens in a new tabThe film, in which she appeared with Park Jung-min, Ryu Seung-bum and others, ranked first at the box office on its opening day.
Source 12 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Tazza: One Eyed Jack opening day · opens in a new tabAppeared with Yoon Kye-sang and Park Yong-woo.
Source 13 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · Spiritwalker review · opens in a new tabPlayed a younger sister searching for her missing older sister. It was released four episodes a week over three weeks.
Source 14 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Rose Mansion · opens in a new tab The article does not give the first release day, so only the year and month are given.In the series starring Song Hye-kyo, she played Park Yeon-jin, a perpetrator of school violence.
Source 15 · Edaily (Korean) · The Glory release date · opens in a new tabSource 16 · Star News (Korean) · Lim Ji-yeon’s contract ends · opens in a new tabHer first villain role drew favorable reviews, and MBN reported that the performance was called a rediscovery of Lim Ji-yeon.
Source 16 · Star News (Korean) · Lim Ji-yeon’s contract ends · opens in a new tabSource 17 · MBN (Korean) · The Glory interview with Lim Ji-yeon · opens in a new tabSource 18 · TheSen News (Korean) · The Glory interview · opens in a new tabAppeared on the program in connection with The Glory’s popularity worldwide.
Source 16 · Star News (Korean) · Lim Ji-yeon’s contract ends · opens in a new tabThe agencies of both actors confirmed that she was dating Lee Do-hyun, her co-star in The Glory.
Source 19 · YTN (Korean) · Lim Ji-yeon and Lee Do-hyun dating · opens in a new tabReceived it for The Glory, which won three awards.
Source 20 · Financial News (Korean) · Baeksang Arts Awards results · opens in a new tabA Monday-Tuesday drama in which she appeared with Kim Tae-hee.
Source 21 · Donghaeng Media Sidae (Korean) · Lies Hidden in My Garden · opens in a new tabReceived it in the drama category at the 2nd Blue Dragon Series Awards.
Source 22 · TenAsia (Korean) · Blue Dragon Series Awards · opens in a new tabAppeared in the Thursday drama.
Source 23 · News Culture (Korean) · Lim Ji-yeon pictorial · opens in a new tabWorked with Jeon Do-yeon.
Source 24 · Xportsnews (Korean) · Revolver · opens in a new tabPlayed the lead in the story of a slave, Goo Deok, who comes to live the life of Ok Tae-young.
Source 25 · JTBC (Korean) · The Tale of Lady Ok OST · opens in a new tabEpisode 14, broadcast on the 19th, recorded a peak rating of 11.1% according to Nielsen Korea.
Source 26 · CBC News (Korean) · The Tale of Lady Ok episode 14 · opens in a new tabWas nominated for Revolver.
Source 27 · JoongAng Ilbo (Korean) · What to watch at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards · opens in a new tabPlayed a lead role with Lee Jung-jae.
Source 28 · YTN (Korean) · Nice to Not Meet You press conference · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Newsen (Korean) · Lee Jung-jae on You Quiz, Nice to Not Meet You · opens in a new tabPlayed Shin Seo-ri, an unknown actress, in the Friday-Saturday drama.
Source 29 · Insight (Korean) · My Royal Nemesis historical research · opens in a new tabSource 30 · Edaily (Korean) · My Royal Nemesis writer interview · opens in a new tabAppeared in episode 347.
Source 31 · Edaily (Korean) · You Quiz on the Block appearance · opens in a new tabSource 32 · TenAsia (Korean) · You Quiz, her debut story · opens in a new tabStarted with a rating of 4.1% for episode 1 and reached 11.4% in the final episode, the series’ highest.
Source 30 · Edaily (Korean) · My Royal Nemesis writer interview · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2011–2026 · 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
1990 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1990: the year of the event minus 1990, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.02 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.