A MODERN
BIOGRAPHY ARCHIVE
THE COLLECTION / Film & TVARCHIVE № 499
1966 —   TV DRAMA WRITER

NOHHEE-KYUNG

1966South Korea

What happened at what age?
Where were they at your age?

The year she turned 29, her script Aunt Sallie and Suzie received an honorable mention in the MBC Best Theater script contest, and she debuted in broadcasting.

The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 30, the four-part MBC anniversary special The Most Beautiful Goodbye aired, and she became known through it.

In 1997 her MBC drama The Reason I Live began airing. In 1998 KBS2’s Lie aired, and Dong-A Ilbo calls it the start of a Noh Hee-kyung craze. In 1999 MBC’s Did We Really Love? and the KBS2 year-end special Sad Temptation aired.

In 2000 KBS2’s Foolish Love aired. In 2001 her SBS weekend drama Wonderful Days began airing. In 2004 KBS2’s More Beautiful Than a Flower aired, and that December she received the drama category of the Korean Broadcasting Writers Awards.

In 2006 her KBS2 drama Goodbye Solo began airing. In 2008 KBS2’s Worlds Within aired, and in December she published her first essay collection. In 2010 Red Candy, the first episode of KBS Drama Special, aired.

In 2011 JTBC’s Padam Padam aired. In 2013 SBS’s That Winter, the Wind Blows aired. In 2014 her SBS drama It’s Okay, That’s Love began airing.

In 2016 tvN’s Dear My Friends aired. In 2017 she received the Baeksang Arts Awards TV category Best Screenplay for Dear My Friends. In 2018 tvN’s Live aired, and in October she received the Gender Equality Culture Award of the Year.

In 2022 tvN’s Our Blues aired. In December 2024 Studio Dragon signed a contract with Netflix to produce and supply Tantara. In February 2025 the lead cast of the series was announced.

Noh Hee-kyung (born 1966) debuted in 1995, the year she turned 29, with an honorable mention in the MBC Best Theater script contest, and became known in 1996, the year she turned 30, through the MBC anniversary special The Most Beautiful Goodbye. KBS2’s Lie aired in 1998, the year she turned 32.

Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.

Full timeline · 24 records1995 — 2025   ＋
AGE / YEAR

  1. 29 · 1995
    Debut

    Honorable mention in the MBC Best Theater script contest for Sallie and Suzie

    Her script was one of four honorable mentions among 1,224 entries. Several articles write that she debuted in broadcasting with this work.

    Source 01 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · MBC Best Theater script contest results · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Rising writer Noh Hee-kyung and her regular partner Bae Jong-ok · opens in a new tabSource 03 · MyDaily (Korean) · Noh Hee-kyung, a writer more beautiful than a flower · opens in a new tabSource 06 · OhmyNews (Korean) · Who is the best drama writer? · opens in a new tabSource 15 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Writer Noh Hee-kyung in the 1970s and ’80s · opens in a new tab Her 1966 birth year is from Dong-A Ilbo, Nov. 11, 2004. Yonhap’s June 13, 1995 article calls it an honorable mention, Dong-A Ilbo an outstanding entry in the contest, and MyDaily a winner. Yonhap’s title is Aunt Sallie and Suzie, and later articles use Sallie and Suzie. The air date was not confirmed in articles.
  2. 31 · 1997
  3. 32 · 1998
    Key moment

    KBS2’s Lie begins airing

    Aired Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:50 p.m., directed by Pyo Min-soo. Dong-A Ilbo calls it the start of the 1998 Noh Hee-kyung craze, and OhmyNews writes that it was recorded as Korea’s first “mania drama,” a show with a devoted cult following.

    Source 08 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · KBS2’s new Monday-Tuesday drama Lie · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Rising writer Noh Hee-kyung and her regular partner Bae Jong-ok · opens in a new tabSource 06 · OhmyNews (Korean) · Who is the best drama writer? · opens in a new tab
  4. 33 · 1999
  5. 33 · 1999
  6. 34 · 2000
  7. 35 · 2001
  8. 38 · 2004
  9. 38 · 2004
  10. 40 · 2006
  11. 42 · 2008
  12. 42 · 2008
  13. 44 · 2010
  14. 45 · 2011
  15. 47 · 2013
    TV

    SBS’s That Winter, the Wind Blows first airs

    It was her first script for a remake, based on the Japanese drama Forget Love (Ai nante Irane yo, Natsu). Jo In-sung and Song Hye-kyo starred, and Song worked with her again five years after Worlds Within.

    Source 21 · Munhwa Ilbo (Korean) · Wednesday-Thursday drama due early next year · opens in a new tabSource 23 · Cooky News (Korean) · 2012 drama year in review · opens in a new tabSource 22 · Money Today (Korean) · That Winter, the Wind Blows ties for No. 1 with Iris 2 · opens in a new tab The February 14 episode drew 12.4% (AGB Nielsen).
  16. 48 · 2014
  17. 50 · 2016
  18. 51 · 2017
  19. 52 · 2018
  20. 52 · 2018
  21. 56 · 2022
  22. 58 · 2024
  23. 59 · 2025

END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1995–2025 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.

02 / QUICK ANSWERS

Q & AFrequently asked

How old was Noh Hee-kyung when she debuted?
In 1995, the year she turned 29, her script Aunt Sallie and Suzie received an honorable mention in the MBC Best Theater script contest announced on Jun 13, 1995.
How old was Noh Hee-kyung when she became famous?
In 1996, the year she turned 30, the MBC anniversary special The Most Beautiful Goodbye aired. Joy News 24 calls her a writer who drew attention with this work. Dong-A Ilbo calls the 1998 drama Lie the start of a Noh Hee-kyung craze, placing the moment later.
How old was Noh Hee-kyung when she wrote Lie?
KBS2’s Lie began airing on Mar 30, 1998, the year she turned 32. OhmyNews writes that it was recorded as Korea’s first “mania drama,” a show with a devoted cult following.
Did Noh Hee-kyung win a Baeksang Arts Award?
On May 3, 2017, the year she turned 51, she received the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards TV category Best Screenplay for Dear My Friends.
How old is Noh Hee-kyung?
Born in 1966, she turns 60 in 2026. Her birthday is not confirmed, so her age in years is 59 or 60 as of Oct 6, 2026.
04 / ABOUT THE ARCHIVE

A LIFE,
IN CHAPTERS.

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.

COLLECTION499Noh Hee-kyung / NOH HEE-KYUNG

Film & TV · South Korea
1966 —

Sources and method32 SOURCES   ＋

Ages are counted from the birth year 1966: the year of the event minus 1966, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.

  1. Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · MBC Best Theater script contest results ↗June 13, 1995. 1,224 entries; four honorable mentions, including Noh Hee-kyung’s Aunt Sallie and Suzie
  2. Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Rising writer Noh Hee-kyung and her regular partner Bae Jong-ok ↗Nov. 12, 2000. Gives her age as 34. Best Theater’s Sallie and Suzie in 1995, Lie in 1998, and the ratings of Foolish Love
  3. MyDaily (Korean) · Noh Hee-kyung, a writer more beautiful than a flower ↗Dec. 18, 2004. Won with Sallie and Suzie, followed by The Most Beautiful Goodbye
  4. Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Plans to adapt The Most Beautiful Goodbye into a film ↗Apr. 14, 1997. Aired in early December 1996 as a four-part MBC anniversary special, directed by Park Jong
  5. Joy News 24 (Korean) · The era of star writers more popular than actors ↗Dec. 21, 2004. Describes her as a writer who drew attention with The Most Beautiful Goodbye
  6. OhmyNews (Korean) · Who is the best drama writer? ↗Aug. 3, 2018. Debuted in 1995 with Sallie and Suzie; Lie recorded as Korea’s first “mania drama,” a show with a devoted cult following
  7. Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Retro dramas in vogue ↗May 9, 1997. First aired on the 7th, directed by Park Jong, set in 1970s Mapo
  8. Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · KBS2’s new Monday-Tuesday drama Lie ↗Mar. 21, 1998. From the 30th, Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:50 p.m., directed by Pyo Min-soo
  9. Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Competition among the three broadcasters’ dramas ↗Jan. 20, 1999. MBC Wednesday drama Did We Really Love? starts on the 27th, directed by Park Jong
  10. Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · KBS year-end special Sad Temptation ↗Dec. 24, 1999. From 10:30 p.m. on the 26th for 120 minutes, directed by Pyo Min-soo
  11. Kookmin Ilbo (Korean) · Bae Jong-ok in Foolish Love ↗June 1, 2000. Writer Noh Hee-kyung and producer-director Pyo Min-soo, with Bae Jong-ok. The first air date is not in the article
  12. Kookmin Ilbo (Korean) · SBS’s new drama Wonderful Days ↗Oct. 18, 2001. First airs Nov. 3 at 8:50 p.m., directed by Lee Jong-han
  13. Newsis (Korean) · More Beautiful Than a Flower tops daily ratings ↗Apr. 9, 2004. First aired Jan. 1; the episode of the 8th drew 29.5% (TNS Media Korea), directed by Kim Cheol-gyu
  14. Star News (Korean) · Noh Hee-kyung prepares a KBS anniversary special for March ↗Dec. 11, 2004. The 17th Korean Broadcasting Writers Awards ceremony, drama category, held on the 10th
  15. Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Writer Noh Hee-kyung in the 1970s and ’80s ↗Nov. 11, 2004. Born in 1966; graduated in creative writing from the Seoul Institute of the Arts
  16. MyDaily (Korean) · Goodbye Solo premieres ↗Mar. 2, 2006. First aired on the 1st, directed by Ki Min-soo
  17. The Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Sung Si-kyung sings the Worlds Within OST ↗Oct. 29, 2008. Episode 2 aired on the 28th, directed by Pyo Min-soo and Kim Kyu-tae. The first air date is not in the article
  18. Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Noh Hee-kyung’s first essay collection ↗Dec. 17, 2008. Essay collection published on the 15th; 30,000 copies in three days
  19. MyDaily (Korean) · Red Candy ↗May 16, 2010. Aired on the 15th; episode 1 of Drama Special, a one-act drama series revived after two years
  20. OSEN (Korean) · Jung Woo-sung’s Padam Padam airs tonight ↗Dec. 5, 2011. JTBC Monday-Tuesday drama, directed by Kim Kyu-tae
  21. Munhwa Ilbo (Korean) · Wednesday-Thursday drama due early next year ↗Dec. 7, 2012. Her first remake script, based on a Japanese drama
  22. Money Today (Korean) · That Winter, the Wind Blows ties for No. 1 with Iris 2 ↗Feb. 15, 2013. First aired on the 13th; the episode of the 14th drew 12.4% (AGB Nielsen)
  23. Cooky News (Korean) · 2012 drama year in review ↗Dec. 15, 2012. Song Hye-kyo works with Noh Hee-kyung again five years after the 2008 Worlds Within
  24. Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · It’s Okay, That’s Love starts at 9.3% ↗July 24, 2014. Episode 1 aired on the 23rd, with Jo In-sung and Gong Hyo-jin
  25. News1 (Korean) · Dear My Friends premiere ratings ↗May 14, 2016. First aired on the 13th at 8:30 p.m., 5.1%, directed by Hong Jong-chan
  26. Star News (Korean) · Noh Hee-kyung wins the Baeksang screenplay award for Dear My Friends ↗May 3, 2017. Won the Baeksang Arts Awards TV category Best Screenplay
  27. Sports Chosun (Korean) · Live premieres ↗Mar. 11, 2018. First aired on the 10th at 9 p.m. as a tvN Saturday-Sunday drama, directed by Kim Kyu-tae
  28. Women’s News (Korean) · 2018 Gender Equality Culture Award of the Year, writer Noh Hee-kyung ↗Oct. 2018. Received on the 12th; debuted in 1995 with a one-act drama, 23 years earlier
  29. Kookmin Ilbo (Korean) · Noh Hee-kyung’s first new work in four years ↗Dec. 28, 2021. 2022 lineup of new works
  30. Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Our Blues first airs ↗Apr. 12, 2022. First aired on the 9th as a tvN Saturday-Sunday drama, directed by Kim Kyu-tae, Kim Yang-hee and Lee Jeong-muk
  31. Edaily (Korean) · Studio Dragon supply contract for Tantara ↗Dec. 17, 2024. Disclosed on the 17th a contract to produce and supply Netflix original content
  32. News1 (Korean) · Tantara cast revealed ↗Feb. 10, 2025. Written by Noh Hee-kyung, directed by Lee Yoon-jung, lead cast announced

Fact-checked: 2026.10.06 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.