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Ultra Fan Guide to Bae Doo Na
I, like many others on this site, am a hardcore romantic comedy fan. It’s pretty much all I watch, and I’m not shy about it. But there is one exception to this rule! I’ll give any drama with fantastic acting or writing a try. For me, that is exemplified by Bae Doo Na’s filmography. Not only is she naturally gorgeous and her acting on point, but her script sense is totally impeccable.
“Bae has created unique characters in films - characters that could only be made by her. [She] focuses on films that she can do best and is not swayed by a desire to be in big-hit films.”- Jeong Ji Ouk, movie critic.
* I’ve tried my best to make this guide spoiler-free, but I’m not perfect!*
*Enter at your own discretion!*
Basic Facts
- Born: October 11th, 1979 (40 years old)
- Height: 171 cm (5’6)
- Sign: Libra
- Blood Type: O
- Hometown: Jongno, Seoul, South Korea
- Education: Konkuk University (Department of Film Arts) and Hanyang University
- Careers: Actor, Photographer, Model
- Talent Agency: SBD
- Instagram: @doonabae
Debut and Early Filmography
Bae Doo Na (배두나) is an award-winning actress who has been active in the film industry since 1999. She was scouted as a model in 1998 when she was attending Hanyang University. Before she graduated, she switched her career to acting, following in her mother’s footsteps. Her debut role was as a supporting character in 1999’s School, followed by a leading role in Korea’s remake of The Ring later that year. However, her career really took off when she was hired for the leading role in Bong Joon Ho’s Barking Dogs Never Bite. She was cast in the role primarily because she was the only actress willing to act without makeup, which I think set a tone for many of the future roles she took on, which tend to be more natural and could be perceived as less stereotypically feminine. She went on to act in many more dramas and films in the late 2000s, most notably Joon Ho’s horror-comedy The Host (the highest-grossing film in Korea at the time) and Nozomi’s Air Doll. There was also a period of time in the mid-2000s after a couple of her films didn’t do so well that she took a break and immersed herself in photography, producing a series of photo-books.
Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)
Character: Park Hyun Nam, Apartment Manager
TLDR: This is Bong Joon Ho’s debut film. At its core, it’s a story about the different levels of need in and around one apartment building. More directly, the story follows an over-stressed academic who becomes a serial dog-murderer. Doo Na plays the apartment manager who has been receiving complaints of dogs vanishing and is determined to find the culprit. Her performance won her the Best New Actress award at the 21st Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2000.
The Host (2006)
Character: Park Nam Joo, National Medalist Archer
TLDR: If you liked Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, you might also like The Host. This is another film that scrutinizes Korean social systems. However, in this movie, the villain has a much more physical embodiment. Metaphysically though, it’s a movie about a country that has attached itself to the United States and its cultural exports. Doo Na plays an integral part of the main family who lives along the Han river and must combat the river monster. She again won Best Actress for her performance at the 9th Director’s Cut Awards.
Launch To International Stardom
After her success in Korea, in the early 2010s, Doo Na decided to give her hand acting in Hollywood. She was cast as a lead in the Wachowskis 2012 box office film Cloud Atlas, alongside Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant, Halle Berry and many more A list actors. She continued to act in the Wachowskis productions, taking on roles in Jupiter Ascending, and my personal favorite, Netflix’s Sense 8. In addition, her modelling career took off as well, as she became more well-known to international audiences. In 2016 she caught the eye of Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director and fashion designer for Louis Vuitton. Since then Doo Na has been a Louis Vuitton “muse” and attends multiple events for them, such as the event last year at the Louvre with EXO’s Sehun.
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Character(s): Son Mi, Tilda Ewing, + more
TLDR: Doo Na plays a whole host of characters in many different interconnected stories in this film. However, out of all the stories told, she plays the lead in my personal favorite. In An Orison of Sonmi-451, she plays a clone in a futuristic South Korean society called Nea So Corpus, which thrives on capitalism. Sonmi--451 is a fabricant, essentially a cloned slave made for the sole purpose of serving the rich, the consumers. Unlike other fabricants, she rapidly accumulates knowledge, but like many on the bottom, the underlying truth of the system, as she comes to find out, is devastating.
Feels: This movie was the first time I ever saw Doo Na act, but it was before I really got into dramas. I don’t have any strong feelings about this role. I just know that playing all of these different types of characters and just a project like this, in general, is a lot of work. Also for her to learn English all to see if she could do well in Hollywood? Most Asian actors do not make it in LA, and she took to it as a fish takes to water. I would recommend this film to anyone who liked Snowpiercer, which is another film that Bong Joon Ho wrote and directed.
Sense 8 (2015-2018)
Character: Sun Bak, Badass Martial Artist
TLDR: This drama has almost a cult following among fans. Sense 8 is the story of eight strangers around the world who are all suddenly mentally and emotionally linked. These types of people are called sensates and their group is called a cluster. Doo Na plays Bak Sun, one of the eight, a daughter of a Chaebol family and a rising star in the underground kickboxing circuit. However, she takes the fall for a crime she doesn’t commit. Her portion of the story follows the arduous task of clearing her name and taking revenge on those who did her wrong.
Feels: This one of my all-time favorite shows. I loveeee Sun Bak as a character because she is so badass and Doo Na plays her extremely well. I can’t even try to imagine anyone else in the role. She is funny, sassy, she makes good quips, and her romance with Detective Mun is through-the-freaking-roof. All of her fight scenes, but especially her and Sukku’s fight scenes, are literal gold. I have rewatched Sense 8 dozens of times, and it never gets old. There’s a lot of scenes in this series where she’s only wearing her underwear (definitely a no-go in Korean media, for women at least), which I think just speaks to the breadth of experience she has as an actress. She took it seriously, and she’s really well respected, so there was pretty much no clap back for it. I would honestly recommend this show to anyone!
Netflix’s Go-To Korean Actress
While she was well known in Korea before, these roles are what launched her into international stardom. However, despite appearing in American film and television, she continued her career in Korea, acting in critically acclaimed films such as 2014’s A Girl at My Door and 2016’s Tunnel. She returned to Korean television with leading roles in 2017’s Stranger, 2018’s Matrimonial Chaos, and 2019’s Kingdom. In my opinion, Sense 8 really boosted her career because it got her foot in the door for all Netflix produced K-dramas. Not only has she landed as a lead in multiple of their well-received dramas, but she has also been cast in two more upcoming Netflix productions, The Silent Sea and Virus.
Kingdom 1 (2019) & Kingdom 2 (2020)
Character: Seo Bi, Doctor
TLDR: With a historical/political zombie concept, this drama is not for the faint of heart or stomach. The King falls sick, and no one is allowed to see him, even the crown prince, despite rumours of his demise. Looking for answers, he seeks out the physician who treated his father. Instead, he finds Doo Na, this time playing a doctor named Seo Bi who has already had a brutal introduction to the disease brought back to the clinic. Together with an ex-soldier named Seung Hui, they face the oncoming plague of zombies and fight to stop political corruption brought about by the Queen and her family. Season 2, which aired earlier this year, is a continuation of the power struggle over the throne, all while fighting for their lives.
Feels: First of all, I need to say that this drama really isn’t my style, but I still went ahead and watched it anyway because it was short and I was able to power through despite the gore (all my years watching Supernatural as a pre-teen trained me just for this moment). This is another good role for Doo Na, but it’s not my favorite because the historical context limits her role, in my opinion. She’s not really involved in most fight scenes, so that’s a downside for me. But, she still plays a strong female lead, and the acting is great across the board!
Stranger 1 (2017) & Stranger 2 (2020)
Character: Han Yeo Jin, Detective
TLDR: Once again, Doo Na steps into another badass, leading role! Serial murder cases in Seoul turn into an investigation into the corruption of the government’s public prosecution office. Cast as Detective Han Yeo Jin, Doo Na teams up with the emotionless and highly logical prosecutor Hwang Shi Mok to investigate how these two stories are connected.
*Season 2 is airing on Netflix starting August 15th*
The second season follows Shi Mok and Yeo Jin once again as they team up to solve a mysterious case, but this time the police force and the prosecutor’s office are at opposing ends, with both wanting discretionary power over investigational proceedings.
Feels: This drama is also one of my faves for Doo Na. I really like her in strong female roles, but I also like the sort of sharp comedy that she can whip out at any turn. Similarly to Sense 8, this role almost seems like it was written just for her. However, in this drama, we get to see a softer side of her. I really like the empathy and natural charm she exudes as Yeo Jin.
The Silent Sea (2020)
Confirmed Co-Stars: Gong Yoo, Lee Joon Hyuk, Kim Sun Young, Heo Jung Do
Summary: A mystery sci-fi thriller that revolves around an elite scientist who set off for the moon to retrieve some unknown samples from an abandoned research station.
Release Date: December! It was announced in June that filming starts in August.
Personal Life
In regards to her personal life, she reportedly dated British actor Jim Sturgess from 2012-2015, whom she met while filming Cloud Atlas. There have also been rumors that she is dating rookie actor Son Seok Koo, also known as Sukku, since they co-starred in Sense 8 (and have since co-starred again in Matrimonial Chaos, will again co-star in Virus and are also in the same entertainment company), but they were denied.
Some small commentary from me. Just look at Sukku!!! Stealing our girl AND our hearts. Please K-drama gods let my ship sailllll. Or at least, put them in another drama together as leads. Their chemistry is fire.
Thank You For Reading!
Doo Na’s acting career is vast, and unfortunately, I could only touch on some of her major works. She has won dozens of awards and is even one of only 14 Koreans to be invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (aka the institution that hosts the Oscars/Academy Awards) in 2018. I love all of the characters she’s embodied so far; she takes on fantastic leading roles and executes with a finesse that I have yet to see from any other actress. She’s very down to earth and genuine, which you can observe for yourself in any of her interviews. She focuses more on the role itself, and not the prestige of the film or the drama. She does this to such an extent that she often takes on projects with reduced pay or none at all, simply because she likes the role or story.
