Having gained popularity after her role in one of the most popular K-dramas, Itaewon Class, singer and actress Kwon Nara continues to impress with her new role in Netflix series Bulgasal
Following the tremendous success of Squid Game in Netflix’s K-drama lineup is Bulgasal: Immortal Souls. Starring Itaewon Class actress Kwon Nara as Min Sang-woon, a woman living in a cycle of death and reincarnation, and Lee Jin-wook as Dan Hwal, an immortal set out on a quest to reclaim his soul, the story is one of romance, fantasy, mystery and revenge.
Showing off upgraded visuals and acting skills, here are five things to know about the idol turned actress.
She changed her legal name for good luck
In an interview with The Star, the actress revealed that she had changed her legal name to Kwon Ah-yoon due to poor health during her promotion years under her birth name Kwon Nara. After changing her name which uses Chinese characters that mean ‘I’ (Ah) and ‘to shine bright’ (Yoon), her persistent throat cold disappeared almost immediately.
In the reality show I Live Alone, she further revealed that the change was to help avoid bad luck after getting hit by a drunk driver and getting severely injured.
Also see: 5 things to know about Netflix’s Hellbound actor Yoo Ah-in
She is also a singer
Before transitioning to an actress in 2017 with her first major role in Suspicious Partner, Kwon was a member of the South Korean girl group Hello Venus. Debuting in 2012, the six-member group introduced themselves to the world with ‘Venus’, which reached number 35 on the Gaon chart. Going by the stage name ‘Nara’, she was known as the vocalist and face of the group, before the group officially disbanded in 2019.
She was rumoured to be dating Lee Jong Suk
Back in 2019, fans were surprised when news broke out that she was dating heartthrob actor Lee Jong-suk, after reports revealed that Lee had personally recruited the actress to join A-MAN Project, the agency he founded. Although the agency was quick to shut down the rumours stating that they were only close as seniors and juniors, the two were still the topic for gossip among netizens and on various Korean portal sites.
She has insane visuals
Standing at 1.71m tall and flaunting stunning visuals, it’s no surprise that Kwon is featured on the spreads of various magazines including Marie Claire, Nylon, Cosmopolitan and 1st Look. She was also the talk of the town earlier this year when netizens doubted her suitability for her role as Hong Da-in, a female police posing as a courtesan, in the comedy, detective television series Royal Secret Agent, claiming that her visuals were perhaps too top-tier for a historical drama.
She wanted to be a stewardess
In Hello Venus’s official profile, it was revealed that Kwon wanted to be a stewardess when she was young. Although becoming a trainee for Fantagio Entertainment during middle school made her realise that she wanted to pursue acting and singing, she managed to have a taste of her old dream, appearing in a cameo role in the drama Take Care of Us, Captain as a stewardess shortly after her debut. Things turned out well for Kwon obviously, now being one of the most promising, young South Korean actresses.
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