2004–2008: Career beginnings Kim made her debut in an online
beauty contest hosted by
web portal Naver in 2004. Despite having little prior acting experience, she was cast as one of the three
leads in the 2005
horror film Voice, for which she was nominated for Best New Actress at both the
Blue Dragon Film Awards and
Baeksang Arts Awards. Her performance as Vietnamese girl Lý Thị Vũ caught the attention of film director
E J-yong, who cast her as the main character in his 2006 film
Dasepo Naughty Girls, based on a popular
webcomic.
E commented, "Not many young actresses would be mature enough to completely understand the heroine who has to support the family by selling herself as a prostitute... But Kim seemed like an actress who had the ability to understand the character." Kim auditioned for a part in the 2006
KBS drama series
Hello, God, and after impressing director Ji Yeong-soo with her "intense determination," was handed a leading role as
confidence trickster Seo Eun-hye. During filming she expressed self-doubts, saying, "I used to cry two or three times when the shooting began because I felt that I was a rubbish actress," and with a tight schedule that allowed her less than two hours of sleep per day, was reported to have collapsed on set. Series producer Han Hee complimented Kim, saying, "She is a bold actress. She's very enthusiastic about her role with an almost perfectionist attitude." In her next film,
The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan, she starred alongside
Lee Jung-jae as a
Joseon-era
kisaeng. She said she had found it difficult performing a historical role, but was helped by consultations with director Yeo Gyoon-dong and studied traditional
Korean dance for two months. The film opened in South Korea in December 2008.
2009–present In February 2008, Kim was announced as the female lead in
Park Chan-wook's
Thirst, in a part that required numerous
adult scenes with co-star
Song Kang-ho. Kim felt that she learned much from working alongside Song, while Park commended her versatility in showing the different sides to her character.
Thirst topped the South Korean
box office during its opening weekend with over one million admissions, and was invited to the
2009 Cannes Film Festival where it won the
Jury Prize.
Richard Corliss of
Time praised Kim's performance in the film, saying, "It's the lovely Kim, just 22, who is the revelation here. She can play – no, she can be – a creature of mute docility, then searching ardor, then explosive eroticism, then murderous intent. She is
Lady Chatterley and
Lady Macbeth in one smoldering package."
The Hollywood Reporters Maggie Lee was more critical, commenting, "[Kim's] high-pitched neurosis is sometimes grating, but for a relative newcomer, she keeps her continuous personality transformations in stride," while Kyu Hyun Kim of
OhmyNews said, "Kim is stunningly sexy in both wilted-housewife and full-blown
femme fatale modes, and throws all of herself into the role," but considered her "a bit too young and contemporary" for the role. She was a co-recipient of the Best Actress award at the 42nd
Sitges Film Festival (shared with
Elena Anaya for
Hierro), and received further nominations at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, the Green Globe Film Awards, and the Baeksang Arts Awards. Kim was reunited with director E J-yong for
Actresses, a low-budget film in which she and five other leading Korean actresses portray themselves at a special
Vogue magazine shoot. Like her co-stars, Kim agreed to take part with no
guarantee and shared writing credits. The film opened on 10 December 2009. In 2011, Kim was to star opposite
Eric Mun in KBS's action drama
Poseidon, set for broadcast in July 2011. However they dropped out when production was halted after the
Bombardment of Yeonpyeong incident in November 2010. Then Kim appeared in the war film
The Front Line, playing a sharpshooter. Then Kim once again worked with E J-yong for the
short How to Fall in Love in 10 Minutes, as part of the
Samsung Galaxy Note-sponsored film
Cine Note. E J-yong had contacted actors that he's personally close to and offered them the roles, and most of them accepted without pay based on their friendship and loyalty to him, Kim included. The filmmaking process was later depicted in
Behind the Camera, E's 2013
mockumentary with a similar concept as
Actresses. Kim then dyed her hair pink for the 2012 comedy
Over My Dead Body, which she said she greatly enjoyed filming, being a fan of the genre. This was followed by a leading role in the science fiction-thriller film
11 A.M., which was released in the second half of 2013. Kim returned to television in 2013 in the KBS period epic
The Blade and Petal set in the
Goguryeo dynasty, her first
TV drama in seven years. In 2014, Kim played a pickpocket in the
jTBC cable comedy series
Steal Heart.
Minority Opinion, her courtroom drama alongside
Yoon Kye-sang and
Yoo Hae-jin which had wrapped filming in 2013, was released in theaters in 2015. In 2017, Kim starred in action thriller film
The Villainess. The film was invited to the
Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere. In 2018, Kim starred in military thriller
The Discloser. The same year, she returned to the small screen in OCN's fantasy thriller drama
Children of a Lesser God. In 2020, Kim starred in the historical fantasy drama
Arthdal Chronicles, alongside
Song Joong-ki,
Kim Ji-won and other notable names. In November 2022, Kim signed with Ghost Studio. ==Personal life==