1996–2004: Debut, breakthrough, and international fame In 1996, the fourteen-year-old Song, then in her third-year of junior high school, won first place in the
SunKyung Smart Model Contest, and made her entertainment debut as a model for a
school uniform company. This led to her being cast in a small role in her first
television drama,
First Love. She would then continue to appear in a string of dramas and sitcoms, most notably
Soonpoong Clinic. But it was not until the
KBS drama
Autumn in My Heart in 2000 with
Song Seung-heon and
Won Bin that she rose to fame in Korea and throughout Asia. The romantic melodrama series was a ratings success, strengthening interest in Korean melodramas in general and further catalyzing the "
Korean Wave" with Song one of its hottest stars. which drew solid viewership ratings nationwide throughout its run with a peak viewer rating of 47.7 percent. The following year, she co-starred with singer
Rain in the hit romantic comedy series
Full House. The drama achieved pan-Asian success and established Song as one of the best-known Korean actresses in Asia.
2005–2012: Film debut and overseas ventures In early 2005, Song went to San Francisco to study English, and later traveled to
Seattle. She took time off to recharge after the successful Asian drama
Full House. "I have had a good rest. It was a good opportunity to reflect on myself", said Song. Song returned to Korea on March 5, 2005. The same year, Song made her big-screen debut in
My Girl and I (a Korean
remake of
Crying Out Love in the Center of the World), which was panned by audiences and critics alike. Vocal about her dissatisfaction with
typecasting in the roles she was being offered, Song proved in the following year that she could play different roles. She returned to the big screen in 2007 as the titular
gisaeng in the
film adaptation of
Hwang Jin Yi. Because they found Song's image "too cute",
Jun Ji-hyun and
Soo Ae were the producers' original choices for the role, but Song went on a rigorous diet and surprised the producers with her determination to be
Hwang Jini. A year later, she made her American debut in the Hollywood
indie Make Yourself at Home (formerly titled
Fetish), a psychological thriller about a girl who was born to a
shaman mother and who tries to avoid her fate by becoming an emigrant bride in the US. Despite Song's attempts to challenge herself, both films underwhelmed at the box office. She made her TV comeback in late 2008 with
The World That They Live In (also known as
Worlds Within), a series set at a broadcast station in which Song and
Hyun Bin played drama
PDs who work together and fall in love. In 2010, she starred in
Camellia, an
omnibus film made up of three short films directed by three Asian directors. Each episode is set in
Busan - one in the past, one in the present, and one in the future. In the film's final segment,
Love for Sale, Song and
Kang Dong-won play former lovers who forget their experiences together and presaging an unexpected finale. Considered one of Korea's most beautiful women, in early 2011 Song released the photo-book ''Song Hye-kyo's Moment,'' which was shot by top photographers in
Atlanta, New York City,
Buenos Aires,
Patagonia, Paris, the Netherlands and Brazil. Proceeds from the sales of the photo book was donated to a children's foundation. Song next played a documentary filmmaker who finds the strength to forgive the seventeen-year-old boy who killed her fiancé but instead of redemption finds only greater tragedy in
A Reason to Live (Korean title:
Today), which after several delays was released in October 2011. Song was a huge fan of director Lee Jeong-hyang and had actively sought her out, and though she had difficulty getting into character, Song said she fell in love with the script and felt her acting had matured. She considers the film "a turning point" in her life. In 2011, she became the first Asian actress to sign a contract with French global agency Effigies, paving the way for a potential entry into the European market. She released a
photo-essay book in 2012 titled ''It's Time for Hye-kyo''. Song next played a supporting role in
The Grandmaster, Chinese director
Wong Kar-wai's biographical film about
Bruce Lee's kung fu master
Ip Man, for which she learned
Cantonese and martial arts. She later admitted there had been "a bit of friction and misunderstanding" with Wong while filming, but that the difficulties helped her mature.
2013–2017: Career resurgence Song reunited with the
writer and director of
Worlds Within in
That Winter, the Wind Blows, a 2013 remake of 2002
Japanese drama Ai Nante Irane Yo, Natsu ("I Don't Need Love, Summer"). She played a blind heiress in the melodrama, opposite a con man pretending to be her long-lost brother (played by
Zo In-sung).
That Winter, the Wind Blows placed number one in its time slot during most of its run, and Song and Jo were praised for their performances. Song won the Daesang (or "Grand Prize"), the highest award for television, at the 2nd
APAN Star Awards. In 2014, Song reunited with Kang Dong-won in
My Brilliant Life,
E J-yong's film adaptation of
Kim Aeran's bestselling novel
My Palpitating Life about a couple who watched their son suffering from
progeria grow prematurely old. The romantic epic
The Crossing was Song's second Chinese film. It was directed by
John Woo. Song had a link to Woo because his longtime friend and producer
Terence Chang had been managing Song's overseas activities since 2008. Previously titled
1949 and
Love and Let Love, the long-gestating project had originally been announced at the
Cannes Film Festival in 2008, then cancelled in 2009, only to be revived again in 2011. Woo's recovery from tonsil tumor removal in 2012 led to another delay due to scheduling conflicts among the cast, and Song finally began filming in June 2013.
The Crossing is based on the true story of the
Taiping steamer collision. It follows six characters' intertwining love stories in Taiwan and Shanghai during the 1930s. Song plays the daughter of a wealthy banker. Another Chinese film followed in 2015,
The Queens, a contemporary romantic comedy about three cosmopolitan women – an actress, a PR specialist, and a gallery manager – who manipulate friends and put down their enemies as they play the game of love. Also starring
Joe Chen and
Vivian Wu, it was actress
Annie Yi's directorial debut. In 2016, Song starred in the mega-hit romantic comedy series
Descendants of the Sun, an intense drama about an army captain (played by
Song Joong-ki) and a surgeon (Song) who fall in love while working in disaster-torn areas. The drama was very popular in Korea with a peak viewership rating of 41.6% and also in Asia, where it was viewed 2.5 billion times on
iQiyi. The popularity of the drama reestablished Song as a leader of the
Korean wave. She topped popularity polls across Asia and was recognized for her briad brand recognition in South Korea. Song won the Daesang (Grand Prize), the highest award at the 2016
KBS Drama Awards along with her co-star, Song Joong-ki.
2018–2024: Brief hiatus and success with Encounter and The Glory '' press conference in December 2022 After a two-year hiatus, she returned to the small screen in her first
cable television series with the romantic-melodrama
Encounter alongside
Park Bo-gum. Filmed partly in Cuba, it became one of the
highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history achieving a ratings high of 10.329% nationwide. A commercial success,
Encounter's broadcasting rights were sold to several countries outside South Korea. In 2021, Song starred in
SBS's romantic drama
Now, We Are Breaking Up, playing the team leader of the design department at a fashion company. In 2022, Song reunited with
Descendants of the Sun writer
Kim Eun-sook in the
Netflix series
The Glory. The series was seen widely across the country and Song's portrayal of Moon Dong-eun, a victim of brutal high school bullying who dedicates her adulthood to plotting revenge against the perpetrators, was met with praise by the critics. For her performance in the series, Song won
Best Actress – Television at the
59th Baeksang Arts Awards.
2025–present: Established actress Song headlined the
supernatural thriller film Dark Nuns which premired in South Korea in January 2025. Song was nominated for
Best Actress at the
61st Baeksang Arts Awards for her performance. The same year, Song made a special appearance in Netflix's series
Genie, Make a Wish written by
Kim Eun-sook. In 2026, Song will star in the Netflix series
Tantara. This project marks the third collaboration between Song and Noh, who previously worked together on
Worlds Within (2008) and
That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013). ==Public image and reception==