Kang So-ra (; born February 18, 1990) is a South Korean actress.
Career
Kang made her acting debut in the 2009 thriller movie 4th Period Mystery, but rose to fame when she starred in the 2011 blockbuster Sunny, a coming-of-age film about a group of high school girls growing up in the 1980s. This was followed by leading roles in television dramas, such as teen musical Dream High 2 (2012), and family drama Ugly Alert (2013). Kang also appeared on the third season of We Got Married, a reality show which pairs up celebrities into fake "married" couples; her partner was Leeteuk from the K-pop group Super Junior.
Kang gained increased recognition after starring in two hit series in 2014: medical drama Doctor Stranger (2014) and workplace dramedy Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014). Doctor Stranger was a success in China with 400 million views, and Misaeng: Incomplete Life was dubbed a "cultural phenomenon" in South Korea. This was followed by lead roles in romantic comedy Warm and Cozy (2015) together with Yoo Yeon-seok, legal drama My Lawyer, Mr. Jo (2016), and romantic comedy Revolutionary Love (2017) alongside Choi Si-won from the k-pop group Super Junior.
In 2019, Kang returned to the big screen in the cycling film Uhm Bok-dong.
In 2020, Kang starred in the comedy film Secret Zoo, based on the webtoon of the same name. She plays a veterinarian who pretends to be a lion. The same year, she was cast in the romance melodrama film Waiting for Rain.
Other ventures Ambassadorship Year Title Campaign Organizer 2015–present Alcon Brand Ambassador Alcon 2016 Dongguk Ambassador Dongguk University Endorsements In 2009, Kang appeared in advertisements for the music streaming service MelOn and in Samsung Anycall mobile phone commercials. In 2010, she was featured in commercials for Orion's Market O snacks. In 2011, Kang appeared in seasonal apparel campaigns, including advertisements for Buckaroo. In 2015, Kang was chosen as the advertising model for Kellogg's Special K cereal. She was also selected as the model for Canon Korea's EOS M3 mirrorless camera. That same year, she appeared in advertisements for the cosmetics brand A.H.C. and was selected as the advertising model for Coca-Cola's Sprite alongside rapper Bobby.
In 2016, Kang was appointed as the advertising model by Thinkware for iNavi navigation and black-box products. She was also selected as the model for the beauty device brand Tria. In 2017, she was chosen as the advertising model for the fiber drink Miero Fiber. In 2018, Kang became the promotional model for Samchuly Bicycle. She was also appointed as a brand muse for beauty device maker CellReturn, continuing in that role through 2020. In 2019, she was selected as a model for the golf apparel brand Phantom. In 2024, Kang appeared in a digital advertisement for GLFIT Diet, a health brand by Jongkundang Health.
Personal life It was revealed on a May 2026 episode of Running Man that Kang is multilingual, as she can speak Korean, English and Japanese, while also learning little bit of Russian language for one of her role's scenes in TV Drama Misaeng: Incomplete Life. Marriage and family Kang married a doctor of Oriental medicine in August 2020 in a private ceremony. On November 19, 2020, it was announced that Kang was pregnant with their first child, due in April 2021.
On April 15, 2021, Kang's agency announced that Kang had given birth to a daughter. On October 16, 2023, it was confirmed that she is expecting her second child and expected to give birth at the end of this year. Kang gave birth to her second daughter on December 11, 2023.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2009 4th Period Mystery Lee Da-jeong Kwang-tae's Basic Story Ji-hyo short film 2011 Sunny teenage Ha Chun-hwa 2012 Brave Mérida (voice, Korean dubbing) 2013 My Paparotti Sook-hee Cheer Up, Mr. Lee Herself cameo 2019 Uhm Bok-dong Kim Hyung-shin 2020 Secret Zoo So Won 2021 Waiting for Rain Soo-jin 2027 K-Pop: The Debut TBA
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2010 Ugly Miss Young-ae 7 Kang So-ra Dr. Champ Kwon Yoo-ri Ugly Miss Young-ae 8 Kang So-ra 2011 My Bittersweet Life Hong Yoon-mi 2012 Dream High 2 Shin Hae-sung 2013 Ugly Alert Na Do-hee Ugly Miss Young-ae 12 Kang So-ra cameo 2014 Doctor Stranger Oh Soo-hyun Misaeng: Incomplete Life Ahn Young-yi 2015 Warm and Cozy Lee Jung-joo 2016 My Lawyer, Mr. Jo Lee Eun-jo 2017 Revolutionary Love Baek Joon 2018The Beauty InsideHost Cameo 2023 Strangers Again Oh Ha-ra
Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2011–2012 We Got Married Season 3 Cast member Paired with Leeteuk 2013 My Soul's Table
Hosting Year Title 2011 MBC Music Festival 2012 MBC Entertainment Awards 2017 31st Golden Disc Awards 2018 32nd Golden Disc Awards 2019 33rd Golden Disc Awards
Music video appearances Year Song title Artist Notes 2009 "This Good Day" Halla Man "Gloria" PK Heman Kang is also featured on the album cover "Merely" JK Kim Dong-wook "Happy Me" Hong Kyung-min 2011 "Hello" Huh Gak "I Told You I Wanna Die" includes narration by Kang 2017 "Curtain" Suho ft. Song Young-joo
Discography Singles TitleYearAlbum "Round and Round" ()(with Nam Bo-ra, Kim Bo-mi, Park Jin-joo, Kang So-ra, Min Hyo-rin, Kim Min-yeong) 2011 Sunny OST "B Class Life" (B 급인생)(with Jeong Jinwoon, Kang So-ra, Jinyoung, Kim Ji-soo) 2012 Dream High 2 OST
Accolades Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result APAN Star Awards 2014Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Doctor Stranger 2015 Misaeng: Incomplete Life & Warm and Cozy Asia Model Awards 2014 Popular Star Award Kang So-ra Baeksang Arts Awards 2012 Best New Actress – Film Sunny Most Popular Actress – Film Best New Actress – Television Dream High 2 Blue Dragon Film Awards 2011 Best New Actress Sunny Buil Film Awards2012 Best New Actress Grand Bell Awards 2011 Herald Donga Lifestyle Awards 2014 Best Style of the Year Kang So-ra KBS Drama Awards2016 Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length DramaMy Lawyer, Mr. Jo Korea Advertisers Association Awards 2015 Best Model Award Kang So-ra Korea Drama Awards 2014 Excellence Award, Actress Doctor Stranger MBC Drama Awards 2015 Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Warm and Cozy MBC Entertainment Awards 2012 Popularity Award (Variety Show) We Got Married (Season 3) Miss Supertalent Season 4 2014 Asia New Star Kang So-ra Mnet 20's Choice Awards 2011 Hot Movie Star Sunny SBS Drama Awards 2013 Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend/Daily Drama Ugly Alert New Star Award 2014 Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special Doctor Stranger
Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Forbes 2018 Korea Power Celebrity 37th
References
External links