Oh Na-ra (; born October 26, 1974) is a South Korean actress. She began her career by joining the Seoul Performing Arts Company in 1996 and made her debut in the musical Simcheong the following year. She went on to star in various productions such as Bari, Annie Quang, All That Jazz, Broadway 42nd Streets, Empress Myeongseong, Love in the Rain, and Mamma Mia. Since 2004, she started play the main lead in the creative musicals I Love You. Followed by Finding Kim Jong-wook, Singles, and Jomjom.
Throughout her career, as musical actress, has received several accolades, including the Best New Actress Award at the 2006 Daegu International Musical Festival, the Best Actress Award at the 12th Korea Musical Awards in 2006, the Female Popularity Award at the 1st The Musical Awards in 2007, and the Popular Star Award at the 13th Korea Musical Awards in 2007.
In addition to her work in musicals, Oh made her television debut with a minor role in SBS TV's . She has since appeared in various dramas, including Pretty Mom, Pretty Woman, Queen of Reversals, Miss Ahjumma, Yong-pal, Hyde Jekyll, Me, Flowers of the Prison, Man to Man, The Lady in Dignity. Her supporting roles performances in dramas such as My Mister, Sky Castle, Racket Boys, and Alchemy of Souls earned her wider recognition.
Early life and education Oh Na-ra born on October 26, 1974, in Seoul as oldest of two sibling. Oh graduated from . Oh chose ballet as her major because she wanted to perform on stage. She graduated from the Department of Dance at Kyung Hee University. Afterwards, she pursued a master's degree in musical theater at Dankook University's Graduate School of Culture and Arts.
Career Oh grew interested in musicals after watching one on TV during college and wondered if they were real. She approached Nam Gyeong-eup, a musical actor, and expressed her desire to appear in musicals. Oh helped out at the performance hall of the musical "Love in the Rain," doing tasks like cleaning and selling tickets. She also tried to make the cast happy.
She joined the Seoul Performing Arts Company in 1996 and debuted with her musical "Simcheong" the following year. Afterwards, she appeared in "Bari," "Annie Quang," "All That Jazz," "Broadway 42nd Street," "Empress Myeongseong," "Love in the Rain" and "Mamma Mia."
In 2001, Oh joined the Japanese theater company "Four Seasons" despite being a newcomer in the musical world. Oh was first the Korean to be selected as a cast member. She auditioned and landed a role in the production "Contact." Although she couldn't speak Japanese, it was a dance-only production, so there were no major issues. However, she couldn't go on stage due to visa extension problems caused by the office staff's intentional actions. After eight months, Oh returned to Japan to appear in "Mamma Mia." Despite initially being cast as the main character, her Japanese skills weren't perfect, so she returned after two years as an ensemble member. It was a valuable experience, and she worked hard to prove herself and not let down Korean actors.
Oh returned to Korea in 2004, where she joined the premiere of the creative musical "I Love You," "Singles" and "Finding Kim Jong-wook." Oh appeared in "I Love You" more than 300 times and in Jang Yu-jeong's "Finding Kim Jong-wook" more than 100 times; she never took a break from performing.
Oh received many awards in 2006. She first won Best New Actress for "I Love You" at the Daegu International Musical Festival. Also, on the 10th anniversary of her debut, she won Best Actress for "Finding Kim Jong-wook" at the 2006 Korean Musical Awards.
In 2008, Oh made her television debut in a minor role in the SBS TV drama . In 2009, Oh played the main character Maeng Shin-bi in the musical "Jeomjeom." It was created by Crocodile Company and performed at Chungmu Art Hall.
She has since appeared in dramas including Pretty Mom, Pretty Woman, Queen of Reversals, Miss Ahjumma, Yong-pal, Hyde Jekyll, Me, Flowers of the Prison, Man to Man and The Lady in Dignity. Explaining her transition to screen acting, Oh called it a natural progression driven by her long-standing desire to act. She said, "I entered screen acting after turning 30. Vocal cords are perishable, and female actors in musicals showcase their best abilities quickly. As I'm not a musical actress who competes based on singing skills, I began to feel my limitations. While I truly enjoy acting, I pondered how to sustain it over the long run. Screen acting naturally became an avenue for me."
Oh is also a former adjunct professor at the Department of Musical Arts of Baekseok University of Arts.
Oh gained popularity and recognition for her distinctive performances in hit dramas such as Woman of 9.9 Billion, which aired in 2017, tvN's My Mister (2018) and JTBC's Sky Castle (2018–19) following nearly ten years of acting on screen. Even after the conclusion of these dramas, public interest in Oh continued to grow. Oh Na-ra's supporting roles in the internationally aired Netflix dramas Racket Boys and Alchemy of Souls garnered her broader recognition.
Oh appeared in Perhaps Love, a comedy-drama directed by Jo Eun-ji for Next Entertainment. The film revolves around a best-selling writer named Hyeon (Ryu Seung-ryong) in a slump for seven years. He works with his best friend Soon-mo (Kim Hee-won), the head of Sunmo Publishing Co. Hyeon meets aspiring author Yoo-jin (Mu Jin-sung), who changes his values. Oh played Mi-ae, Hyeon's ex-wife. It was released theatrically on November 17, 2021. In the box office , it ranked 10th among domestic films released in 2021 in South Korea, with a gross of US$4.36 million from 514,260 tickets sold.
Personal life Oh Na-ra's family circumstances, which included her younger brother's mental disability and her father's business failure, had a significant impact on shaping her into a dedicated and hardworking actress.
Oh has been in a long-term relationship with her partner, Kim Do-hoon, since her 20s. They entered a relationship in 2000 through the musical "Empress Myeongseong." Kim played a Japanese ronin and Oh a court lady. Kim, a former actor, teaches acting at a model academy and manages the wine bar West End in Seoul's Cheongdam-dong neighborhood.
Filmography Film +Film acting performances Year Title Role Notes 2010 Finding Mr. Destiny Hyo-jeong Cameo 2011 Bar owner Cameo 2012 Dancing Queen Ra-ri The Grand Heist Hye-jeong The Spies Eun-hye 2013 Marriage Blue Seon-ok 2015 Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies (also known as Working Girl) Wife of Soo-beom 2017 Misbehavior Lesson teacher Cameo Because I Love You Wife of Park Chan-il 2021 Perhaps Love Mi-ae 2022 Men of Plastic Oh Mi-jung 2023 Count Il-seon
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2008 My Sweet Seoul Senior Jang 2010 Pretty Mom, Pretty Woman Oh Jung-hee 2010–2011 Queen of Reversals Bong Hae-keum 2011 Miss Ajumma Kim Hyun-sook 2012 Feast of the Gods Oh Soo-jin 2013 King of Ambition Section Chief Yeom MBC Drama Festival Episode: The Marvelous Sunshine Funeral Home For The Elderly 2013–2014 A Little Love Never Hurts Kim Ji-young 2014 KBS Drama Special Hye-jeong Episode: "The Reason I'm Getting Married" Steal Heart Park Yang-soon 2015 Hyde Jekyll, Me Cha Jin-joo Yong-pal Charge nurse, intensive care 2015–2016 Remember Prosecutor Chae Jin-kyung 2016 Come Back Mister Secretary Wang / X (unidentified spy) Flowers of the Prison Hwang Gyo-ha, head of kisaeng room Sosolu 2017 Chicago Typewriter Secretary Kang Man to Man Sharon Kim The Happy Loner Jung Soo-kyung The Lady in Dignity Ahn Jae-hee Ra-yeon's friend Cameo KBS Drama Special Jae-hee Episode: "Buzz Cut's Date" (Cameo) Drama Stage Kim Tae-hee Episode: "Chief B and the Love Letter" 2017–2018 Judge vs. Judge Judge Yoon 2018 My Mister Jung-hee 2018–2019 Sky Castle Jin Jin-hee 2019 Welcome to Waikiki 2 Lender's wife Cameo 2019–2020 Woman of 9.9 Billion Yoon Hee-joo 2020 Chip In Ji-hye 2021 Racket Boys Ra Yeong-ja 2022–2023 Alchemy of Souls Maidservant Kim Part 1–2 2022 Behind Every Star Herself Cameo (Ep. 5) 2023 Strong Girl Nam-soon Yoon-hee Cameo (Ep. 16) 2024 The Judge from Hell Justitia Special appearance 2025Villains EverywhereHerself 2025 Confidence Queen Gil Mi-in Cameo (ep. 7–8)
Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2006–2011 KBS TV Kindergarten Panipani''' | Cast member
! scope="row" | 2020–2022 | Sixth Sense| Cast member | Season 1–3
! scope="row" | 2023 | Anbang Judge| Lawyer
! scope="row" | 2024 | Apartment 404'' Cast member
Web show Year Title Role Notes 2022 Saturday Night Live Korea Host Episode 14 – Season 2
Stage Concert +Concert performances Year Title Role Theater Date English Korean 2009All about the MusicalCOEX ArtiumApril 13 to 30 2009 KBS Symphony Orchestra 128th Children's Concert KBS교향악단 제128회 어린이음악회 Singer KBS Hall August 22, 2009 2013 Seoul Musical Festival Closing Gala Show 2013 서울뮤지컬페스티벌 폐막갈라쇼 Singer Chungmu Art Center Grand Theater August 12, 2013
Musical +Musical play performances Year Title Role Theater Date English Korean1997 Simcheong 심청 ensemble Seoul Arts Center Opera Theater March 19 to 23 Kim Sa-gat 김삿갓 ensemble October 28 to December 6 1998 Annie 애니깽 ensemble Seoul Arts Center Opera TheaterJune 2 to 7 1999Bari바리 - 잊혀진 자장가 ensembleSeoul Arts Center Opera TheaterJanuary 9 to 24 Broadway 42nd Street브로드웨이 42번가ensembleHoam Art HallDecember 17 to 31Fame페임ensembleHoam Art HallSeptember 18 to October52000 Empress Myeongseong 명성황후 court lady/shaman Seoul Arts Centre Opera Theatre February 25 to March 12 Fame페임ensembleLG Art CentreSeptember 29 to October 15 All that Jazz올댓재즈ensembleLG Art CentreNovember 22 to December 6 2000–2001Empress Myeongseong명성황후court lady/shamanSeoul Arts Centre Opera TheatreDecember 29 to January 18 2001 Love is in the rain사랑은 비를 타고Mi-riOD Musical Company Information TheaterApril 6 to October 7 2003 Mamma Mia맘마미아DancerJapan 2004 I Love You 아이 러브 유 Female 1 Dusan Art Center Yeonkang Hall November 30, 2004 – June 26, 2005 2005 I Love You 아이 러브 유 Female 1 Dusan Art Center Yeonkang Hall October 29, 2005 – May 7, 2006 2006 Finding Mr. Destiny 김종욱 찾기 Woman Finding Her 1st Love JTN Art Hall 1 June 2, 2006 – August 15, 2006 2006–2007JTN Art Hall 1 December 12, 2006 – April 8, 2007 2007 Singles 싱글즈 Nanan Dongsoong Art Center Dongsoong Hall June 9, 2007 – September 9, 2007 2007–2008 Finding Mr. Destiny Season 3 김종욱 찾기 3 Woman Finding Her 1st Love JTN Art Hall 1(Daehakro Arts Plaza Hall 1) October 23–February 17 2008 September 5 2008 Singles 싱글즈 Nanan Baekam Art Hall October 25, 2008 – January 18, 2009 2009–2011 Finding Mr. Destiny 김종욱 찾기 Woman JTN Art Hall 1 March 2009–May 2011 2009 Singles 싱글즈 Nanan Daehakro Freedom Theater June 30, 2009 – August 16, 2009 2009 Little by Little 점점 Maeng Shin-bi Chungmu Art Center Black Box Theater November 25, 2009 – February 7, 2010
Awards and nominations