Song Jong-hee (; born 1969) is a South Korean makeup artist, as well as CEO and co-founder of the film makeup studio Mimos. Starting her professional career with her 1996 debut in Kill the Love, she stood out from many of her peers by engaging early in pre-production to shape characters and offer screenplay input. She is known for her work in films A Muse and My Dictator, which earned her nominations for the Best Technical Award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
Widely recognized as a frequent collaborator of Park Chan-wook, she has worked with him since Joint Security Area (2000), with credits including Oldboy (2003), Lady Vengeance (2005), The Handmaiden (2016), Decision to Leave (2022), and No Other Choice (2025). She has also partnered with other acclaimed directors such as Bong Joon Ho, Kim Jee-woon, Lee Chang-dong, Hur Jin-ho, and Um Tae-hwa.
Career
1995 to 1999: Beginning as makeup artist In her mid-twenties, Song left her job and secretly enrolled in an art academy to study for college entrance exams. Her life took an unexpected turn on a day she skipped her classes to visit Sinchon with a friend who was modeling for a single day. Captivated by the makeup artist's technique, she tagged along for the next three sessions, realizing that a human face could truly serve as a canvas.
Diving into the professional makeup world, she trained for three months before entering the field. From video shoots and theater productions to bridal styling, fashion layouts, and print advertising, she experienced every corner of the industry. Even so, she felt disconnected from commercial beauty work focused on producing identical, cookie-cutter looks with heavy eye makeup and flushed cheeks. With so many talented artists already doing that work, she doubted her talent.
Everything changed in 1995 when she stepped onto her first movie set, joining Director Lee Myung-se's team for Affliction of Man. Receiving the storyboard for the first time, she saw every corner densely packed with notes the director had written while agonizing over it all night. It felt like a door opened, as if he was reaching out a hand saying, "Come in here and think it over with me; please help me." Working there, she realized she loved dressing actors as characters and working closely with people, finally experiencing a true sense of accomplishment.
In 1996, she debuted as a lead makeup artist on Lim Jong-jae's Kill the Love. During her next project, the 1997 film The Contact, she spent breaks chatting endlessly with lead actors Han Suk-kyu and Jeon Do-yeon over the script. Brainstorming together before the era of smartphones sparked a constant stream of new ideas. She loved collaborating to analyze character emotions, imagine expressions, and refine the look to help the actors' performances shine.
2000 to 2008: Career breakthrough Song first work Park Chan-wook in Joint Security Area (2000). She received technical award for her work at 2001 Women Filmmakers' Night - Woman Filmmaker of the Year Awards Ceremony. She subsequently worked with Park's other films. Most notably the neo-noir thrillers of The Vengeance Trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance). Song spent five hours crafting Oh Dae-su's (Choi Min-sik) wild, explosion-surviving hair in Park Chan-wook's Old Boy (2003) to symbolize his pent-up wrath and captivity-driven desire for retribution. Song Jong-hee crafted Geum-ja's (Lee Young-ae) iconic look in Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) with flowing dark hair and crimson-fading smoky eyes. This striking aesthetic captured her contradictory emotions of vengeance and grief, portraying her complex inner turmoil as she executed her plan.
2009 to present: Career after Vancouver Film School and establishment of Mimos In 2009, she attended the Vancouver Film School. During her study, she traveled to Seattle, USA, in her spare time, to work on Director Kim Tae-yong's Late Autumn.
After returning from her study in 2011, Song partnered with Jang Ju-eun and Lee Yu-sun to launch the film make-up and hairdressing studio Mimos. Her first major project after that was director Jung Ji-woo's A Muse, for which Jung recruited her while she was still studying special effects makeup at the Vancouver Film School. Although Song initially thought the director's vision of aging the young actor Park Hae-il was a crazy challenge, she was persuaded by his goal to create an intelligent, unconventional elderly character and joined the production.
To prepare, Song spent three weeks studying real elderly individuals at Tapgol Park in Jongno, observing their postures, gaits, and unique facial features to distinguish subtle differences across age groups. Reflecting on her research, she shared a poignant conversation with an elderly acquaintance who revealed that the hardest part of aging is becoming invisible to society. Her source explained that losing the casual attention of others creates a profound sense of isolation, capturing the emotional depth Song aimed to bring to the film's makeup design.
To commemorate her 30th career anniversary, Song and Mimos are hosting an exhibition titled "Song Jong-hee's 30 Years of Film Makeup: A Record of Time Built on Repetition and Restraint" at Yeonhee Gallery, located at 706-5 Yeonhee-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, from June 20, 2026, to August 9, 2026.
Filmography
Films +Films creditYearTitleDirectorCredited asRef English Korean 1995 Affliction of Man Lee Myung-se Makeup/Hair Team Go Alone Like Musso's Horn Oh Byung-chul1996Kill the Love Lim Jong-jae Makeup/Hair 1997 Connection Jang Yun-hyeonMakeup/Hair 1998If the Sun Rises in the West Lee Eun1999Happy End Jung Ji-woo2000Joint Security Area Park Chan-wook2000I Wish I Had a Wife Park Heung-sik2001One Fine Spring Day Hur Jin-ho 2002 YMCA Baseball Team Kim Hyun-seok 2002 Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance Park Chan-wook2002Bus, Stop Lee Mi-yeon2003Family Affairs Im Sang-soo 2003 Memories of Murder Bong Joon-ho Oldboy Park Chan-wook 2004The Little Mermaid Park Heung-sik2004 Faceless Beauty Kim In-sik 2004 The President's Barber Im Chan-sang Makeup/Hair Support2005 Hello, Big Brother Im Tae-hyungMakeup/Hair 2005 Lady Vengeance Park Chan-wook 2006 200 Pounds Beauty Kim Yong-hwa The Host Bong Joon-ho 2006 Like a Virgin Lee Hae-jun, Lee Hae-young 2006 No Regret Lee Song-hee-il 2007 Fantastic Parasuicides Park So-young 2008 Go Go 70s Choi Ho 2008 Crush and Blush Lee Kyoung-mi 2008 Modern Boy Jung Ji-woo Makeup/Hair Support 2008 Secret Sunshine Lee Chang-dong 2009 Thirst Park Chan-wook Makeup/Hair Castaway on the Moon Lee Hae-jun 2011Late Autumn Kim Tae-yong 2012 A Muse Jung Ji-woo 2013 Days of Wrath Shin Jai-ho 2013 Ingtoogi: The Battle of Internet Trolls Um Tae-hwa 2013 Way Back Home Bang Eun-jin 2014 My Dictator Lee Hae-jun 2014 Big Match Choi Ho 2015 Coin Locker Girl Han Jun-hee 2015 4th Place Jung Ji-woo 2015 The Advocate: A Missing Body Hur Jin-ho Special effects makeup 2016 The Handmaiden Park Chan-wook Makeup/Hair 2016 Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned Um Tae-hwa 2016 Familyhood Kim Tae-gon Special effects makeup 2017 Memoir of a Murderer Won Shin-yun Makeup concept design 2017 Forgotten Jang Hang-jun Special effects makeup 2017 Heart Blackened Jung Ji-woo Makeup/Hair 2017 A Single Rider Lee Joo-young 2017 Method Bang Eun-jin special props 2018 Illang: The Wolf Brigade Kim Jee-woonMakeup/Hair 2019 The Day I Died: Unclosed Case Park Ji-wan Makeup Team B 2019 Bring Me Home Kim Seung-woo Makeup/Hair 2019 The Battle: Roar to Victory Won Shin-yun 2022 Decision to Leave Park Chan-wook 2023 Concrete Utopia Um Tae-hwa Makeup/Hair 2023 Rebound Jang Hang-jun Special effects makeup 2024 Wonderland Kim Tae-yong Makeup/Hair 2024 Love in the Big City 2025 No Other Choice Park Chan-wook 2026 The King's Warden Jang Hang-jun 2026 Pavane Lee Jong-pil
Short films +Shorts' creditYearTitleDirectorCredited forNotes English Korean 2003If You Were Me Park Chan-wook Makeup/Hair Omnibus film 2012 Footsteps Kim Hyung-kyun 2012 Day Trip PARKing CHANce 2018 Believe it or not 2022 Life Is But a Dream Park Chan-wook for Apple Inc.
Series +Series' creditYearTitleNetworkDirectorRoleEnglishKorean 2020 The School Nurse Files Netflix Lee Kyoung-mi Makeup/Hair 2022 Somebody Jung Ji-woo 2023 Mask Girl Kim Young-hoon 2026 Can This Love Be Translated? Yoo Young-eun
Accolades
Awards and nominations +Awards and nominations received by SongAwardYear CategoryRecipientResult Blue Dragon Film Awards 2012 Technical Award A Muse 2014 My Dictator International Makeup Artist Trade Show 2011 Best Makeup Artist Song Jong-hee Woman in Film Korea Festival 2001 Woman Filmmaker of the Year Award I Wish I Had a WifeOne Fine Spring DayJoint Security Area Technical award
Listicles +Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placementPublisherYearListiclePlacement Hankook Ilbo 2024 A veteran's edge
See also Prosthetic make-up effects
References
External links