# Alicia Hannah-Kim
**Alicia Hannah-Kim** is a Korean Australian actress, producer, and director, best known for playing the sensei Kim Da-Eun in the Netflix series *Cobra Kai* and for her work as a consulting producer on the Korean spy thriller *[Tempest](https://www.edgepedia.org/tempest-tv-series)*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) • [2](https://www.jaehakim.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Chicago-Tribune_Alicia-Hannah-Kim-Life__Travel_Page_63.pdf) Born in Sydney, Australia, to first-generation Korean immigrants, she began acting at the national youth theater company ATYP before building a career in Australian and American television.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Background | Korean Australian actress, born to first-generation Korean immigrants and raised in Sydney[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) |
| Television debut | *White Collar Blue* (2003), after training at the youth theater company ATYP[3](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64859091/) |
| Breakout role | Sensei Kim Da-Eun in *Cobra Kai* season 5, 14 episodes from 2022 to 2025[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) |
| Franchise first | Kim Da-Eun is the first female sensei in the *Karate Kid* universe[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy) |
| Producing | Consulting producer on *Tempest* (2025), where she also acted and helped recruit Western actors[2](https://www.jaehakim.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Chicago-Tribune_Alicia-Hannah-Kim-Life__Travel_Page_63.pdf) |
| Other recurring roles | Wendy Mah in *Minx* (HBO Max, 2022); Vivian in *Alone Together* (2018)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) |
| Personal life | Married to actor Sebastian Roché since May 31, 2014; trained in Muay Thai[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) |
## Early life and career in Australia
Hannah-Kim grew up in Sydney as the child of Korean immigrants and has described herself as a "third culture kid," raised with Korean parents in Australia while consuming mostly Western media.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) • [5](https://www.weareresonate.com/2025/02/cobra-kai-star-alicia-hannah-kim-discusses-asian-representation-and-her-love-for-bts/) She started acting at ATYP, the Australian Theatre for Young People, and made her television debut on the series *White Collar Blue* in 2003.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64859091/)
Work for actors of Asian descent was scarce in Australian entertainment, and she has said she was repeatedly cast as victims or as immigrants who spoke broken English with a heavy accent.[6](https://july-magazine.com/articles/alicia-hannah-kim) • [7](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim) Her last Australian job was a role in the film *Candy*, after which she decided to move to the United States to seek a larger industry.[6](https://july-magazine.com/articles/alicia-hannah-kim)
## American television work
In the United States, Hannah-Kim first appeared recurring on the Starz series *Crash*, then appeared in *Grey's Anatomy*, *Two and a Half Men*, *Hot in Cleveland*, *[Supah Ninjas](https://www.edgepedia.org/supah-ninjas)*, *Chasing Life*, and *Hawaii Five-0*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) She recurred as Vivian in the first season of Freeform's *Alone Together* in 2018, credited as Alicia Hannah.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) In 2022 she played the feminist author Wendy Mah in two episodes of [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max)'s *Minx*, a role she booked around the same time as *Cobra Kai*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/) • [8](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interview-with-alicia-hannah-kim-kim-da-eun/id1433081360?i=1000579117535)
## Kim Da-Eun on Cobra Kai
Hannah-Kim joined *Cobra Kai*, Netflix's *Karate Kid* sequel series, in its fifth season as Kim Da-Eun, a sensei who arrives from South Korea to help Terry Silver train his new [Cobra Kai](https://www.edgepedia.org/cobra-kai) dojo.[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy) • [7](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim) The audition was conducted under secrecy, and she learned which show she had booked only after being cast; she binged the previous seasons on her flight to Atlanta.[7](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim) On her first day, co-creator Josh Heald explained the character's backstory: Da-Eun is the granddaughter of Master Kim Sun-Young, originator of the Cobra Kai style, and she comes to the Valley to carry on his legacy.[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy) • [7](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim)
Kim Da-Eun is the first female sensei in the franchise's four-decade history, a fact Hannah-Kim learned only after wrapping season 5.[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy) • [7](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim) The role was also the first time she played a Korean character.[9](https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/alicia-hannah-kim-cobra-kai) She and the creators built the character's voice as a hybrid Korean-British accent, with a backstory of studying in Britain, and designed her fighting style as more balletic than the other fighters, using her long braid as a weapon.[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy) The physical work drew on her prior training in dance and [Muay Thai](https://www.edgepedia.org/muay-thai); in one early rehearsal she accidentally struck co-star Peyton List in the face with her elbow.[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy)
She returned for the sixth and final season, in which Da-Eun works with [John Kreese](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-kreese) toward the Sekai Taikai international karate championship, and the season's three parts show the character through what Hannah-Kim called distinct life-changing circumstances.[7](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim) • [10](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-alicia-hannah-kim)
## Tempest and producing
For the Korean spy series *Tempest*, streaming on Hulu in the United States and Disney Plus internationally, Hannah-Kim originally joined as a producer and also took an acting role.[2](https://www.jaehakim.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Chicago-Tribune_Alicia-Hannah-Kim-Life__Travel_Page_63.pdf) She was asked to help secure a team of Western actors and assembled a cast that included [John Cho](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cho), Spencer Garrett, Michael Gaston, Brooke Smith, Christopher Gorham, and her *Cobra Kai* co-star Jacob Bertrand.[2](https://www.jaehakim.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Chicago-Tribune_Alicia-Hannah-Kim-Life__Travel_Page_63.pdf) • [11](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/tempest-hulu-cast/) Filming took her to Seoul, the Lotte Hotel, Hannam-dong, and a studio in Paju, and she described working in Korea as a dream come true.[2](https://www.jaehakim.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Chicago-Tribune_Alicia-Hannah-Kim-Life__Travel_Page_63.pdf)
## Representation and Korean heritage
Hannah-Kim has spoken frequently about Asian representation on screen. Growing up in Sydney, she looked to actresses such as [Lucy Liu](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucy-liu), Michelle Yeoh, and [Sandra Oh](https://www.edgepedia.org/sandra-oh) as touchstones, and during the coronavirus pandemic she began watching K-dramas, which led to a personal essay for *Salon* about reconnecting with her Korean heritage.[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy) She has said that seeing Korean culture on screen was a turning point that left her with "grief for a culture that you know, but didn't live," since Korean was spoken only in her home while she was growing up.[5](https://www.weareresonate.com/2025/02/cobra-kai-star-alicia-hannah-kim-discusses-asian-representation-and-her-love-for-bts/) On *Cobra Kai*, she has praised the writers for giving Kim Da-Eun a rich family history and for avoiding the "Dragon Lady" stereotype, writing the character as multilingual, privileged, and modern.[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy) • [7](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim) She has since developed projects in South Korea, including a planned docuseries and a film in English and Korean, while continuing to work in Hollywood.[12](https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-160035318.html) • [7](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim)
## References
1. [Alicia Hannah-Kim, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3143094/)
2. [Jae-Ha Kim, Chicago Tribune Content Agency interview (September 2025)](https://www.jaehakim.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Chicago-Tribune_Alicia-Hannah-Kim-Life__Travel_Page_63.pdf)
3. [Alicia Hannah-Kim's 10 Best Movies & TV Shows Ranked, IMDb News](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64859091/)
4. [Max Gao, "Cobra Kai's Alicia Hannah-Kim on Season 5, Elbowing Peyton List, and Bringing Kim Da-Eun to Life," Teen Vogue, September 15, 2022](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-season-5-main-character-energy)
5. ["'Cobra Kai' Star Alicia Hannah-Kim Discusses Asian Representation and Her Love for BTS," We Are Resonate, February 23, 2025](https://www.weareresonate.com/2025/02/cobra-kai-star-alicia-hannah-kim-discusses-asian-representation-and-her-love-for-bts/)
6. [Nolwen Cifuentes, "Alicia Hannah-Kim," JULY Magazine, September 2023](https://july-magazine.com/articles/alicia-hannah-kim)
7. [Laura Sirikul, "Alicia Hannah-Kim: On breaking barriers, fighting for her place, and never accepting defeat," Timid Magazine](https://www.timidmag.com/features/alicia-hannah-kim)
8. [Cobra Kai Kompanion podcast, "Interview with Alicia Hannah-Kim 'Kim Da-Eun'," September 11, 2022](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interview-with-alicia-hannah-kim-kim-da-eun/id1433081360?i=1000579117535)
9. [Jim Malo, "Aussie Actress Alicia Hannah-Kim On Repping Aus & Korea On One Of Netflix's Biggest Shows," Pedestrian.TV, September 20, 2022](https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/alicia-hannah-kim-cobra-kai)
10. [Jana Letonja, "In Conversation with Alicia Hannah-Kim," Numéro Netherlands, November 2024](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-alicia-hannah-kim)
11. ["Meet the Cast of 'Tempest,' Hulu's Bingeworthy Political K-Drama," Marie Claire, September 2025](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/tempest-hulu-cast/)
12. ["'Cobra Kai's Alicia Hannah-Kim On Playing A 'Delicious' Baddie," Yahoo/ATT](https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cobra-kai-alicia-hannah-kim-160035318.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Australian actors › Surnames A to D*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license