# Song Yoon-ah (송윤아)
**Song Yoon-ah** (송윤아; born 1973) is a South Korean actress known for television dramas such as *Hotelier* (2001), *On Air* (2008), *Mama* (2014), *The K2* (2016), and *Secret Mother* (2018), and for films including *Jail Breakers* (2002) and *Wedding Dress* (2010)[1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/) • [2](https://www.kapanlagi.com/song-yun-ah/profil/). She debuted in 1995 as a gold prize winner of KBS's Super Talent Competition and has since worked across television, film, and variety hosting[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10037157).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973; birthplace given as Seoul by several profiles and as Gimcheon by others[1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/song-yoon-ah/) |
| Debut | 1995, gold prize at the KBS Super Talent Competition[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10037157) |
| Education | Hanyang University, Cultural Anthropology[5](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=1067) |
| Signature film awards | Best Supporting Actress for *Jail Breakers* at the 23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards (2002) and the 40th Grand Bell Awards (2003)[6](https://www.aladin.co.kr/author/wauthor_overview.aspx?AuthorSearch=%40151614) |
| Television awards | Best TV Actress, 51st Baeksang Arts Awards (2015) for *Mama*; Top Excellence Award, 2018 SBS Drama Awards for *Secret Mother*[5](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=1067) • [1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/) |
| Marriage | Married actor Sol Kyung-gu (설경구) on May 28, 2009; son born 2010[7](https://asianwiki.com/Yun-ah_Song) |
| Agency | Snowball Entertainment[8](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Song_Yoon_Ah) |
## Early life and debut
Song was born in 1973. Profiles disagree on her birthplace: Kprofiles, AsianWiki, and IMDb list Seoul, while TV Insider, Rotten Tomatoes, and iQIYI list Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province; Kprofiles reconciles the two by stating she was born in Seoul and spent her early childhood in Gimcheon[1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/song-yoon-ah/) • [9](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/song-yoon-a-215126305?lang=en_us). She attended Gimcheon schools through high school and graduated from [Hanyang University](https://www.edgepedia.org/hanyang-university) with a degree in cultural anthropology[5](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=1067). While a university student she was recommended to a modeling agency, and in 1995 she won a gold prize at the KBS Super Talent Contest to begin her entertainment career[1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/) • [3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10037157).
## Television career
**Breakthrough with Mister Q.** After early roles in historical and modern series, Song gained wide recognition in the 1998 SBS trendy drama *Mr. Q*, based on a famous cartoon and set at a fashion company. The series drew viewer ratings of more than 40 percent, and Song played a professional designer, a villainous but enterprising character who chose work over love[10](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Song_Yoona.jsp). The role earned her the Most Popular TV Actress prize at the 35th Baeksang Arts Awards in 1999[6](https://www.aladin.co.kr/author/wauthor_overview.aspx?AuthorSearch=%40151614).
Through the 2000s she led a string of dramas, including *Hotelier* (2001), *Into the Storm* (2004), *Hong Kong Express* (2005), and *On Air* (2008), a behind-the-scenes drama about the broadcasting industry[2](https://www.kapanlagi.com/song-yun-ah/profil/). After *On Air* she kept a low profile and did not appear on television for six years, returning in the 2014 MBC drama *Mama* as a single mother with a terminal illness who supports herself by drawing cartoons[11](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20140425/song-yoon-ah-to-return-in-six-years). The role brought her the Best TV Actress award at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards in 2015 and a Top Excellence Award at the 2014 MBC Drama Awards[5](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=1067) • [1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/).
Her later television work includes the action drama *The K2* (tvN, 2016), in which she played Choi Yoo-jin, the wife of a presidential candidate who hires the title bodyguard, and *Secret Mother* (SBS, 2018), for which she received the Top Excellence Award for an Actress in a Daily and Weekend Drama at the 2018 [SBS Drama Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/sbs-drama-awards)[12](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1032826/) • [1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/). She continued with *Graceful Friends* (JTBC, 2020) and *Show Window: The Queen's House* (Channel A, 2021)[8](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Song_Yoon_Ah).
## Film career
Song's screen debut came in the 1997 film *1818 (Profanity)*[5](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=1067). Her best-known film work is the 2002 comedy *Jail Breakers* (광복절 특사), directed by Kim Sang-jin and co-starring Sol Kyung-gu and [Cha Seung-won](https://www.edgepedia.org/cha-seung-won), in which she played Han Kyung-soon, the imprisoned protagonist's girlfriend; the performance won her Best Supporting Actress at the 23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards, the 40th Grand Bell Awards, and the 11th Chunsa Film Art Awards[6](https://www.aladin.co.kr/author/wauthor_overview.aspx?AuthorSearch=%40151614) • [3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10037157). She also sang "Pink Lipstick" on the film's soundtrack[1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/).
Her other films include *A Masterpiece in My Life* (2000), *Face* (2004), *Lost in Love* (2006), *Arang* (2006), *Secret* (2009), *Wedding Dress* (2010), *Innocent Witness* (2019), and *Stone Skipping* (2020)[7](https://asianwiki.com/Yun-ah_Song). The Korean Film Council's KOREAN ACTORS 200 database, which selects actors representing Korean cinema internationally, includes her among its two hundred profiles[10](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Song_Yoona.jsp).
## Variety and other work
Song has hosted and appeared on variety programs, served as a judge on the first season of tvN's audition show *Korea's Got Talent* in 2011, and recorded soundtrack songs including "Shadow" for *On Air* (2008)[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10037157) • [2](https://www.kapanlagi.com/song-yun-ah/profil/). In 2014 she filed a defamation suit against netizens who claimed she had had an extramarital affair with Sol Kyung-gu while he was still married to his first wife[1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/).
## Personal life
Song married actor Sol Kyung-gu on May 28, 2009; the two had co-starred in *Jail Breakers* (2002) and *Lost in Love* (2006)[7](https://asianwiki.com/Yun-ah_Song). Their son, Sol Seung-yoon, was born in 2010[1](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/).
## References
1. [Song Yoon Ah Profile and Facts, Kpop Profiles](https://kprofiles.com/song-yoon-ah-profile-facts/)
2. [Profil Song Yun Ah, KapanLagi.com](https://www.kapanlagi.com/song-yun-ah/profil/)
3. [SONG Yun-a, Korean Film Council Database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10037157)
4. [Song Yoon-ah, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/song-yoon-ah/)
5. [송윤아, Cine21 인물정보](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=1067)
6. [송윤아 프로필과 수상내역, 알라딘 작가파일](https://www.aladin.co.kr/author/wauthor_overview.aspx?AuthorSearch=%40151614)
7. [Song Yoon-A, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Yun-ah_Song)
8. [Song Yoon Ah, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Song_Yoon_Ah)
9. [Song Yoon A, iQIYI actor profile](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/song-yoon-a-215126305?lang=en_us)
10. [Song Yoona, KOREAN ACTORS 200, KoBiz](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Song_Yoona.jsp)
11. [Song Yoon-ah to return in six years, The Korea Times (2014)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20140425/song-yoon-ah-to-return-in-six-years)
12. [Song Yun-ah, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1032826/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of East and Southeast Asia › South Korean actors, 2000s onward › Surnames M to S*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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