Kang Mal-geum (Kang Mal-geum), born Kang Soo-hye on January 3, 1979, in Busan, is a South Korean actress. A graduate of Pusan National University with a degree in Korean language and literature, she followed a relatively unconventional path: after completing her studies, she worked for four years at a commercial company before turning to acting.
She began her stage career on Daehak-ro in 2007 and made her film debut in 2010 in Yong-Tae: The Ordinary Memories. For several years, she divided her time between theater, short films, and small roles, while also holding various jobs.
His career took a major turn with the independent film Lucky Chan-sil (2019). At age 40, she landed her first major film role there, playing Lee Chan-sil. Her performance was widely recognized: she won Best New Actress at the Baeksang Arts Awards, the Blue Dragon Film Awards, the Buil Film Awards, and from the Korean Film Critics Association, as well as Best Actress at the Busan Film Critics Awards.
On television, Kang Mal-geum has made a name for herself through numerous supporting roles in popular productions such as Missing: The Other Side (2020), Squid Game, The Silent Sea and The Red Sleeve (2021), then Thirty-Nine and Military Prosecutor Doberman (2022). His performances in Thirty-Nine and The Good Bad Mother These achievements have earned him nominations for the Baeksang Arts Awards, among other honors.
She then continues with Divorce Attorney Shin, Miraculous Brothers and Gyeongseong Creature in 2023, as well as appearances in When Life Gives You Tangerines and several movies in 2025, including Lobby. Among the projects it has announced are also God's Beads, We Are All Trying Here, Knock-Off and Romance Addendum. His career has thus been marked by relatively late recognition, which came after more than a decade of work in theater and independent film.
