Kim Young-ok (Kim Young-ok), born on December 5, 1937, in Seoul, is a South Korean actress whose career ranks among the longest in the country’s film and television industry. Nicknamed the «national grandmother» because of the many matriarch roles she has played, she made her debut at just 19 years old in the film Farewell, Sorrow! in 1957. She went on to have a particularly prolific career in film, television, and voice acting. In 1979, her role in I Sell Happiness earned him the Daesang at the Baeksang Arts Awards.
On the big screen, she has appeared notably in The Lovers of Woomook-baemi (1990), When Spring Comes (2004), Public Enemy Returns (2008), Sunny (2011), Fists of Legend (2013) and Snowy Road (2015). She also stars in the action movie Ballerina in 2023.
A frequent presence on television, she has appeared in dramas spanning several generations. She has starred in, among others, Coffee Prince (2007), Boys Over Flowers (2009), Protect the Boss (2011), Reply 1988 (2015), Dear My Friends and Louis the Shopaholic (2016), then Live Up to Your Name (2017). In 2020, she played the court lady Noh Ok-nam in The King: Eternal Monarch.
The year 2021 further solidifies its international popularity with Mouse, Squid Game, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Jirisan. She continues with Pachinko and Tomorrow in 2022, then King of the Land in 2023. In 2024, she appeared notably in The Midnight Studio, Goodbye Earth, The Judge from Hell and Iron Family.
Still active, Kim Young-ok will star in 2025 in The Art of Negotiation, Mary Kills People, Typhoon Family and Cashero. In 2026, she continued her career with Our Sticky Love and Mission: Mom Possible, confirming a remarkable longevity of nearly seven decades.
