table of content table of content
- 1. Queen of Tears – Hong Hae-in
- 2. My Liberation Notes – Yeom Mi-jeong
- 3. Fight for My Way – Choi Ae-ra
- 4. Descendants of the Sun – Yoon Myeong-ju
- 5. Lovestruck in the City – Lee Eun-oh / Yoon Seon-a
- 6. The Heirs – Rachel Yoo
- 7. Arthdal Chronicles – Tan-ya
- 7 Roles That Showed Us a New Side of Kim Ji-won in «Doctor X»
A cold-hearted heiress, an employee worn out by her daily routine, a determined soldier, or a young woman ready to fight to make her dreams come true: Kim Ji-won has portrayed very different heroines, but ones who are rarely forgotten.
After the phenomenon Queen of Tears, the actress is about to take on a completely different role once again. Starting October 9, 2026, Kim Ji-won will star in Doctor X: Mafia in White Coats, a new medical drama that blends thriller elements, corruption, and power struggles.
She will play the role of Gye Su-jeong, a brilliant surgeon with a mysterious past, who joins the surgery department at Guseo University Hospital as a temporary doctor. Remarkably skilled in the operating room, she seems to have little interest in the hierarchies and power struggles that govern the hospital. This inevitably becomes a problem when she begins to confront the darkest corners of the medical system.
A «dark hero» role that seems very different from Hong Hae-in and provides an excellent excuse to revisit the actress’s filmography before her return. From Queen of Tears à My Liberation Notes via Fight for My Way, so here is 7 K-dramas starring Kim Ji-won you absolutely must watch before Doctor X.
1. Queen of Tears – Hong Hae-in
There's no way to start anywhere else after that phenomenon Queen of Tears.
Kim Ji-won stars in it as Hong Hae-in, heiress to the Queens Group and director of a department store, who has been married to Baek Hyun-woo for three years (Kim Soo-hyun). On paper, their life almost seems like a modern-day fairy tale. In reality, their marriage is on the verge of falling apart.
Hyun-woo can no longer stand his daily life with his wife’s family and is seriously considering divorce when a piece of news turns everything upside down. Hong Hae-in could easily have been just the archetype of the cold, unapproachable rich heiress. Kim Ji-won, on the other hand, manages to gradually reveal everything hidden behind that facade: her loneliness, her fear, her pride, but also a vulnerability she almost always refuses to show.
And of course, you can't talk about the drama without mentioning her chemistry with Kim Soo-hyun, who played a major role in making the Hae-in/Hyun-woo couple so popular. After years of roles that were already very well-received, Queen of Tears gave Kim Ji-won a role that did justice to her full emotional range.
- Where can you watch it? On Netflix.
2. My Liberation Notes – Yeom Mi-jeong
While Hong Hae-in often hides his emotions behind a shell, Yeom Mi-jeong keeps them almost entirely indoors.
In My Liberation Notes, Kim Ji-won plays the youngest of a group of siblings living in Sanpo, far from Seoul. Every day is much like the one before: long commutes to work, a job that brings her no satisfaction, and that persistent feeling of watching her own life pass her by without really being a part of it.
Then there’s Mr. Gu (Son Suk-ku), her father’s mysterious employee, who is also trapped in a solitary existence. Their relationship doesn’t really resemble the traditional romances of K-dramas. In fact, Mi-jeong doesn’t simply ask him to love her—she asks him to «worship» her, giving rise to one of the series’ most unique dynamics.
The role relies heavily on silences, glances, and everything Mi-jeong can't bring herself to say. Sometimes Kim Ji-won needs almost nothing at all to make us understand exactly what her character is feeling.
A slow-paced, contemplative drama that may not be for everyone, but is likely one of the best choices for discovering the most subtle aspects of his acting.
- Where can you watch it? On Netflix.
3. Fight for My Way – Choi Ae-ra
After Mi-jeong, it's hard to imagine a character more different than Choi Ae-ra. In Fight for My Way, Kim Ji-won plays a young woman who dreamed of becoming a TV anchor but whose career has taken a much less glamorous turn. Despite setbacks and disappointments, Ae-ra refuses to give up on her dream entirely.
Next to him is Ko Dong-man (Park Seo-joon), his longtime friend and former taekwondo champion, who is also trying to get his life back on track through mixed martial arts. You can obviously see where this is going.
But what makes their romance so endearing is precisely this long-standing bond that existed even before their feelings developed. They know each other, bicker, support one another, and are already familiar with each other’s less appealing sides.
Kim Ji-won is particularly funny in the role of Ae-ra, without ever turning her character into a caricature. Behind her energy and her famous aegyo lies a young woman facing something very familiar: What do you do when adult life turns out to be nothing like what you imagined?
A rom-com that has become a must-see and one of the most endearing roles of her career. And a cult scene: the ’aegyo battle« (cuteness contest) with Park Seo-joon.
- Where can you watch it? On Netflix and Rakuten Viki, depending on your country
4. Descendants of the Sun – Yoon Myeong-ju
She wasn't the main character in Descendants of the Sun. However, ask the fans what they remember most about the drama, and Yoon Myeong-ju and Seo Dae-young will probably never be very far away.
Kim Ji-won stars in this film Yoon Myeong-ju, a military doctor and the daughter of a high-ranking army officer, who is in love with Staff Sergeant Seo Dae-young (Jin Goo). The problem? Her father strongly disapproves of their relationship, and the difference in their ranks makes their situation even more complicated.
Myeong-ju knows what she wants and makes no effort to hide her feelings. While Dae-young tries to distance himself from her, she refuses to let other people’s decisions dictate her love life. Their relationship has become one of the drama’s greatest emotional strengths and has allowed Kim Ji-won to truly capture the attention of a much wider audience.
This is also one of those cases where the secondary couple almost steals the show from the main couple.
- Where can you watch it? On Netflix and Rakuten Viki, depending on your region.
5. Lovestruck in the City – Lee Eun-oh / Yoon Seon-a
With Lovestruck in the City, Kim Ji-won returns to romance, but in a series with a much less traditional format. She plays Lee Eun-oh, a young woman who, while traveling, decides to leave her usual self behind and become Yoon Seon-a: a more spontaneous, free, and daring version of herself.
It was under this identity that she met Park Jae-won, played by Ji Chang-wook. Their relationship is intense, but when this chapter comes to an end, Eun-oh disappears from his life without revealing who she really is.
The role is particularly interesting because Kim Ji-won has to practically build two versions of the same woman. Seon-a represents the person Eun-oh wishes she could be, while the real Eun-oh is much more fragile and insecure.
Beyond the romance and the excellent chemistry with Ji Chang-wook, the drama delves deeply into themes of identity, insecurity, and the temptation to become someone else when you no longer truly like who you are. It’s a role that’s sometimes underappreciated in her filmography.
Where to watch: Netflix.
6. The Heirs – Rachel Yoo
Long before Hong Hae-in, Kim Ji-won had already donned high heels and a cold stare to play a wealthy heiress. And Honestly, Yoo Rachel wasn't there to make friends..
In The Heirs, she plays Kim Tan's fiancée (Lee Min-ho), an arranged marriage between two wealthy families that becomes particularly complicated when he falls in love with Cha Eun-sang (Park Shin-hye).
Rachel has many of the traits of the classic «mean girl» from teen dramas of that era: she’s rich, haughty, jealous, and particularly unpleasant toward the girl she considers her rival.
Yet Kim Ji-won has already managed to give her enough personality to ensure she doesn't get lost among the show's many other characters—which was no easy feat in a cast that also includes Kim Woo-bin, Park Hyung-sik or Krystal.
Review The Heirs after Queen of Tears It’s actually quite amusing. Yoo Rachel and Hong Hae-in are 11 years apart: two wealthy heiresses who, above all, show just how much Kim Ji-won has grown as an actress.
- Where can you watch it? On Netflix and Rakuten Viki, depending on your country.
7. Arthdal Chronicles – Tan-ya
To wrap things up, let’s head into a world unlike anything else in his filmography. In Arthdal Chronicles, Kim Ji-won becomes Tan-ya, a descendant of the great spiritual mother of the Wahan tribe, destined to play a decisive role in the political and religious upheavals of the world of Arthdal.
The young woman we meet at the beginning of the series is still deeply connected to her people and their traditions. But events will force her to quickly come to terms with the rules of a much harsher world where power, religion, and politics are inextricably linked.
It is precisely this transformation that makes the character interesting. Tan-ya must learn to survive in a system she doesn't know before she can figure out how to use her own strengths to find her place in it.
- Where can you watch it? On Netflix for the first season, depending on your country.
7 Roles That Showed Us a New Side of Kim Ji-won in «Doctor X»
There are, of course, other titles that could be added. Mr. Sunshine deserves a mention for his brief but memorable appearance in the first episode, while To the Beautiful You and Gap-dong offer a glimpse of Kim Ji-won from a time long before the major roles that made her famous.
But these seven characters really bring his journey to life. As Yoo Rachel pointed out, Yoon Myeong-ju confirmed her potential, Choi Ae-ra gave her one of her most popular roles, and Yeom Mi-jeong revealed a much quieter and more introspective side to her acting. And after the Hong Hae-in phenomenon, the next step is therefore Gye Su-jeong.
With Doctor X: The Age of the White Mafia, Kim Ji-won leaves the luxurious offices of Queens Group for Guseo University Hospital. But don’t expect to see her simply put on a white coat and save patients episode after episode: the drama is billed as a dark medical thriller, in which her brilliant surgeon will take on the power dynamics and corruption that plague the institution.
A character who could reveal yet another side of the actress: colder, more dangerous, and, above all, ready to take on those who think they control the system. Tune in starting October 9 on SBS and Netflix to find out Doctor X.
In the meantime, one question remains: What is your favorite role played by Kim Ji-won?
