Jang Young-nam

Jang Young-nam (born November 25, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She began her career as an acclaimed actress in theater, then transitioned to supporting roles on television and film, notably in works by director Jang Jin. A member of Jang Jin's Division 장진사단, she regularly appears in his films and theater company productions. She became one of the original cast members of the live sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live Korea when Jang Jin brought the American show to South Korea. In addition, she was a member of the Korean theater troupe Mokhwa Repertory Company.

She is known for her skill in both comedic and dramatic roles and her ability to easily transition between different genres and mediums such as theater, television and films. Some notable supporting film roles include A Werewolf Boy and Hello Ghost. She has also made memorable cameos in dramas, Pinocchio and Moon Embracing the Sun. In 2013, she played her first onscreen leading role in the revenge crime thriller Azooma,  which won her the Best Actress Award from the Director's Guild at the 17th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

Education
Jang Young-nam born on November 25, 1973 in Seoul. When she was in middle school, she saw a special orange school bus from Kaywon High School of Arts and felt intrigued by it. This made her decide to study theater and film at Kaywon High School of Arts. Before that, she always wanted to raise her hand to read a book in class, but she was too shy to do it. However, when she joined Kaywon Arts High School, she discovered the joy of performing and expressing herself in front of an audience. She later enrolled in the Department of Theater and Film at Seoul Institute of the Arts. As part of her graduation project, she took part in the musical West Side Story.

Career
Jang, a graduate of Seoul Institute of the Arts, began her career in the Mokhwa theater company in 1995 after being recommended by her college senior Seong Ji-ru. Soon after joining, she landed the role of Juliet in the play Romeo and Juliet. However, just three weeks before the performance, she experienced the humiliation of being fired by CEO Oh Tae-seok, who claimed she couldn't act. This incident left her feeling ashamed, leading her to drink half a bottle of soju. She also faced opposition and disapproval from her parents, which caused her to give up theater for about a year and a half. She wanted to make money, so She started working as a clerk at a clothing store, but soon She missed theater so much that She couldn't stand it. She held out for a year and a half and then returned to Mokhwa again. She looked back on that time and said, "What I wanted to do most and what I was good at was theater."

Jang achieved recognition by winning the Baeksang Arts Awards Rookie Award for her portrayal of Kikko in 'Dressing Room' in 2001.

In 2002, she first work with director Jang Jin with Welcome to Dongmakgol. In addition to director Jang Jin's plays such as 'Taxi Driver', he has played major roles in famous plays such as 'Hwan' and 'Ophelia'. In 2002, Jang played the role of Juliet in the play Romeo and Juliet and received the Dong-A Theater Award for Best Actress.

In 2005, Jang participated in the Berlin Asia-Pacific Week event with the play 'Princess Bari', returning only in October after performing in Germany.

She then showcased her acting prowess and emerged as one of the leading actresses in productions like 'Proof', 'Princess Bari', and 'The Seagull'.

Since 2006, she has appeared as a member of Theater Company Alleyway unit in Gyeong-sook and Gyeong-sook's Father and Don't Be Too Surprised?

In 2007, she found success in the roles of Kyung-sook in "Kyung-sook, Kyung-sook's Father" and Joo-hee in "My Mother's Mother". Throughout her career, she appeared in various works, often assuming leading roles. By 2007, she had already established herself as the most popular and highly regarded actress in the Daehakro theater industry. Notably, Jang Young-nam's acting skills reached their zenith in the one-person play 'Vagina Monologue', where she impressively portrayed nine different roles with great intensity.

She was also famous as the "Hong Il-jeom" actress of 'Jang Jin Division', who always appeared in director Jang Jin's works. She played the main character in "Clumsy People" (December 7, 2007 - March 16) directed by director Jang and performed at Daehakro's largest theater festival, 'Play'. It also paved the way for the huge success of 'Heart 2'. After appearing on the screen for the first time in 2004 with "Woman I Know," which Jang Jin directed, she appeared in the director's films one after another, such as "Leave While Applause" (2005), "Holy Genealogy" (2006), "Son" (2007), and "Good Morning President" (2009).

In 2008, she was cast as the female lead in the play "Port" (May 1-18, Seondol Theater in Daehakro) directed by Park Geun-hyung (CEO of Theater Company Alleyway), who was considered the best director in Daehakro and the winner of the 1st Cha Beom-seok Play Award (written by Myeong-hwa Kim). She received endless love calls from the theater world, including an offer to appear in "Agarwood" (June 10-28, directed by Shim Jae-chan).

Personal life
In December 2011, she married a theater director and film university professor Lee Ho-ung who is seven years younger. She and her husband have a son born in 2014.