Bae Suzy birthday special: 5 times she captured the messy, real side of modern love

You approach Bae Suzy’s shows like Forrest Gump’s quote on a box of chocolates. You never quite know what you’re going to get. An aspiring entrepreneur? A sociopathic woman who falls in love with a genie? A woman whose worst nightmares come true? Your pick.

 Yet, no matter how varied her roles are, one thing stays constant: her portrayal of love — or, to be a little cliché, modern love. Suzy doesn’t rely on exaggerated K-drama tropes or over-the-top emotions. Instead, she brings to life characters who feel almost too real in their relationships — messy, confused, broken, yet somehow, they persevere.

 So, on her birthday, here’s looking at some of her most nuanced roles, that captured, pain, angst, and bittersweet hope.

1) Uncontrollably Fond

Before the latest Genie drama with Kim Woo-bin, the two actors starred in a show named Uncontrollably Fond, that fans never quite forgave them for, only because it was such a searing, bittersweet watch. The show follows a top actor (Kim Woo-bin) and a documentary producer (Bae Suzy) who were once childhood sweethearts but parted ways painfully. When they reunite years later, he’s terminally ill, and their love story unfolds with heartbreak, regret, and emotional depth. The ending is what still stays with fans: A quiet Suzy, sitting on a chair, tears in her eyes, while Woo-bin sleeps on her shoulder, possibly never to wake up again.

2) Start-Up

This might have given fans a severe case of second-lead syndrome, as fans still argue that Bae Suzy's Dal-mi, a feisty entrepreneur, deserved to belong with Kim Seon-ho, Han Ji-pyeong, the boy who had written her letters as a child to comfort her in grief. However, her love is swayed by Nam Joo-hyuk's nervous, yet steely Nam Do-san, a fellow entrepreneur. While the debate continues, Suzy's role as Dal-mi is almost slicing: A woman, with dreams, as well as in love, looking for the old childhood comfort, while coming to terms with her current reality. Start-Up might not essentially be a romance, and yet it showed the dilemmas of modern love, without ever expressly saying so.

3) Doona

Doona! follows a former K-pop idol (Bae Suzy) who suddenly quits her group and retreats to a quiet share house, where she meets a kind but reserved college student (Yang Se-jong). As their worlds collide, an unexpected romance blooms — tender, confusing, and fragile — exploring fame, loneliness, and the ache of loving someone you can’t quite hold on to.

4) While You Were Sleeping

Of course, this is a fantasy-thriller, but Suzy brought her own fresh twist of love to this show with Lee Jong-suk. She plays awoman who can see future events in her dreams — often tragic ones. Teaming up with a prosecutor (Lee Jong-suk) who shares her ability, they try to prevent disasters before they happen. Amid the suspense, Suzy adds warmth and emotional depth, grounding the story with a tender, slow-burning love that feels both fated and real.

5) Wonderland

This might have received some harsh reviews, but Suzy and Park Bo-gum were praised for their portrayal of raw grief, and loss. In this story, Bae Suzy plays Jeong-in, a flight attendant whose storyline revolves around love, loss, and the blurred lines between reality and artificial connection. Through her interactions with her comatose boyfriend Tae-joo and the Wonderland AI system, she struggles with her grief, and the discomfort of change.