Song Hye-kyo turns 44: The rise of Korea's queen and the glory that blazed after the storm

It was 2004 and Song Hye-kyo wore pigtails.

 Dressed in colourful outfits in a resolution that’s a far cry from today, Hye-kyo played a woman whose house had been quietly taken from her as she was on holiday. It was the time of exaggerated theatrics, manufactured cuteness for women and excessive slapstick.

But it was also the time of Hye-kyo, who managed to endear herself across Asia without ever losing her charm or coming across as grating. She had already established herself as an actress worth noting: Autumn in my Heart had released a few years prior, sparking interest in what would be known as the Hallyu wave.

 Hye-kyo flowed with the wave, commanding it at will whenever she could. Determined never to be typecast, Hye-kyo drifted across genres—from an anthology series, to playing a police detective alongside Hyun Bin in The World Within. Her choices already carried a quiet restlessness. Later came characters seeking forgiveness, or searching for identity, as in That Winter, The Wind Blows, where she portrayed a blind woman trying to find her brother.

And then, came the series that brought international fame: Descendants of the Sun. She played a rather disillusioned doctor, who falls in love with a soldier (Song Joong-ki). This was the melodrama, yearning, that fans needed to see: It had everything. Earthquakes, kidnapping, tearful reunions in deserts, pulsing love confessions on trucks.

It was the soapiest soap at the time, and the on-screen romance slid off-screen and she married Song Joong-ki after. In the midst of this happy time, she starred in Encounter, with Park Bo-gum, a mature love story between a CEO and her employee. Hye-kyo is a restrained, quiet woman here, bound by her duties and society, initially unable to bring down her walls and let Bo-gum’s cheer filter in. Yet, her anguish is in her eyes as she tries to end their relationship, believing that it will do no good. “Your mother gave me a jar...It was beautiful. How can I break something so pure?”

The show is considered one of the best in South Korea, but Hye-kyo’s personal life was on the rocks. The divorce announcement came as a shock; fans took sides, and the Hye-kyo side seethed about injustice even though no details were provided. The tabloids exploded; Bo-gum was dragged in, and all parties had to intervene and tell fans to calm down with their theories.

 The divorce chatter was loud and pervasive, but Hye-kyo was away from the limelight for three years, till she returned with Now We Are Breaking Up, which spawned mixed reviews, and then along came the The Glory. Here, she was a woman ready for revenge against the classmates who had assaulted, tortured her in school. Hye-kyo played a woman carved from ice: She was methodical, frighteningly blank, sarcastic, and a bitter laugh or two showed her chilling range. No surprise why The Glory swept awards.

Soon after, with Dark Nuns, Hye-kyo turned more into dark, supernatural. The film soared at the box office.

A new beginning.

She's walked through storms, both professional and personal.  

She sweeps awards, commands runways and headlines, and remains a cultural touchstone who refuses the idea that women's careers expire after 40. Song Hye-kyo is Korea’s pride and she’s proof that reinvention is the most powerful script an actor can write.