Watching a rare Korean female villain, a woman character who kills without remorse in a spine-chilling manner wasn’t definitely on our bingo cards. With her daring performance in The Frog, Go Min-si has achieved a new pinnacle in her acting career and floored all of us K-drama fans. While the world knows Go Min-si as a prolific South Korean actress (thanks to shows like Love Alarm and Sweet Home), not many have insights into her interesting showbiz journey and personal life, that have made her the star she is today. If you also can’t get enough of the actor’s show-stealing performance in The Frog and want to know more about her, here are some interesting facts you can’t miss.
While The Frog‘s Yoo Sung-a has exposed Go Min-si’s talent to an international audience, K-drama regulars know the actress for her impressive performances in Love Alarm, Sweet Home and Youth of May and her undeniable chemistry with co-actor Lee Do-hyun. In less than a decade since her showbiz debut, Go Min-si has proved she was born to be an actor – a dream that she envisioned since childhood.
Let’s acquaint you with the star like never before.
Lesser known facts about The Frog star Go Min-si
1. She left her job as a wedding planner to pursue her dream of acting
For Go Min-si, becoming an actor has been her pet passion since childhood. However, reports suggest that she didn’t pursue it earlier thinking it was unrealistic. Instead, she completed high school and got a job like us common folks. According to 1 News (via South China Morning Post), she studied cosmetology in high school, which focused on all things skincare, haircare and more. Eventually, she landed a job as a wedding planner and continued for two more years before calling it quits to pursue acting full-time. Reports further suggest that she even worked at a coffee shop early in her career after landing in Seoul.
2. Go Min-si debuted as an actor, writer and director in the 2016 film Parallel Novel
Go Min-si’s early days in the film industry were anything but smooth. However, she sailed through it all with her talent and hard work. According to Soompi, she didn’t have any agency for representation, travelled via buses to sets and even carried her own clothes to work. While other actors get their big break by working with prolific filmmakers and writers, Go Min-si chose to be her own hero.
Did you know that she not only acted but also wrote and directed her debut film Parallel Novel? The project even bagged the Grand Prize award in the Three-Minute Film Festival, marking the first of her many accolades.
3. She shed 28 pounds for her role as a ballerina in Sweet Home
Go Min-si is a method actress, who undergoes intense physical transformation to justify her diverse characters. So was the case with the hit apocalyptic series, Sweet Home, wherein she lost 28 pounds to play the role of an aspiring ballerina. Apart from this, she reportedly studied ballet for seven months and revealed she had to practice 1,000 times to ace the obscene hand gesture in the show.
Another example of her unrelenting hard work is Youth of May, a show set several decades in the past. Go Min-si immersed herself in the 80s culture, reading books like There Comes a Boy by Han Kang, and listening to music from the 1980s to play the role of nurse Kim Myung-hee, Soompi reported.
4. Go Min-si was rumouredly dating rapper Gray
Coming to her extremely private love life, Go Min-si was reportedly dating rapper Gray in 2022. It all started when netizens pointed out the duo’s similar Instagram photos, which seemed to be taken at the same location while travelling to the US. The gossip spread to a point where Go Min-si’s agency had to release a statement. According to Soompi, they mentioned, “We have nothing to say regarding the dating rumours as it is the actress’s personal life. Adding fuel to the fire was GRAY’s Make Love music video, starring him and Go Min-si as a couple.
5. She reduced her weight to 43 kgs in The Frog, for an eerie appearance
To portray a character like Sung-a was no easy feat for Go Min-si. In an interview with Hankook Ilbo, via Korea Times, she revealed losing weight to 43 kilograms. The actress stressed it was “more effective if my spine was visible, giving me a more eerie appearance.” She added that she wanted to capture a ‘raw, animalistic feeling’ of her character. And well, how effortlessly she pulled it off.
View this post on Instagram
6. Go Min-si is great friends with K-drama star Song Kang
After starring together in two hit projects, Love Alarm and Sweet Home, Go Min-si and Song Kang became close pals. The duo has been vocal about their friendship, sending each other sweet presents on various occasions. Song Kang once sent Min-si a coffee truck on the set of Mount Jiri. The actress soon returned the favour by sending him another coffee truck on the sets of Nevertheless. Talk about friendship goals.
View this post on Instagram
7. The actress wants to undertake more mature roles in her career
Entering the industry at the age of 21, Go Min-si has often played more teenage characters owing to her appearance. However, the actress aspires to do more mature roles in the future, something like a historical drama or melodrama. In an interview with Esquire, via Preview, the actress said she wants to be a part of stories that involve more scandal and romance. Now, with The Frog, the actress seems to have nailed the ‘scandal’ bit.
8. Go Min-si’s acting prowess has landed her many awards
In her eight-year-long career, the actress has received many notable awards. From winning the Grand Prize at the Three Minutes Film Festival for her debut film Parallel Novel and the Most Popular Star award at the Korea Best Star Awards for her role in The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion to getting the Best New Actress accolade at the SBS Drama Awards for the thriller Secret Boutique, Newcomer Actress award at Asia Contents Awards for Sweet Home and more – Go Min-si has been killing it.
(Hero and feature image credit: gominsi/ Instagram)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Go Min-si made her acting debut in 2016 with the film 'Parallel Novel'. She also worked as a director and writer on the project.
Some of Go Min-si's most famous roles are from shows like 'The Frog', 'Love Alarm', 'Sweet Home' and 'Youth of May'.
No, Go Min-si isn't married.
Tags
Written by
Kriti Nayyar
Senior Digital Writer, Wellness, Culture, Astrology, Tech
Kriti is a stay-at-home dog mama, whose knack for telling interesting stories keeps her erstwhile monotonous life sane. A literature & journalism degree holder, you'll find her binging on Agatha Christie novels while critiquing the everyday state of affairs. On Kriti's seldom social outings, she's seen devouring coffee sangria with appetizing bread on the side.
Most Popular
