Twenty-Five Twenty-One’s Kim Tae-ri before the fame: she’s now starring with Nam Joo-hyuk in Netflix’s hit coming-of-age K-drama, but started out in a theatre troupe and indie films

Apr 4 , 2022

Kim Taeri. Photo: @taeri_yeosin/Instagram

A contemporary of actresses like Park Shin-hye and Park Bo-young, Kim starred with Song Joong-ki in Space Sweepers, and in The Handmaiden with Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong

She got a best actress nomination at the Baeksang Arts Awards for her role in Mr Sunshine with Lee Byung-hun, and is set to star in upcoming film Alien with Ryu Jun-yeol

Netflix subscribers all over the world are on an emotional roller coaster right now, thanks to a K-drama called Twenty-Five Twenty-One. The A-list lead actor Nam Joo-hyuk drew many in, then they were hooked by the nostalgic plot (set in South Korea’s financial crisis in the 1990s) and the well-crafted script. But a pleasant surprise to many is the lead actress, Kim Tae-ri.

Kim Tae-ri in a still from Twenty-Five Twenty-One. Photo: tvN

Kim plays an aspiring fencer named Na Hee-do in this coming-of-age drama and has been making headlines with her refreshing tomboyish charm.

She might have been recognised recently for her acting chops, but still she isn’t as well-known internationally compared to actresses around her age, like Park Shin-hye or Park Bo-young. Understandably so, since her list of credits is not as extensive as theirs.

Here’s what you need to know about Kim – before she surely becomes a household name across the world.

She was born in 1990

Kim Tae-ri appears in Netflix’s Twenty-Five Twenty-One. Photo: @netflixkr/Instagram

In Twenty-Five Twenty-One, Kim is four years younger than Nam’s character. In reality, however, she is 31 – almost four years older than the actor. And just like her character in the drama, she was born and raised in Seoul.

As a student, she was part of the theatre club

K-movie star Kim Tae-ri. Photo: @kimtaeri_1/Instagram

Not much is known about Kim’s academic history, but we do know that she graduated from Youngshin Nursing Business High School in Seoul. Then she attended Kyung Hee University from 2008 to 2012, taking a journalism and communications course.

It was in her second year of uni that she joined a theatre club and started acting. During this time, she also juggled school with part-time jobs in cafes and convenience stores.