# Choo Ja-hyun

Chu Eun-ju (Korean: 추은주; born January 20, 1979), known by her stage name Choo Ja-hyun (추자현), is a South Korean actress. Best known in Korea for the films Bloody Tie (2006) and Portrait of a Beauty (2008), Choo has also actively worked in China since 2007, notably in television drama The Temptation to Go Home (2011, remake of Temptation of Wife).

## Early life

Chu Eun-ju was born and raised in Daegu, the then-capital of North Gyeongsang Province. The only daughter of a cosmetologist and a white-collar worker, her parents divorced when she was 18 years old. She also revealed on a Chinese TV show that she had a little sister who died by drowning when they were younger. Choo graduated from Dankook University, with a bachelor's degree in Theater and Film.

## Career
### South Korea

Using the stage name Choo Ja-hyun, she began her entertainment career as a model at age 17. She made her acting debut in 1996, and went on to appear in several television series, among them Successful Story of a Bright Girl (2002), Sunrise House (2002), and Apgujeong House (2003).
Then after a decade in relative obscurity, Choo drew critical acclaim in 2006 for her portrayal of a ravaged drug addict in Bloody Tie, a film noir about the meth trade in 1990s Busan. She won acting recognition from the Grand Bell Awards, the Korean Film Awards, and the Director's Cut Awards, as well as nominations from the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Baeksang Arts Awards.
She was then cast in the erotic period drama Portrait of a Beauty, based on Lee Jung-myung's novel Painter of the Wind which reimagined Joseon artist Shin Yun-bok as a woman disguised as a man. Portrait of a Beauty became the 8th best-selling Korean film of 2008, and Choo again received supporting actress nominations for playing a gisaeng who entertains noblemen by performing dances and poetry readings.
This was followed by Missing (2009), a slasher film in which Choo's character is determined to find her younger sister, who's been abducted by a psychopath farmer who rapes and murders young women.
She starred in Loveholic in 2010, a character-driven romance drama directed by Kwon Chil-in. Choo played a self-destructive woman with a drinking problem and professional crises; she goes to stay at her friend's house until she sorts out her life, then has an affair with the latter's cuckolded husband.
Choo next appeared in The Famished, a 27-minute short film about stage actors who eat their own memories to satisfy their hunger; it was included in the omnibus Short! Short! Short! 2010: Fantastic Theater.

### Taiwan and China

Choo had begun building her pan-Asian profile when she appeared in the 2003 Taiwanese drama Scent of Love, which ranked number one in the ratings when it aired in Taiwan.
Despite almost a decade of acting experience in her homeland, Choo later said she decided to launch her career in China for practical reasons, "I did not have a choice (but to debut in China). Acting is my trade, and I have to act to make a living, but in Korea the work was not steady enough for a stable income." She was cast as Du Chun's leading lady in The Legend of the Banner Hero (also known as Clan Feuds), adapted from Taiwanese novelist Gu Long's wuxia novel of the same title. It was filmed in 2005, and aired in 2007. In late 2007, Choo was part of the main cast of another Gu Long adaptation, The Legend of Chu Liuxiang.
But it was her leading role as a betrayed wife in revenge melodrama The Temptation to Go Home (also known as Temptation of Going Home or Lure of Homecoming), a 2011 remake of Korea's Temptation of Wife (the original and remake both received high ratings), that catapulted Choo into stardom in Mainland China and made her one of the most sought-after Hallyu stars there. Fluent in Chinese and English, Choo has since relocated to Beijing and concentrated on her acting career in China, with occasional forays in Korean cinema. Her name is rendered in Chinese as Qiu Cixuan.
When Choo appeared in a semi-nude hanbok photo shoot for a Chinese magazine in 2011, she was criticized by Korean netizens for "damaging the national costume's image." Because of the controversy, she closed down her Twitter account and is instead active on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo. Choo's old nude photos were also leaked to Chinese websites that year; her Chinese agency said the photos had been taken for personal reasons and threatened legal action against those circulating them.
She continued playing lead roles in Chinese television dramas of various genres (epic, fantasy, period drama, contemporary romance), such as Wipe Out the Bandits of Wulong Mountain (2012), Turbulence of the Mu Clan (2012), Hu Xian (2013), Legend of Southwest Dance and Music (2013), Xiu Xiu's Men (2014), and Gorgeous Workers (2014).

## Personal life

Choo announced on November 30, 2016 that she would be marrying Chinese actor and singer Yu Xiaoguang in 2017. Her management agency said that the families of the two recently met and discussed how to prepare for the wedding. The actress first revealed their romantic relationship through Chinese social media site Weibo in September 2015. They first met while appearing in a Chinese drama in 2012. They married on January 18, 2017.
On June 1, 2018, Chu Ja-hyun gave birth to a boy at a hospital in Seoul, South Korea.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English Title | Original Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | The Adventures of Mrs. Park | 박봉곤 가출 사건 | Hye-soo | |
| 2005 | Short Time | 이대로, 죽을 순 없다 | Yang Jung-ae | |
| 2005 | Travel in Fog | 안개 속의 여행 | | |
| 2006 | Bloody Tie | 사생결단 | Ji-young | |
| 2008 | Portrait of a Beauty | 미인도 | Seol-hwa | |
| 2009 | Missing | 실종 | Hyun-jung | |
| 2010 | Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle | 식객:김치전쟁 | Seong-chan's mother (cameo) | |
| 2010 | Loveholic | 참을 수 없는 | Ji-heun | |
| 2011 | Short! Short! Short! 2010: Fantastic Theater | 환상극장 | Lee Seo-yeon | segment: "The Famished" (허기) |
| 2014 | The Boundary | 全城通缉 | | |
| TBA | While You Were Sleeping | 당신이 잠든 사이 | Yoon Deok-hee | |

### Korean television

| Year | English Title | Korean Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | 18, Feeling of Growing Up | 성장느낌 18세 | | |
| 1997 | Miss & Mister | 미스&미스터 | | |
| 1998 | The Eldest | 맏이 | | |
| 1999 | KAIST | 카이스트 | | |
| 1999 | The Last War | 마지막 전쟁 | | |
| 2000 | Legends of Love | 사랑의 전설 | | |
| 2000 | Because of You | 당신때문에 | Ahn Soo-eun | |
| 2000 | Cruise of Love | 사랑의 유람선 | | |
| 2001 | Outing | 외출 | Jung Nan-young | |
| 2002 | Successful Story of a Bright Girl | 명랑소녀 성공기 | Song Bo-bae | |
| 2002 | Sunrise House | 해뜨는 집 | Jung Mi-hee | |
| 2003 | Apgujeong House | 압구정 종갓집 | Eldest daughter | |
| 2003 | Sharp 1 | 반올림1 | Lee Ok-rim's narration | |
| 2004 | Oh Feel Young | 오! 필승 봉순영 | Heo Song-ja | |
| 2005 | Family Scandal | 가족 연애사 | Sun-ah | |
| 2010 | A Man Called God | 신이라 불리운 사나이 | Seo Mi-soo / Choi Kang-hee | |
| 2018 | Misty | 미스티 | | |
| 2019 | Arthdal Chronicles | 아스달 연대기 | Asa Hon | Season 1 |
| 2019 | Beautiful World | 아름다운 세상 | Kang In-ha | |
| 2020 | My Unfamiliar Family | (아는 건 별로 없지만) 가족입니다 | Kim Eun-joo | |
| 2022 | Green Mothers' Club | 그린 마더스 클럽 | Byeon Chun-hee | |
| 2022 | Little Women | 작은 아씨들 | Jin Hwa-young | |
| 2022 | Narco-Saints | 수리남 | Park Hye-jin | Special appearance |

### Chinese television

| Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Role |
| 2003 | Scent of Love | 恋香 | Jeon Ho-yeon/Yin Xiangzhi |
| 2007 | The Legend of the Banner Hero | 大旗英雄传 | Shui Lingguang |
| 2007 | The Legend of Chu Liuxiang | 楚留香传奇 | Shi Guanyin |
| 2007 | Let Love Rain Like Pearls | 让爱化作珍珠雨 | Bei Xinru |
| 2011 | The Temptation to Go Home | 回家的诱惑 | Gao Shanshan/Lin Pinru |
| 2012 | Wipe Out the Bandits of Wulong Mountain | 新乌龙山剿匪记 | Chen Feng Jiao |
| 2012 | Turbulence of the Mu Clan | 木府风云 | A Leqiu |
| 2012 | | 从将军到士兵 | Guan Biyun |
| 2013 | Hu Xian | 狐仙 | Nie Xiaoqian |
| 2013 | Legend of Southwest Dance and Music | 舞乐传奇 | Ye Shaluo |
| 2014 | | 长安三怪探 | Wei Ruozhao |
| 2014 | Xiu Xiu's Men | 秀秀的男人 | |
| 2014 | Gorgeous Workers | 华丽上班族 | Zhang Wei |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2004 | KBS Drama Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Oh Feel Young | Nominated |
| 2006 | 7th Busan Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Bloody Tie | Won |
| 2006 | 43rd Grand Bell Awards | Best New Actress | Bloody Tie | Won |
| 2006 | 27th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actress | Bloody Tie | Nominated |
| 2006 | 5th Korean Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Bloody Tie | Won |
| 2006 | 5th Korean Film Awards | Best New Actress | Bloody Tie | Won |
| 2006 | 9th Director's Cut Awards | Best New Actress | Bloody Tie | Won |
| 2007 | 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress | Bloody Tie | Nominated |
| 2009 | 46th Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Portrait of a Beauty | Nominated |
| 2009 | 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Portrait of a Beauty | Nominated |
| 2009 | 17th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in Film | Portrait of a Beauty | Won |
| 2012 | CCTV Chinese TV Star of the Year Awards | International Cooperation Award | | Won |
| 2013 | 2nd APAN Star Awards | Achievement Award | — | Won |
| 2013 | 8th Seoul International Drama Awards | Best Actress | Turbulence of the Mu Clan | Nominated |
| 2015 | 10th Seoul International Drama Awards | Mango TV Popularity Award | — | Won |
| 2017 | 11th SBS Entertainment Awards | Hot Star of the Year | Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny | Won |
| 2021 | 7th APAN Star Awards | Best Supporting Actress | My Unfamiliar Family | Nominated |