# Kang Mal-geum

Kang Mal-geum (Korean: 강말금; born January 3, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She graduated in Arts from Pusan National University, Department of Korean Language and Literature. She made her acting debut in 2010 in the film Yong-Tae: The Ordinary Memories. She is known for her role in the film Lucky Chan-sil (2019), for which she earned six "Best New Actress" and one "Best Actress" awards in seven different award shows. She also appeared in the film The Chase (2017) and the television series Legal High (2019) and Missing: The Other Side (2020). In 2021, she appeared in a small role on the hit Netflix survival drama series Squid Game.

## Early life

Kang was born in Busan in 1979 and graduated from Busan National University in Korean Language and Literature. After graduating, she worked for a trading company for 4 years, then made her debut in Chungmuro in 2010 after debuted earlier onstage in Daehak-ro in 2007.
Director Kim Cho-hee, who watched "Free acting" at the Jeongdongjin Independent Film Festival, contacted Kang directly and suggested appearing in Lucky Chanshil. While working at the tasting corner of the mart, Kang became the main character of a feature film for the first time at forty while going back and forth between theatrical stages and short films.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Yong-Tae: The Ordinary Memories | | |
| 2011 | From the End | | Short film |
| 2014 | Encounter | | Short film |
| 2016 | A Man in the Midnight | | Short film |
| 2017 | The Chase | Caregiver 2 | |
| 2017 | Daydream (Baek-il-mong) | | |
| 2018 | The Monologue | | |
| 2019 | Idol | Myung-hui's wife | |
| 2019 | Family Affair | Homeroom teacher | |
| 2019 | Lucky Chan-sil | Lee Chan-sil | Won 7 awards |
| 2019 | Gyeongwon | | Short film |
| 2020 | A Bedsore | Nurse | |
| 2020 | More Than Family | Ho Hoon's mother | |
| 2022 | In Our Prime | Han Ji-woo's mother | |
| 2022 | Drown | Hye-soo | |
| 2022 | Birth | Teresa Kim | |
| 2023 | Soulmate | a curator at an art museum | |
| 2024 | Land of Happiness | Ok Jeong-ae | |
| TBA | Lobby | Minister Cho | |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2018 | Children of Nobody | Si-wan's mother | |
| 2019 | Legal High | Lee Eun-ji | |
| 2019 | Beautiful World | Eun Kyeong-seon | |
| 2020 | Missing: The Other Side | Kim Hyeon-mi | Season 1 |
| 2020 | Please Don't Date Him | Telegram girl | |
| 2020 | KBS Drama Special: "The Joys and Sorrows of Work" | Lee Ji-hye | one act-drama |
| 2021 | Mouse | Ba Reum's aunt | Cameo |
| 2021 | Sell Your Haunted House | Manager Joo / Joo Hwa-jeong | |
| 2021 | Squid Game | Gi-hun's ex-wife | |
| 2021 | The Silent Sea | Song Won-kyung | |
| 2021–2022 | The Red Sleeve | Hong Hye-bin / Lady Hyegyeong | |
| 2022 | Thirty-Nine | Cha Mi-hyun | |
| 2022 | Military Prosecutor Doberman | Do Soo-kyung | |
| 2023 | Divorce Attorney Shin | Kim So-yeon | |
| 2023 | The Good Bad Mother | Jung Gum-ja | |
| 2023 | Miraculous Brothers | Chae Woo-jung | |
| 2023–2024 | Gyeongseong Creature | Choi Seong-sim | Season 1 |
| 2025 | When Life Gives You Tangerines | Motel Owner | Cameo (episode 2,3) |
| 2025 | Knock-Off | Jegal Hyeon-suk | |

## Stage
### Musical

Musical performances :
| Year | Title | Title | Role | Theater | Ref. |
| Year | English | Korean | Role | Theater | Ref. |
| 2013 | Heavy Metal Girls | 헤비메탈 걸스 | | Hansung Art Hall 1 | |

### Theatre

Theater performances :
| Year | Title | Title | Role | Theater | Ref. |
| Year | English | Korean | Role | Theater | Ref. |
| 2008 | Commedia | 꼬메디아 | Scaramouche | Sangmyeong Art Hall 1 | |
| 2012 | Penn | 뻘 | Jimaki | Doosan Art Centre Space111 | |
| 2012 | Ro Pung Chan's Nomadic Theater | 로풍찬 유랑극장 | Gobongja | Yeonwoo Small Theatre (Daehak-ro) | |
| 2014 | Hermes | 헤르메스 | Yoo Jeong-sook | Theatre out of | |
| 2014 | Ro Pung Chan's Nomadic Theater | 로풍찬 유랑극장 | Gobongja | Daehakro Arts Theatre Small Theatre | |
| 2015 | Kyung-sook Kyung-sook's Father | 경숙이, 경숙아버지 | Jaya | Yes24 Stage 3 | |
| 2015 | Uncle Sunwoo | 순우 삼촌 | | Daehak-ro Sundol Theatre | |
| 2016 | 2016 Mountain Forest Classic Theatre - Oresteia | 2016 산울림 고전극장 - 오레스테이아 | | Sanullim Small Theatre | |
| 2016 | Doosan Humanities Theatre 2016 Adventure - Game | 두산인문극장 2016 모험 - 게임 | Florence Margaret | Doosan Art Center Space111 | |
| 2016 | Dandelion Wind | 민들레 바람되어 | Old lady | Yes24 Stage 3 | |
| 2017 | Richard III | 리처드3세 | | Arko Arts Theatre Grand Theatre | |
| 2017 | The Women of Troy | 트로이의 여인들 | | Art Space Seoul | |
| 2018 | Red Peters - K's Reading | 빨간 피터들 - K의 낭독회 | | Samil-il Warehouse Theatre | |
| 2018 | Lonely person, difficult person, sad person | 외로운 사람, 힘든 사람, 슬픈 사람 | Aleksandr Vladimirovich Serebryakov | Doosan Art Center Space111 | |

## Ambassadorship

| Year | Title | Ref. |
| 2021 | 21st Seoul International Alternative Visual Arts Festival | |
| 2022 | 22nd Seoul International Alternative Visual Arts Festival | |

## Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2020 | Best New Actress – Film | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actress – Television | Thirty-Nine | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Supporting Actress – Television | The Good Bad Mother | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Most Popular Actress | Kang Mal-geum | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2021 | Best New Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |
| Buil Film Awards | 2020 | Best New Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |
| Busan Film Critics Awards | 2020 | Best Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |
| Cine 21 Awards | 2020 | Best New Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |
| Chunsa Film Art Awards | 2021 | Best New Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2022 | Best Actress in Film | Lucky Chan-sil | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2022 | Best New Actress in Film | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |
| KBS Drama Awards | 2020 | Best New Actress | Drama Special – The Joys and Sorrows of Work | Nominated |
| KBS Drama Awards | 2021 | Best Supporting Actress | Sell Your Haunted House | Nominated |
| Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | 2020 | Best New Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |
| Wildflower Film Awards | 2020 | Best Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Nominated |
| Wildflower Film Awards | 2020 | Best New Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |
| Women in Film Korea Festival | 2020 | Best New Actress | Lucky Chan-sil | Won |