“My grandma was an actress. I was quite young when she did a one-woman play and I was in awe of how she could connect with the audience through storytelling. That gave me the acting bug, and as someone who is very shy, I also liked that I was able to be different people and express myself freely. It felt empowering.
My family is in Sydney, but I went to a performing arts high school in Korea because I didn’t see many examples of East Asian women as the lead of shows in Australia. The concept of moving countries, especially because I only spoke basic conversational Korean with my mom, was intimidating. Looking back I realize how hungry I was willing to do that. But I didn't really align with the education in Korea. At the same time I felt encouraged by the way Hollywood was shifting, so I auditioned for The National Institute of Dramatic Art in Australia. At the end of my time at NIDA, a girl a year above me sent me a Facebook casting call for an East Asian lead. I was convinced it was a scam because I had to send a one-minute intro video to a weird email address, but that’s how I landed the role of Kwan Ha in Halo.
There was a 24-hour turnaround for my Bridgerton audition. That was nerve-wracking because I didn’t have a British accent in my back pocket, but I think it worked out in my favor because I didn’t have time to overthink it. I started to get even more nervous when I got a callback because I saw a glimmer of hope in landing the role, and I was incredibly nervous for my chemistry read with Luke Thompson, who plays Benedict Bridgerton. It was a really special moment when I learned I landed the role. First of all, I was with my mom, who has supported me from day one and seen me through all of the tears. But it felt unique to me in that I landed a romantic lead role in a genre that I didn’t often see myself represented in.
Beauty in my line of work usually means expending energy towards a role, so in my own life, I see beauty as a time for self-reflection and putting energy towards myself. There’s a part of me that really wants to experiment and try all of the brands and products out there, but I always have to remind myself not to fix what’s not broken and keep it simple. That translates into double cleansing in the evenings, a moisturizer that’s safe for sensitive skin, and a good sunscreen—and maybe one active ingredient every once in a while.
Cleansing really is your best friend after hours of wearing makeup under hot lights. I usually use the Tatcha Camellia cleansing oil before going in with Tatcha’s Rice Wash. It’s not a physical scrub per se, but it does gently exfoliate. When my skin is really, really sensitive or it’s flared-up, I reach for the Aestura Atobarrier foaming cleanser instead. Aestura’s products are generally really good for my skin when I need to go back to the basics. I’m using their Atobarrier 365 cream right now, too, but I also like Tatcha’s Dewy Milk moisturizer and Dewy Skin cream—especially in colder months.
Wearing sunscreen is second-nature for me. Sun safety is taught at a young age in Australia because the sun is so strong and skin cancer levels are very high. We were always told to ‘slip, slop, slap’—slip on a protective layer, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat. But I actually think I learned the discipline of putting on sunscreen when I was in Korea. Koreans don’t mess around with sun protection; my Korean friends would reapply and reapply constantly. I find reapplying over makeup to be difficult, but now there are some great sunscreen mists and sticks—like the Naked Sundays mist and Round Lab's sun stick—to help top up.
I was using Haruharu Wonder’s Black Rice sunscreen, but when I went back to Sydney for Christmas, my skin had a massive flare-up from the change in the weather and stress. It was so clogged and super textured. I saw a dermatologist who told me I needed extractions. That was maybe 10 days before the Bridgerton season four premiere, so I was nervous my skin would still be angry from the extractions, but I had to take the risk. She also recommended I start using sun essences because the formulas are a lot thinner. I’m using the Dr. Sante Azulene Soother Sun one right now.
When I tell you I wear zero makeup outside of work, I mean zero. I love watching videos of people putting on makeup, and I always thought it would be so easy to pick up, but I look horrible when I try. I mean, I have a Berry Laneige lip balm that I use throughout the day, and at night, I use the Berry Laneige sleeping mask, but I think of it more as skincare.
I get my lashes permed every six to eight weeks. I tend to go to Korean spots—wherever Google recommends in whatever city I’m in that day—because they’re more familiar with my lash type. On very rare exceptions, like when I have a big meeting, I’ll wear Armani’s Skin Tint, or if I need SPF, I’ll use Ilia’s Super Serum Skin Tint. Then I just fill in my brows with the Hourglass Arch Brow pencil. I think it’s whatever now, but I was actually really insecure about my brows growing up because a lot of my friends had so much to play with and it looked like I didn’t have eyebrows in photos. I was so self-conscious that when someone suggested I get them tattooed on at 17, I did it and quickly regretted it; I looked like a cartoon character. Your face really transforms with different eyebrow shapes, and I now see my sparse eyebrows as a blessing because it gives me the ability to easily blend into characters. My mom was the one who pointed that out—she’d always say, ‘Your face is a canvas.’
I wore Byredo’s Bal d'Afrique for quite a while, but when I was living in London, there was a Diptyque store right across from my apartment. I went in and a sales rep recommended Orphéon and I’ve worn it since—it’s the one perfume I’m truly hooked on. I’ve realized I’ve been leaning more toward unisex scents recently, and Orphéon is a great one. It’s a little musky and not overly floral so it’s neither feminine or masculine. It’s also the one perfume that has gotten people to stop me on the street to ask what I’m wearing, and who doesn’t love a compliment?”
—as told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Shana Trajanoska in The Times Square Edition on February 12, 2026