Kim Sae-ron

Kim Sae-ron (Korean: 김새론; July 31, 2000 – February 16, 2025) was a South Korean actress. Kim began her career in 2001 as a child model and transitioned to acting in 2009 with the film A Brand New Life (2009). She gained recognition through The Man from Nowhere (2010), earning herself a Baeksang Arts Awards for Best New Actress nomination. She later starred in the television series Listen to My Heart (2011), The Queen's Classroom (2013), and Hi! School: Love On (2014), along with the film A Girl at My Door (2014). Her first adult lead role was in the series Secret Healer (2016).

Over the years, Kim built a reputation as one of South Korea's most promising young actresses. However, in 2022, her career plateaued following a drunk driving incident, which led to public backlash and legal consequences. She left the production of Trolley (2023) and was partly edited out of the drama Bloodhounds (2023), with the storyline revised.

Kim was found dead at her home in Seoul, South Korea, on February 16, 2025, at age 24. Her death was ruled a suicide.

Kim Sae-ron was born in Seoul on July 31, 2000. Kim had two younger sisters, Kim A-ron [ko] and Kim Ye-ron [ko], who are also actresses. She attended Miyang Elementary School in Seoul, and graduated from Yang-il Middle School in Ilsan in February 2016. She then began attending School of Performing Arts Seoul. In 2018, Kim was admitted to Chung-Ang University's Department of Performing Arts and Film Studies.

Kim began her career in 2001, making her debut as a child model for a parenting magazine.

Kim's first acting role was in the 2009 film A Brand New Life, directed by the French-South Korean filmmaker Ounie Lecomte and loosely based on her life. Kim played the main character, a nine-year-old girl named Jin-hee, who is abandoned by her father at an orphanage after he remarries, and is later adopted by a French couple. Kim attended the Cannes Film Festival when the film was shown there in a special screening, becoming the youngest actress to be invited to the festival.

She then co-starred with Won Bin in The Man from Nowhere, which was the highest-grossing film in South Korea in 2010. She played Jung So-mi, the daughter of a heroin addict who is kidnapped by an organized crime ring. During filming, she was only allowed to watch her own scenes on the monitor. Kim won several awards for her first two roles, including Best New Actress at the Korean Film Awards and Buil Film Awards, along with a Baeksang Arts Award nomination for Best New Actress – Film.

In 2011, Kim was in another crime film, I Am a Dad, playing the daughter of Kim Seung-woo. She had her first television role in the drama series Listen to My Heart, playing the younger version of Hwang Jung-eum's character. She appeared in the first four episodes, and her performance was praised by TV critics. Her next role was in the drama film Barbie [ko], alongside her sister Ah-ron. The film is about international adoption, and was the first Korean film to win Best Film at the Giffoni International Film Festival in 2012. Kim then had a dual role in the thriller film The Neighbor, playing a murder victim and the serial killer's next target.