Uee

Uee, born Kim Yu-jin, is a South Korean actress and singer who first found fame as a member of the K-pop girl group After School before building a substantial second career on screen. She was part of After School from 2009 until 2017, when she left to focus fully on acting.

On television she has moved comfortably between sweeping historical drama and contemporary romance. Her credits include the epic Queen Seondeok, the long-running family series Ojakgyo Family, and lead roles in Marriage Contract and My Only One, the kind of warm, popular dramas that anchor Korean prime time. Over the years she has grown from idol into a leading actress trusted to carry a series.

Uee belongs to a generation of K-pop performers who used the visibility of the idol system as a launchpad into acting, and she is among those who made the move convincingly. Steady and likeable on screen, she remains a familiar face to Korean drama audiences at home and across the genre's large international following.[edit]

Uee grew up in Cheongju, a city in central South Korea, where she spent a decade as a competitive swimmer. She trained at the national level and competed in the 2003 National Sports Festival, a credential that would later set her apart in the entertainment world. Her discipline in the pool earned her medals in regional and national meets, and she considered pursuing sports professionally.

A talent scout spotted her at a swimming competition and encouraged her to audition for Pledis Entertainment. She took the leap, moved to Seoul, and began training in singing and dancing alongside her studies at Sungkyunkwan University, where she majored in Physical Education. Her athletic background gave her a distinctive poise and stamina that served her well on stage.[edit]

Uee was introduced as a new member of After School in April 2009, just months after the group's debut, and quickly became one of its most recognizable faces. That same year she landed a supporting role in the historical drama Queen Seondeok, earning the SBS Drama Award for Best New Actress. In 2010 she joined the variety show Invincible Youth, where her hardworking farm image earned her the nickname "Uee of the Rice Paddies" and boosted her public profile enormously.

Her first leading role came in 2012 with the weekend drama Ojakgyo Family, for which she won Best New Actress at the KBS Drama Awards. She followed with My Spring Days (2014) and the melodrama Marriage Contract (2015), which became a commercial hit with peak ratings over 22% and earned her a Top Excellence Award at the MBC Drama Awards. In 2017 she left After School to focus on acting, signing with Yuleum Entertainment. The next year she starred in My Only One, the highest-rated drama of 2018 in South Korea, with a peak rating of 35.9%, and won another Top Excellence Award at the KBS Drama Awards. She has since headlined Was It Love? (2020), The One and Only (2021), and Live Your Own Life (2023), the last drawing on her own swimming background. As of 2026 she continues to review new acting projects and appears on variety shows.[edit]

Uee is known for her classic, athletic beauty and a polished, sophisticated style that favors tailored silhouettes. The media often describes her as having a healthy, sunny image, a contrast to the sexy concept she sometimes performed in After School. She is widely praised as a positive example of an idol who successfully transitioned to a respected acting career. On Instagram she posts personal photos and behind-the-scenes content, engaging warmly with her 1.2 million followers. She does not have an official solo fandom name.[edit]

Uee has cultivated a distinct and enduring presence in the Korean entertainment landscape, transitioning from a central figure in the group After School to a respected lead actress. Her fanbase, historically anchored by the collective identity of "After," shifted significantly following her departure from the agency in 2017 to pursue a solo acting career. While supporters continue to identify with the broader group name, individual followers engage with her work through social media platforms and dedicated viewing of her television projects. Unlike some peers who rely on highly organized, campaign-driven fandom structures, Uee's audience tends to support her through consistent viewership of her dramas and engagement with her personal updates rather than formalized chart pushes or exclusive charity drives initiated solely for her. The lack of a unique sub-fandom designation reflects a fanbase that remains integrated with the legacy of her former group while celebrating her individual achievements as a model and screen performer. Despite her long tenure and high profile, no specific rituals or viral folklore have been documented as exclusive to her personal following in recent years. Current evaluations indicate that while she maintains a steady level of public recognition, she does not currently hold a placement in the published global rankings. The assessment confirms she is not listed in the current Global Top 1,000 or any Top-100 scope list, marking her as a significant cultural figure without a specific numeric ordinal in the latest edition.[edit]

Born Kim Yu-jin, Uee adopted a stage name that serves as a phonetic spelling of her given name. Before entering the entertainment industry, she was a national-level swimmer for a decade, competing at the 2003 National Sports Festival. Her height of 173 cm distinguishes her as one of the tallest female K-pop idols in history. During her time on the variety show Invincible Youth, she earned the nickname "Uee of the Rice Paddies" due to her participation in farm work. She is fluent in Korean and possesses working knowledge of both English and Japanese. Beyond her professional life, she has quietly donated to children's hospitals and disaster relief efforts without seeking publicity. A notable moment in her career occurred when she portrayed Do Do-hee, a haughty swimming champion, in the tvN romantic comedy Hogu's Love, a role widely cited as her breakthrough into serious acting. Another memorable incident involved her appearance in a flight attendant uniform at a local airline in February 2020 alongside IKON member Yunhyeong, which drew attention for its contrast between her idol status and a mundane setting. While some online discussions suggest internal group dynamics favored other members after Nana's surgery, these remain subjective fan comments rather than verified historical events.[edit]

Uee was born to parents who have largely stayed out of the public eye. She has an older brother. The family lived in Cheongju, where she grew up. She has spoken warmly about her mother's support during her early career. As of 2026 she lives in Seoul and owns a luxury apartment in the Gangnam district. She does not have a spouse or children and has no pets that she has publicly mentioned.[edit]

Uee is closely associated with her former After School groupmates, especially Nana, Raina, Lizzy, and Jungah. She has worked with actors Lee Jang-woo (co-star and former boyfriend), Lee Seo-jin (co-star in Marriage Contract), and Lee Sang-yeob (co-star in My Only One). She also dated singer Kangnam.[edit]

Uee's first public relationship was with actor Lee Jang-woo, her co-star in Ojakgyo Family. They were linked in 2012, confirmed dating in 2013, and broke up in early 2014 due to busy schedules. In 2015 she dated singer Kangnam, whom she met on Invincible Youth; the relationship ended in early 2016. That same year she was briefly linked to singer Jung Joon-young, but both denied it. In 2019 rumors swirled about a romance with actor Lee Sang-yeob after their chemistry on My Only One, but both agencies denied it. As of 2026, Uee is publicly single and has stated she is focused on her career.[edit]

As things stand in 2026, research by the iFANN Editorial Team puts Uee's net worth at $10 Million. Her primary income stream derives from her work as an actress, commanding a per-episode fee of approximately ₩30-50 million KRW ($22,000-$37,000) for lead roles in weekend dramas and miniseries. Her performance in the 100-episode series My Only One alone would have generated several million dollars in earnings. During her peak years as an idol, she served as a top endorsement model for major brands including Samsung Life Insurance, LG Electronics, and Lotte Duty Free. Additional revenue flows from residuals tied to After School music sales and concert revenues. She owns a luxury apartment in Seoul's Gangnam district, a standard investment choice among Korean celebrities, and has not launched any independent business ventures.[edit]

Uee has won multiple acting awards for her television work. She received the Best New Actress award at the KBS Drama Awards for Ojakgyo Family (2012) and later won Top Excellence Awards at both KBS and MBC for My Only One (2018) and Marriage Contract (2015), respectively. She also earned a New Star Award at the SBS Drama Awards for her debut role in Queen Seondeok (2009).[edit]