She may stand at a petite 158 cm (about 5'2"), but every time she's paired with a towering leading man, the "sweep-into-his-arms" chemistry goes viral. Fans are zeroing in on actor Kim Hye-yoon's partnerships and how perfectly she visually and physically matches her co-stars.
Kim Hye-yoon shot to fame with JTBC SKY Castle in 2018, then dominated MBC's Extraordinary You and tvN's Lovely Runner, cementing herself as the definitive queen of rom-coms. Especially after Extraordinary You, she headlined a string of romantic comedies, flaunting her signature lovable charm.
Extraordinary You is a school romance about high-schooler Eun Dan-oh (played by Kim Hye-yoon), who defies her fate to find love. Within a unique "inside-a-comic" setup, Kim Hye-yoon and Rowoon delivered standout chemistry that critics said opened a new chapter for school fantasy romances. Viewers especially swooned over the contrast between the statuesque Rowoon and Lee Jae-wook and the tiny Kim—sparking buzz as "door-sized guys and a pocket-sized girl."
The project that truly crowned her the "rom-com icon" was undoubtedly Lovely Runner. Wrapping in May 2024, Lovely Runner is a time-slip romance where devoted fan Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon) goes back to 2008 to save her bias, superstar artist Ryu Sun-jae (Byun Woo-seok), after his tragic death. Byun Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon embodied the "Sol–Sun-jae" couple to perfection—serving everything from fluttery, first-love teen romance to a tender, bittersweet love in their 30s, keeping viewers hooked. Byun radiated "visual center" appeal, while Kim charmed as the ultimate fangirl heroine.
In both dramas, Kim Hye-yoon kept her "chemistry goddess" streak alive opposite very tall leading men. And that winning formula continues in her next project—this time with Lomon.
Premiering today (the 16th) at 9:50 p.m., SBS's new Friday–Saturday drama No Tail to Tell is a chaotic fantasy romance between Eun-ho (Kim Hye-yoon), a gumiho who refuses to become human, and Kang Si-yeol (Lomon), a human overflowing with self-love. It paints a never-before-seen gumiho universe and a story that blurs the line between reality and imagination.
Kim plays Eun-ho, who avoids even the smallest good deeds for fear she might accidentally become human. To preserve her thousand-year spiritual power, she only chooses big misdeeds—until an unexpected incident upends everything, even life and death. With her trademark cute, lovable energy, Kim is poised to extend the K-gumiho lineage with a fresh acting transformation. Opposite her, Lomon takes on full-on rom-com as world-class soccer player Kang Si-yeol, a man who's cocky but never lazy. With sharper acting and a more mature allure, he's set to continue his breakout streak.
If Rowoon marked the "start" of Kim Hye-yoon's rom-com era and Byun Woo-seok "proved" it, this time it's all about "transformation." Teasing a brand-new flavor of chemistry with Lomon, Kim is expected to deliver "all-time" synergy. Fans who still rave about the beloved couples from Lovely Runner and Extraordinary You are already hyped to see what fresh sparks she and Lomon will ignite.