SEOUL — September 4, 2026 — Some K-drama actresses do not become stars overnight. They spend years appearing as best friends, rivals, colleagues, supporting characters or scene-stealing members of an ensemble—until one role finally puts the entire story on their shoulders.
That is the career arc highlighted by Tatler Asia in its latest roundup of six K-drama actresses who have moved from memorable supporting work into much more prominent leading roles.
And there is an important distinction: not every actress on the list was literally a “second female lead.” Their journeys are better understood as a progression from supporting or ensemble roles into central, lead-character territory.
Here are the six actresses whose careers show just how long a K-drama breakthrough can take.
1. Ha Young: From familiar supporting face to Netflix lead
Ha Young may be the freshest example of an actress finally getting the spotlight.
Before Our Sticky Love, she appeared in dramas including Doctor Prisoner, Mouse, The Good Detective 2 and Doona! Her roles were often recognizable without necessarily placing her name at the top of the cast.
That changed with Netflix’s Our Sticky Love, where she stars opposite Jung Hae-in as Go Eun-sae, an amnesiac prosecutor who wakes up in a rural village after an accident and encounters a man claiming to be her boyfriend.
Netflix describes the 12-episode series as a romantic comedy with crime and mystery elements, while Soompi identifies Ha Young’s character as a prosecutor whose former identity and investigation become central to the story.
The significance is bigger than simply landing another drama.
The actress who once appeared in other people’s stories now has a story built around her.
2. Lee Joo-bin: ‘Queen of Tears’ recognition leads to starring roles
Lee Joo-bin is another example of an actress whose face became increasingly familiar before her name became synonymous with leading roles.
Her credits include Be Melodramatic, She Would Never Know, Doctor Lawyer, Money Heist: Korea and, notably, Queen of Tears, where she played Cheon Da-hye.
Her career then moved into increasingly prominent territory.
She starred opposite Lee Dong-wook in The Divorce Insurance in 2025 before taking the central female role of Yoon Bom in 2026’s Spring Fever, opposite Ahn Bo-hyun. Soompi confirmed that Lee Joo-bin was cast as the female lead, with the series revolving around the romance between Yoon Bom and Seon Jae-gyu.
And Spring Fever gave her another boost.
TenAsia reported that the drama ended with its highest viewership rating of 5.7 percent, while highlighting Lee Joo-bin’s performance and the chemistry between her and Ahn Bo-hyun.
In other words, Lee Joo-bin’s rise wasn’t an overnight transformation.
Viewers had already been watching her for years. The difference is that they’re finally watching her at the center.
3. Park Ji-hyun: The scene-stealer who became a detective lead
Park Ji-hyun’s breakthrough story is particularly interesting because of how dramatically her characters have changed.
She gained attention through roles including Yumi’s Cells, Reborn Rich and other supporting appearances. Her performance as the calculating Mo Hyun-min in Reborn Rich became one of the roles that helped raise her profile.
Then came Flex x Cop.
Park Ji-hyun played Lee Kang-hyun, a veteran detective and the first female team leader in the homicide department, opposite Ahn Bo-hyun’s chaebol heir-turned-detective Jin Yi-soo.
It represented a major shift.
Instead of being the memorable supporting actress in someone else’s drama, Park was now carrying one of the central characters in an action-comedy series.
And perhaps more importantly, the role demonstrated that her appeal wasn’t limited to the glamorous or calculating characters that had previously made audiences notice her.
4. Geum Sae-rok: Years of versatility finally pay off
Geum Sae-rok has built a reputation for disappearing into very different characters.
Her résumé includes The Fiery Priest, Joseon Exorcist, Youth of May and The Interest of Love, giving her experience across comedy, historical drama, romance and darker material.
Her move toward leading-lady status became particularly clear with Soundtrack #2, where she played piano teacher Hyun-seo, and later Iron Family, in which she portrayed Lee Da-rim.
Soompi confirmed Geum Sae-rok as the female lead of Iron Family, opposite Kim Jung-hyun. The character is the youngest daughter of a family running a three-generation laundry business and is dealing with a serious vision condition.
That progression matters because Geum Sae-rok’s rise was not built around one sudden viral moment.
It was built on years of proving that she could play complicated women and hold her own inside an ensemble.
5. Gong Min-jung: The familiar face who kept getting bigger roles
Gong Min-jung may be the actress on this list that viewers recognize instantly without always remembering where they first saw her.
Her credits include Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, Little Women, One Dollar Lawyer and Marry My Husband.
Her role in Marry My Husband was particularly memorable because she played a married character opposite fellow actor Jang Jae-ho. The pair’s on-screen connection became an amusing part of the drama’s ensemble.
She later appeared prominently in Sorry Not Sorry, a KBS Joy series starring Jun So-min.
However, this is one place where the “leading lady” label needs qualification.
Gong Min-jung was part of the drama’s main cast, but Jun So-min is the central protagonist, Ji Song-yi. Soompi’s casting announcement specifically identifies Jun So-min as the main character, while Gong Min-jung plays her longtime friend Choi Ha-na.
That doesn’t make Gong’s career progression any less notable—it simply means her journey is better described as moving from supporting and ensemble work into increasingly prominent roles, rather than a straightforward second-lead-to-lead promotion.
6. Ahn Eun-jin: From ‘Hospital Playlist’ favourite to award-winning leading actress
Ahn Eun-jin’s career may be one of the strongest examples of a gradual K-drama ascent.
Many international viewers first became attached to her through Hospital Playlist, where she played the warm and determined resident doctor Chu Min-ha.
But her major transformation came with My Dearest.
As Yoo Gil-chae, Ahn Eun-jin moved into the center of an emotionally demanding historical romance opposite Namkoong Min. The role demonstrated that she could carry a much larger dramatic burden than her earlier ensemble work suggested.
The performance earned her the Top Excellence Award at the 2023 MBC Drama Awards, as well as the Best Actress prize at the 2023 Grimae Awards.
Her subsequent projects have kept that momentum going.
She starred opposite Jang Ki-yong in Dynamite Kiss, earning an Excellence Award and Best Couple Award at the 2025 SBS Drama Awards.
And now another major chapter is coming: Ahn Eun-jin is set to headline the upcoming romantic drama A Love Other Than Yours with Seo Kang-joon, scheduled to premiere on September 12, 2026, according to Tatler Asia’s recent coverage.
That’s a remarkable evolution from an ensemble player viewers simply loved to watch into an actress whose name can now anchor a drama.
Why these actresses matter
The most interesting part of these six careers isn’t simply that they eventually became leads.
It’s how long many of them spent building the skills that made the transition possible.
K-dramas have a deep bench of supporting performers who can make even a small role memorable. Sometimes an actress may have only a handful of scenes, yet viewers remember her character long after the main plot ends.
Soompi has previously highlighted this broader phenomenon, noting how actresses such as Kim Ji-won, Honey Lee and Yoo In-na successfully moved from supporting roles into leading positions.
And that is what makes the latest group especially compelling.
Ha Young, Lee Joo-bin, Park Ji-hyun, Geum Sae-rok, Gong Min-jung and Ahn Eun-jin didn’t suddenly become talented when they received bigger roles.
They were already doing the work.
The industry simply started giving them more screen time, more complicated characters and, eventually, stories of their own.
The real K-drama lesson?
Sometimes the “second lead” isn’t the end of the story. It’s the audition for the role that comes next.
And judging by where these six actresses are now, their biggest chapters may still be ahead.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
Leave a Reply