Bae Hae-sun (Korean: 배해선; born May 8, 1974) is a South Korean film, television, musical, and stage actress. Bae made her debut in 1995 as an understudy in the play Gone with the Wind. She gradually built her acting career by alternating between small and large theaters, musicals, and plays.
In 2015, she made her television debut with a supporting role as Nurse Hwang in the SBS drama Yong-pal. Bae has since become known for her supporting roles in various television dramas, including Don't Dare to Dream, Judge vs. Judge, A Pledge to God, Hi Bye, Mama!, Hotel del Luna, Happiness, All of Us Are Dead, as well as her lead role in Political Fever.
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Early years
Bae Hae-sun was born on May 8, 1974, in Seoul. She grew up in a challenging family environment but showed singing talent from a young age. She would often gather the women in her neighborhood and perform for them, receiving payment in return.
After completing high school, she followed a friend's recommendation and applied to the Seoul Institute of the Arts. During her entrance examination, a professor recognized Bae's singing abilities and encouraged her to pursue this path. One day, while in a car, Bae heard the song "Miss Saigon," which introduced her to the world of musicals. "I had never seen a musical before," Bae recalled, "but the moment I heard the song, I felt excited. I was glad to have discovered a genre that allowed me to combine music and acting and share it with others."
Career
Debut (1995 to 2000)
Bae Hae-sun made her professional theater debut in 1995 while in her second year of college. She was cast as an understudy for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in the play Gone with the Wind, directed by her late professor, Kim Hyo-kyung. dPark Sang-ah performed the lead role, with Lee Deok-hwa and Kim Kap-soo playing Rhett Butler and Ashley, respectively. The production ran at the Grand Theater of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from July 29 to August 2, 1995. Bae did not perform in any shows, as Park Sang-ah appeared for all performances.
Following her understudy debut, Bae pursued an acting career by joining the You Theater troupe (극단 "유 you"). Her first significant professional stage role came in February 1997 in the play Taxi Driver, written and directed by Jang Jin. In the play, Bae portrayed Hwa-yi, a former lover of Deok-bae (played by Choi Min-sik) who becomes a taxi passenger.
Subsequently, Bae performed a chorus role in Leo Tolstoy's play Holstomer - The Story of a Horse, presented at Hoam Art Hall from May 10 to June 1, 1997. In October of the same year, she reprised her role as Hwa-yi in the (21st) Seoul Theater Festival's Taxi Driver - Where Are You Going?. Her next role was in 1998, playing Marianne A in Molière's L'Avare at Culture and Art Hall Small Theater, which ran from February 21 to March 13, 1998. Also in 1998, Bae took on the role of Gannan in the musical Sworn Brother, directed by Kim Min-ki. At age 25, she portrayed a housemaid who discovers she is pregnant with twins and faces challenges raising multiple children.
Career as Musical and Stage Actress (2000 to 2014)
In 2000, Bae joined the theater company Hakjeon (CEO Kim Min-ki) and began her career as a musical actress. She started as an ensemble cast member in the musical Subway Line 1, which earned her a nomination for the Best Rookie Award at the 2001 Korean Musical Awards. Later that year, Bae played Serena in the musical Fame at LG Arts Center from September 29 to October 15, 2000.
In 2001, Bae acted as Bae Jang-hwa in Jeong Bok-geun's play Bae Jang-hwa Bae Hong-ryeon (directed by Han Tae-sook), performed at the small theater of the Dongsung-dong Literature Center in Seoul. She also collaborated with the You Troupe again in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream, where she played Puck.
In 2002, Bae performed in the musical The Rehearsal, held at the Mesa Popcorn Hall in Namdaemun from January 26 to February 17. Bae won the Best Rookie Actress Award at the 8th Korean Musical Awards for this performance. She then played a role in the musical Cheoyoung. In the middle of 2002, Bae was selected as Annette in musical Saturday Night Fever. During practice, she sustained a right ankle ligament injury. Despite the injury, she participated in practice with a cast for over two months, focusing on singing and acting. Bae said, "Six months ago, it was hell. I like to dance in this work, but I might never be able to dance again. I was so painful because of anxiety. But the role of Annette is better than dancing. Yoon Seok-hwa's encouragement and rebuke that singing and acting are more important. I put it out." She overcame her injury and subsequently performed in lead roles on larger stages.
The following year, Bae joined the 20th-anniversary production of the rock musical Subway Line 1 by the theater company Hakjeon. Hakjeon had a reputation as an "Actor's Academy," having launched the careers of many actors, including Sul Kyung-gu, Bang Eun-jin, Cho Seung-woo, Jang Hyun-sung, and Hwang Jung-min. The production ran from November 5 to 8, 2003, at the Grand Theater of the Seoul Daehak-ro Literature Promotion Agency. Also in 2003, Bae was cast as Sophie in the musical Mamma Mia! She initially auditioned for a different role but was given the lead role by the directors due to her acting. This role became significant in her career as a lead actress in major musical productions. The Korean premiere of Mamma Mia! was held at the Seoul Arts Center Opera Theater from January to April 2003, attracting a total audience of 200,000 and earning 14 billion won.
Debut in television (2015 to present)
After approximately two decades as a stage actress, Bae made her television debut in 2015. She had received television role offers since her early 30s but had declined them due to her theater performance schedule. However, a postponement of a performance due to the MERS outbreak created an opening in her schedule. The SBS drama Yong-pal, written by Jang Hyuk-rin and directed by Oh Jin-seok, sought an actress with strong acting skills who was not widely recognized. Bae was offered a role based on a crew member's recommendation, who had previously seen her acting in the play Scorched Love. Bae's initial on-screen role was Nurse Hwang, a nurse in charge of the 12th-floor VVIP ward, where Han Yeo-jin (played by Kim Tae-hee), the heiress of Hanshin Group, was a patient. Nurse Hwang was characterized by her distinctive behavior, treating the comatose Han Yeo-jin as her exclusive responsibility.
Following her television debut, Bae returned to the stage, performing as Liz in the play Tabasco. This project reunited her with director Park Hye-sun, with whom she had previously collaborated on the musical Eric Satie. The play depicts a middle-aged couple in their 40s, an actress reflecting on past achievements, and an overseas migrant worker concerned about deportation, who examine their lives through the disappearance of their award-winning dog, Tabasco, at a dog show. Theatrical company Sagae Tampa announced on August 14, 2015, that the play would run at Daehangno Arts Theater in Seoul from November 10 to 26, 2015.
In 2016, Bae and Seo Yi-sook shared the role of Juliet's nurse in the play Romeo and Juliet. That same year, Bae portrayed Sophie in Terrence McNally's play Master Class, which is based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas (1923-1977). She performed opposite Yoon Seok-hwa. In autumn 2016, Bae played Dr. Geum Seok-ho in Don't Dare to Dream.
Bae was cast as Dorothy Brock in the 2017 season of the musica 42nd Street. The production presentation for the musical was held at the Millennium Seoul Hilton Grand Ballroom in Jung District, Seoul, on July 17, 2017. Also in 2017, to mark the 20th anniversary of her debut, Bae and two other actors participated in the musical Tick, Tick... Boom! The 2017 Korean production opened at Daehak-ro TOM on August 29 and ran until October 15, 2017.
In 2018, she appeared in two feature films, On Your Wedding Day and Dark Figure of Crime. Bae then reprised her role as Dorothy Brock in the 2018 season of the Broadway musical 42nd Street. This season concluded on August 19, recording an average seat occupancy rate of 95% and a total of 38 sold-out performances, setting a new record for sold-outs. The production also toured, with performances at the Daejeon Arts Center on August 25, followed by the Sohyang Art Center in Busan, Gumi Culture and Arts Center, and Ulsan Hyundai Arts Center.
