Introducing...Rising Young Actress Han Groo

The name Han Groo (real name Min Hanguru) may not mean much to some K-drama viewers, but her face will bring up that “Aah! I’ve seen her!” moment. Within the last 3 years, she’s steadily adding to her resume as an actress to keep an eye on. She’s only 22, but she’s acted alongside some very well known faces such as Jo Jae Hyun, Kim Young Kwang, Kim Hae Sook. and Park Hyo Joo. Let’s take a look at some notable roles in her career so far and what she’s done may surprise you.

Han Groo…the K-pop star?

Bet you didn’t know that Han Groo actually started off a singer, did you? Coming from a family with a director father and former model mother, she has always wanted to be an actress, but her agency convinced her to become a singer first. She released her debut mini album in 2011 titled Groo One and the digital single “My Boy,” she was even nominated at Best New Female Artist at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA). Unfortunately (or fortunately?), she said that her real passion was acting and mentioned how hard it was to stand out among the girl groups. I wouldn’t be opposed to her making her comeback as a singer, she learned to dance while living in the US (Arizona to be more specific).

“Girl K” 

In this three episode drama special, Han Groo played Cha Yeon Jin, a high school student who’s mother is killed in front of her. She later discovers her mother was affiliated with a secret government agency and was killed when she attempted to run away. Yeon Jin vows to catch her mother’s killer by joining SS1 while juggling school. This role was Groo’s debut performance as an actress and showed her versatility right away. She did most of her own stunts since she learned martial arts while living in China. Want to watch a revenge thriller starring a strong female lead? This one may be for you. Another bonus? It’s only three episodes long!

“Can We Get Married”

After starring in a supporting role in the daily drama “Just Like Today,” Han Groo was cast as second lead in the jTBC drama “Can We Get Married“alongside Sung Joon, Jung So Min, and Kim Young Kwang. Here she plays Min Dong Bi, Hye Yoon’s best friend and Ki Joong’s on-off again girlfriend. Dong Bi can initially be seen as a character who seems to not know what she wants, but after a while we’re shown she’s scarred and very scared to reveal her past to others. Eventually, you learn to sympathize with Dong Bi and want for her to be truly be happy.

“Marriage Without Love (Marriage Not Dating)”

In her most recent role, Han Groo plays Joo Jang Mi, department store worker who still believes in love despite not being so great at it. In the beginning we may think she’s very clingy and very naive for being so gullible when it comes to love, but we’re shown that she has a fear of being alone from a traumatizing childhood experience. Jang Mi is a character you can hate, love, and sympathize with because you can relate to her on different levels. Her relationship with Gong Gi Tae (Yeon Woo Jin) grows very naturally throughout the story and you can see where she begins to change his outlook on marriage while he helps her with her view on relationships. “Marriage Without Love” is Groo’s first lead role in a full length drama and shows even though she’s 22, she’s an actress who is slowly making a name for herself.

Think you’ve seen her somewhere else? Han Groo also had supporting roles in “Scandal: A Shocking and Wrongful Incident”

and One Warm Word

If my rambling interested you, follow her on Instagram: hanguru0529 to keep up with her latest activities!