Kang Hye-won, South Korean actress and singer, Friendly Rivalry cast portrait

Kang Hye-won

ActorSingerSouth Korean

BIOGRAPHY

Kang Hye-won (Korean: 강혜원; born 5 July 1999 in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang) is a South Korean actor and singer signed to PEACE Entertainment. She became known through the 2018 survival programme Produce 48 and the group IZ*ONE it formed, and has been acting since 2019.

Her acting credits are Mi-woo in Player (2018), Jin Se-hee across sixteen episodes of Best Mistake (July 2019), Yoon Bo-mi across sixteen of Seasons of Blossom (September 2022), Kang Seon-hwa across ten of Boyhood (November 2023), Joo Ye-ri across sixteen of Friendly Rivalry (February 2025), a role in Oh My Ghost Clients (2025), Ahn Ye-rim across twelve of Spirit Fingers (October 2025) and Park Rin across ten of Gimbap and Onigiri (January 2026).

The rest of her record, more than twenty entries, is IZ*ONE programming: IZ*ONE CHU, IZ*ONE ARCADE, IZ*ONE Eating Trip, the concert films and the group’s Japanese and Korean television appearances between 2018 and 2021.

BLGLFlix editorial view

Two dates on her record cannot be hers. One credit is stamped 1998, a year before she was born, and another 2011, when she was eleven. Both are long-running programmes whose entries carry the series’ own start date rather than the date of the episode she appears in. That failure recurs across several unrelated profiles in this catalogue, and it is the reason this page dates her from 2018 rather than from anything the record’s own sort order suggests.

What her filmography actually shows is a full transition. She entered through a survival show, spent three years inside an idol group’s content machine, and has since built a run of four consecutive sixteen, twelve and ten episode dramas. Friendly Rivalry sits in the middle of that as her only queer credit, and reading it as her defining role would get her career backwards.

PROFILE DETAILS

Native Name
강혜원
Real Name
Kang Hye-won
Pronouns
she/her
Born
(Age 27)
Birthplace
Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, South Korea
Western Zodiac
Cancer ♋
Chinese Zodiac
Rabbit 🐇
Profession
ActorSinger
Nationality
South Korean
Debut
2018 — IZ*ONE (music group debut, 2018)
Agency / Label
PEACE Entertainment
Years Active
2018-present

FUN FACTS

  • Kang Hye-won rose to fame through the 2018 reality competition Produce 48, which formed the group IZ*ONE.
  • She continued acting after IZ*ONE’s 2021 disbandment, appearing in Friendly Rivalry (2025) as part of its core school-set ensemble.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who is Kang Hye-won?

A South Korean actor and singer born on 5 July 1999 in Yangsan, signed to PEACE Entertainment. She became known through Produce 48 and the group IZ*ONE.

What does she play in Friendly Rivalry?

Joo Ye-ri, across sixteen episodes of the series that began on 10 February 2025.

What else has she acted in?

Best Mistake (2019), Seasons of Blossom (2022), Boyhood (2023), Oh My Ghost Clients (2025), Spirit Fingers (2025) and Gimbap and Onigiri (2026).

Was she in IZ*ONE?

Yes. She was a member from 2018 to 2021, and more than twenty entries on her record are the group’s own programming, concerts and appearances.

Why does her record show credits from 1998 and 2011?

They are attached to long-running programmes and carry the series’ own start dates rather than the dates of the episodes she is in. She was born in 1999.

Is Friendly Rivalry her only queer credit?

Yes, on the current record.

Written and verified by Renkaze · Last updated 3 September 2026

Biographical details and any photograph on this page come from TMDB and the sources named in our editorial notes. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. BLGLFLIX is an independent reference site with no affiliation to the person profiled or their agency, and does not publish speculation about anyone’s private life. Full copyright, correction and takedown policy: Disclaimer.

Sources

2 sources

Every factual claim on this page is taken from the records below. Where two sources disagree, the disagreement is stated in the text rather than resolved silently.

  1. TMDB themoviedb.org/person/2359299
  2. Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_Rivalry

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

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