Kang Hye-won

Biography

Kang Hye-won (Korean: 강혜원; born July 5, 1999) is a South Korean actress and singer. She is a former member of the South Korean–Japanese girl group Iz*One, formed by CJ E&M through Mnet's 2018 reality competition television show Produce 48.

Early life

Kang was born in Yangsan, South Korea, on July 5, 1999. She attended Bokwang High School in Yangsan, then she transferred to Hanlim Multi Art School.

2018: Produce 48 & debut with Iz*One

Kang was announced to be a part of Produce 48 in 2018. She finished in 8th place with 248,432 votes securing her place in Iz*One. The group made their official debut on October 29, 2018, with the song titled "La Vie en Rose", from their debut extended play Color*Iz.

2021–2022: Solo activities, W, and acting debut

After Iz*One officially concluded activities on April 29, 2021, Kang returned to being a trainee under 8D Creative. On July 21, Kang made her acting debut in the third season of the web series Best Mistake, portraying the character Jin Se-hee. On July 27, she made an appearance in Parc Jae-jung's "Hobby" music video. In August, Kang was confirmed as a cast member of MBC's variety show How A Family is Made.
On December 8, a teaser video was revealed on her YouTube channel, announcing the upcoming release of a winter special album, W. On December 22, she released the album with "Winter Poem" as the lead single.
On June 9, 2022, Kang released the single "Like A Diamond×Like a Diamond9 June 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Like a Diamond3:16", featuring Stella Jang.
On July 6, Playlist Studio announced Kang as one of the casts in Seasons of Blossom, a webdrama adaptation of webtoon of the same name. Kang will portray the role of Yoon Bo-mi.

2023–present: Rising popularity

In August 2023, it was revealed that Kang starred in a Coupang Play series Boyhood which aired on November 24, 2023. Boyhood became a hit in South Korea, experiencing viewers increase during its airing, it stayed within Top 10 most watched OTT Drama until its finale. A total of 2,914% viewers increase during the finale compared to the first week was recorded. As a result of Boyhood's popularity and success, the Entertainment Industry Insiders mentioned Kang as one of the "2024 Rising Actress to Look Forward to". On April 29, 2025, Kang departed 8D Entertainment and signed a contract with Peace Entertainment. On September 30, 2025, Kang made her first leading role in the Japanese drama Gimbap and Onigiri alongside Eiji Akaso.

Endorsements

On November 12, 2021, Kang landed her first CF deal with the camera app SODA. On December 24, the global sports brand New Balance announced Kang as their pictorial model for their new backpack with the theme "MBTI Concept New Semester Backpack".
On January 13, 2022, through her own YouTube channel, Kang announced a collaboration with a skincare line, Uriid, where she was in charge of the promotional design of the new product, Uriid Neroli Garden Ampoule Stick. According to Uriid, after the promotional video with Kang was released on her YouTube channel, the product started selling high on social media and online stores, particularly in Hyundai Home Shopping. On March 30, Kang collaborated with Onitsuka Tiger Korea to promote their shoes collection with a fashion pictorial on Elle Korea. On May 30, Kang was chosen by the British premium bag brand, Radley London, to promote their new 2022 Spring/Summer Collection bags Forest Way-Smoking and Duke Place through a pictorial on atstar1 magazine. On June 8, a South Korean clothing brand, General Idea, announced Kang as their new muse and fashion brand model for their 2022 Summer Collection with the theme "Bloomy Sunday". Kang continued working with General Idea as their muse for their 22FW Woman Part.2 Collection by dropping new pictorials on September 13. On June 27, Nexon announced Kang as their advertising model for their online game Mabinogi. On July 18, Kang announced a collaboration with LEGO to promote their three-dimensional reproduction of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. On October 6, ma:nyo, a Korean cosmetic brand, announced Kang Hye-won as their new ambassador for their lipstick collection, No Mercy Spell Mood Stick, and for their skincare collection, V.collagen Heart Fit.
On January 9, 2023, Korean clothing company Roem announced Kang as their 2023 Spring/Summer season campaign model. Kang continued working for Roem throughout half of 2023, also modeling for the Fall collection. Their collaboration with Kang created a new slogan for Roem, "Romantic Is Everywhere", and it was reported that Roem sales increased by 30% after choosing Kang as their muse. On March 2, 2023, Nexon announced Kang as their special character for their game Sudden Attack.
On February 8, 2024, Korean sport fashion brand MLB announced Kang as their pictorial model for their Varsity spring collection through Vogue Korea. On April 12, 2024, Vaseline Korea announced on their Instagram that Kang has become the model for their Lip Therapy product. On April 30, Unilever Korea announced Kang as the official 24th brand ambassador of Vaseline Korea for their Lip Therapy campaign. On May 22, 2024, Kang was announced as Narciso Rodriguez Korea's pictorial model for their summer perfume collection. On November 15, 2024, Wacky Willy released a cinematic video featuring Kang Hye-won and Ko Kyung-pyo for their Black Friday sales campaign.
On January 31, 2025, Nexon announced Kang as their special character for their game Sudden Attack. On February 14, 2025, Korean beauty brand, MIMZ announced Kang as their model. On April 14, 2025, Japanese fashion brand, SNIDEL announced Kang as their summer collection model.

Songwriting credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.