Actress Ko Ah-ra Becomes a Pole Vaulter in Film

22-Year-Old Actress Gain 5-kg Weight for Film

South Korea's gracefully beautiful actress Ko Ah-ra has turned into a track and field athlete.

The 22-year-old actress appeared in a press conference for film preview "Pacemaker" held at Lotte Cinema's theater in Seoul's Jayang-dong on Jan. 3, 2012.

In the movie directed by Kim Dal-joong she appears as a pole vaulter representing South Korea.

She said that she practed with 8-kg dumbbell to appear in the film. She also gained a weight of 5 killo grams to fit in with the character needed in the film.

Ko has been known to be highly athletic among her fellow acting friends.

Other famous actors in the film include Ahn Seong-gi and Kim Myeong-min.

Ko was selected recently as one of the 100 most beautiful faces along with another Korean actress Song Hye-kyo.

Ko was placed 12th on the list of the 100 most beautiful faces announced on Dec. 22, 2011 by the famous US movie website "TC Candler".

Song was placed fifth and No. 1 went to British actress Emma Watson.

Ko Ah-ra (高雅羅: born Feb. 11, 1990), often performing under the mononym Ko Ah-ra, is a South Korean actress,[1] and model under record label and talent agency, SM Entertainment. She debuted in the 2003 Korean television drama, Sharp #1 as Lee Ok-lim.

Ko Ah-ra was born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, South Korea. At a young age, she constantly moved around Korea because her father was a soldier. When she was in junior high, she was recommended by a friend to audition for SM Entertainment. In 2003, she became the winner of the SM Entertainment Teen Model Contest. After joining SM Entertainment, she began to train with the other trainees under the same company in areas of acting, singing, and dancing.

Ko Ah-ra was chosen to be play the female lead, Lee Ok-lim, in the 2003 KBS teen drama, "Sharp 1", acting alongside Eun-song, Kim Si-hoo, and Yoo Ah-in. In 2005, she was once again chosen to reprise her role as Lee in the sequel of "Sharp 1", "Sharp 2", this time starring alongside Super Junior members Kim Ki-beom and Kim Hee-cheol, both labelmates with Ko Ah-ra, as well as Eun-song.

Ko Ah-ra's breakthrough performance was in the 2006 SBS drama, "Snow Flower", where she starred alongside Kim Ki-beom, Kim Hee-ae, and Lee Jae-ryong. Ko's character, Yoo Da-mi, was rebellious and ambitious, winning her important recognitions in acting awards the following year.

Two years later she was cast in the 2008 MBC "Who Are You - Drama" where she acted alongside with Yoon Kye-sang. This drama drew in many international fans as well as creating multiple fan bases. The following year after that she was cast in the 2009 MBC "No Limit" with popular idol member U-Know from DBSK. She was specially called for this role after Director Park Seong-soo favored her for the role of Kang Hae Bin more than any other actress.

Ko Ah-ra's first film was the Japanese film, "Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea", which aired in Japan in March 2007 and Hong Kong in April 2007. She stars as Mistress Khulan, the mistress of Genghis Khan after being picked from more than 40,000 auditions. The movie was reported as the most expensive movie Japan ever made. Her next film, "Subaru", is a Japanese film produced by filmworkers from Japan, China, and Korea, which hit cinemas in 2009.

Since debut Ko Ah-ra had been a popular subject for modeling. She has been a popular model to endorse SK Telecom, Elite Uniforms, and lately, cosmetics. In 2008 she filmed a commercial with actor Jang Geun-seok for Etude Cosmetics.

Source : theseoultimes.com/ST/... ( English Korean )