Kal So-won (Korean: 갈소원) was born on 14 August 2006 in Seoul, South Korea. Her family consists of her parents and Kal Sun-woo, her younger brother who was born two years after. Kal is also the granddaughter of Jo Eun-il, a writer who is known for one of the best-selling series' "Baker Mom's 100 Point Diary" (빵점엄마 백점일기). Jo had also previously written pieces based on her granddaughter's life in the format of letters similarly to diary entries.[4] Kal briefly attended Seoul Ojung Elementary School [ko] before transferring to Nabeup Elementary School [ko]. She currently resides in Jeju Island and attends Aewol Middle School [ko].[citation needed]
6-year-old Kal began her journey as a child actress following her debut acting role in Take Care of Us, Captain (2012). Her performance in the South Korean film, Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013) gained her domestic recognition after becoming one of the best-selling Korean films of all time. Her role earned her numerous nominations and awards including "Best New Actress" at the Baeksang Arts Awards and Max Movie Best Film Awards, and notably made her the youngest nominee for the "Best New Actress" and "Best Actress" awards in the history of the Grand Bell Awards'. In February 2014, Kal signed an exclusive contract under YG Entertainment. She revealed amongst several candidates, she chose YG Entertainment as her first agency. In celebration, she had a meal with singers and actors including Big Bang, 2NE1, Cha Seung-won, and Yoo In-na.[5] Under the agency, her credits include the television series' My Daughter, Geum Sa-wol (2015), Glamorous Temptation (2015), The Doctors (2016), The Legend of the Blue Sea (2016), and A Korean Odyssey (2017).
In 2015, Kal joined BigBang onstage and performed the intro to their single "Blue" at their MADE World Tour held in Seoul, South Korea.[6] Kal also appeared as a guest performer for iKon during the first portion of their stage for the single "Love Scenario" (사랑을 했다) at the 2018 Continue Tour held in Seoul, South Korea.[7]
^Jang Ah-reum (4 February 2022). "[단독] 갈소원, 김희선 아역 된다…MBC '내일'로 안방 복귀" [[Exclusive] So-Won Kal, Hee-Sun Kim to become child roles... Return to the small screen with MBC 'Tomorrow'] (in Korean). News1. Retrieved 4 February 2022 – via Naver.
^Jung Ji-hyun (23 March 2022). "갈소원, '내일'→'클리닝업' 출연 확정…연기 변신 예고 [공식]" [Kal So-won confirmed to appear in 'Tomorrow' → 'Cleaning Up'... Smoke Transformation Notice [Official]] (in Korean). My Daily. Retrieved 23 March 2022 – via Naver.
^Seon Mi-kyung (17 March 2023). "류승룡 딸 갈소원, 벌써 이렇게 컸네('딜리버리맨')" [Ryu Seung-ryong's daughter Gal So-won, already grown up like this ('Delivery Man')] (in Korean). OSEN. Retrieved 17 March 2023 – via Naver.
