[3][4][5] She drew notice in the sports drama As One (2012), for which she learned the Hamgyŏng dialect in her role as real-life North Korean table tennis athlete Yu Sun-bok.

[6] She played her first mainstream leading roles in the action thrillers Commitment (2013) and Haemoo (2014),[7][8] and romantic film A Dramatic Night (2015).

[9] Han also starred in the critically acclaimed indie Worst Woman (2016) by Kim Jong-kwan.

[10][11][12] Han extended her filmography to television, starring in sageuk Six Flying Dragons (2015–2016) and youth comedy Hello, My Twenties!

[13] In 2021, Han's Hollywood debut, Minari, was nominated for six categories at the 93rd Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Music, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor.