The Best Korean Actors

Jin-mo Ju first became interested in acting when he watched Richard Gere in "Officer and a Gentleman" at the age of ten. After graduating from Koyang High School, Ju entered the Incheon National University as a physical education major. Ju then entered South Korea's mandatory military service. After leaving the military, Ju pursued a job in civil service spending most of his time at the library studying for the civil service exam. It was during this time when a relative connected to a modeling business suggested that Ju take photos for a modeling job to make some extra cash. After landing several modeling gigs, Ju was cast as an extra in a Bacchus Energy Drink commercial in 1997. The original lead actor had difficulties on the set and Ju was selected by the director on set during filming to star in the commercial. Ju was then told by the director that he had a great voice and that he should become an actor. Ju then decided to pursue acting professionally, he worked backstage at a theater handing out pamphlets and closing the curtains; eventually Ju became a member of the theater company and his training as an actor began. It was also during this time that Ju was able to see and be inspired by the legendary South Korean actor Min-sik Choi when Choi performed on stage at the theater company.

In 1999, Ju made his film debut as the lead in Dance Dance. His next role catapulted Ju into instant stardom when he was cast alongside Min-sik Choi and Do-yeon Jeon in the erotic thriller Happy End. In 2000, Ju's role in Happy End earned him the best supporting actor award at the Grand Bell awards-the Korean equivalent of the Academy Awards. His third role was in 1999's TV mini-series Sad Temptation about a young homosexual man. For this role Ju earned a nomination for the 36th Baeksang Arts Awards as the best new actor. Ju then immersed himself in Kim Ki Duk's experimental film Real Fiction. In 2001, Ju was cast as Choi Jung in the big budget historical action film Musa alongside Korean Super star Woo-sung Jung and Chinese actress Ziyi Zhang. After completing the film Wanee & Junah in 2001, Ju faced difficult times professionally. His next two lead roles in films were cancelled due to a lack of funding.

Ju then took a series of roles on television series; he starred in Punch, Bichunmoo, Fashion 70's, and the Queen of the Game. His next two film roles were in the comedy Liar and 200 Pounds Beauty-which became a box office hit. Ju's next film role was in 2007's melodrama Sarang for which Ju achieved great critical success. The role in Sarang also garnered Ju two awards at the 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards as Best Actor and for Popular Star. In 2008, Ju starred in Ha Yoo's A Frozen Flower. Ju's emotionally complex and powerful performance as the love torn King in the historical drama earned Ju critical success and a box office hit. At the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards, Ju received the best actor award for A Frozen Flower beating out the veteran Korean film actor Kang-ho Song. In 2010, Ju starred in A Better Tomorrow, a remake of John Woo's 1986 smash hit of the same name. In 2012 Ju starred in the historical film Russian Coffee. In 2013, Ju starred alongside popular Korean actress Ji-Won Ha in the historical TV series Empress Ki and also in 2013, Ju starred in Kyung-Taek Kwak's gangster film Chingu 2.

Jun Kwang-ryul was born on 11 February 1959 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Passionate Love (2013), Baker King, Kim Tak Goo (2010) and Warrior Baek Dong Soo (2011).

Cha Seung-won was born on 7 June 1970 in Anyang, Korea. He is an actor, known for The Greatest Love (2011), Splendid Politics (2015) and My Son (2007).

Kim Rae-won was born on 19 March 1981 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Punch (2014), My Little Bride (2004) and Gourmet (2008).

Huh Joon-ho is a veteran Korean actor who began his career in theater since 1986, following in the footsteps of his father and older brother. He became active in film and television in 2003 in the box office hit SILMIDO for which he won Best Supporting Actor at the Grand Bell Awards. Since then, he appeared in many hit TV shows and films including ALL IN, HOTELIER, PRECIOUS FAMILY, JUMONG. Among these, Huh was acclaimed for his charismatic performance in ALL IN, with its final episode reaching a peak viewership rating of 47.7% in Korea. Huh received Best Supporting Actor at SBS Drama Awards for the detailed portrayal of a vicious yet loyal character in the drama. With over 30 years in his acting career, Huh is one of the most revered actors in Korea. Huh can be seen in his most recent leading role in the globally popular Netflix Original series KINGDOM, now in Season 2 as of March 2020. Huh currently lives in Las Vegas and runs an LA-based musical & acting academy to train and mentor the next generation of talent, while actively going back & forth to Korea for his own projects.

Lee Jae-yong was born on 21 March 1963. He is an actor, known for Save the Green Planet! (2003), Steel Rain (2017) and Sanbok Road.

So Ji-seob was born on 4 November 1977 in Seoul, South Korea. He is an actor, known for Rough Cut (2008), Ghost (2012) and Cain and Abel (2009). He has been married to Jo Eun-Jung since 7 April 2020.

Choi Min-shik first made a name for himself in theater before breaking into the film world with a role in Park Chong-won's acclaimed film 'Our Twisted Hero' (1992). In the mid-nineties he continued to act in theater productions as well as in several TV dramas, including Moon Over Seoul with Han Seok-gyu. 1997 marked his return to motion pictures, with a role as a tough-talking police investigator in Song Neung-han's No. 3 (1997). His biggest role came in 1999, when he was cast in Korea's most successful film ever, Shiri (1999). His portrayal of a North Korean agent garnered him much praise and a Best Actor Award from the 1999 domestic Grand Bell Awards.

After starring in a theater production of Hamlet in spring of 1999, Choi took on the role of a husband who discovers his wife's infidelity in Happy End (1999), and in early 2001 starred as a third-rate gangster opposite Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung in the acclaimed Failan (2001). In 2003 he starred in the now classic Oldboy (2003).

Sul Kyung-gu was born on 1 May 1968 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Memoir of a Murderer (2017), Oasis (2002) and Peppermint Candy (1999). He has been married to Song Yun-ah since 2009. They have one child.

Lee Byung-hun was born in 1970 in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in a wealthy family, thanks to his father, who was a successful businessman. He never dreamed of pursuing acting until a friend of his mother's suggested it. He auditioned for the KBS television network in 1991 and was accepted. His first project was a short lived TV series called "Asphalt My Hometown". Lee became popular, especially with the female crowd, in his next KBS project, "Tomorrow Love", in 1992. Though he continued to do TV series' throughout the 90s, he also tried his luck in feature films. Many of his earlier films were flops, until 2000, when he appeared in "J.S.A. Joint Security Area". The film became his first major blockbuster. Unfortunately, Lee's father passed away that same year. Over the years, Lee's popularity continued to grow, with successful TV series', like "Beautiful Days" and "All In", and features, such as "A Bittersweet Life" and "The Good, The Bad, The Weird". Lee was becoming an international celebrity. His success continued rising with the highly anticipated TV show "Iris" and his other feature films "I Saw the Devil" and "Masquerade". Having solidified his position as one of Asia's biggest stars, he is the only actor to sell out the Tokyo Dome with 45,000 screaming fans. In 2012, he was one of the first two Korean actors ever to be honored with a hand and foot print ceremony at The TLC Chinese Theater.

Lee's first foray into Hollywood films came in 2009 with a starring role in "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra." Following the global success of that film, he signed on for "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation," which was released in March 2013. His first period piece feature, "Masquerade" was released in late 2012, and was met with stellar reviews from both audiences and critics, and became the highest grossing period piece in Korean history. He next starred in "Red 2" opposite Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Anthony Hopkins. The film premiered in Korea on July 18, 2013. Korea became the second highest grossing market for the film behind the US. In 2015, Lee has two Korean films, "Insiders" and "Memories of the Sword", along with Hollywood blockbuster Terminator Genisys (2015), where he plays a T-1000 robot. Lee has since filmed an independent US film, "Misconduct", opposite legendary actors Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino, which is due for a 2016 release.

Kam Woo-seong was born on 1 October 1970 in Okcheon County, North Chungcheong, South Korea. He is an actor, known for The King and the Clown (2005), Should We Kiss First (2018) and My Spring Days (2014).

Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School. Later, he joined Kee Kuk-seo's influential theater company with its emphasis on instinctive acting and improvisation, which proved to be Song's training ground. Although regularly approached to act in films, he always turned down the opportunity until taking a role as an extra in Hong Sang-soo's The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well (1996). In the following year, after portraying one of the homeless in Jang Sun-woo's docu-drama Bad Movie (1997), he gained cult notoriety for his scene-stealing performance in Neung-han Song No. 3 (1997) as a gangster training a group of young recruits, winning his first Best Actor award.

Since that time he was cast in several supporting roles before his high-profile role as Han Suk-kyu's secret-agent partner in Kang Je-kyu's blockbuster thriller Shiri (1999). In early 2000, Song became a star with his first leading role in the box office smash The Foul King (2000), for which he reputedly did most of his own stunts. But it was with his award-winning role as a North Korean sergeant in Joint Security Area (2000) that Song has come to the forefront as one of Korea's leading actors. Song also starred in Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), which centers around a father's pursuit of his daughter's kidnappers.

In 2002 Song starred in another major production by Myung Film titled YMCA Yagudan (2002), about Korea's first baseball team, which formed in the early 20th century. He came to international attention with the film The Host (2006), which reunited him with director Bong Joon Ho. With Snowpiercer (2013), his third collaboration with Bong, he made his debut in an English-language film with international theatrical distribution.

In 2008 he starred in Kim Jee-woon's film The Good the Bad the Weird (2008), where he played Tae-goo, the motorcycle-riding, walther-wielding counterpart to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"'s Tuco.

In 2015, Song Kang-ho works on 'The Throne', a period drama of palace intrigues par excellence and whose film is nominated that year for best non-English-language film and costumes at Satellite awards. Already in 2016 he makes his fourth collaboration with Korean director Kim Jee-woon and is none other than the critically acclaimed film "The Empire of Shadows." A period drama with a background of espionage intrigue with a very good technical bill.

Kim Nam-gil is a South Korean actor, producer, singer and philanthropist. He is best known from leading roles in disaster blockbuster Pandora (2016); crime thriller The Shameless (2015); adventure film The Pirates (2014); period drama Portrait of a Beauty (2008) and the crime-comedy television drama The Fiery Priest (2019). His breakthrough role was Bidam in the hit television period drama The Great Queen Seondeok (2009).

Kim Nam-gil first debuted on television with a minor role in the 1998 KBS drama "School 1" (as the character Min-soo). Five years later, Nam-gil would win the 31st audition for MBC Television. He then performed in various minor roles for MBC. Meanwhile, in 2005, Kim Nam-gil changed his name to the seemingly more exotic name of "Lee Han." In 2006, Kim Nam-gil made the bold decision to accept his first lead role in the controversial, but critically praised independent film, No Regret (2006). Kim Nam-gil played the homosexual character Song Jae-min in "No Regret". Although the film "No Regret" received high praise from movie critics & film festivals, it failed to boost Kim Nam-gil's popularity or lead to immediate stardom. Instead, Kim Nam-gil took more supporting roles in television dramas and commercial films. Prior to the release of the film Public Enemy Returns (2008), Kim Nam-gil stopped using his stage name "Lee Han" and reverted back to his birth name. Nam-gil made this decision after receiving advice from Kang Woo-suk (the director of "Public Enemy Returns"). In 2009, Kim Nam-gil was cast in the MBC drama The Great Queen Seondeok (2009) as Bidam. The production company felt the character of Bidam was somewhat the secret weapon in securing the success of the television series. The production company proceeded to promote his character to Korean media outlets and press agencies. Eventually, the drama series became the most watched drama series of 2009, regularly receiving ratings in excess of 40%. With the runaway success of The Great Queen Seondeok (2009), Kim Nam-gil's popularity also skyrocketed. He was frequently voted the sexiest man by Korean women, received many commercial endorsement offers, and flooded with scenarios for various upcoming films and drama series.

Kim is also the founder and CEO of a non-profit organization Gilstory that focuses on preserving cultural heritage, promoting arts and raising special purpose relief funds.

Shin Hyun-june (b. March 24, 1968) was an athletics major at Yonsei University before starting a career in modeling and acting in 1989. His film debut came in veteran director Im Kwon-taek's stylish Son of a General series, set under the Japanese occupation in the 1920s. For the first half of the 1990s he continued working with Im Kwon-taek and also acted in Hwa-om-kyung, Jang Sun-woo's award winning film based on the Avatamska Sutra. In recent years Shin has turned more towards popular cinema, finding his greatest success in fantasy/sci-fi works such as The Gingko Bed, The Soul Guardians, and the Korean-Chinese coproduction Bi-chun-moo. His most recent work was the third film by director Jang Jin (The Spy), where he acted opposite TV star Won Bin and Shin Ha-kyun. He drew praise in his film for his acting, and the film went on to become hugely successful at the box-office. His next feature will be titled Blue, directed by Lee Jeong-guk.

Choi Min-Soo is a well-known South Korean actor who is famous for his image of being a 'tough guy hunter'. He has acted in numerous films and television shows. The actor has appeared in the TV series 'Han River Ballad', 'Man Who Dies to Live', 'Happy Ending', 'The Legend', 'Father's House', 'Road No. 1', 'Faith', 'Sandglass' and 'Pride and Prejudice'. His popular big screen projects include 'The Myth', 'Libera Me', 'Sword in the Moon', 'How to Steal a Dog', 'A Good Day to Fall in Love', 'Son of God', 'The Marriage Life', 'Life of Hollywood Kid', 'Rehearsal' and 'Terrorist'. Choi Min-Soo is one of the most respected and adored actors in Korea. He has earned numerous awards and honors in his entertainment career. The South Korean star won the 'Golden Acting Award' at the 2014 MBC Drama Awards function for 'Pride and Prejudice.' He was awarded the 'Best Film Actor Award' at the 37th Baeksang Arts Awards for 'Libera Me.' He also received the 'Best Actor' award at the event of 34th Grand Bell Awards for 'Terrorist.' He won the 'Best TV Actor' award at the 22nd Korea Broadcasting Awards for his performance in 'Sandglass' as well.

Jang Hyuk was born on 20 December 1976 in Busan, South Korea. He is an actor and director, known for Windstruck (2004), The Slave Hunters (2010) and Shine or Go Crazy (2015). He has been married to Yeo-Jin Kim since 2 June 2008. They have three children.

Soo-Hyun Kim is one of the brightest stars in East Asia. He became a household name in South Korea in 2011, playing a country bumpkin who turned out to be a musical genius in the teen-age drama 'Dream High'.

His popularity sky-rocketed in 2012 when he starred in as the young king Lee Hwon in the drama 'Moon Embracing the Sun', which achieved a peak recorded viewer rating of 42.2 per cent and earned the 'national drama' status.

In 2014, Soo-Hyun Kim enjoyed so much popularity all over East Asia after playing the leading role of Do Min Joon in the drama 'You Who Came from Star', which got an average viewer rating of 24.02 per cent in South Korea, and had over two billion hits on the Chinese streaming site Iqiyi.

Made his film debut at the age of 5 in 1957 and has been one of the most popular actors in Korea ever since. Graduated from Korea University of Foreign Studies majoring in Vietnamese. Won the best actor award in Asia-Pacific film festival in 1993 for his role in the film 'White Badge' (based on the novel of the same title about the Vietnamese war viewed from eyes of a Korean soldier). He's one of few Korean actors who made a successful transition from a child prodigy to a mature adult actor. He is a 5-time winner of Baeksang Art Award (best actor) in Korea and won best actor award in several Korean and Asia-Pacific film festivals. He was selected the top Korean actor in recent popular polls and the best actor of the year in 1997 by the premier Korean movie weekly Cine21. His long-running series of TV commercial for a Korean instant coffee company enforced his image as an ideal husband and dad.

Born Kwak Tae Gun on February 27, 1977 he landed his debuting role in 1999 SBS Television Drama KAIST. It was through the suggestion of is then-manager that he took on the the stage name Chae Ji-sung and subsequently known as simply Ji Sung. His participating in following TV dramas such as All In(2003) and Save the Last Dance for Me(2004) as well as is first film Whistling Princess(2002) further launched his acting career. Ji Sung enlisted into mandatory military service in June 2005 as a soldier and later transferred and served as a public ambassador of military affairs until his discharge June of 2007. Following his discharge that same year he made is comeback in TV Drama New Heart(2007) as once again began to capture the attention of his audiences and continued to do so in later television dramas. He then signed with new management agency, Namoo Actors in February of 2010. From there, Ji Sung continued to add to his extensive resumé playing parts in TV Dramas such as The Great Seer(2012) and in adult rom-com film Whatcha Wearin'?(2012). He then stole the hearts of audiences again in 2013 KBS melodrama Secret. In the same year, Ji Sung announced and tied the knot with South Korean actress and Save the Last Dance for Me co-star Lee Bo-young. On November 24, 2014 Namoo Actors Agency revealed Ji Sung and Lee Bo-young to be expecting their first child mid-June to early July of 2015. He then continued the capture audiences reuniting with Secret co-star Hwang Jung-eum in 2015 MBC Television Drama Kill Me, Heal Me for which Ji Sung received much praise for his outstanding acting skills.

Kang Seok-woo was born on 1 October 1957 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Neoui ileumi yeoja (1969), Ibangin (1985) and Yeonaeneun pro, gyeolhoneun amateur (1994).

Kim Byeong-ki was born on 2 November 1948 in the Republic of Korea. He is an actor, known for The Veil (2021), The Man Who Can't Get Married (2009) and Squid Game (2021).

Lee Tae-gon is known for One Well-Raised Daughter (2013), Love (2021) and Golden Fish (2010).

Jung-woo Ha is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. His breakthrough to stardom came with the role in Na Hong-jin's serial killer film The Chaser (2008).

Born as Kim Sung-hoon, Ha Jung-woo came from an acting family. His father Kim Yong-gun is a well-known veteran actor who has appeared in many movies and television series. Ha has said that since he was 4 or 5 years old, he has always dreamed of becoming an actor like his father. Before entering college, Ha studied at a private acting institute and at one point had actor Lee Beom-soo as his instructor. He then enrolled at Chung-Ang University as a theater major, where he acted on the stage.

In 1998, Ha began his military service, working in the Armed Forces Public Relations Department. He put his acting experience to good use during this time, appearing in 10 promotional films for the military.

Kim Sung-hoon made his acting debut in the 2002 SBS sitcom Honest Living and his feature film debut in the 2003 film Madeleine.

He made his directorial debut through the comedy film Fasten Your Seatbelt (2013).

In 2016, Ha starred again in two box office hits; Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden, an adaptation of the Sarah Waters novel Fingersmith also set during 1930s Korea; and the survival thriller The Tunnel.

Dok-Go Young-jae was born on 13 December 1952 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for The Great Queen Seondeok (2009), Majimak shido (1998) and The Worst of Evil (2023).

Han Suk Kyu is an award-winning veteran South Korean actor. Born on November 3, 1964, he made his acting debut in the 1990 television drama "Our Paradise" and then rose to fame in 1994 drama "The Moon of Seoul, enjoying tremendous popularity in both films and television dramas during the 1990s. Some of his recent works include "A Tree With Deep Roots" (2011), "Secret Door" (2014) and "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim" (2016). Han Suk Kyu is married to Im Myung Joo.