Kim Soo-hyun

Biography

Kim Soo-hyun (Korean: 김수현; born February 16, 1988) is a South Korean actor. He is the recipient of five Baeksang Arts Awards, two Grand Bell Awards and one Blue Dragon Film Award. Kim made his television debut in 2007 with the family sitcom Kimchi Cheese Smile following a few theatrical performances. He went on to star in television dramas Dream High (2011), Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), as well as in the top-grossing films The Thieves (2012) and Secretly, Greatly (2013). Kim became a top hallyu star with the fantasy series My Love from the Star (2013–14), followed by the variety drama The Producers (2015). He enlisted in the mandatory military service in October 2017, and returned to acting with It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020). Following that, he starred in One Ordinary Day (2021) and Queen of Tears (2024). He was selected as Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year in 2014.

== Early life and education == Kim was born on February 16, 1988, in Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea. His birth father is Kim Chung-hoon who was the lead singer of the 80's band Seven Dolphins. His parents separated during his early childhood and as such considered himself an only son raised by a single mother. Kim's mother encouraged him to take acting classes during his school years to help him overcome his shy and introverted personality. His aspirations to be an actor took off between his middle school and high school. His first major role in acting was in a stage play of Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream delivering the role of Puck. His later work in theatre includes the role of Kenickie the musical Grease and titular character in the tragedy Hamlet. By 2006, Kim completed elementary, middle and high school in Gangnam, Seoul, and debuted as a TV actor in 2007 after auditions. He enrolled at Chung-Ang University's Film and Theater Department in 2009.

== Career ==

=== 2007–2010: Career beginnings === Kim made his television debut with a supporting role in the 2007 family sitcom Kimchi Cheese Smile, and in 2008, landed a lead role in KBS's critically acclaimed youth drama, Jungle Fish. Based on a true story, it tackles the serious issues of school cheating, competitive academic standards, and interactive blogging in a fresh way. The drama won a number of awards, including the US Peabody Award. For the latter half of the year, Kim appeared in the food-based variety show Delicious Quiz (also known as The Taste of Life) as one of the hosts and in the short film Cherry Blossom. In 2009, Kim acted in the short film Worst Friends by Namkoong Sun, which won the Best Film in Social Drama award at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival and the well-received SBS drama special Father's House where he acted alongside veteran actor Choi Min-soo. He also co-hosted Mnet's Boys & Girls Music Countdown along with Kara's Han Seung-yeon in 2009. In January 2010, KeyEast signed an exclusive contract with Kim becoming his management company. Kim raised his profile through memorable turns as the younger version of the male lead characters in Will It Snow for Christmas? and Giant, the latter winning him the Best New Actor award at the SBS Drama Awards.

=== 2011–2013: Rising popularity and breakthrough === Kim became a household name in 2011 after starring in the high school musical drama Dream High. He plays a country bumpkin who turned out to be a musical genius. The drama brought in high domestic ratings and was also popular overseas, winning several international awards. As the only young actor in a cast of idols, Kim studied song and dance for three months at JYP Entertainment to pull off the required scenes in the drama. He recorded two songs for the drama's soundtrack, his solo "Dreaming" as well as the title track "Dream High" with the rest of the cast.

Kim's popularity skyrocketed when he starred in the hit period drama Moon Embracing the Sun as the King Leehwon. The drama recorded a peak rating of 42.2 percent, thereby earning the "national drama" status and was exported to locales across Asia, making it one of the most profitable exports in the drama genre. Kim contributed his vocals to the soundtrack with the traditional ballad "Only You" and the more modern composition "Another Way". Due to his popularity, he set a new record in product endorsements for being the face of 17 products simultaneously. He also won the Best Actor (TV) award at the 48th Baeksang Arts Awards. Beating out heavyweight veterans such as Han Suk-kyu, Shin Ha-kyun and Cha Seung-won, Kim said "I am very grateful for this moment, but I am ashamed as well. It's like getting a lot of homework. I'll keep trying to become a better actor in order to remain worthy of this award". Kim made his big-screen debut in the star-studded heist film The Thieves, touted by the press as the Korean version of Ocean's Eleven. With over 12.9 million ticket sales, the film became the second highest-grossing movie in Korean film history. In 2013, Kim was cast to play the role of a North Korean spy who infiltrated South Korea as a village idiot in the movie Secretly, Greatly, an adaptation of the popular webtoon series Covertness by Hun. The film broke several records and was one of the most successful box office hits of the year drawing an audience of 7 million. Kim won the Best New Actor (Film) award at the 50th Grand Bell Awards and the 50th Baeksang Arts Awards.

=== 2014–2017: International popularity === From 2013 to early 2014, Kim starred in SBS fantasy romance series My Love from the Star alongside Jun Ji-hyun. He also released two singles for the drama's soundtrack, titled "In Front of Your House" and "Promise". It became massively popular across Asia, especially in China; it had over 14.5 billion hits as of February 2014 on the online video platform iQIYI and also sparked trends in fashion, make-up and restaurants. Kim experienced explosive growth in popularity throughout Asia topping various popularity polls and became one of the most in-demand endorsers with 35 product endorsements. He won the Daesang (or "Grand Prize"), the highest award for television, at the 7th Korea Drama Awards and Most Popular Actor (TV) at 50th Baeksang Arts Awards.

In 2015, Kim starred in KBS variety drama The Producers, written by My Love From the Star writer Park Ji-eun. The drama drew solid ratings domestically, and was also sold to several countries internationally. Kim became one of South Korea's favorite leading faces on TV according to the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation. Kim once again won the Daesang (or "Grand Prize") at the 8th Korea Drama Awards, 4th APAN Star Awards and the 2015 KBS Drama Awards for his acting performance. Kim's wax figure made in his image was displayed at Madame Tussauds, Hong Kong and Musée Grévin, Seoul in 2015. In the following year, he was listed under Forbes "30 Under 30 Asia list" which comprises 30 influential people under 30 years of age who have made substantial effect in their fields. Kim then starred in the action-noir film Real, directed by his cousin Lee Sa-rang, which premiered in June 2017. The film tanked at the box office and received negative reviews from the critics for its direction, storyline, characters' information; saying that only Kim saved the movie with his acting to some extent. In contrast, the film received favourable response after its arrival in Taiwan's cinema. Expat Korean Movie Critic/Blogger Pierce Conran included Real in his list of top 15 Korean Movies of 2017 for its uniqueness and originality. In 2017, Kim took a hiatus from acting to complete his obligatory military service of 21 months.