Kim Jung-hyun (born April 5, 1990) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his lead roles in popular television series ''

School 2017 ''School 2017'' () is a South Korean television series starring Kim Jung-hyun, Kim Se-jeong, Jang Dong-yoon, Han Sun-hwa, and Han Joo-wan. It aired on KBS2 from July 17 to September 5, 2017 every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 ( KST) for 16 episode ...

'' (2017), ''

Welcome to Waikiki ''Welcome to Waikiki'' () is a 2018 youth South Korean television series starring Kim Jung-hyun, Lee Yi-kyung, and Son Seung-won. It aired from February 5 to April 17, 2018 on JTBC's Mondays and Tuesdays at 23:00 ( KST) time slot. On June 6, ...

'' (2018), and ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' (2018). He gained international recognition by starring in the dramas ''

Crash Landing on You ''Crash Landing on You'' () is a 2019–2020 South Korean television series written by Park Ji-eun, directed by Lee Jeong-hyo and starring Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Seo Ji-hye, and Kim Jung-hyun. It is about a successful South Korean businesswom ...

'' (2019–20) and '' Mr. Queen'' (2020–21) which rank amongst the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history.

Early life

Kim was born in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

in South Korea. He majored in acting at the

Korea National University of Arts Korea National University of Arts is a national university in Seoul, South Korea. Korea National University of Arts was established in 1993 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea as the only national university of arts with an a ...

Military enlistment

Kim completed his

mandatory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

as an assistant in Kangwon-do's 3rd division when he was 21 years old.

Career

2015: Beginnings

After having acted in several ''

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

'' plays, Kim made his silver screen debut in the film '' Overman'', which premiered at the 2015

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

. This earned him Best New Actor nominations at

25th Buil Film Awards The 25th Buil Film Awards () ceremony was hosted by the Busan-based daily newspaper Busan Ilbo. It was held on October 7, 2016, at the BEXCO Auditorium in Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seou ...

and 22nd

Chunsa Film Art Awards The Chunsa Film Art Awards (also known as the Icheon Chunsa Film Festival) have been presented in South Korea since the founding of the prize by the Korea Film Directors' Society in 1990. The awards take their name from the pen name of the early ...

2016–2018: Rising popularity

Kim made his small screen debut in 2016 and gained attention with his role as

Gong Hyo-jin Gong Hyo-jin (born April 4, 1980) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading role in the film '' Crush and Blush'' (2008), as well as for her popular television series '' Sang Doo! Let's Go to School'' (2003), ''Thank You'' (20 ...

's younger brother in the romance comedy ''

Don't Dare to Dream ''Don't Dare to Dream'', also known as ''Jealousy Incarnate'' (), is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Gong Hyo-jin, Jo Jung-suk, Go Kyung-pyo, Lee Mi-sook, Park Ji-young, Lee Sung-jae, and Seo Ji-hye. It aired every Wednesday and ...

''. He then starred in historical drama '' The Rebel''. The series was a critical and commercial success, and Kim won the Best New Actor award at the 2017 MBC Drama Awards. The same year, he was cast in MBC's two-episode series, ''Binggoo'', alongside

Han Sun-hwa Han Sun-hwa (born October 6, 1990), also known mononymously as Sunhwa, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group Secret. She made her television debut in 2004 while participating in SBS' ''Sup ...

. He also played the male lead in

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

's teen drama ''

'' alongside ''

Gugudan Gugudan (), also stylized as gu9udan or gx9, was a South Korean girl group formed in 2016 by Jellyfish Entertainment and the company's first girl group. The group debuted on June 28, 2016, with their EP '' Act. 1 The Little Mermaid''. The group ...

Kim Se-jeong Kim Se-jeong (; born August 28, 1996), known mononymously as Sejeong, is a South Korean singer and actress. She finished second in Mnet's girl group survival show ''Produce 101'', becoming a member of the project girl group I.O.I. She was al ...

. The series was very popular among the youth leading to his increased popularity. Kim's portrayal of a troubled and rebellious student was praised by critics and audiences. The series earned him Best New Actor nominations at the

54th Baeksang Arts Awards The 54th Baeksang Arts Awards () ceremony was held on May 3, 2018, at Hall D, COEX in Seoul. Hosted by Shin Dong-yup, Bae Suzy and Park Bo-gum, it was broadcast live on JTBC. Organised by '' Ilgan Sports'' and JTBC Plus, it is South Korea's on ...

, the

2017 KBS Drama Awards The 2017 KBS Drama Awards (), presented by Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), was held on December 31, 2017 at KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. It was hosted by Park Soo-hong, Lee Yoo-ri and Namkoong Min. Winners and nominees Presenters Specia ...

and the 1st

The Seoul Awards The Seoul Awards () is an awards ceremony hosted by Sports Seoul. It honors outstanding achievements in film and television. It was first established in 2017 and is held annually. Ceremony Categories *Grand Prize *Best Actor *Best Actress *Bes ...

. Kim then featured in 4Men's Music Video ''Break Up In The Morning''. Later in the year Kim was cast in a lead role in

drama special ''Buzzcut Love''. In 2018, Kim starred in

JTBC JTBC (shortened from ''Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company'' (; stylized as jtbc) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on 1 December 2011. JTBC ...

's youth series titled ''

'' playing a cynical but kind-hearted movie director. The series was popular across Asia and solidified Kim's status as a versatile actor. He then starred in the 4DX VR movie '' Stay With Me'' alongside

Seo Yea-ji Seo Ye-ji () is a South Korean actress. She began her acting career in the sitcom '' Potato Star 2013QR3'' (2013–2014). This was followed by major roles in period drama ''Diary of a Night Watchman'' (2014), thriller ''Last'' (2015), and fanta ...

playing the role of an aspiring musician with stage fright. Kim lent his vocals to the OST of the movie titled ''Moonlight''. Later he starred in MBC melodrama ''

'' alongside ''

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

Seohyun Seo Ju-hyun (; born June 28, 1991), known professionally as Seohyun, is a South Korean singer, actress and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-TTS) in August 2007, which ...

, playing a chaebol whose time is running out due to his failing health. Kim's received critical praise for playing the drama's principal character, a terminal patient with few months to live. He withdrew halfway through the series due to an "eating disorder and sleep disorder".

2019–present: Comeback and international fame

Kim returned to television in December 2019 when he joined the

tvN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

romance drama ''

'' alongside

Hyun Bin Kim Tae-pyung (born September 25, 1982), better known as Hyun Bin, is a South Korean actor. He gained widespread recognition for his role in the 2005 romantic comedy TV drama '' My Name is Kim Sam-soon''. Since then, he has appeared in leading ...

Son Ye-jin Son Ye-jin (born Son Eon-jin on January 11, 1982) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in 2003 for '' The Classic'' and '' Summer Scent'', which were followed by the commercially successful ''A Moment to Remember'' (2004) and ''April Snow ...

and

Seo Ji-hye Seo Ji-hye (; born August 24, 1984) is a South Korean actress. After first attracting attention in the horror film ''Voice'', Seo has since starred in numerous television dramas, notably ''Shin Don'' (2005), '' Over the Rainbow'' (2006), ''I L ...

. It became the highest-rated

drama and the third-highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history. Kim's portrayal of Goo Seung-joon, former fiancé of Yoon Se-ri (

) and eventual love interest to Seo Dan (

), received positive reviews from audiences. His character's name “Goo Seung-joon” went on to trend at No. 1 in Korea's realtime search rankings, which he later described in an interview as incredibly rewarding. In May 2020, Kim made a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in his ''Crash Landing on You'' co-star

's drama ''

Dinner Mate ''Dinner Mate'' () is a 2020 South Korean television series starring Song Seung-heon, Seo Ji-hye, Lee Ji-hoon, and Son Na-eun. Based on the 2013 webtoon ''Would You Like To Have Dinner Together?'' by Park Si-in. The story of series is about an un ...

'' playing the role of her long-term boyfriend. On June 5, 2020, it was confirmed that Kim would lead

's fusion sageuk drama, '' Mr. Queen'' alongside

Shin Hye-sun Shin Hye-sun (born 31 August 1989) is a South Korean actress. She made her debut in the television series ''School 2013''. In 2017, Shin played her first leading role and became well known in the weekend drama, ''My Golden Life'', which garnere ...

playing the role of King Cheoljong. The drama aired from December 2020 to February 2021. On February 15, 2021, ''Mr. Queen'' became the seventh-highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history and the fifth highest rated tvN drama on record. ''

The Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacturer ...

'' article praised Kim's complex portrayal of the two-faced King and noted that he "left a deep impression on viewers with a heavy presence that took the center of the play." Kim contributed his vocals to the soundtrack with the song ''Like the First Snow'' for which he also wrote the lyrics. In September 2021, Kim signed with Story J Company followed by movie and drama casting news in 2022. In January 2022, his agency confirmed that he will appear as Detective Lee Dong-geun in an

indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

called '' Se²cret''

Controversy

In July 2018, during the press conference for his drama '' The Time'', he was criticised for "answering questions unenthusiastically" and for refusing to link arms with his co-star

. He explained that it was because he was trying to stay in his character from the drama. He withdrew from the series halfway through its run, officially citing health reasons. In April 2021, South Korean local tabloid Dispatch revealed alleged text messages between Kim Jung-hyun and actress

and pointed out requests from Seo as the reason behind Kim's behaviour at the press conference." In response, Seo's agency,

Gold Medalist A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

, denied the claim that she was the reason behind Kim's behaviour and abrupt exit from the series. On April 14, he posted a personal handwritten apology, which read: On May 12, Kim's representative released a statement to announce the expiration of his contract with O& Entertainment and to address the actor's health condition while filming ''The Time'' in 2018. Kim claimed that his agency had failed to fulfill their duty, and that he would take legal action against them for defamation and spreading false information. The same day,

YTN YTN () is the first 24-hour Korean news channel to be broadcast throughout South Korea. It was founded on September 14, 1993, and began broadcasting on March 1, 1995. YTN originally stands for ''Yonhap Television News'', as the channel was the s ...

revealed that they had obtained Kim's hospital records which showed that he was diagnosed with anxiety disorder, panic disorder, sleep disorder, and having depressive episodes. After the handwritten apology, he met ''The Time'' director, Jang Jun-ho, who expressed his willingness to work with him again.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Music video

Discography

Singles

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* at STORY J COMPANY * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Jung-hyun 1990 births 21st-century South Korean male actors Living people Male actors from Busan South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors Korea National University of Arts alumni