Moon Sung-keun (born May 28, 1953) is a South Korean actor and politician. He has won three

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

, two

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

, and two

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 ...

for Best Actor.

Career

Moon was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. His father was Rev.

Moon Ik-hwan Moon Ik-hwan (June 2, 1918 – January 18, 1994) was a South Korean pastor, theologian, poet, and activist engaged in various social movements. He was also the father of Moon Sung-keun, a noted actor in South Korea. Early life and educatio ...

, who fought for democracy alongside

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democra ...

under the military regime led by

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

in 1970s, and was a well-known pro- unification activist. After graduation from

Sogang University Sogang University (SU, Hangul: 서강대학교 Hanja: 西江大學校, literally "West River University") is one of the most prestigious private research universities in Seoul, South Korea. It was established in 1960 by the Wisconsin Province of ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in trading, Moon worked as a

salaryman In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addit ...

for eight years. In 1985, he began acting in theater, and became a key figure in the beginning of the renaissance of

Daehangno Daehangno (Hangul:대학로 Hanja:, lit. "college street") is a Neighbourhoods of Seoul, neighborhood in Seoul north of the Han River (Korea), Han River within Jongno-gu and Seodaemun-gu. Formerly known as Sunggyobang (Hangul:숭교방 Hanja:), ...

stage plays in the mid-1980s, playing the leading role in such mega-hits as ''

Chilsu and Mansu ''Chilsu and Mansu'' () is a 1988 South Korean film, and noted director Park Kwang-su's debut film. Though not a box-office hit (only attracting 73,751 people in theatres), the film is remembered as a major step towards freedom of expression in Sou ...

'' and ''Till the End of Time''. Moon made his film debut in 1990 with ''

Black Republic ''Black Republic'' (; lit. "They Also Are Like Us") is a 1990 South Korean film directed by Park Kwang-su. Plot A social drama about a young student activist who hides from the authorities by working in a small mining town. Cast *Moon Sung-keun a ...

'' directed by

Park Kwang-su Park Kwang-su (born January 22, 1955) is a South Korean filmmaker. He was born in Sokcho, Gangwon Province and grew up in Busan. Park joined the Yallasung Film Group as a student of Fine Arts at Seoul National University. Upon graduation, he fo ...

. During his acting career, Moon has won Best Actor award at the

thrice,

twice,

twice, and other accolades. Moon started his political activities in 2009, becoming

Democratic United Party The Democratic Party (; DP), formerly the Democratic United Party (; DUP) until 2013, was a liberal political party in South Korea, and for the duration of its existence the country's main opposition force. On 15 December 2011, the Democratic ...

's temporary chairman in 2012. Since then, he has mostly made special appearances in movies. In 2017, Moon and a group of South Korean artists filed complaints against two former presidents

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the ma ...

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

, and other six senior officials, asking for a prosecution investigation over the allegation of an "artist blacklist." Moon is a frequent collaborator of director Lee Chang-dong. He has starred in four of Lee's films, including critically acclaimed ''

Burning Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combusti ...

'' (2018).

Filmography

Film

Television series

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Sung-keun 1953 births Male actors from Tokyo 20th-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean male actors South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors South Korean male stage actors South Korean politicians South Korean male web series actors Sogang University alumni Living people South Korean actor-politicians Best New Actor Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners