favorite kdrama actors and actresses
When you've grown tired of the terrible acting of Park Shin-Hye, Go A-ra and Lee Soo-hyuk, here's a list of some incredible korean actors and actresses that are wonderful to watch.
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- Actor
- Executive
- Soundtrack
Lee Jong-suk was born on 14 September 1989 in Yongin, South Korea. He is an actor and executive, known for Romance Is a Bonus Book (2019), Pinocchio (2014) and I Hear Your Voice (2013).- Woo Do-Hwan was born on 12 July 1992. He is an actor, known for Mad Dog (2017), Save Me (2017) and The Divine Fury (2019).
- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Lee Ji-Eun, also known by her stage name IU, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, composer, and actress. She signed with LOEN Entertainment (now Kakao Entertainment) in 2007 as a trainee and debuted as a singer at the age of fifteen with her first extended play (EP) Lost and Found (2008). Although her follow-up albums, Growing Up and IU...IM brought mainstream success, it was only after the release of "Good Day", the lead single from her 2010 album Real, that she achieved national stardom. "Good Day" went on to spend five consecutive weeks at the top of South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, and in 2019, it was ranked number one on Billboard's "100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s" list.
With the success of her 2011 albums, Real+ and Last Fantasy, IU established herself as a formidable force on the music charts of her native country and further cemented her girl next door image as Korea's "little sister". 2011 also saw her first foray into songwriting with "Hold My Hand", which was written for the television series The Greatest Love. IU's third studio album, Modern Times (2013), showcased a more mature musical style that marked a departure from her earlier girlish image, with several tracks reaching the top 10 on the Gaon Digital Chart. The album was ranked number two on Billboard's "25 Greatest K-Pop Albums of the 2010s" list. IU subsequently exerted more creative control over her music; Chat-Shire marked the first time she was credited as the sole lyricist of her own album. IU's fourth studio album, Palette (2017), became her first to reach number one on Billboard's World Albums chart. While her following records Love Poem and Lilac continued to deviate from mainstream K-pop styles, exploring and mixing various music genres, IU consistently retained her dominance on South Korean music charts. Her 2020 single "Eight" became her first to reach number one on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.
Aside from her music career, IU has ventured into acting and hosting radio and television shows. Following her supporting role in the teen drama Dream High (2011) and minor appearances in several television series, she was cast in leading roles in the television drama series You Are the Best! (2013), Pretty Man (2013-14), The Producers (2015), and Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016). IU's role as a desperate office worker in My Mister (2018) received critical acclaim, and she earned her first Best Actress in Television nomination at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards. In 2019, she starred in the anthology film series Persona and the fantasy television series Hotel Del Luna, the latter of which led to her second Best Actress nomination at the Baeksang Arts Awards. In 2022, IU starred in Hirokazu Kore-Edda's film Broker alongside Song Kang-Ho, Bae Doona, and Gang Dong-Won.
IU has released a total of five studio albums and nine EPs, five of which have reached number one on the Gaon Album Chart, and thirty number-one singles, making her the artist with the most number-one songs in South Korea. One of the best-selling solo acts in the group-dominated K-pop industry, IU became the first solo female K-pop act to perform at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena during the Seoul leg of her 2019 Love, Poem concert tour and also the first Korean female artist to hold a solo concert, The Golden Hour, at Seoul Olympic Stadium in Seoul on September 17 and 18, 2022. Rolling Stone named her the 135th greatest singer of all time in a 2023 ranking. She has been included five times in the top ten of Forbes magazine's annual Korea Power Celebrity list since 2012 and attained a peak ranking of number three that year. In 2014, Billboard recognized IU as the all-time leader of its K-pop Hot 100 with the most number-one songs and the artist with the most weeks at the number-one position on the chart. She was named Gallup Korea's Singer of the Year in 2014 and in 2017.- Kim Hye-yoon, a dazzling talent in the South Korean entertainment industry, catapulted to fame with her unforgettable role in the hit drama "Sky Castle." From a young age, she exhibited an extraordinary passion for acting, and her dedication paid off as she became a household name. Her nuanced performances and undeniable charisma have won her numerous awards and a legion of fans. She also is known in her homeland of South Korean media as the Nation's Little Sister.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Choi made his acting debut as a child actor, playing the younger version of Jo In-sung's character in the television series Piano (2001).
Choi gained recognition with his supporting roles as the protagonist's estranged son in fantasy drama Padam Padam (2011), a 20-year-old high school bully in the webtoon adaptation Puberty Medley (2013), a villain in disaster drama Missing 9 (2017), and a lawyer in romance comedy drama Suspicious Partner (2017). Choi also starred in the youth film Eclipse (2016) as the lead.[
Choi was a cast member of the virtual reality show We Got Married in 2016, pairing with Apink's Yoon Bo-mi. Choi became a permanent host on the Korean variety show Hello Counselor in September after being a guest two weeks in a row in August 2016.[
In 2018, Choi was cast in his first lead role on network television in the 2-episode drama special Exit. He was then cast in the romantic comedy series So I Married the Anti-fan as the male lead, based on the webtoon of the same name.[- Sooyoung Choi was born on 10 February 1990 in Seoul, South Korea. She is an actress, known for Memories of a Dead End (2018), My Spring Days (2014) and Man Who Sets the Table (2017).
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Taecyeon is the main rapper of South Korean boy band, 2PM. Taecyeon started his career as a musician, actor, MC, and CEO. He starred in Dream High, Who Are You, and Cinderella's Stepsister. Taecyeon was born in Busan, South Korea but moved to Bedford, Massachusetts at the age of ten. He originally auditioned to be a model at JYP Entertainment, but was chosen as a member of One Day which later split into 2AM and 2PM. Taecyeon speaks fluent Korean, English and Japanese.- Kang Tae-Oh is known for Second 20s (2015).
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Im Si-wan (born on December 1, 1988), known mononymously as Siwan, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boyband ZE:A and its sub-group ZE:A Five. As an actor, he is best known for starring in the film The Attorney (2013), and the cable series Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014), which were both successful in the box office and ratings.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Seo In-Guk was born on 23 October 1987 in Ulsan, Korea. He is an actor, known for Reply 1997 (2012), The Master's Sun (2013) and Hello Monster (2015).- Park Bo-Yeong (Bo-Yeong Park), whose father is Sergeant Major of the Army, was born in Jeungpyeong in Chungcheong Province of South Korea. She started acting when she was in middle school as a member of video production club. She entered Dankook University, Department of Theater and Film. Her official television drama debut is 'Bimil-eui gyo-jeong' from EBS and her official debut film is 'If You Were Me 4'.
- Yeo Jin-Goo is an actor from South Korea who rose to fame after his role in Haereul poomeun dal (2012). He made his debut as a child actor in Sad Movie (2005) and has received numerous awards since adolescence. In 2013 at Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013), he played as the leading actor in a film for the first time and announced the appearance of a monster rookie in Korea. Ever since, he plays various roles in dramas and movies with building a solid acting career. In The Crowned Clown (2019), he proved his mind-blowing acting skills by playing two roles and once again showed his talent through Beyond Evil (2021). Born in Seoul, Yeo Jin-Goo challenged acting to try new things because he had an introverted personality. His overwhelming performance proved him to be talented in acting. He integrates a new persona in every acting and is one of the most anticipated actors in Korea.
- Chae Soo-bin (born on July 10, 1994) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition for her role in the television series Love in the Moonlight (2016), and transitioned into leading roles with The Rebel (2017), Strongest Deliveryman (2017), I'm Not a Robot (2017-18), Where Stars Land (2018), and A Piece of Your Mind (2020).
Chae was spotted by a casting director on the streets, and upon signing a management contract with Toin Entertainment, she proceeded to make her debut in 2014 with the film My Dictator. Due to the fact that her birth name is the same as the stage name of the more popular actor Bae Soo-bin (born Yoon Tae-wook), she was given the stage name "Chae Soo-bin". She then featured in weekend drama House of Bluebird (2015) and youth series Cheer Up! (2015) which won her Best New Actress awards at both 4th APAN Star Awards and 29th KBS Drama Awards.
Chae became recognized for her performance in the popular saeguk drama Love in the Moonlight (2016), from which she gained an Excellence Award nomination at the 30th KBS Drama Awards. The same year she starred in the play Blackbird and the Chinese-South Korean web-drama My Catman.
In January 2017, she took on her first prime-time leading role in the historical television series The Rebel. The series was a modest success and led to a rise in popularity for Chae. She then starred in KBS2's youth romance drama Strongest Deliveryman and MBC's romantic comedy drama I'm Not a Robot.
In 2018, Chae starred in the airport-themed drama Where Stars Land. Her performance won her the Excellence Award at the SBS Drama Awards. Chae and co-star Lee Je-hoon were also appointed honorary ambassadors of Incheon International Airport.
After the expiration of her management contract with Toin Entertainment in December 2018, Chae joined King Kong by Starship in January 2019.
In 2020, Chae starred in the romance drama A Piece of Your Mind alongside Jung Hae-in. She is set to star alongside Jang Ki-yong in the romantic comedy film Sweet & Sour.
She has kicked off 2022 with a blockbuster release, the Pirates sequel, The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure. Her role is secondary but important. Later this year she is expected to premiere a drama series on Netflix The Fabulous. - Yoo was born in Incheon and raised there by his family and the younger of two siblings. He made his entertainment debut in a cellphone commercial in 1999 after his mother sent in a photo of her son to an ad agency.
In 2000, Yoo began his career as a child actor, first appearing in television dramas. He rose to stardom in his first film The Way Home, playing a bratty city boy who learns to appreciate country life when he's forced to spend the summer with his deaf-mute grandmother. The low-budget film was a surprise box office hit in 2002, drawing more than 4 million admissions.He was then affectionately labeled as "Nation's Little Brother". Thereafter, he also starred in animal movie Heart Is... (2006) about a boy and his beloved dog, and Unforgettable (2008) about school children from a remote island who go on a field trip to a candy factory in Seoul during the 1970s. He continued acting in television, appearing in Magic Warriors Mir & Gaon (2005), an adventure series for children. Yoo further built his filmography, playing younger counterparts of male protagonists in television dramas, including general Yi Sun-sin in Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin (2004), King Seongjong in The King and I (2007), and Gwanggaeto the Great in The Legend (2007).
In 2009, he starred in the films City of Fathers and 4th Period Mystery. He also appeared as Kim Chunchu in the period epic Queen Seondeok.
In his teens, Yoo was cast in one of the major roles in Master of Study (2010), a Korean screen adaptation of Japanese manga Dragon Zakura. He then played a more mature role in Flames of Desire, as the second-generation son of a wealthy chaebol family who is uninterested in the battles of succession among his relatives and becomes a married man at 21. Later that year, Yoo sang a duet with singer/actress IU titled "Believe in Love" for the charity program Love Request. The song's lyrics was based on a diary that Yoo had written while seeing orphans of war in the slums of Sri Lanka.
In 2011, Yoo trained in swordplay and martial arts in his role as an assassin in Warrior Baek Dong-soo, an action-period drama based on the manhwa by Lee Jae-Hun. He was also one of the voice actors for Leafie, a Hen into the Wild, which was adapted from a bestselling children's novel by Hwang Sun-Mi. He then co-starred with Kim Ha-Neul in the thriller Blind. In 2012, Yoo was cast in his first role as a leading man in Operation Proposal, a Korean remake of the Japanese drama Proposal Daisakusen.
This was followed by a supporting role as the Jade Emperor, ruler of the heavens, in the fantasy-period drama Arang and the Magistrate. Afterwards, he starred in the melodrama Missing You, playing a cold man who hides a vengeance-filled heart behind his seemingly gentle smile. Known in the press as "Little So Ji-seob"for his resemblance to the said actor, in 2013 Yoo starred in the music video for So's single "Eraser" together with Park Shin-Hye. This was his second time promoting So's musical endeavors, after "Lonely Life" in 2008.Following that, Yoo's first photo book titled Travel Letter, Spring Snow, And... was published; it was the last project shot by celebrity photographer Bori before her death on 9 April 2013. Yoo enlisted for his mandatory military service as a regular soldier on March 5, 2013 without media fanfare, where he reportedly worked as a trainer of new recruits. He drew praise for doing so at age 19, unlike most male Korean celebrities who choose to delay their enlistment until they turn 29. Yoo was discharged on December 4, 2014. As his first post-army project, Yoo appeared in the music video for Naul's "You From the Same Time" in 2015. He was next cast as a stubborn webcomic writer raising a cat in the TV adaptation of webtoon Imaginary Cat. Yoo followed this by starring in the Joseon-era romance film The Magician directed by Kim Dae-Seung, in which he plays a circus magician who falls in love with a princess. Yoo was then cast in SBS's legal thriller series Remember-War of the Son as a lawyer with hyperthymesia who defends his father on death row.
In 2016, Yoo starred in Seondal: The Man Who Sells the River as the titular Kim Sun-Dal. The film received positive reviews for its effective use of satire, and was a solid mid-level hit in Korea. In October 2016, Yoo was announced to be starring in MBC's historical melodrama Ruler: Master of the Mask, playing Crown Prince Lee Seon. The drama is slated for a 2017 release. - Lee Jae-wook was born on 10 May 1998. He is an actor, known for Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020), Kill Boksoon (2023) and Extraordinary You (2019).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Kim So-hyun was born on 4 June 1999 in Australia. She is an actress, known for Who Are You: School 2015 (2015), River Where the Moon Rises (2021) and The Emperor: Owner of the Mask (2017).