Kim Soo-hyun

Kim Soo-hyun
In May 2015
Born	(1988-02-16) February 16, 1988 Seoul, South Korea -
Education	Theater and Film
Alma mater	Chung-Ang University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2007–present
Agent	KeyEast (2010–present)
Website	Soo-hyun
Korean name
Hangul	김수현
Hanja	金秀賢
Revised Romanization	Gim Su-hyeon
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Su-hyŏn
Signature

Kim Soo-hyun (Hangul: 김수현; Hanja: 金秀賢; born February 16, 1988) is a South Korean actor best known for his roles in the television dramas Dream High (2011),^[1][2] Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), My Love from the Star (2013) and The Producers (2015), as well as the movies The Thieves (2012) and Secretly, Greatly (2013).^[3][4]

The success of Kim's television dramas throughout Asia established him as a top Hallyu star.

Biography

Kim was a timid child during his middle school days and no one expected him to enter the entertainment industry. His mother encouraged him to take acting classes before high school to change his introverted personality, and this is where he grew the aspiration to pursue an acting career. His father, who left the family when he was young, is singer Kim Chung Hoon and was the leader of the band "Seven Dolphins".^[5][6] He majored in Theater and Film Studies at Chung-Ang University and partook in musicals such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and Grease.^[7]

In 2015, it was revealed to the public that Kim has a paternal half-sister named Kim Ju-na who, at the time, was a contestant of singing reality show Produce 101.^[8]

Career

2007–2009: Television 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 Peabody Award,^[9][10] a Seoul Drama Festival award as well as an Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union prize.^[11]

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.^[12]

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^[13][14][15] and the well-received SBS drama special Father's House where he acted alongside veteran actor Choi Min-soo.^[16]

He also co-hosted Mnet's Boys & Girls Music Countdown along with Kara's Han Seung-yeon in 2009.^[17]

2010–2011: Dream High and rising popularity

Kim raised his profile through his memorable turns as the younger version of the male lead characters in Will It Snow for Christmas? and Giant,^[18][19] the latter winning him his first acting award. Upon receiving the award, Kim made his famous "10 years promise" acceptance speech and was quoted saying, "Please take care of me by giving me more attention in this ten years, I will become a real actor."

Kim became a household name in 2011, playing a country bumpkin who turned out to be a musical genius in the teen drama Dream High.^[20][21] The drama was a success, and brought high viewership ratings in the 18 to 20 percent range during its two-month run. It also gained popularity in other countries and won several international awards.^[22][23] 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.^[24]

For the drama's soundtrack, he recorded two songs, his solo "Dreaming" as well as the title track "Dream High" with the rest of the cast. He appeared in several music programs and concerts after the drama's completion and even made a cameo in the pilot episode of its second season.^[25][26]

2012–2013: Moon Embracing the Sun and big screen debut

Kim's popularity skyrocketed when he starred in the hit period drama Moon Embracing the Sun,^[27][28] as the young king Lee Hwon. The drama not only ranked number one in its time slot throughout its run but achieved a peak recorded viewer rating of 42.2 percent^[29][30] thereby earning the "national drama" status.^[31] He again contributed his vocals to the soundtrack with the traditional ballad "Only You" which topped digital music charts,^[32] and the more modern composition "Another Way" released as the single Secret Version.

As King Lee Hwon in Moon Embracing the Sun (2012)

Due to his charismatic portrayal of King Lee Hwon, Kim created the so-called “Hwon syndrome” and was chosen as the face of 17 products simultaneously. In that year, Kim was able to set a new record for product endorsements which was previously held in 2009 by Olympic figure skater Kim Yuna.^[33][34][35]

He also won several recognitions for the said drama including the hotly debated Best Drama Actor^[36] at the 2012 Baeksang Arts Awards as he was the youngest and newest actor among the nominees in the category. 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."

Endorsing a Maserati Ghibli III

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. His character Zampano is the youngest member of a gang of Korean and Chinese thieves who team up to steal a diamond worth 40 billion won locked away in a casino in Macau.^[37][38] After joking that it was easier to immerse in the role and the kissing scenes because his partner was Jun Ji-hyun, Kim then continued to say that he was overwhelmed to be around so many big stars and felt lucky to be part of the film.^[39] With over 12.9 million ticket sales, the film became the second highest-grossing movie in Korean film history.^[40]

In 2013, Kim was cast along with Park Ki-woong and Lee Hyun-woo, to play the roles of North Korean spies who infiltrated South Korea as a village idiot, a rock musician, and a high school student, respectively in the movie Secretly, Greatly.^[41] The film is an adaptation of the popular webtoon series Covertness by Hun and upon its release broke several box office records in South Korea.^[42][43] The film was also one of the most successful box office hits of the year having sold out almost 7 million tickets during its run.^[44] For this movie, he won the Best New Actor awards at the 50th Grand Bell Awards and the 50th Baeksang Arts Awards as well as the popularity award.^[45][46]

2014–present: My Love from the Star and international fame

From 2013 to early 2014, Kim starred in SBS fantasy/romance series My Love from the Star.^[47] Kim plays the alien Do Min-joon who landed on Earth during the Joseon Dynasty and 400 years later falls in love with a top Hallyu star Cheon Song-yi, played by his The Thieves co-star Jun Ji-hyun. The drama enjoyed immense popularity both locally, with an average viewer rating of 24.02 percent, and internationally, having over two billion hits on the Chinese streaming website iQiyi.^[48][49] It also sparked trends in fashion, make-up and restaurants. At the 7th Korea Drama Awards, Kim won the Daesang (or "Grand Prize"), the highest award for television. Kim also experienced a tremendous growth in his popularity throughout Asia, and not only became a top Hallyu star,^[50] but a blue chip in the advertising industry. In 2014, Kim was reported to set a new record having 35 product endorsements deals, 15 of which were coming from South Korea alone.^[51]

At the 2014 Asian Games opening ceremony

For the latter half of the year, Kim was invited to perform at the opening ceremonies of two international sports events. Held on 16 August 2014, Kim along with Chinese pop stars Jane Zhang and Jason Zhang, as well as Russian singer Molgun Galia, sang the official theme song "Light up the Future" at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. The event was televised live through China’s state broadcaster CCTV and attended by several key dignitaries that include China’s President Xi Jinping, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the International Olympic Committee’s honorary president Jacques Rogge.^[52][53] Similarly, on 19 September 2014, Kim participated in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea as well. He, alongside actor Jang Dong-gun, Korean opera singer Ahn Sook-sun and people from 45 nations, delivered the message of "One Asia" at the second part of the highlight stage. The event was also attended by several state dignitaries including South Korea's President Park Geun-hye and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.^[54][55]

At the 2014 PaekSang Arts Awards

In 2015, Kim starred in KBS’ variety drama series The Producers along with Cha Tae-hyun, Gong Hyo-jin and IU. The drama revolved around the lives of the employees working in the network's variety department and was helmed by a stellar crew that included variety show PD Seo Soo-min, veteran drama PD Pyo Min-soo and screenwriter Park Ji-eun, who also penned My Love from the Star. Kim played the role of Baek Seung-chan, a rookie PD who initially wanted to be a prosecutor but chose another career path for the sake of love.^[56][57]

The drama drew solid viewership ratings nationwide throughout its run with a peak viewer rating of 17.7 percent and topped the Content Power Index (CPI) rankings for the most influential dramas of the first half of 2015.^[58] The drama also gained popularity internationally having been sold to Asian countries such as China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, as well as countries in Commonwealth of Independent States.^[59] Kim once again won the Daesang (or "Grand Prize") at the 8th Korea Drama Awards, 3rd APAN Star Awards and the 2015 KBS Drama Awards for his acting performance.

Recently, Kim finished shooting the action-noir film Real, which will be shown in theaters in the first half of 2017.^[60] He plays a character named Jang Tae-young whose job is to solve the "dark business" problems of his clients.^[61][62][63]

Bowling

Kim, who has been known to be a fan of bowling, applied to become a professional bowler. He sent an application to the Korea Professional Bowling Association to participate in the selection match, held on October 22–23.^[64]

Filmography

Drama

Film

Narration

Variety appearance

Musical theatre

Discography

Endorsements

Ambassadorial roles

In October 2014

• On 28 April 2011, Kim and miss A’s Suzy were officially revealed to be the ambassadors of the "16th Goyang Korea Flower Show" in the Gyeonggi Province. The flower show was held at the Goyang Flower Exhibition Center at Ilsan Lake Park on April 29 with a participation of approximately 193 local and foreign companies from 20 countries and an exhibit of over 50 million flowers.^[103]

• On 18 April 2012, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) appointed Kim as the Promotional Ambassador for Korean tourism. According to KTO, "The appointment of Kim Soo-hyun – who has obtained popularity overseas through his dramas, will help strengthen the growth of travel to Korea."^{[104][105][106]}

• On 19 May 2014, Kim along with Kwon Yuri, Choi Sooyoung and Park Shin-hye joined the 22nd class of CAU LOVE, the official student ambassadors of Chung-Ang University. For their 1-year term, the celebrity ambassadors will join the existing 12 members of CAU LOVE in various activities to better promote their university.^[107]

• On 25 October 2014, Kim was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of Seoul. For the city's promotion, he will participate in various cultural events in the next two years.^[108][109]

• On 26 March 2015, Kim was appointed as the honorary ambassador for the Incheon International Airport. As part of the contract, he is set to appear in various online and offline promotion materials for the airport in the next three years.^{[110][111][112]}

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kim Soo-Hyun.

• Official website (Korean)/(English)
• Kim Soo-hyun Japanese Fan Club (Japanese)
• Kim Soo-hyun on Sina Weibo (Chinese)
• Kim Soo-hyun on Instagram (English)
• Kim Soo-hyun at KeyEast (Korean)