Kim Jung-hyun (actor, born 1990)

For an actor of the same name, see Kim Jung-hyun (actor, born 1976).

Kim Jung-hyun (Korean: 김정현; born April 5, 1990) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his lead roles in popular television series School 2017 (2017), Welcome to Waikiki (2018), and Time (2018). He gained international recognition by starring in the dramas Crash Landing on You (2019–2020) and Mr. Queen (2020–2021) which rank amongst the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history.

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

Kim Jung-hyun
Kim at the Yokohama International Film Festival in 2024
Born	(1990-04-05) April 5, 1990 (age 34) Busan, South Korea
Education	Korea National University of Arts (Department of Acting)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2015–present
Agent	Story J Company
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Korean name
Hangul	김정현
Hanja	金正賢
Revised Romanization	Gim Jeong-hyeon
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Chŏnghyŏn
Website	storyjcompany.com

Early life

Kim was born in Busan in South Korea. He majored in acting at the Korea National University of Arts.^{[citation needed]}

Career

2015: Beginnings

After having acted in several musical theatre plays, Kim made his silver screen debut in the film Overman, which premiered at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival.^[2] This earned him Best New Actor nominations at 25th Buil Film Awards and 22nd Chunsa Film Art Awards.^{[citation needed]}

2016–2018: Rising popularity

Kim made his small screen debut in 2016 and gained attention with his role as Gong Hyo-jin's younger brother in the romance comedy Don't Dare to Dream.^[3]

He then starred in historical drama The Rebel.^[4] The series was a critical and commercial success, and Kim won the Best New Actor award at the 2017 MBC Drama Awards.^{[citation needed]}

The same year, he was cast in MBC's two-episode series, Binggoo, alongside Han Sun-hwa.^[5]

He also played the male lead in KBS2's teen drama School 2017 alongside Gugudan's Kim Se-jeong.^[6][7] 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.^{[citation needed]} The series earned him Best New Actor nominations at the 54th Baeksang Arts Awards, the 2017 KBS Drama Awards and the 1st The Seoul Awards.^{[citation needed]}

Kim then featured in 4Men's Music Video Break Up In The Morning.^{[citation needed]}

Later in the year Kim was cast in a lead role in KBS2 drama special Buzzcut Love.^[8]

In 2018, Kim starred in JTBC's youth series titled Welcome to Waikiki playing a cynical but kind-hearted movie director.^[9] The series was popular across Asia and solidified Kim's status as a versatile actor.^{[citation needed]}

He then starred in the 4DX VR movie Stay With Me alongside Seo Yea-ji playing the role of an aspiring musician with stage fright.^{[10][unreliable source?]} Kim lent his vocals to the OST of the movie titled Moonlight.

In July 2018, he starred in MBC melodrama Time alongside Girls' Generation's Seohyun, playing a chaebol whose time is running out due to his failing health.^[11] During the press conference for the drama, he was criticised for "answering questions unenthusiastically" and for refusing to link arms with his co-star Seohyun.^[12][13] He explained that it was because he was trying to stay in his character from the drama.^[13] He withdrew from the series halfway through its run, officially citing health reasons.^[14]

2019–present: Comeback and international fame

Kim in December 2019

Kim returned to television in December 2019 when he joined the tvN romance drama Crash Landing on You alongside Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin and Seo Ji-hye.^[15] It became the highest-rated tvN 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 (Son Ye-jin) and eventual love interest to Seo Dan (Seo Ji-hye), 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.^[16]

In May 2020, Kim made a cameo appearance in his Crash Landing on You co-star Seo Ji-hye's drama Dinner Mate playing the role of her long-term boyfriend.^[17]

On June 5, 2020, it was confirmed that Kim would lead tvN's fusion sageuk drama, Mr. Queen alongside Shin Hye-sun playing the role of King Cheoljong.^[18] 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.^[19] The Korea Times 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."^[20] Kim contributed his vocals to the soundtrack with the song Like the First Snow; for which he also wrote the lyrics.^[21]

In September 2021, Kim signed with Story J Company^[22] followed by movie and drama casting news in 2022.^{[citation needed]}

Kim in March 2022

In January 2022, his agency confirmed that he will appear as a Detective in an indie film called Se2cret.^[23]

In 2023, Kim returned to television with MBC's Kokdu: Season of Deity opposite actress Im Soo-hyang playing dual role of a Grim reaper and doctor.^[24] Kim received praise for 'Perfectly portraying two conflicting characters' through a variety of charms.^[25] He also lent his vocals to the opening theme song of the drama titled I am.^[26]

Personal life

Military enlistment

Kim completed his mandatory military service as an assistant in Kangwon-do's 3rd division when he was 21 years old.^[27]

Controversy

In April 2021, South Korean local tabloid Dispatch revealed alleged text messages between Kim and actress Seo Yea-ji and pointed out requests from Seo as the reason behind Kim's behaviour at the Time press conference.^[12]"^[12] In response, Seo's agency, Gold Medalist, denied the claim that she was the reason behind Kim's behaviour and abrupt exit from the series.^[28] On April 14, he posted a personal handwritten apology.^[29]

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 Time in 2018.^[30] 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.^[31] The same day, YTN 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.^[32] After the handwritten apology, he met Time director, Jang Jun-ho, who expressed his willingness to work with him again.^[33]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2012	I'll Be with You	Jin-woo	Short film	[34]
2014	The Beginning Of Murder	Do-hyun		[35]
2016	Going My Home	Lee Shi-joon		[36]
	Overman	Choi Do-hyun	Independent film	[37]
2017	One Day	Assistant manager Cha		[citation needed]
2018	Stay With Me	Woo-jin	4DX VR film	[38]
2019	Rosebud	Woo-seong		[39]
2021	Black out : Mafia game		Short film	[40]
TBA	Se²cret	Detective Lee Dong-geun	Independent film	[23]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2016	Don't Dare to Dream	Pyo Chi-yeol		[3]
2017	The Rebel	Mo Ri		[4]
	Frozen Love	Go Man-soo	Miniseries	[5]
	School 2017	Hyun Tae-woon		[5]
	Drama Special – The Love of a Buzz Cut	Bae Chi-hwan	one act-drama	[8]
2018	Welcome to Waikiki	Kang Dong-gu		[9]
	Time	Cheon Soo-ho		[11]
2019–2020	Crash Landing on You	Gu Seung-jun / Alberto Gu		[41]
2020	Dinner Mate	Lee Young-dong	Cameo (Eps. 1–2)	[17]
2020–2021	Mr. Queen	Lee Won-beom / King Cheoljong		[18]
2023	Kokdu: Season of Deity	Kokdu / Do Jin-woo / Oh Hyun		[24]
2024	Iron Family	Seo Kang-joo		[42]

Music video appearances

Year	Song title	Artist	Ref.
2017	"Break Up In The Morning"	4Men	[citation needed]

Discography

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Moonlight"	2018	Stay with me OST
"Like the First Snow"	2021	Mr. Queen OST
"I Am"	2023	Kokdu: Season of Deity OST

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2013	경성아리랑 26년 Musical Arirang		[43]
	Therese Raquin	Laurent LeClaire
2015	조그만 입술
	가야십이지곡 Gayashib i Jigok Musical

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
APAN Star Awards	2021	Best Supporting Actor	Crash Landing on You	Nominated	[44]
Asia Artist Awards	2020	Popularity Award (Actor)	Kim Jung-hyun	Nominated	[45]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2018	Best New Actor – Television	School 2017	Nominated	[46]
Buil Film Awards	2016	Best New Actor	Overman	Nominated	[citation needed]
Chunsa Film Art Awards	2017			Nominated	[citation needed]
KBS Drama Awards	2017	Best New Actor	School 2017	Nominated	[47]
		Netizen Award, Male		Nominated
		Best Couple Award	Kim Jung-hyun (with Kim Se-jeong) School 2017	Nominated
MBC Drama Awards	2017	Best New Actor	The Rebel	Won	[48]
	2018	Best Couple Award	Kim Jung-hyun (with Seohyun) Time	Nominated	[49]
Soompi Awards	2018	Best Couple Award	Kim Jung-hyun (with Kim Se-jeong) School 2017	Nominated	[50]
		Breakout Actor Award	School 2017	Nominated	[citation needed]
The Seoul Awards	2017	Best New Actor (Drama)		Nominated	[citation needed]

References

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External links

• Official website
• Kim Jung-hyun at HanCinema
• Kim Jung-hyun at IMDb