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Park Bo-gum
South Korean actor (born 1993) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Park Bo-gum (Korean: 박보검; born June 16, 1993) is a South Korean actor, singer, and musician. Known for his performances in film and television across various genres, he is the youngest artist to be named Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year and the first and only actor to ever top Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list. He has received numerous accolades including two Baeksang Arts Awards. A Korean Wave figure, Park has been called "Prince of Asia" and "Nation's Boyfriend" by South Korean and international media outlets.
 | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (July 2025) |
Park began his career in 2011 and first gained wide recognition for starring in the television series Hello Monster (2015) and Reply 1988 (2015–16). He came to international prominence for the series Love in the Moonlight (2016), Encounter (2018–19), Record of Youth (2020), When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025), and Good Boy (2025). In 2020, Park released his debut studio album titled Blue Bird in Japan under Pony Canyon. He debuted on stage in 2023 with the musical Let Me Fly.
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Early life and education
Park was born in Mok-dong, Seoul, South Korea on June 16, 1993, the youngest of three siblings.[1] His given name, "Bo-gum" (Korean: 보검; Hanja: 寶劍), means "precious sword".[2] He started learning to play the piano when he was in kindergarten and was a choir member.[3][4] He was also a member of the varsity swimming team of Seoul Mokdong Middle School.[5] His mother died when he was in fourth grade.[6]
Park graduated from Shinmok High School in 2012, and enrolled at Myongji University as a musical theatre undergraduate in March 2014.[7][8] He represented his university's cultural overseas exchange program in Europe.[9] Park also directed a one-act play based on Anton Chekov's works,[10] and served as music director in his graduating class's production of Hairspray.[11] He received his baccalaureate in February 2018,[12] and earned a master's degree in New Media Music at the Graduate School of Sangmyung University.[13][14]
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Career
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2011–2013: Beginnings
During Park's sophomore year of high school, he sent a video of himself singing and playing the piano to prominent entertainment agencies and received callbacks from SM, YG, and JYP among others.[15][16] After a talent agent suggested that he would do well acting, Park, who initially wanted to be a singer-songwriter, eventually signed with an actor agency.[17][18] He debuted as an actor under Sidus HQ in his junior year of high school, playing a supporting role in the thriller film Blind in 2011.[19] He then joined Blossom Entertainment and featured in the action-comedy film Runway Cop (2012), one-off KBS drama special Still Picture (2012) and the period drama Bridal Mask (2012).[20] In 2013, he landed his first major role in the weekend drama Wonderful Mama.[21]
2014–2015: Rise to prominence and breakthrough
In 2014, Park played the teenage version of the main character in the melodrama Wonderful Days and played a prodigy cellist in the KBS2'S Naeil's Cantabile, an adaptation of the Japanese manga Nodame Cantabile.[22][23] The roles earned Park Best New Actor nominations in both the KBS Drama Awards and APAN Star Awards.[24][25] He next featured in box-office hits A Hard Day (2014) directed by Kim Seong-hun which screened at Cannes Film Festival and The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) directed by Kim Han-min which became the highest grossing Korean film at the time.[26][27] In May 2015, Park joined Music Bank as a co-host gaining attention for his singing and hosting skills.[28] Park was awarded the Best Newcomer Award at the KBS Entertainment Awards.[29][30]
In a adeparture from his previous roles and public image, Park gained praise from audience and critics with his role in crime drama Hello Monster (2015).[31] The portrayal won him the Popularity and Best Supporting Actor awards at the year-end KBS Drama Awards.[32] The same year, he featured in the Han Jun-hee-directed neo-noir film Coin Locker Girl which screened at Cannes Film Festival.[33] The role earned him a nomination for Best New Actor in Film at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards and won him a Rising Star Award at the 11th MaxMovie Awards.[34][35]
He then starred in the third installment of the Reply anthology series where he played the genius Go-player Choi Taek in Reply 1988 (2015–16).[36] The show, written by Lee Woo-jung and directed by Shin Won-ho was a critical and commercial hit with audience ratings peaking at 18.8% making it the highest rated Korean drama in cable television history at the time of airing, and earned Park the nickname "Nation's Little Brother".[37] The role catapulted him to fame in South Korea and made him known as an emerging Korean Wave star, with the Top Chinese Music Awards presenting him with Best International Artist Award, the American-based DramaFever Awards giving him the Best Rising Star Award and tvN10 awarding him Asia Star Award.[38][39][40][41]
2016–2021: International popularity
In February 2016, Park joined the fourth season of TvN's travel-reality program Youth Over Flowers: Africa by Na Yeong-seok.[42][43] After more than a year as Music Bank host, he left the show in June 2016.[44] In August 2016, Park starred in his first leading role as Crown Prince Lee Young in KBS2's historical drama Love in the Moonlight directed by Kim Seong-yoon and based on the popular webtoon Moonlight Drawn By Clouds.[45][46][47] Its teaser video featuring Park in character wearing a dragon robe and dancing along to "Bomba" became viral and was a subject of several parodies.[48] Moonlight achieved peak audience rating of 23.3% domestically and was well received internationally[49][50] leading to media outlets naming him "Nation's Crown Prince" and "Prince of Asia".[51][52][53] Its popularity was called "Moonlight Syndrome" which led to Park being called a "top star" by the press.[54][55][56][57] He received several accolades for the role including winning the Top Excellence Award at the 30th KBS Drama Awards, the Baeksang Arts Award for Most Popular Actor, and received his first nomination for Best Actor – Television at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards.[58] Park also released his first OST, "My Person", for Love in the Moonlight, which debuted at number three on the Gaon Music Chart.[59][60] He was named Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year in 2016 and was the first and only actor to top Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list owing to his success on television.[61]
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He then took a two-year hiatus from acting to focus on his studies,[62] and after graduating from university in 2018, Park returned to the small screen with his first contemporary leading role in the romantic-melodrama Encounter (2018).[63][64] Filmed partly in Cuba,[65][66][67] it became one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history achieving a ratings high of 10.329% nationwide.[68][69] Encounter's broadcasting rights were sold to several countries outside South Korea.[70] Park, praised for his delicate performance,[71] ranked first in actor topicality indices even before the drama premiered and maintained the top spot for the remainder of its run, resulting to him being dubbed the "Nation's Boyfriend".[72] He ranked 4th in Gallup Korea's annual Television Actor of the Year survey in 2018.[73]
In 2019, Park released his first Japanese single, "Bloomin'".[74] On March 2020, Park released his debut album Blue Bird, under Japan's Pony Canyon.[75] It has 11 tracks including the single "Bloomin'" from 2019 and "Dear My Friend".[76][77][78] In August 2020, in line with his ninth debut anniversary, Park released the single "All My Love".[79]
Park starred in the coming-of-age drama Record of Youth in 2020 which finished filming a week before he enlisted in the military.[80] At the time of airing, the series recorded the highest premiere viewership rating for a TvN Monday-Tuesday drama of all time, and became popular outside Korea through Netflix.[81][82] It received praise for its depiction of millennials and Gen Zs,[83][84] and was nominated for Best Screenplay for Television at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards.[85] Forbes named it as one of the best Korean dramas of 2020.[86] His performance in the drama was well received leading to media outlets calling him a "'National Treasure'-level actor".[87][53] He ranked 2nd in Gallup Korea's annual Television Actor of the Year survey in 2020.[88]
In 2021, while Park was in the military, the science fiction film Seo Bok directed by Lee Yong-ju – his first leading role in a film – was released simultaneously in theaters and via streaming media TVING.[89][90] The film received generally favorable reviews from critics,[91] with Park's performance as a human clone gaining positive reviews.[92][93][94] He won Best New Actor at the 41st Golden Cinematography Awards for the role.[95]
2022–present: Continued success
![Thumb](#/media/File:Park_Bo-gum_@_"When_Life_Gives_You_Tangerines"_press-con,_5_March_2025_03.png)
After Park's discharge from the military in 2022, he reunited with the cast members of Love in the Moonlight (2016) for the travel entertainment program Young Actors' Retreat, which was released on TVING.[96] In December 2022, Park ended his contract with Blossom Entertainment after being with the company for a decade.[97] In January 2023, he signed with agency The Black Label.[98]
He debuted on stage with a starring role in the musical Let Me Fly in 2023.[99][100] Tickets sold out within two minutes due to the heightened demand.[101] He received positive reviews for his performance and was nominated at the Korean Musical Awards for Best New Actor.[102][103] He then hosted the 2024 MAMA Awards in Los Angeles, California which was the first ceremony held outside Asia.[104] He also appeared in JTBC and Disney+'s reality show My Name is Gabriel (2024) by director Kim Tae-ho which saw him living the life of an Irishman for 72 hours.[105] In addition, he starred in the Kim Tae-yong-directed science fiction film Wonderland (2024) which was released in theaters and on Netflix.[106]
Park starred in the Netflix television series When Life Gives You Tangerines directed by Kim Won-seok with a screenplay by Lim Sang-choon in March 2025. The series topped the platform's Global Non-English shows for several weeks.[107][108] Park's portrayal as Yang Gwan-shik, a devoted husband, led to the creation of the "Gwan-sik-byeong" (Gwan-sik-ness) meme and trended keyword "my own Gwan-sik," where netizens shared stories of fathers or husbands resembling his character. Gwan-sik became an idealized representation of fatherhood, earning the title "Nation's Father."[109] His performance also received praise by audience and critics, earning him his second nomination for Best Actor – Television at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards.[110][111][112] He was also nominated for Best Actor and won Popularity Award at the 2025 Blue Dragon Series Awards.[113][114]
In May 2025 Park starred in the JTBC and Prime Video television series Good Boy directed by Shim Na-yeon[115] He received praise for successfully transforming into an action hero[115] and his versatility in portraying action, comedy, and romance.[116] His portrayal earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the 2025 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards.[117] He also released an original song for the show's soundtrack titled "Waterfall" produced by music director Heo Sung-jin and Andreas Öhrn among others.[118] Park hosted KBS2's late-night music talk show The Seasons: Park Bo-gum's Cantabile until August 2025 and won Best Entertainer at the 52nd Korea Broadcasting Prizes.[119][120]The Chosun Ilbo declared 2025 as the "Year of Park Bo-gum".[121]
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Public image
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Park became a household name in South Korea in his early twenties.[122] The official web portal of the South Korean government has described him as a "hallyu superstar".[123][124] Yonhap News noted that he is "widely beloved for his wholesome and upright image",[111] and is described by the Korean Film Council as an "actor with innocent masculinity that has been rarely seen in Korean cinema".[125][126] Per South China Morning Post, his "soft looks and easy smile made him popular, but it is his expressive performances and acting talent that have made him a star".[122] Tatler Asia characterized Park as "a powerhouse actor",[127] with India Today chronicling him as an actor who has "immense talent and versatility" that shines "across time and genre".[128]
In 2016, at the age of 23, Park became the youngest artist to be named Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year.[129][130] In 2017, he topped Forbes magazine's Korea Power Celebrity list, making him the first and only actor to do so,[131][132] and has been consistently included in the list annually. Through his performances and public image, Park has been given several nicknames by media outlets, notably, "Nation's Little Brother",[133] "Nation's Crown Prince",[134] "Nation's Boyfriend",[72] "Nation's Son-in-Law",[135][136] and "Prince of Asia".[53]
Ambassadorships and endorsements
Park is an ambassador and endorser for a wide range of brands inside and outside South Korea.[137][138] The "Park Bo-gum Effect", coined by the Korean Business Research Institute, refers to his consistent high brand reputation ranking indicating his effectiveness as an endorser across different demographics.[139] He was voted by marketing executives as Top Celebrity Endorser of 2017.[140] Park is the longest advertising model of Coca-Cola spanning four years,[141] including being a torchbearer of the 2018 Winter Olympics as "Korea's Representative Actor".[142] He is also the first ever male endorser of the Japanese chocolate brand Ghana,[143] and the first ever actor to be the global ambassador of the French luxury brand Celine.[144]
In 2025, he was appointed by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the first male "Hallyu Cultural Artist" to promote the country's traditional costume and hanbok-themed content globally.[145] Park was also appointed as the honorary ambassador for 2025 Korea Tourism by the ministry, citing his global popularity and positive image as the key reasons for the appointment, aiming to promote Korean tourism ahead of major cultural campaigns.[146][147]
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Personal life
Park is known to not publicly divulge his donations and philanthropic activities, with the media discovering it retrospectively and through the National Tax Service's disclosures.[148][149] In 2020, it was discovered that Park had been privately volunteering at Myeongjin Flower Love Village's orphanage since 2013 after the institution thanked and wished him well on his military enlistment through their social media account.[150][151]
On August 31, 2020, Park enlisted as an active soldier serving the Military Band and Honor Guard Cultural Promotion Corps of the Republic of Korea Navy as part of his compulsory military service. He was promoted to a sergeant in November 2021. Park was originally scheduled to be discharged on April 30, 2022,[152] but was released early on February 21, 2022 after using up his remaining personal and pre-discharge leave in accordance with the Ministry of Defense COVID-19 guidelines.[153] During his military service, Park obtained a barber's license.[154]
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Filmography
Park has starred in several productions including the television series Hello Monster (2015), Reply 1988 (2015–16), Love in the Moonlight (2016), Encounter (2018–19), Record of Youth (2020), When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025), Good Boy (2025), and the films Seo Bok (2021), and Wonderland (2024). He hosted the late-night music talk show The Seasons: Park Bo-gum's Cantabile in 2025.
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Discography
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Studio albums
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Promotional singles
Music videos
Video albums
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Awards and nominations
Park has been recognized with several awards and nominations across film, television, theater, and entertainment including two Baeksang Arts Awards. He has also been a recipient of several state honors including a Prime Minister's Commendation in 2022 for his active involvement in coal briquette charity, orphanage volunteer work, and comfort women support events.[180][181] He has been included in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list six times and Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year five times, topping both list once.[182][183]
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Notes
- "All My Love" did not enter the Circle Digital Chart, but the physical version of the single peaked at number 11 on the Circle Album Chart.[161]
- "Let's Go See The Stars" did not enter the Circle Digital Chart, but it peaked at number 85 on the component Download Chart.[169]
References
External links
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