Kim Soo-hyun

He also won the Best Actor (TV) award at the 48th Baeksang Arts Awards.

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".

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.

With over 12.9 million ticket sales, the film became the second highest-grossing movie in Korean film history.

Kim Soo-hyun (born February 16, 1988) is a South Korean actor.

One of the highest-paid actors in South Korea, his accolades include four Baeksang Arts Awards, two Grand Bell Awards and one Blue Dragon Film Award.

Born on February 16, 1988, Kim's father is Kim Chung-hoon and was the lead singer of the 80's band "Seven Dolphins".

Kim's mother encouraged him to take acting classes during his school years to help him overcome his shy and introverted personality.

His aspirations to be an actor really took off between his middle school and high school.

His first major acting was in a stage play of Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream delivering the role of Puck.

His later work in the theatre includes the role of Kenickie and Hamlet in the musical Grease and tragedy Hamlet.

By 2006, Kim completed elementary, middle and high school in Gangnam, Seoul and debuted as a TV actor in 2007 after auditions.

Following a few theatrical works, he made his television debut in 2007 with the family sitcom Kimchi Cheese Smile.

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 US Peabody Award.

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.

He enrolled at Chung-Ang University's Film and Theater Department in 2009.

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 and the well-received SBS drama special Father's House where he acted alongside veteran actor Choi Min-soo.

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

In January 2010, KeyEast signed an exclusive contract with Kim becoming his management company.

Kim raised his profile through memorable turns as the younger version of the male lead characters in Will It Snow for Christmas? and Giant, the latter winning him the Best New Actor award at the SBS Drama Awards.

He went on to establish himself with starring roles in the television dramas Dream High (2011), Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), as well as in the top-grossing films The Thieves (2012) and Secretly, Greatly (2013).

His performance as King Lee Hwon in Moon Embracing the Sun won him the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actor – Television.

Kim became a household name in 2011 after starring in teen musical drama Dream High.

He plays a country bumpkin who turned out to be a musical genius.

The drama brought in high domestic ratings and was also popular overseas, winning several international awards.

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.

He recorded two songs for the drama's soundtrack, his solo "Dreaming" as well as the title track "Dream High" with the rest of the cast.

Kim's popularity skyrocketed when he starred in the hit period drama Moon Embracing the Sun as the King Leehwon.

The drama recorded a peak rating of 42.2 percent, thereby earning the "national drama" status and was exported to locales across Asia, making it one of the most profitable exports in the drama genre.

Kim contributed his vocals to the soundtrack with the traditional ballad "Only You" and the more modern composition "Another Way".

Due to his popularity, he set a new record in product endorsements for being the face of 17 products simultaneously.

From 2012 to 2016 and in 2021, he has appeared in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list.

Kim became a top Hallyu star as he gained further success with the fantasy series My Love from the Star (2013–14), and the variety drama The Producers (2015), which earned him three Daesang (Grand Prize).

In 2013, Kim was cast to play the role of a North Korean spy who infiltrated South Korea as a village idiot in the movie Secretly, Greatly, an adaptation of the popular webtoon series Covertness by Hun.

He was selected as Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year in 2014 and was featured by Forbes in their 30 Under 30 Asia list of 2016.

Kim took acting classes during his school years on his mother's recommendation to overcome his introvert personality.

Following the box-office failure Real (2017), he enlisted to complete his mandatory military service.

He marked his return to acting with the romantic comedy It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020) and the thriller One Ordinary Day (2021).