Moon Sung-keun (; born May 28, 1953) is a South Korean actor and politician. He has won three

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

, two

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the newspaper ''Hankook Ilbo'', ...

, and two

Chunsa Film Art Awards The Chunsa Film Art Awards (also known as the Icheon Chunsa Film Festival) have been presented in South Korea since the founding of the prize by the Korea Film Directors' Society in 1990. The awards take their name from the pen name of the earl ...

for Best Actor.

Career

Moon was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. His father was Rev. Moon Ik-hwan, who fought for democracy alongside

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...

under the military regime led by

Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

in 1970s, and was a well-known pro- unification activist. After graduation from Sogang University with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in International Business, Moon worked as a

salaryman The term is a Japanese word for salary, salaried workers. In Japanese popular culture, it is portrayed as a white-collar worker who shows unwavering loyalty and commitment to his employer, prioritizing work over anything else, including family. ...

for eight years. In 1985, he began acting in theater, and became a key figure in the beginning of the renaissance of

Daehangno Daehang-no () is a area in Jongno District within Downtown Seoul. Formerly known as Sunggyo-bang (), it received its current name after the 1.1 km six lane road from Hyehwa-dong rotary to Ihwa-dong crossroad was designated as a "street ...

stage plays in the mid-1980s, playing the leading role in such mega-hits as '' Chilsu and Mansu'' and ''Till the End of Time''. Moon made his film debut in 1990 with ''

Black Republic ''Black Republic'' () is a 1990 South Korean film directed by Park Kwang-su. Plot A social drama about a young student activist who hides from the authorities by working in a small mining town. Cast * Moon Sung-keun as Kim Ki-young *Park Joong-ho ...

'' directed by

Park Kwang-su Park Kwang-su (born January 22, 1955) is a South Korean filmmaker. He was born in Sokcho, Gangwon Province and grew up in Busan. Park joined the Yallasung Film Group as a student of Fine Arts at Seoul National University. Upon graduation, he fo ...

. During his acting career, Moon has won Best Actor award at the

thrice,

twice,

twice, and other accolades. Moon started his political activities in 2009, becoming

Democratic United Party The Democratic Party (DP; ), formerly the Democratic United Party (DUP; ) until 2013, was a Liberalism in South Korea, liberal political party in South Korea, and for the duration of its existence the country's main opposition force. On 15 De ...

's temporary chairman in 2012. Since then, he has mostly made special appearances in movies. In 2017, Moon and a group of South Korean artists filed complaints against two former presidents

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...

, and other six senior officials, asking for a prosecution investigation over the allegation of an "artist blacklist." Moon is a frequent collaborator of director

Lee Chang-dong Lee Chang-dong (; born July 4, 1954) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and novelist. He has directed six feature films: ''Green Fish'' (1997), ''Peppermint Candy (film), Peppermint Candy'' (1999), ''Oasis (2002 film), Oasis'' (2002) ...

. He has starred in four of Lee's films, including critically acclaimed ''

Burning Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combust ...

'' (2018).

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Sung-keun 1953 births Male actors from Tokyo 20th-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean male actors South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors South Korean male stage actors South Korean politicians South Korean male web series actors Sogang University alumni Living people South Korean actor-politicians Best New Actor Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners