Joo Won (; born Moon Jun-won on September 30, 1987) is a South Korean actor best known for his roles in '' King of Baking, Kim Takgu'' (2010), '' Ojakgyo Family'' (2011), '' Bridal Mask'' (2012), '' Good Doctor'' (2013), ''

Fatal Intuition ''Fatal Intuition'' (; lit. "It's Him") is a 2015 South Korean crime thriller film written and directed by Yun Jun-hyeong. Plot Jang-woo and Eun-ji are orphaned siblings living in a small seaside town. They are very close, having only each other t ...

'' (2015), ''

Yong-pal ''Yong-pal'' () is a 2015 South Korean drama series starring Joo Won, Kim Tae-hee, Chae Jung-an and Jo Hyun-jae. It aired on SBS from August 5 to October 1, 2015, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 18 episodes. Originally slated for 16 ...

'' (2015), '' My Sassy Girl'' (2017), and ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

''(2020).

Early life and education

Moon Jun-won was born in Seoul, South Korea. He studied at Kaywon High School of Arts and continued his education on Theatre and Arts in

Sungkyunkwan University Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU or simply ''Seongdae'', Hangul: 성균관대학교; Hanja: 成均館大學校) is a private comprehensive research university in South Korea. The institution traces its origins to the historic Sungkyunkwan, found ...

. In 2013, Joo Won announced that he would be furthering his studies at

Konkuk University Konkuk University () is a South Korean private university founded in 1946. The university was founded based on three virtues: sincerity, fidelity, and righteousness. Konkuk University gives comprehensive education in agricultural and life sci ...

Career

2006–2009: Beginnings

Upon making it into college, Joo Won's father came up with the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Joo Won for him as the

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The ...

pronunciation of the name sounds similar to "God-willing". With his love for singing, he became involved in ''Frees'', a co-ed television performance group formed by SBS as part of a children's TV program. The show premiered in 2006, but Joo Won left the show quickly thereafter. Joo Won later auditioned for the

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

'' Altar Boyz'', based on the American musical of the same name. This musical role was a first of many to come, as he later appeared in other musicals, namely ''Singles'', '' Grease'', ''Sinsangnam'' and most notably, '' Spring Awakening''. Originally, Joo Won was the

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to a ...

for Melchior in ''Spring Awakening''. However, the original actor who played Melchior left the musical midway through the production, thus allowing Joo Won to perform later on in the production. His performance in ''Spring Awakening'' caught the attention of his future agency, Sim Entertainment.

2010–2012: Rising popularity and breakthrough

Joo Won first appeared in the 2010 television drama '' King of Baking, Kim Takgu'' as the antagonist to the titular character. ''King of Baking, Kim Takgu'' recorded high viewership ratings of over 50%, earning "national drama" status, and Joo shot to fame. He went on to star in the

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, ...

weekend family drama '' Ojakgyo Family'' in 2011, opposite Uee. He took home the Best New Actor award at the

KBS Drama Awards The KBS Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony presented by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually on 31 December. The highest honor of the ceremony is the "Gra ...

and

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 first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

. The same year, Joo made his big-screen debut in the action crime film '' S.I.U.'' alongside Uhm Tae-woong. However, it was Joo's third small screen project '' Bridal Mask'' that truly propelled him to mainstream popularity. He portrayed a pro-Japanese Korean police officer by day and a masked vigilante who fights for Korean independence by night. For his role in ''Bridal Mask'', Joo Won took home the Excellence award and Popularity award at the 2012

. The same year, he starred opposite Park Bo-young in the horror thriller '' Don't Click'', and joined the second season of the popular variety program ''

2 Days & 1 Night ''2 Days & 1 Night'' (; also known as ''1 Night 2 Days''; abbreviated as ''1N2D'') is a South Korean reality-variety show that airs every Sunday at 6:25pm KST on KBS2 beginning August 5, 2007. ''1 Night 2 Days'' used to be one of the two segm ...

''.

2013–2017: Mainstream success

In 2013, Joo starred in MBC's drama '' 7th Grade Civil Servant'', based on the action-romance movie '' My Girlfriend Is an Agent''. The same year, Joo was offered his most challenging role; an

autistic savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calc ...

who becomes a genius pediatric surgeon for KBS's medical drama '' Good Doctor''. After four years of absence from the musical scene, Joo returned to the musical stage with the Korean version of '' Ghost the Musical''. Due to schedule conflicts, he has since stepped down from ''2 Days & 1 Night'' to concentrate on his acting career. In late 2013, Joo starred in the romantic comedy film '' Steal My Heart'' opposite Kim Ah-joong. In 2014, Joo starred in '' Fashion King'', based on a popular

webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally t ...

of the same title. He returned to the small screen with ''

Naeil's Cantabile ''Naeil's Cantabile'' () is a South Korean television series adapted from the Japanese manga ''Nodame Cantabile'' by Tomoko Ninomiya. Starring Joo Won and Shim Eun-kyung with Park Bo-gum, Go Kyung-pyo and Baek Yoon-sik, it aired on KBS2 from Octobe ...

'', the Korean adaptation of ''

Nodame Cantabile is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tomoko Ninomiya. It was serialized in Japan by Kodansha in the ''josei'' manga magazine '' Kiss'' from July 2001 to October 2009 and collected in 23 ''tankōbon'' volumes. A two ...

''. In 2015, Joo starred in action thriller ''

'', alongside

Kim Tae-hee Kim Tae-hee (; born 29 March 1980) is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful actresses, she is best known for her roles in Korean dramas such as ''Stairway to Heaven'' (2003), '' Love Story in Harvard'' (2004), ' ...

. The drama garnered strong ratings and Joo won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the

SBS Drama Awards The SBS Drama Awards (), also known as SBS Awards Festival, is an awards ceremony presented annually by Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually on December 31. The hi ...

. He next starred in the thriller ''

'', which opened at the top of the box office, earning more than 1 million ticket sales. On November 3, 2015, Joo received the "Most Welcomed Actor" award at the second Asian Influence Awards Oriental Ceremony held in China. He then starred in the Korean-Chinese film '' Sweet Sixteen'', a romantic drama based on an Internet novel will depict the love story of three men and one woman. Joo's final project before enlistment was '' My Sassy Girl'', a historical remake of the 2001 hit film. The television series premiered in 2017.

2019–present: Comeback from military

In 2020, Joo returned to television in the SBS science fiction romance drama ''

''. In 2022, he starred in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

film '' Carter'' in the title role. In November 2022, Joo Won signed with Ghost Studio.

Personal life

Military service

Joo Won started his mandatory military service on May 16, 2017. In June 2017, the actor completed his six-week basic training and became an assistant instructor for the 3rd Infantry Division. During the military service, Joo Won emceed at the Armed Forces Festival 2017. He also participated at the 63rd

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

Commemoration Ceremony on June 6, 2018 On February 5, 2019, Joo Won was discharged from the military after completion of 21 months of mandatory military service.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Narration

Variety show

Music video appearances

Musical theatre

Discography

Soundtrack

Awards and nominations

State honors

Listicles

Notes

References

External links

Joo Won
at Huayi Brothers {{DEFAULTSORT:Joo, Won 1987 births Living people South Korean male musical theatre actors South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors Male actors from Seoul Sungkyunkwan University alumni 21st-century South Korean male actors Konkuk University alumni Best New Actor Paeksang Arts Award (television) winners