Kim Jung-guk (; born January 14, 1981), known professionally as Jung Woo (), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the drama '' Reply 1994'' (2013) and '' You Are the Best!'' (2013).

Career

Jung Woo made his acting debut in 2006, and began his career appearing in minor roles on film and television. He drew attention in 2008 for his turn as a morally challenged but lovable villain in action film ''Spare'', the directorial debut of Lee Seong-han. In 2009, Lee directed Jung Woo again, this time in the leading role in ''Wish'', a film which Jung Woo had written himself based on his own experiences as a troubled youth dreaming of becoming the number one fighter at his school. The character uses his real name Kim Jung-guk and nickname Jjianggu, the movie was shot at his childhood home and high school,

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

Commercial High School, and Jung Woo's real-life friends play themselves in the film. Spanning the years from Jjianggu's school life to his father's last days, the film was an official selection at the 2009

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held fro ...

. Jung Woo was praised for his performance, and won Best New Actor at the prestigious

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

in 2010. In 2013, Jung Woo played a supporting role as a baker who falls for a divorced single mother in the family drama '' You Are the Best!''. His mainstream popularity further increased when he was cast as one of the main characters of '' Reply 1994'', a cable drama about a group of young students from different regions in Korea living together in a boarding house while going to college in 1990s

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. This was followed by a role in

arthouse An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

spy movie ''Red Family'', produced by

Kim Ki-duk Kim Ki-duk ( ; 20 December 196011 December 2020) was a South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic Art film, art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit ...

. Jung Woo next starred in the 2015

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

'' C'est Si Bon''. Set in the eponymous live music cafe in Mugyo-dong, downtown

, the film depicted the formation of legendary

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

group Twin Folio, which was active from the 1960s to 80s. In 2019, Jung was cast in the gangster movie ''The Boiling Blood''.

Personal life

Jung Woo married actress Kim Yoo-mi on January 16, 2016. They became a couple after starring together in the 2013 film ''Red Family''.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Music video appearances

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jung, Woo 1981 births Living people People from Dong District, Busan South Korean male television actors South Korean male web series actors South Korean male film actors Seoul Institute of the Arts alumni FNC Entertainment artists Kyung Hee University alumni Male actors from Busan 21st-century South Korean male actors Best New Actor Paeksang Arts Award (television) winners