Kam Woo-sung (born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his portrayal of a court jester serving a despotic king in the hit period film '' The King and the Clown''.

Career

Kam Woo-sung majored in Oriental painting at the

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

, then made his acting debut in the 1991

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

''Our Paradise''. Through his roles on TV in the following decade, Kam became known for playing gentle and intellectual upper-middle-class men, notably in ''Hyun-jung, I Love You''. Then in 2002, he successfully subverted this image in his first film, the critically acclaimed '' Marriage Is a Crazy Thing'', in which he played a commitment-phobic professor having a passionate affair. More characters followed in a variety of genres: a man trapped in a confusing and haunting sequence of events in

Song Il-gon Song Il-gon (born January 1, 1971) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter known for his internationally award-winning early short films, and later feature films such as '' Spider Forest'' (2004) and '' Feathers in the Wind'' (2005). Lon ...

's mystery film ''

Spider Forest ''Spider Forest'' () is a 2004 South Korean horror-drama written and directed by Song Il-gon. Plot Awaking alone in the middle of a dark forest, Kang Min sees a secluded cabin nearby and wanders towards it. Upon entering the small home, he is sh ...

''; the

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

-afflicted leader of a South Korean squadron in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

who looks into the mysterious disappearance of 18 soldiers in the horror thriller ''

R-Point ''R-Point'' () is a 2004 South Korean psychological horror war film written and directed by Kong Su-chang. Set in Vietnam in 1972, during the Vietnam War, it stars Kam Woo-sung and Son Byong-ho as members of the South Korean Army in Vietnam. Most ...

''; and a son struggling to fake Korea's reunification to fulfill an ailing father's wish in the comedy ''A Bold Family''. In late 2005, Kam reached a turning point in his 15-year career when he starred in '' The King and the Clown''.

Jang Hyuk Jeong Yong-jun (; born December 20, 1976), better known as Jang Hyuk, is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' Volcano High'' (2001), '' Windstruck'' (2004), '' The Flu'' (2013), as well as the television s ...

was originally cast in the leading role of a

court jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

during the reign of

Joseon dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

tyrant King Yeonsan, but after Jang was implicated in a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

-dodging scandal, Kam was brought in to replace him. He trained extensively over two months in the art of Korean traditional performance, including street opera, and acrobatic, rope and mask dances. The low-budget film unexpectedly broke box office records to become (at the time) the highest grossing Korean film of all time. Critics praised Kam's "powerful energy and wit," and his performance garnered acting recognition, including Best Actor at the 2006

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 ...

. He returned to television in '' Alone in Love'' (2006), which was lauded for its realistic portrayal of a divorced couple. Back on the big screen, Kam reunited with previous ''A Bold Family'' costar (and close friend in real life)

Kim Soo-ro Kim Soo-ro (; born Kim Sang-joong on May 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Career Early career Kim Soo-ro studied Theater at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and Dongguk University, then joined the Mokwha Repertory Company. In 1993, he mad ...

in ''

Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...

'' (2007), followed by the ensemble romantic comedy '' My Love'' and crime thriller ''The Outlaw'' (2010). Kam was listed as one of the highest paid entertainers on the KBS network in 2011, earning for playing

Geunchogo of Baekje King Geunchogo, Chogo II (324–375, r. 346–375) was the 13th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Il-yeon: ''Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea'', translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. ...

in the 60-episode series ''

The King of Legend ''The King of Legend'' (; literally ''King Geunchogo'') is a 2010 South Korean historical drama based on King Geunchogo of Baekje. Besides historical information from Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa, it was also inspired by a novel written by Le ...

''. Though appearing less frequently in projects, Kam has starred in melodramas ''

My Spring Days ''My Spring Days'' (; lit. "The Spring Days of My Life") is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Kam Woo-sung, Choi Soo-young, Lee Joon-hyuk, and Jang Shin-young. It airs on MBC on for 16 episodes beginning September 10, 2014. Th ...

'' (2014), '' Should We Kiss First?'' (2018) and '' The Wind Blows'' (2019) in recent years.

Personal life

After dating for 15 years, Kam married actress Kang Min-young in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 2006.

Discography

Singles

Filmography

Film

Television series

Awards

Notes

References

External links

Kam Woo Sung
at Bright Entertainment * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kam, Woo-sung 1970 births Living people Hoesan Gam clan People from Okcheon County Male actors from North Chungcheong Province South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors 20th-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean male actors