Kim JaewonThe actor indicates a preference of spelling his name "Jaewon" (without a space or hyphen) on hi
official website
. (born 18 February 1981) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for the

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 ...

s '' Romance'' (2002), '' Listen to My Heart'' (2011), ''

May Queen In the British Isles and parts of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, the May Queen or Queen of May is a personification of the May Day holiday of 1 May, and of Spring (season), springtime and the coming growing season. The May Queen is a ...

'' (2012), and '' The Scandal'' (2013).

Career

Kim Jaewon made his acting debut in 2001 in the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

''Honey Honey''. He rose to stardom a year later when he played a high school senior who falls for his teacher (played by

Kim Ha-neul Kim Ha-neul (; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in the films ''Ditto (2000 film), Ditto'' (2000), ''My Tutor Friend'' (2003), ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (2004), ...

) in 2002 hit

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

''Romance''. ''Rival'' (with So Yoo-jin) and '' My Love Patzzi'' (with

Jang Na-ra Jang Na-ra (; born March 18, 1981) is a South Korean actress and singer who has been active in both the South Korean and Chinese entertainment industries since 2001. She rose to prominence with her hit studio album ''Sweet Dream'' in 2002, and ...

and Kim Rae-won) further raised his profile. He reunited with ''Rival'' costar Kim Min-jung in '' Land of Wine'' (2003), where they played a young couple trying to revive traditional liquor amidst a family feud. Then in 2004, he starred opposite Sun Feifei in ''Beijing My Love'', a South Korean-Chinese co-production which was shot 80% in China. He also appeared in the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film '' 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant'', followed by a supporting role in '' My 19 Year Old Sister-in-Law''. In '' Wonderful Life'' (2005), Kim's character deals with the consequences of a one-night stand in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

that leads to young marriage (to Eugene) and fatherhood. After playing a third-rate gangster who inherits a kindergarten and falls for a teacher (played by Han Ji-min) in '' Great Inheritance'' (2006), Kim was cast in his first

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

role as a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

romantically involved with a

gisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

in '' Hwang Jini'' (previous ''Mr. Arrogant'' costar Ha Ji-won played the title role). With his

Korean Wave The Korean Wave, or ''hallyu'' (; ), is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s. Worldwide interest in Korean culture has been led primarily by the spread of K-p ...

appeal, Kim then filmed the Chinese television drama ''First Love'', which aired on

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

in 2008. Kim enlisted on March 23, 2009 to fulfill his mandatory military service, and was assigned to the Defense Media Agency. He was discharged on January 24, 2011. As his acting comeback, Kim joined the cast of '' Listen to My Heart'', for which he received praise for his portrayal of a

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

man. He and costar Hwang Jung-eum were later given recognition at the year-end MBC Drama Awards. In fall 2011, Kim signed on to star in '' Me Too, Flower!'' opposite Lee Ji-ah. But on the first day of filming on October 4, he was injured when the

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. Historically, the term exclusively meant a similar vehicle with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle eng ...

he was riding malfunctioned and accidentally accelerated. After being diagnosed with a

dislocated shoulder A dislocated shoulder is a condition in which the head of the humerus is detached from the glenoid fossa. Symptoms include shoulder pain and instability. Complications may include a Bankart lesion, Hill-Sachs lesion, rotator cuff tear, or Injur ...

bone fracture A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a ''c ...

and torn ligaments and cartilage, he withdrew from the drama and was replaced by

Yoon Shi-yoon Yoon Shi-yoon (; born Yoon Dong-gu on September 26, 1986), also known professionally as Yun Si Yun, is a South Korean actor and television personality. He is best known for his leading roles in ''Bread, Love and Dreams (TV series), Bread, Love a ...

. Kim cancelled all entertainment activities for ten months and underwent rehabilitation under Dr. Na Young-mu (well known as the doctor of figure skater Yuna Kim), eventually making a full recovery. In 2012, Kim returned to the small screen opposite Han Ji-hye in ''

'', which depicts the success stories of people in the shipbuilding industry. He later won the Top Excellence Award in a Serial Drama at the MBC Drama Awards (he also hosted the ceremony). Kim was also the MC of ''Get It Beauty HOMME'', a "beauty guide for men" on cable channel OnStyle. Though he initially became popular due to his fair skin and beaming smile (which earned the actor the somewhat feminine nickname of "smiling angel" among fans), in recent years Kim has cultivated an image as a tough guy. This physicality was showcased in his next drama, '' The Scandal'' (2013), where he played a detective who discovers that the man he considers his father had kidnapped him as a child from his biological family. In 2014, Kim joined ''Four Sons and One Daughter'', a

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

with four male celebrities and one female guest star who form a family while living with fake parents in the countryside. He also began hosting the current affairs program ''The Real Story Eye'', which reconstructs cases to uncover the facts beneath rumors and speculation. Later that year, he signed with a new talent agency, Will Entertainment. Kim returned to period dramas in 2015 with '' Splendid Politics'', playing a villainous King Injo. In "God's Quiz: Reboot", he played the role of a lunatic Hyeon Sang-pil, continuing a diverse and wide acting transformation. In 2020, he established a one-man entertainment agency with his manager, who he has been working with for 20 years. The company is based on trust and people.

Personal life

Kim married Park Seo-yeon (who was three months pregnant at the time) on June 28, 2013 at Raum Wedding Hall in Yeoksam-dong,

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 ...

. The couple were childhood friends who began dating in October 2012. Park is the daughter of the head of an advertising agency, and she works in management at a modeling agency. Their son Yi-jun, nicknamed "Heaven," was born in December 2013."Kim Jae Won Reveals Baby's Nickname"
. ''

Soompi Soompi is an English-language website providing coverage of Korean pop culture. It has one of the largest international Internet communities for K-pop, mostly concentrated in news and forums. With more than 23 million fans across all platforms, ...

''. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02. Yi-jun appeared on camera for the first time when his father made a guest appearance on '' Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant''.

Filmography

Television series

Films

Variety shows

Music video appearances

Discography

Single albums

Collaborations

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Jaewon South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors 1981 births Living people Hanyang University alumni