Lee Seung-hwan (; born October 12, 1993), known professionally as Seo Kang-joon (), is a South Korean actor and former singer, who was a member of the group

5urprise 5urprise (; pronounced surprise), was the first ever South Korean actor group and consists of five actors: Yoo Il, Seo Kang-joon, Gong Myung, Kang Tae-oh and Lee Tae-hwan. History 5urprise was launched by talent agency Fantagio in Septemb ...

. He gained recognition with his role in the television series '' Cheese in the Trap'' (2016) and has since starred in ''

Are You Human? ''Are You Human?'' () is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Seo Kang-joon and Gong Seung-yeon. It aired on KBS2's Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 ( KST), from June 4 to August 7, 2018. Synopsis Oh Laura, a renowned scientist, was fo ...

'' (2018), '' Watcher'' (2019), '' When The Weather Is Fine'' (2020), ''

Grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Space partitioning * Regular grid, a tessellation of space with translational symmetry, typically formed from parallelograms or higher-dimensional analogs ** Grid graph, a graph structure with nodes connec ...

'' (2022), and '' Undercover High School'' (2025).

Early life and education

Seo Kang-joon was born Lee Seung-hwan in

Gunpo Gunpo (; ), formerly romanized as Kunp'o, is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is south of Seoul and in the Seoul National Capital Area. It borders Anyang to the north, Uiwang to the east, and Ansan to the south and west, and is connec ...

, South Korea. In the second year of secondary school, Seo went to study abroad in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

for one year and seven months and returned to Korea in the first year of high school. After his debut, he enrolled at the Faculty of Performing Arts of Dong Seoul College. Seo worked part-time as a model before his debut. After passing the audition for ''Actor's League'', a program with the aim of searching for new actors organized by

Fantagio Fantagio () is a South Korean entertainment company that operates as a record label, talent training and management agency, as well as movie and K-drama production company. The company was founded in September 2008 as N.O.A. Entertainment (stan ...

, Seo underwent training before debuting in the group

Career

2012–2016: Beginnings and rising popularity

Seo took on

bit parts In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

in various television series, before making his acting debut as with a supporting role in SBS' drama ''

The Suspicious Housekeeper ''The Suspicious Housekeeper'' () is a 2013 South Korean television series starring Choi Ji-woo, Lee Sung-jae, Wang Ji-hye and Kim So-hyun. It aired on SBS TV from 23 September to 26 November 2013 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episo ...

''. His first major role was in the 2014

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 ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

'' Cunning Single Lady'', for which he won the Best New Actor award at the 7th

Korea Drama Awards The Korea Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony for excellence in television in South Korea. It was established in 2007, and is held annually in October in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province as the official main event of the annual Korea Drama F ...

. He has then appeared in television dramas '' What Happens to My Family?'' (2014–2015), ''

Splendid Politics ''Splendid Politics'' () is a 2015 South Korean television series starring Cha Seung-won, Lee Yeon-hee, Kim Jaewon, Seo Kang-joon, Han Joo-wan and Jo Sung-ha. It aired on MBC from April 13 to September 29, 2015 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 2 ...

'' (2015), and ''

To Be Continued A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or be ...

'' (2015), as well as films '' My Love, My Bride'' (2014) and ''Summer Snow'' (2015). In 2014, Seo joined the SBS variety show ''

Roommate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dorm-mate, suite-mate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Brit ...

'' as a cast member. He also appeared on ''

Law of the Jungle "The law of the jungle" (also called jungle law) is an expression that has come to describe a scenario where "anything goes". The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines the Law of the Jungle as "''the code of survival in jungle life'', now usuall ...

'' as a guest. Seo's breakout role came in 2016 as a talented pianist in the college romance drama '' Cheese in the Trap''. The same year, he starred in his first leading role in tvN drama ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', the Korean remake of the American television series of the same name.

2018–present: Leading roles

In 2018, Seo starred in KBS's science fiction drama ''

'' where he played double roles as a wealthy heir and robot. The same year, he starred in romance comedy drama ''

The Third Charm ''The Third Charm'' () is a 2018 South Korean television series directed by Pyo Min-soo and starring Seo Kang-joon and Esom. It explores the real side of relationships between couples. It aired on JTBC from September 28 to November 17, 2018, e ...

''. In 2019, Seo starred in OCN's thriller drama '' Watcher'' as a policeman. He was cast in the

JTBC JTBC (shortened from Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company; ; stylized in all lowercase) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on December 1, ...

romance drama '' When the Weather Is Fine'', which aired in the first half of 2020. In 2022, Seo starred in

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

(

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

) thriller drama ''

'' as an employee of the Grid Bureau. In 2024, Seo was cast in the MBC action comedy '' Undercover High School,'' which aired in the first half of 2025.

Personal life

Military service

On November 8, 2021, it was reported that Seo would enlist in the military on November 23, 2021. Later the same day, Seo's agency confirmed that he would enlist in the military on November 23, without revealing his location. Seo received the division commander's commendation for excellent performance in basic military training. Seo was discharged from military service on May 22, 2023 after serving as an active duty soldier for 18 months.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seo, Kang-joon 1993 births Living people People from Gunpo Singers from Gyeonggi Province Male actors from Gyeonggi Province South Korean male television actors South Korean male film actors South Korean male idols 21st-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean male singers