Edited by Seo Hayne
Translated Cho EK
Kim Woo Bin, a 6′ 2 former fashion model, mainly played tough and rebellious high-schoolers in the early days of his career. He made his debut as Kang Mir in KBS White Christmas in 2011, and his nickname was ‘Crazy Mir’ with his red hair who strolls around a highly prestigious high school. In SBS A Gentleman’s Dignity, the following year, he appeared as a student who causes trouble to a teacher he secretly fancies. In it, he makes her laugh with his quirky behaviors. Later, in KBS School 2013, he plays a suspended transfer student with a tragic hidden story. With his first lead role in School 2013, he won the Best New Male Award at the 2013 Asia Pacific Star Awards.
Kim Woo Bin’s screen debut was Friend: The Great Legacy (2013), a sequel that came out in 12 years. In the previous work, Friend, he played the secret son of Dong Su (Jang Dong Gun), who was killed by the betrayal of a friend he trusted among his four friends. He appeared as one of the young generations of a criminal organization who was not afraid to curse or kill. While playing the role, he even described the character as “one of the most badass roles he played.”
While steadily expanding his popularity, he participated in SBS The Heirs (2013) and stood out As Choi Young Do, the young heir of a hotel. In it, his clever line, “See, good looks hide poor quality,” has gone viral online. The character’s unique confidence in the line was impressive.
Since 2014, Kim Woo Bin has been steadily focusing on his career on big screens. In the caper movie The Con Artists (2014), he made up for the quality of the film with his charms. Moreover, in Twenty (2015), he pleasantly showed the quirky side of the young people around his age. In Master (2016), he starred with outstanding stars like Lee Byung Hun and Kang Dong Won and breathed life into his role with his tongue-in-cheek acting.
This year, Kim Woo Bin has set on some exciting new projects. He had a four-year hiatus due to an illness after Master. Now he has been preparing for a comeback that began with the news of his full recovery last year. First of all, a sci-fi action movie Alien is preparing for release in the second half of the year. It has characters from the end of Goryeo and aliens traveling back and forth between time and space. It was recently reported that Kim is contemplating to star in Netflix’s Delivery Knight and writer Noh Hee Kyung’s new work Our Blues. As he is likely to keep himself busy this year, We look forward to seeing his healthy progress.
Editor Seo Hayne: I like actors as they faithfully lead through their long running-time. I also like idols who accomplish everything on stage within 3 minutes.
Translator Cho EK: I’m a big fan of Korean dramas and movies.
