Koo Kyo-hwan

1. Early life and education

Koo Kyo-hwan was born on December 14, 1982, and raised in Isu, Dongjak-gu, Seoul.^[13] His father is a photographer who operated a photo studio in Bangbae-dong for three decades. In his school records, Koo was noted for a talent for comedy, which led to early ambitions to become a comedian. He later expanded his interests to acting and broadcasting, eventually pursuing careers as an actor, comedian, and television personality.^[14]

While Koo originally planned to major in acting at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, he applied to the film department because he was unaware of the theater department existence. His training in directing, cinematography, producing, and editing subsequently increased his interest in filmmaking, which became a stronger focus than acting.^[14]

2. Career

2.1. Career beginnings (2008–2015)

Koo made his acting debut in the 2008 short film Boys, directed by his Seoul Institute of the Arts peer Yoon Sung-hyun. In the film, he portrayed a high school student with a specialized interest in kite-making.^[14] That same year, he appeared in a minor role as a utility worker in Castaway on the Moon.^[15]

He began to garner attention for both his acting and directing after winning the Ting-Geurang Coin Award at the Jeongdongjin Independent Film Festival for his 2011 film Turtles, which he also directed. In 2014, he served as the director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and lead actor for the segment "Dating Documentary" within omnibus film Now Playing, the opening feature of the Seoul Independent Film Festival.^[16]

2.2. Critical recognition in independent films (2016–2019)

In 2016, Koo starred alongside Lee Min-ji in Cho Hyun-hoon's independent film Jane. He portrayed the title character, a transgender woman. To prepare for the role, Koo lost 10 kilograms and developed a distinctive high-pitched vocal delivery. His performance earned him Actor of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival^[17] and the Best New Actor Award at the 54th Baeksang Arts Awards. That same year, he won the Grand Prize in the Domestic Competition at the Asiana International Short Film Festival for Fly to the Sky, a project he co-directed and starred in.

Koo continued to establish a unique presence in the industry through his collaborations with director Lee Ok-seop. For the 2018 film Maggie, he served as the producer, screenwriter, editor, and lead actor. The film received significant acclaim, winning the Audience Award at the 44th Seoul Independent Film Festival, the CGV Art House Award at the Busan International Film Festival, and the KBS Independent Film Award.^[16]

In the summer of 2019, while planning to attend the Taiwan Film Festival, Koo and director Lee Ok-seop discussed the trip at Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Yeonnam-dong. The experience of falling asleep in the park and waking up at sunset reportedly served as the inspiration for the film Romeo: The Sin of Having Eyes.^[18]

2.3. Transition to commercial film (2020–Present)

Koo's first major role in a commercial production was Captain Seo in Yeon Sang-ho's 2020 film Peninsula. The director initially doubted Koo's suitability for commercial cinema but cast him after a personal meeting. Yeon later noted that Koo's interpretation added complexity to a character that might otherwise have been a conventional villain. His performance in the blockbuster garnered significant public and critical attention.^[19]

3. Personal life

Koo has been in a long-term relationship with director Lee Ok-seop since 2013. The two are fellow alums of the Seoul Institute of the Arts and began dating after Koo appeared in one of Lee's film projects. The pair co-manages 2x9HD, their YouTube channel, on which they showcase their creative collaborations. The channel features co-directed short films, experimental works, and vlogs documenting unique or overlooked aspects of daily life.^[14] In October 2026, their agency confirmed they married in 2022.^[20]

4. Filmography

4.1. As actor

4.1.1. Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2008	Boys	Gyo-hwan	Short film	[21]
2009	Just Before They Died	Do-young	Short film	[22]
	Castaway on the Moon	Utilities man 1	Bit part	[14]
	Don't Step Out Of The House	Ra-oh	Short film	[23]
2012	Winter Sleep	Gu-byeong	Short film	[24]
	A Werewolf Boy	Drunk man	Bit part	[14]
2013	Where is My DVD?	Gi-hwan	Short film	[25]
	Welcome to My Home	Gyo-hwan	Short film	[26]
2014	A Dangerous Woman	Duk-woo	Short film (First collaboration with Lee Ok-seop)	[25]
	Dempsey Roll: A Confession	Gyo-hwan	Short film	[27]
	We Called Him Heeya	Gi-tae	Short film	[26]
2015	Now Playing Episode 3: Love Docu	Goo Gyo-hwan	Omnibus Film	[28]
	Robot Revival	Jong-pil	Short film	[29]
	Romance in Seoul Episode 3. Fly to the Sky	Gi-cheol / Gyo-hwan	Omnibus Film	[30][31]
2016	Dishonor	Jeong-hoon	Short film	[32]
	Beaten Black and Blue	Gyo-hwan		[33]
2017	Jane	Jane		[34]
2018	Leave a Message After Beep	Animal Communicator	Short film	[35]
	Maggie	Lee Sung-won		[36]
2019	Romeo: The Sin of Having Eyes	Romeo	Short film	[18]
2020	Peninsula	Captain Seo		[37]
2021	Escape from Mogadishu	Tae Joon-gi		[38]
2022	Super Star Lee Hyo-ri	eldest brother	Short film	[39]
	Love Villain	Gyo-hwan	Short film	[40]
2023	Kill Boksoon	Han Hee-seong		[41]
2024	Escape	Ri Hyeon-sang		[42][43]
2025	Once We Were Us	Lee Eun-ho		[44]
2026	Colony	Seo Young-cheol		[45]
	Reawaken Man: The Red	Seok Hwan		[46]
	White Blast	Hyun-taek		[47]
TBA	Seeking the King	Kim Do-jin		[48]

4.1.2. Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2016	Dance From Afar	Sin Pa-rang	Drama Special	[49]
2021	Kingdom: Ashin of the North	Ai Da Gan	Special episode	[50]
2021–2023	D.P.	Han Ho-yul	Season 1–2	[51][52]
2022	Monstrous	Jeong Ki-hoon		[53]
	Extraordinary Attorney Woo	Bang Gu-ppong	Cameo (episode 9)	[54]
2023	One Day Off	Lee Chang-jin	Cameo (episode 3)	[55][56]
2024	Parasyte: The Grey	Seol Kang-woo		[57]
2026	We Are All Trying Here	Hwang Dong-man		[58]

4.2. As filmmaker

Year	Title	Credited as				Notes	Ref.
		Director	Writer	Editor	Producer
2011	Turtles	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Short film; Acting	[59]
2013	Play Tag	Yes[1]	Yes[1]	No	No	Short film	[60]
	Welcome to My Home	Yes	No	No	No	Acting
	Boy's Night	No	No	No	No
2014	Where is My DVD?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Costumes, Art Direction, Acting	[61]
	A Dangerous Woman	No	No	Yes	No	Acting	[25]
	We Called Him Heeya	No	No	Yes	No	Acting
2014	Now Playing Ep. 3. Love Docu	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Cinematography, Acting	[62]
2015	Romance in Seoul Ep. Fly to the Sky	Yes[2]	Yes[2]	Yes[2]	Yes[2]	Omnibus film; also credited as director of the trailer, CG, and acting	[63][31][64]
	After School	Yes[2]	Yes[2]	Yes	Yes	—N/a	[65]
2016	Beaten Black and Blue (Great Patrioteers)	No	No	No	No	Acting	[66]
2017	Girls on Top	Yes[2]	Yes	Yes	No	Costumes	[67]
2018	Leave a Message After Beep (Three)	No	Yes[2]	Yes[2]	Yes	Acting	[68]
2019	Maggie	No	Yes[2]	Yes	Yes	Acting	[69]
	Romeo: The Sin of Having Eyes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Short film, Acting	[18]
2021	Film Director Koo Kyo-hwan's Vlog	Yes[2]	No	Yes[2]	Yes[3]	Short film, Acting	[70]
2022	Replacement Driver Vlog	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Acting	[71]
	Super Star Lee Hyo-ri	Yes[2]	Adaptation[2]	Yes	Yes[2]	Acting	[72]
2024	Jinx Montage	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	50th Seoul Independent Film Festival opening video; acting	[73]
TBA	Your Country	Yes[2]	Yes[2]	Yes[2]	Yes[2]	Acting	[74]

5. Music videos

Year	Title	Artist(s)	Ref.
2024	"UP!"	Balming Tiger	[75]
2025	"Rich Man"	Aespa	[76]

6. Theater

Year	Title		Role	Theater	Date	Ref.
	English	Korean
2018	Doosan Humanities Theater 2018 Altruism - Nassim	두산인문극장 2018 이타주의자 - 낫심	Actor	Doosan Art Center Space111	April 10–29	[77]

7. Accolades

7.1. Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
APAN Star Awards	2022	Excellence Award, Actor in an OTT Drama	D.P.	Nominated	[78]
Asiana International Short Film Festival	2016	Grand Prize (Domestic competition)	Fly to the Sky	Won	[79]
Annual Plus	2021	Annual Awards Stars Who Shined in 2021 — Trending Actor Chungmuro	Koo Kyo-hwan	Won	[80]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2018	Best New Actor – Film	Jane	Won	[81]
	2021	Best Supporting Actor – Film	Peninsula	Nominated	[82]
	2022		Escape from Mogadishu	Nominated	[83]
		Best New Actor – Television	D.P.	Won	[84]
	2025	Best Supporting Actor – Film	Escape	Nominated	[85]
	2026	Best Actor – Film	Once We Were Us	Nominated	[86]
Blue Dragon Film Awards	2017	Best New Actor	Jane	Nominated	[87]
	2021	Best Supporting Actor	Escape from Mogadishu	Nominated	[88]
		Popular Star Award		Won	[89]
	2024		Escape	Won	[90]
Blue Dragon Series Awards	2022	Best New Actor	D.P.	Won	[91]
Brands of the Year[4]	2024	Male actor (OTT)	D.P.	Won	[92]
Buil Film Awards	2017	Best New Actor	Jane	Won	[87]
	2020	Best Supporting Actor	Peninsula	Nominated	[93]
	2021		Escape from Mogadishu	Nominated	[94]
	2026	Best Actor	Once We Were Us	Nominated
Busan Film Critics Awards	2017	Best New Actor	Jane	Won	[87]
Busan International Film Festival	2016	Actor of the Year		Won	[95]
Busan International Short Film Festival	2014	Busan Cinephile Awards	Where is My DVD?	Won	[96]
Chunsa Film Art Awards	2017	Best New Actor	Beaten Black and Blue	Won	[97]
	2018	Best Supporting Actor	Jane	Nominated	[98]
	2021		Peninsula	Nominated	[99]
	2022		Escape from Mogadishu	Nominated	[100]
Cine21 Film Awards	2016	New Actor of the Year	Beaten Black and Blue	Won	[101]
	2021	Series actor of the Year	D.P. Kingdom: Ashin of the North	Won	[102]
Director's Cut Awards	2019	Best New Actor	Maggie	Nominated	[103]
	2022	Best Actor in series	D.P.	Won	[104][105]
		Best New Actor in series		Nominated
		Best New Actor in film	Peninsula	Won
Dong-A.com's Pick[5]	2017	Acknowledged? Yeah, Acknowledged!	Jane	Won	[106]
Great Short Film Festival	2015	Great Audience Award - Best Poster	After School Tea Time Returns	Won	[107]
Kino Lights Awards	2021	Actor of The Year (Domestic)	Escape from Mogadishu Kingdom: Ashin of the North	1st place	[108]
Jeongdongjin Independent Film Festival	2011	Ding-Dong Coin Award	Turtle	Won	[109]
Korea First Brand Awards[6]	2025	Male actor (film)	Escape	Won	[110]
Mise-en-scène Film Festival	2014	Best Work Award in the King of Comedy (Comedy) category	Where is My DVD?	Won	[111]
Seoul International Drama Awards	2026	International Competition — Best Actor	We Are All Trying Here	Nominated	[112]
		Outstanding Korean Actor		Won	[113][114]
Wildflower Film Awards	2017	Best New Actor	Beaten Black and Blue	Nominated	[87]

7.2. Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Cine21	2010	Chungmuro Palpal Generation 50	Included	[13]
	2020	Actors to watch out for in 2021	6th[7]	[115]
	2021	Actors to watch out for in 2022	1st	[116]
	2023	Actors to watch out for in 2023	3rd	[117]
	2024	Actors to watch out for in 2024	2nd[8]	[118]
	2024	Next Korean Movie Actor	Included	[119]
	2026	Actors to watch out for in 2026	1st	[120]
Joy News 24	2021	Best Actor of the Year	3rd	[121]
Korean Film Council	2021	Korean Actors 200[9]	Included	[122][123]
Sisa Journal[10]	2021	Next Generation Leaders - Culture & Arts	Included	[124]