Yoo Hae-jin

1. Early life and education

Yoo’s interest in acting began in childhood, when he would sneak into a cultural center in Cheongju to watch performances. During eighth grade, a monologic play inspired him to pursue the craft professionally. Although he hoped to attend an arts high school, he was unable to do so because of financial constraints and opposition from his conservative parents. Instead, he joined a theater troupe following a summer acting camp in high school. Despite an introverted personality, he developed his skills by assisting and observing seasoned actors.^[3]

After high school, Yoo auditioned for university acting and film programs for two consecutive years but was unsuccessful. Reports suggest these rejections were based on his physical appearance. Although he initially planned to begin his mandatory military service immediately, his father encouraged him to explore other avenues first. Yoo chose to study fashion, under the impression that it would eventually benefit his acting career.^[3] After he completed his military service, he remained focused on theater during his time in fashion school, which resulted in poor academic performance. However, his father's earlier advice proved beneficial. A special selection process for college graduates permitted admission based only on written test, leading to his enrollment at the Seoul Institute of the Arts in 1995.^[3]

2. Career

In 1997, a pivotal moment in his life occurred in New York City. He traveled there with Professor Kang Man-hong and fellow actor Ryu Seung-ryong to visit and perform in the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. During this trip, he attended various influential performances, including Stomp, Blue Man Group, and Tube.^[4][5][6]

Following his graduation from the Seoul Institute of the Arts with a degree in Theater, Yoo performed with the Dongrang Repertory Theater Company and later became a member of The Mokwha Repertoire Company.^[7] During this period, a chance encounter with a bidet factory owner at a bakery led to a part-time job offer. Yoo later recalled that the owner requested he recruit an additional worker because Yoo struggled with the labor on his own. He enlisted Ryu Seung-ryong for the job. The two actors rented a room in the countryside for one month, where they worked together assembling bidets.^[8][9][10]

Yoo then began doing bit roles in films, graduating to supporting roles where he acquired a reputation as a scene stealer. Despite limited short screen time, his performances made a strong impression on audiences and critics. As Korean films became more diverse in terms of genre, Yoo found opportunities in increasingly weighty roles, over time becoming a bonafide marquee name at the box office.^[11] He has since established himself as one of the top character actors in the country, notably in King and the Clown, Small Town Rivals, Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard, Moss, The Unjust, The Pirates, The Classified File, Minority Opinion, Veteran, and Public Enemy and its sequels.^[12][13]

Yoo also began to take on lead roles. His first lead came in the film, Luck Key, which was released in 2016 and exceeded 5 million viewers.^[14][15] 2017 was a successful year for Yoo - he had the co-lead in Confidential Assignment,^[16] and had supporting roles in A Taxi Driver and 1987: When the Day Comes.^[17] All three were among the highest grossing Korean films of that year. In addition, A Taxi Driver earned him a Best Supporting Actor award at the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards and a nomination at the Asian Film Awards. In 2018, he starred in the family comedy Love+Sling,^[18][19] and Intimate Strangers, a remake of the Italian comedy Perfect Strangers.^[20] That year, he also was cast in the historical war film The Battle: Roar to Victory.^[21] He reprised his role in Confidential Assignment 2: International, which was the third highest grossing Korean film in 2022.^[22]

He has also appeared as a regular cast member on two reality shows: 2 Days & 1 Night from March to November 2013,^[23][24][25] and Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village in January 2015.^[26][27]

In November 2023, Yoo signed with the new agency Awesome ENT.^[28]

In 2026, Yoo portrayed Eom Heung-do, the title character of the historical film The King's Warden directed by Jang Hang-jun.^[29] The film was released on February 4, 2026, coinciding with the Korean New Year holiday.^[30] It received positive reviews and did well at the box office.^[31][32]

3. Endorsements

Yoo Hae-jin has become a popular choice as an advertising model for the food industry following the number of films he has had with 10 million viewers. Nongshim chose Yoo and Song Kang-ho as models for their new Shin Ramyun commercial in 2015. In the commercial, Song Kang-ho is seen boiling the noodles while singing about their enhanced flavor, and Yoo is shown enjoying the ramen while bantering with Song.^[33]

4. Personal life

Yoo and actress Kim Hye-soo first met in 2001 after shooting the movie Kick the Moon and became close in 2006 after appearing together in Tazza: The High Rollers. Rumors of their relationship surfaced in 2008 although both continued to deny any romantic involvement until early 2010 when paparazzi photographs of the two were released,^[34][35] and the couple officially confirmed their relationship.^{[36][37][38][39][40]} Yoo and Kim broke up in 2011.^[41][42][43]

5. Filmography

5.1. Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1997	Blackjack	Dump
1999	The Spy	Eokkae 2	Bit part
	Attack the Gas Station	Yonggari	Bit part
2001	Kick the Moon	Neopchi
	Musa the Warrior	Du-chung
2002	Public Enemy	Yong-man
	Break Out	Composed man
	Jail Breakers	Chu Moo-seung
	The Coast Guard	Cheol-gu
2003	Mr. Butterfly	Dong-sik	Cameo
	Please Teach Me English	Subway passenger	Cameo
2004	Ice Rain	Park In-soo
	Dance with the Wind		Cameo
	Hi! Dharma 2: Showdown in Seoul	Yong-dae
2005	Another Public Enemy	Yong-man	Bit part
	Blood Rain	Dok-gi
	Short Time	Han-kal	Cameo
	Never to Lose	Gas bucket	Cameo
	Mapado	Fisherman	Cameo
	King and the Clown	Yuk-gab
2006	Over the Border	Kim Sun-ho's brother-in-law
	Tazza: The High Rollers	Ko Gwang-ryeol
	Once in a Summer	PD Kim	Cameo
2007	Small Town Rivals	Noh Dae-gyu
	My Son	Man next door	Voice cameo
	Mission Possible: Kidnapping Granny K	Moon Geun-young
2008	Public Enemy Returns	Yong-man
	Truck	Truck driver Jung Cheol-min
2009	Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard	Chorangyi
2010	A Little Pond	Refugee	Bit part
	Moss	Kim Deok-cheon
	Enemy at the Dead End	Park Sang-eob
	The Unjust	Jang Seok-gu
2011	In Love and War	Jae-hoon
	Mama	Mama's boy gangster Seung-chul
2012	Miss Conspirator	Red Shoes
	The Spies	Department head Choi
	Rise of the Guardians	Easter Bunny	Voice; Korean dub	[44]
2013	The Flu	Bae Kyung-ub
2014	Obsessed	Im, owner of Renaissance Music Hall
	The Pirates	Chul-bong
	Tazza: The Hidden Card	Ko Gwang-ryeol
2015	The Classified File	Kim Joong-san
	Minority Opinion	Jang Dae-seok
	Veteran	Managing director Choi
	Fatal Intuition	Pharmacist Min
2016	Luck Key	Hyung-wook
2017	Confidential Assignment	Kang Jin-tae
	A Taxi Driver	Hwang Tae-sool
	1987: When the Day Comes	Han Byung-yong
2018	Love+Sling	Gwi-bo
	Intimate Strangers	Tae-soo
2019	Mal-Mo-E: The Secret Mission	Kim Pan-soo
	The Battle: Roar to Victory	Hwang Hae-cheol
2021	Space Sweepers	Robot Bubs	Voice and motion capture
	Egoist: The Border of Selfishness and Altruism	Narrator	Documentary	[45]
2022	Life Is But A Dream	Undertaker	Short film	[46]
	Confidential Assignment 2: International	Kang Jin-tae		[47][48]
	The Night Owl	King Injo		[49][50]
2023	Honey Sweet	Chi-ho		[51]
2024	Dog Days	Min-sang		[52][53]
	Exhuma	Yeong-geun		[54][55]
2025	Yadang: The Snitch	Koo Gwan-hee		[56]
	Big Deal	Pyo Jong-rok		[57][58]
2026	The King's Warden	Eom Heung-do		[59]
	The Assassin(s)	Detective Cheol-gu		[60]

5.2. Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2004	Toji, the Land	Kim Pyeong-san / Kim Doo-soo
2013	March: A Story of Friends	Himself
	2 Days & 1 Night	Cast member	Season 2, episodes 56–89
2015	Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village	Cast member
	Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village 2
2016	Three Meals a Day: Gochang Village
2019	Korean Hostel in Spain			[61]
2020	Humanimal		with Park Shin-hye	[62]
	Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village 5
2022–2023	Europe Outside Your Tent		Season 1 and 3	[63][64]
2022	Doctors Without Borders	Narrator	Photo exhibition audio guide	[65]

5.3. Music video appearances

Year	Song title	Artist	Ref.
2001	"Fix the Makeup"	Wax	[66]
2006	"It was All You"	Sunset	[67]

6. Theater

List of stage play(s)

Year	Title		Role	Theater	Date	Ref.
	English	Korean
1998	Birds Don't Cross at Crosswalks	새들은 횡단보도로 건너지 않는다	Jae-ho	Theater Arunguji	—N/a	[68]
1999	Chunpoong's Wife	춘풍의 처	Multi-roles	Theater Arunguji	August 10 to October 3	[69]
	(2nd) (1999) Oh Tae-seok Theater Festival - Our Sound, Color, and Gesture	(제2회) (1999) 오태석 연극제 - 우리 소리 · 색깔 · 몸짓	Bu, Koo Seon-bok	Theater Arunguji	—N/a	[70]

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.
Asian Film Awards	2011	Best Supporting Actor	Moss	Nominated
	2018		A Taxi Driver	Nominated	[71]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2015	Best Supporting Actor – Film	The Pirates	Won	[72]
	2017	Best Actor – Film	Luck Key	Nominated
	2024	Best Supporting Actor – Film	Exhuma	Nominated	[73]
	2026	Grand Prize – Film	The King's Warden	Won	[74]
		Best Actor – Film		Nominated	[75]
Blue Dragon Film Awards	2006	Best Supporting Actor	The King and the Clown	Nominated
	2010		Moss	Won	[76]
	2011		The Unjust	Nominated
	2014		The Pirates	Nominated
	2015		Veteran	Nominated
	2017		A Taxi Driver	Nominated
	2018		1987: When the Day Comes	Nominated	[77]
	2023	Best Actor	Honey Sweet	Nominated	[78]
	2024	Best Supporting Actor	Exhuma	Nominated
Brand Customer Loyalty Awards[1]	2026	Actor (Film)	Yoo Hae-jin	Won	[80]
Buil Film Awards	2015	Best Supporting Actor	The Classified File	Nominated
	2023	Best Actor	The Night Owl	Nominated	[81]
	2024	Best Supporting Actor	Exhuma	Nominated
	2026	Best Actor	The King's Warden	Won
Busan Film Critics Awards	2015		Veteran	Won	[82]
Chunsa Film Art Awards	2006	Best Supporting Actor	Tazza: The High Rollers	Nominated
	2017	Best Actor	Luck Key	Nominated
	2020		The Battle: Roar to Victory	Nominated
	2023	Special Acting Award	Honey Sweet	Won
Director's Cut Awards	2019	Best Actor – Film	Intimate Strangers	Nominated
	2023		The Night Owl	Nominated	[83]
	2026		The King's Warden	Won	[84]
Golden Cinematography Awards	2015	Best Supporting Actor	The Pirates	Won	[85]
	2026	Best Actor	The King's Warden	Won	[86]
Grand Bell Awards	2006	Best Supporting Actor	The King and the Clown	Won	[87]
	2010		Moss	Nominated
	2011		The Unjust	Nominated
	2014		The Pirates	Won	[88]
	2015		Veteran	Nominated
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards	2017	Best Supporting Actor	A Taxi Driver	Won	[89]
Korean Film Awards	2010		Moss	Won
KOFRA Film Awards	2015		The Pirates	Won	[90]
Max Movie Awards	2015			Nominated
	2016		Veteran	Nominated
SACF Artists of the Year Awards	2017	Artistic Impression in Motion Pictures Award	Yoo Hae-jin	Won
Star Night - Korea Top Star Awards Ceremony	2014	Best Supporting Actor	The Pirates	Won
University Film Festival of Korea	2017	Best Actor	Luck Key	Won

7.2. State honors

Name of the organization, year presented, and the honor given

Organization	Year	Honor	Ref.
Taxpayers' Day	2017	Presidential Commendation	[91]

7.3. Listicles

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

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes Korea	2016	Power Celebrity 40	22nd	[92]
Gallup Korea	2015	Film Actor of the Year	10th	[93][94]
	2016		5th	[95][96][97]
	2017		10th	[98][99][100]
	2018		6th	[101][102]
	2019		8th	[103][104]
	2022		9th	[105][106][107]
	2023		10th	[108][109][110]
	2024		9th	[111]
Korean Film Council	2021	Korean Actors 200[2]	Included	[112][113]
The Screen	2019	2009–2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies	5th	[114]