Jung Il-woo

Jung Il-woo
Jung Il-woo in LG Optimus LTE 2 ad, December 2010
Born	(1987-09-09) 9 September 1987 Seoul, South Korea
Nationality	South Korea
Alma mater	Hanyang University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2006–present
Agent	HB Entertainment (2016-present)
Religion	Roman Catholic[1]
Website	http://www.jungilwoo.com/
Korean name
Hangul	정일우
Hanja	丁一宇
Revised Romanization	Jeong Ir-u
McCune–Reischauer	Chŏng Ir-u

Jung Il-woo (Hangul: 정일우; born 9 September 1987) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the sitcom Unstoppable High Kick (2006), and the television dramas The Return of Iljimae (2009), 49 Days (2011), Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (2011), and The Night Watchman's Journal (2014).

Early life

The son of a former television news anchorman, Jung Il-woo studied Broadcasting at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, then later dropped out and transferred to the Theater and Film department of Hanyang University.

In August 2006, Jung sustained injuries in a serious car accident while riding with childhood friend and fellow actor Lee Min-ho, who was badly injured in the accident.^[2]

Career

Jung made his acting debut in 2006 with a minor role in the thriller The World of Silence, but he first rose to fame playing a rebellious teen and motorcycle fanatic with a crush on his teacher in daytime family sitcom Unstoppable High Kick.^[3] He then joined the ensemble cast of 2007 romantic comedy film My Love.

In 2009, Jung starred in his first leading role as a young warrior battling injustice in historical drama The Return of Iljimae.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Subsequent TV appearances included an idealistic, upper-class lawyer in the 2009 romantic comedy My Fair Lady,^[9] and a breakout role as the Scheduler, a witty, modern-day Grim Reaper in the 2011 tearjerker 49 Days.^{[10][11][12][13][14]} Jung further challenged himself when he made his stage debut in 2010 as an HIV-positive gay man in the sold-out play Beautiful Sunday, written by Japanese playwright Mayumi Nakatani.^[15]

His popularity increased with his leading man turn in 2011 cable romantic comedy Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, in which he played an arrogant, immature yet lovable chaebol heir.^[16] A supporting role in hit 2012 historical drama Moon Embracing the Sun further raised his profile; Jung played a prince who becomes his half-brother's rival in love and for the throne.^{[17][18][19][20]} Then from 2013 to 2014, he played a prosecutor who falls in love with a girl from a family of orphans in Golden Rainbow.^{[21][22][23][24]} This was followed by a leading role as a prince turned ghost-seeing night watchman who patrols the palace after curfew and keeps the king and his citizens safe, in the supernatural period drama The Night Watchman's Journal.^{[25][26][27][28][29][30]}

Given Jung's Korean Wave (Hallyu) star status, he actively communicates with fans around the world through social networking websites like Twitter, Cyworld and Weibo.^[3] He won the Asia Male Actor Award at Beijing's Huading Awards in 2012, the first non-Chinese entertainer to be nominated at the awards show since it began in 2005.^[31] In 2015, Jung was cast in the Chinese romantic comedy film Rise of a Tomboy, where he plays the CEO of an IT firm who helps a girl develop a love formula for a mobile app.^[32]

In January 2016, Jung signed with a new management agency, HB Entertainment.^[33]

Filmography

Television drama

Film

Music video

Variety show appearances

Theater

Discography

Endorsements

Social contributions

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jung Il-woo.

• Jung Il-woo official website
• Jung Il-woo on Twitter
• Jung Il-woo on Cyworld
• Jung Il-woo on Sina Weibo
• Jung Il-woo at HanCinema
• Jung Il-woo at the Internet Movie Database