Cha Seung-won

In this Korean name, the family name is Cha.

Cha Seung-won (Korean: 차승원; born June 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor, who began his career as an in-demand fashion model in the 1990s. Cha achieved stardom through the hit comedy films Kick the Moon (2001), Jail Breakers (2002), My Teacher, Mr. Kim (2003), and Ghost House (2004). After proving his versatility in other genres, notably in the period thriller Blood Rain (2005) and the melodrama My Son (2007), Cha's popularity continued with the television series Bodyguard (2003), City Hall (2009), The Greatest Love (2011), A Korean Odyssey (2017), One Ordinary Day (2021) and Our Blues (2022).

Cha Seung-won
Cha in September 2012
Born	(1970-06-07) June 7, 1970 (age 54) Seoul, South Korea
Occupations	Actor model
Agent	KeyEast
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Spouse	Lee Soo-jin ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	2
Korean name
Hangul	차승원
Hanja	車勝元
Revised Romanization	Cha Seung-won
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'a Sŭngwŏn

Career

Cha dropped out of Sungkyunkwan University,^[1] and began a successful career as a fashion model in 1988.^[2] He was cast in the TV sitcom New York Story, which would eventually pave the way for his debut in film.^[3]

Although his debut film Holiday In Seoul (1997) and many of his subsequent roles did not establish him as a major star, he attracted attention in 2000 for his performance as an arsonist in the firefighting film Libera Me. The following summer, the runaway success of Kim Sang-jin's comedy Kick the Moon (over 4.3 million tickets sold) secured his place in the industry as a leading actor with strong star appeal.^[3] Since then, Cha has become one of the few surefire box office draws in the country. In a 2005 survey of influential movie producers, he was ranked among the top ten most bankable stars in South Korea.^[4]

In early 2003, Cha took on a slightly more serious role as a corrupt schoolteacher who is transferred to a country school in the film My Teacher, Mr. Kim. The film grossed over 2.4 million admissions and drew Cha additional praise for his acting abilities (he would later team up again with director Jang Gyu-seong for 2007 comedy Small Town Rivals^[5]).^[3]

Cha appeared as a private bodyguard in KBS2's weekend drama Bodyguard aired in July, 2003.^[6]

His next role, in Ghost House, reunited him with director Kim Sang-jin in a successful comedy about a man who buys a dream home, only to discover it is haunted by a young female ghost.^[3]

In 2005, Cha put aside the comic roles he had become known for and appeared in the grisly period thriller Blood Rain.^[7][8] The film's unexpectedly robust commercial success confirmed Cha's popularity among Korean audiences.^[3] He further proved his versatility in Jang Jin's Murder, Take One (also known as The Big Scene).^[9][10][11] He was named as major film actor from his agency Gooder Better Entertainment.^[12]

Cha starred in his first melodrama Over the Border (2006), about a North Korean defector.^[13][14][15] He then reunited with Jang Jin in My Son (2007), and he said his experience as a father helped a lot in learning the character.^[16] Stylish crime thrillers Eye for an Eye (2008),^[17] and Secret (2009) followed.^{[18][19][20][21]}

Cha returned to television in 2009, in the political fairytale City Hall penned by writer Kim Eun-sook.^[22][23][24] 2010 was a busy year for him,^[25][26] with Cha appearing in two films, the Lee Joon-ik-helmed period actioner Blades of Blood,^[27] and Korean War film 71: Into the Fire,^[28][29][30] followed by spy series Athena: Goddess of War.^{[31][32][33][34]}

Cha (1st from left) in June 2010

In 2011 his character in the hit romantic comedy series The Greatest Love, arrogant top star "Dokko Jin," became a mini pop culture phenomenon, giving rise to numerous commercial deals and parodies, as well as awards for Cha.^[35][36][37]

Cha made his theater debut in 2012 in the stage play Bring Me My Chariot Fire alongside Japanese actors Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Ryōko Hirosue, Teruyuki Kagawa, and Korean veteran actor Kim Eung-soo. Set in the historically turbulent early 1900s, the plot focuses on the friendship of artists from Korea and Japan who work together to preserve traditional Korean arts.^[38][39][40]

In 2014, Cha signed with the talent agency YG Entertainment,^[41][42] then starred in the police series You're All Surrounded.^[43] This was followed by his third team-up with director Jang Jin in the comedy noir film Man on High Heels, which subverted Cha's "macho" image by having him play a transgender homicide detective.^[44][45]

In 2015, Cha appeared in Three Meals a Day: Gochang Village, a cable reality show set on the remote Manjae Island for which he earned the nickname "Chajumma" (from the word ajumma) because of his versatile cooking skills despite the minimal amount of ingredients and implements.^[46][47] He was then cast as Prince Gwanghae in the period drama Splendid Politics, which focused on power struggles for the throne amid the backdrop of the Joseon Dynasty.^[48][49] Cha next plays cartographer and geologist Kim Jeong-ho in Kang Woo-suk's period epic Gosanja, Daedongyeojido, adapted from Park Bum-shin's novel The Map Maker.^[50]

In 2017, Cha was cast in tvN's fantasy romantic comedy drama A Korean Odyssey by the Hong sisters.^[51] Cha the starred in the family comedy-drama film Cheer Up, Mr. Lee in 2019^[52] and the disaster film Sinkhole in 2021.^[53]

Later in 2021, he starred alongside Kim Soo-hyun in the Coupang Play's television series One Ordinary Day, based on the British television series Criminal Justice.^[54] In 2022, he appeared in the tvN drama Our Blues.^[55]

In March 2025, Cha left YG Entertainment and signed with new agency KeyEast.^[56]

Personal life

Cha and his wife Lee Soo-jin are biological parents to daughter Cha Ye-ni (born 2003, christened as Rachel). In July 2014, a man claiming to be the birth father of Cha and Lee's son Cha No-ah (born 1989, christened as Noah)^[57] filed (and quickly dropped) a ₩100 million defamation lawsuit against Cha, which led to the actor admitting that No-ah is Lee's son from her previous marriage, and that when he and Lee got married, Cha legally adopted No-ah, who was then three years old. Cha had previously falsified his marriage date as 1989 to match No-ah's age, apologizing for entering the wrong date since their son did not know his paternity.^[58][59]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1997	Holiday in Seoul	Leg model's boyfriend		[3]
1998	If the Sun Rises in the West	Ji-min		[60]
1999	Ghost in Love	Na Han-su
	Attack the Gas Station		Bit part
	Fin de Siecle	Sang-woo
2000	Black Honeymoon	Kim Joon-ho
	Libera Me	Yeo Hee-su		[3]
2001	Kick the Moon	Choi Ki-woong		[3]
2002	Break Out	Yang Cheol-gon
	Jail Breakers	Choi Mu-seok		[61][62]
2003	My Teacher, Mr. Kim	Kim Bong-doo		[3]
2004	Ghost House	Park Pil-gi		[3]
	Lovely Rivals	Kim Bong-doo	Cameo
2005	Blood Rain	Lee Won-gyoo		[7][8]
	Murder, Take One	Choi Yeon-gi		[9][10][11]
2006	Over the Border	Kim Sun-ho		[13]
2007	Small Town Rivals	Jo Choon-sam		[5]
	My Son	Lee Kang-shik		[16]
2008	Eye for an Eye	Ahn Hyun-min		[17]
2009	Secret	Kim Seong-yeol		[18]
2010	Blades of Blood	Lee Mong-hak		[27]
	71: Into the Fire	Park Moo-rang
2012	The Suck Up Project: Mr. XXX-Kisser	Cha Seung-won	Cameo
2014	Man on High Heels	Yoon Ji-wook
2015	Minions	Narrator	Voice, Korean dubbed	[63]
2016	The Map Against The World	Kim Jeong-ho
2018	Believer	Brian Lee		[64]
2019	Cheer Up, Mr. Lee	Chul-soo
2021	Night in Paradise	Executive Ma	Netflix film	[65][66]
	Sinkhole	Jeong Man-soo		[67]
2023	Believer 2	Brian Lee	Netflix film	[68]
2024	Uprising	Seonjo of Joseon	Netflix film	[69]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Note	Ref.
1997	New York Story [ko]	Himself	Cameo
1998	Song of the Wind	Lee Ji-hoon
	Run Barefoot [ko]	Director Park
	Shy Lovers [ko]	Im Sung-bom
	Angel's Kiss [ko]	Jang Tae-ju
1999	Roses and Bean Sprouts [ko]	Choi Gyu-dae
	TV Movie: "Love Story"	Mr. Popular
	Woman vs. Woman [ko]
	I Show You The Taste [ko]	Seung-il	Yeong-nam's husband, psychiatrist
2003	Bodyguard	Hong Kyung-tak		[70]
2009	City Hall	Jo Gook		[71][72]
2010	Athena: Goddess of War	Son Hyuk		[73][74]
2011	The Greatest Love	Dokko Jin		[75][76]
2014	You're All Surrounded	Seo Pan-seok		[77]
2015	Splendid Politics	Prince Gwanghae		[78][79]
2017	A Korean Odyssey	Woo Hwi-chul		[80][81]
2022	Our Blues	Choi Han-soo		[82]
2025	Pigpen	The pension's owner		[83]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2021	One Ordinary Day	Shin Jung-han	Coupang Play original	[84]
2024	The Tyrant	Lim Sang-won	Main role; Disney+ original	[85][86]
TBA	Mercy For None	Mr. Kim	Cameo; Netflix series	[87]

Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Notess	Ref.
1998	Lee Seung-yeon's Say Say Say	Co-host
	GO! Our Heaven	Host
	Kim Hye-soo Plus You	Co-host
	Music Camp	MC
2006	Cha Seung-won's Health Club (Sunday Sunday Night)	Cast member
2015	Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village 1			[46][47]
	Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village 2
2016	Three Meals a Day: Gochang Village
2019	Korean Hostel in Spain			[88]
2020	Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village 5
2021	Hangout with Yoo	Guest
2023	Follow Hyung to Maya	Cast member		[89]
2024	Three Meals a Day Lite	Cast member

Music video appearances

Year	Title	Artist	Ref.
1998	"Even if the World Fools You"	Kim Jang-hoon
	"Poison"	Uhm Jung-hwa
2000	"I am a Man"	Kim Jang-hoon
2001	"I Love You"	Position
2002	"In My Heart"	4U
2003	Project X		[90]
2008	"Rain Shower"	Kim Jang-hoon
2011	"Cry Cry"	T-ara
2012	"Lovey Dovey"
	"I'm Sorry"	Lena Park
2017	"Beautiful"	Wanna One
2025	"Earthquake"	Jisoo

Stage

Theatre play performances

Year	Title		Role	Ref.
	English	Korean
2004	Taxi Driver	택시드리벌	Taxi passenger	[91]
2012–2013	Bring Me My Chariot of Fire	나에게 불의 전차를	Lee Soon-woo	[92][93][94]

Accolades

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.
A-Awards[note 1]	2011	The Best Black Collar Workers of 2011 — Style Award	Cha Seung-won	Won	[95]
	2016	The Best Black Collar Workers of 2016 — Style Award		Won	[96][97]
APAN Star Awards	2015	Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama	Splendid Politics	Nominated
Asia Model Festival Awards	2010	Asia Special Award, Film category	Cha Seung-won	Won
	2015	Asia Star Award		Won
Baeksang Arts Awards	2003	Best Actor – Film	Jail Breakers	Won
	2004	Best Actor – Television	Bodyguard	Nominated
	2006	Best Actor – Film	Blood Rain	Nominated
	2012	Best Actor – Television	The Greatest Love	Nominated
Best Dressed Awards	1995	Best Dressed, Model category	Cha Seung-won	Won
Blue Dragon Film Awards	2000	Best Supporting Actor	Libera Me	Nominated
	2001	Best Actor	Kick the Moon	Nominated
	2003	Best Actor	My Teacher, Mr. Kim	Nominated
Broadcast Advertising Festival	2022	CF Star Award	Cha Seung-won	Won	[98]
Buil Film Awards	2021	Best Supporting Actor	Night in Paradise	Nominated	[99]
Chunsa Film Art Awards	2007	Best Actor	My Son	Won	[100]
	2021	Best Supporting Actor	Night in Paradise	Nominated	[101]
Consumers' Day KCA Culture and Entertainment Awards	2024	Actor of the Year	The Tyrant	Won	[102]
Elle Style Awards	2017	Super Icon (Male)	Cha Seung-won	Won	[103]
Golden Cinema Film Festival [ko]	2002	Popularity Award	Kick the Moon	Won
	2021	Cinematographers’ Choice Popularity Award	Sinkhole	Won	[104]
Grand Bell Awards	2000	Best New Actor	A Century's End	Nominated
	2001	Best Actor	Libera Me	Nominated
	2003	Best Actor	My Teacher, Mr. Kim	Nominated
Grimae Awards	2003	Best Actor	Bodyguard	Won
	2011	Best Actor	The Greatest Love	Won	[105]
Hong Kong Cable TV Awards	2011	Best Actor	City Hall	Nominated
KBS Drama Awards	2003	Popularity Award	Bodyguard	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actor		Won
Korea Advertisers Association	2003	Good Model Award	Cha Seung-won	Won
Korea Best Dresser Swan Awards	1999	Best Dressed	Cha Seung-won	Won
Korea Broadcasting Awards	2011	Best Actor	The Greatest Love	Won	[106]
Korea Drama Awards	2011	Best Actor	The Greatest Love	Nominated
	2015	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Splendid Politics	Nominated
Korea Fashion & Design Awards	2007	Fashion Icon Award	Cha Seung-won	Won
Korea Fashion Association	1996	Male Model of the Year	Cha Seung-won	Won
Korea Fashion Photographers Association	1995	Model of the Year	Cha Seung-won	Won
Korea Jewelry Awards	2008	Sapphire Award	Cha Seung-won	Won
Korea Lifestyle Awards	2011	Best Dressed of the Year – Male	Cha Seung-won	Won	[107]
Korea Model Association	1995	Model of the Year	Cha Seung-won	Won
MBC Drama Awards	2011	Best Couple Award	Cha Seung-won (with Gong Hyo-jin) The Greatest Love	Won	[108]
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	The Greatest Love	Won
	2015	Top 10 Stars Award	Splendid Politics	Won
		Grand Prize (Daesang)		Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama		Nominated
Mnet 20's Choice Awards	2011	Hot Drama Star – Male	The Greatest Love	Won	[109]
		Hot Male Body (Best Six-Pack)	Cha Seung-won	Won
Model Center's Adieu Fashion Festival	1997	Grand Prize (Daesang) in Fashion	Cha Seung-won	Won
Model Line	1995	Best Dressed Award	Cha Seung-won	Won
SBS Drama Awards	2009	Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special	City Hall	Won	[110]
		Top 10 Stars		Won
	2011	Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Planning Drama	Athena: Goddess of War	Nominated
	2014	Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special	You're All Surrounded	Nominated
Style Icon Awards	2011	Style Icon of the Year	Cha Seung-won	Won	[111]
TVCF Awards	2007	Best CF Model for 2006	Cha Seung-won	Won

State honors

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

Country	Award body	Year	Award	Ref.
South Korea	The Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards[note 2]	2017	Presidential Commendation	[115]
	7th Finance Day[note 3]	2022	Chairman of the Financial Services Committee Commendation	[116]

Listicles

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

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2012	Korea Power Celebrity 40	25th	[117]
	2016		11th	[118]
The Screen	2009	1984–2008 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies	12th	[119]

Notes

1. Hosted by Arena Homme Plus Magazine
2. Honors are given at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards, arranged by the Korea Creative Content Agency and hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.^[112][113] They are awarded to those who have contributed to the arts and South Korea's pop culture.^[114]
3. Honors are given at a ceremony on Finance Day, which is designated on the last Tuesday of October every year. It is organized by the Financial Services Commission and is not a public holiday. Originally named Saving Day, it was created to encourage people's spirit of savings and promote savings, insurance, and securities businesses. Starting in 2016, Saving Day was changed to Finance Day. The Financial Services Commission explained the reason as "a measure that reflects the trend in which people's wealth formation methods have diversified from savings to fund investments, and the role of finance has expanded."