Choi Jin-hyuk

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim. In the stage name or pen-name, the surname is Choi.

Choi Jin-hyuk (Korean: 최진혁; born Kim Tae-ho, February 9, 1986) is a South Korean actor. He gained attention for his supporting roles in Gu Family Book (2013) and The Heirs (2013), and then went on to star in lead roles in Emergency Couple (2014), Pride and Prejudice (2014–2015), Tunnel (2017), Devilish Charm (2018), The Last Empress (2018–2019), and Rugal (2020).

Choi Jin-hyuk
Choi in March 2017
Born	Kim Tae-ho[1] (1986-02-09) February 9, 1986 (age 39)[2] Mokpo, South Korea
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2006–present
Agent	Workaholic Entertainment
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Korean name
Hangul	김태호
Hanja	金太昊
Revised Romanization	Gim Taeho
McCune–Reischauer	Kim T'aeho
Stage name
Hangul	최진혁
Revised Romanization	Choe Jinhyeok
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'oe Chinhyŏk

Career

Kim Tae-ho launched his acting career after he won the grand prize in the KBS reality talent show Survival Star Audition in 2006.^[3][4] He began using the stage name Choi Jin-hyuk in 2010, prior to the airing of family drama It's Okay, Daddy's Girl, in which he was cast in his first leading role.^[5] He also starred in the romantic comedies I Need Romance (2011),^[6] and Miss Panda and Mr. Hedgehog (2012).^[7][8] Choi made his big-screen debut in the romance film Love Clinique.^[9]

His breakout came in 2013 after a well-received appearance on fantasy-period drama Gu Family Book.^{[10][11][12][13][unreliable source?]} Afterwards, Choi landed supporting roles in two high-profile projects: writer Kim Eun-sook's trendy drama The Heirs, and the action film The Divine Move.^[14][15] His costar in The Divine Move, Jung Woo-sung also directed him in the short film Beginning of a Dream (Choi had joined Jung's agency Red Brick House).^[16][17]

In 2014, he headlined his first miniseries, the cable romantic comedy/medical drama Emergency Couple.^[18][3][19] Choi then returned to network television with a supporting role in You Are My Destiny, a remake of the 2008 Taiwanese drama.^[20] Another leading role followed with the legal drama Pride and Prejudice.^[21][22] He was also cast in a minor role in the Japanese film Koisuru Vampire ("Vampire in Love").

Choi went on a hiatus from acting when he enlisted for mandatory military service on March 31, 2015.^[22][23] He had the option to join the Seoul Police Promotional Team, the theater unit under the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, but choose to serve as an active duty soldier.^[24] He was discharged from the army after just seven months due to a knee injury.^[25]

Choi made his return with the crime thriller Tunnel,^[26] which was a hit in China.^[27] In 2018, he was cast in the romantic comedy drama Devilish Charm,^[28] and mystery thriller series The Last Empress.^[29]

In 2019, Choi was cast in the thriller drama Justice.^[30]

In 2020, Choi starred in the science fiction action drama Rugal^[31] and Zombie Detective. He also made a special appearance in TVN smash-hit drama Mr. Queen as an arrogant and flirty chef whose soul was trapped in Shin Hye-sun's body back in the Joseon era. He also lends his voice to Shin Hye-sun's character's inner thought for first 7 episodes. In February 2023, he also held a fan-meeting event in Taiwan.^[32] In October 2023, he signed with Workaholic Entertainment.^[33]

In November 2024, Choi made his first fan-meeting concert in the Philippines, at the New Frontier Theater.^[34] Prior to the event, he also appeared on a Filipino television variety show.^[35]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2012	Love Clinique	Park Min-soo
2013	Beginning of a Dream	Kim Jun-su	Short film
2014	The Divine Move	Sun-soo
2015	Koisuru Vampire	Mike

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2006	Rainbow Romance	High school student	Bit part
2006–2007	Just Run!	Lee Hyuk-jin
2007	Drama City: "A Neighborhood for Young People"	Kim Byung-yong
2007–2008	Belle	Oh Jae-hyuk
2008	Nine-tailed Fox	Hyo-moon
2008–2009	My Precious You	Ha Dong-woo
2009	Come with Me to Hell	Lee Rang
2010	Pasta	Sunwoo Deok		[36]
2010–2011	It's Okay, Daddy's Girl	Choi Hyuk-ki
2011	I Need Romance	Bae Sung-hyun
2011–2012	My Daughter the Flower	Gu Sang-hyuk		[37]
2012	Miss Panda and Mr. Hedgehog	Choi Won-il
2013	Gu Family Book	Gu Wol-ryung
	The Heirs	Kim Won
2014	Emergency Couple	Oh Chang-min
	Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit	young Lee Joon-hyuk	Cameo	[38]
	You Are My Destiny	Daniel Pitt
2014–2015	Pride and Prejudice	Gu Dong-chi
2017	Tunnel	Park Gwang-ho
2018	Devilish Charm	Gong Ma-seong
2018–2019	The Last Empress	Na Wang-sik / Cheon Woo-Bin
2019	Justice	Lee Tae-kyung
	Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency	Military Officer	Cameo (Episode 5)
2020	Rugal	Kang Ki-Beom
	Zombie Detective	Kim Moo-young
2020–2021	Mr. Queen	Jang Bong-hwan	Cameo	[39]
2021	KBS Drama Special: "Siren"	Choi Tae-seung		[40]
2023	Numbers	Han Seung-jo		[41]
2024	Miss Night and Day	Gye Ji-woong		[42][unreliable source?]

Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2006	Survival Star Audition	Contestant
2010	Star Photographer Tanssaenggi - Passionate Force	Cast member
2013	MBC 10th Anniversary Special: From Dae Jang Geum to I Am a Singer	Host		[43]
2019	My Ugly Duckling	Special host	Episode 162	[44]
2021–present		Special cast	Episode 234–265, 293–present	[45]
2024	It's Showtime	Guest	Philippine variety show	[46]

Music video appearances

Year	Title	Artist	Ref.
2012	"Even If I Choke Up"	T.G.U.S.
2013	"Sad Song"	Tae One	[47]

Discography

Singles

Title	Year	Album	Ref.
"Enough to Die"	2011	It's Okay, Daddy's Girl OST	[48]
"Inverted Love"	2012	Miss Panda and Mr. Hedgehog OST	[49]
"Best Wishes to You"	2013	Gu Family Book OST	[50]
"Don't Look Back"		The Heirs OST	[51]
"Scent of a Flower"	2014	Emergency Couple OST	[52]
"The Love I Tried To Forget"	2018	Devilish Charm OST	[53]

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	2013	Best New Actor	Gu Family Book	Won	[54]
Asia Rainbow TV Awards	2014	Outstanding Supporting Actor		Won	[55]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2014	Best New Actor – Television		Nominated	[56]
Blue Dragon Film Awards	2014	Best New Actor	The Divine Move	Nominated
DramaFever Awards	2015	Best Couple Award	Choi Jin-hyuk with Song Ji-hyo Emergency Couple	Nominated
Grand Bell Awards	2014	Best New Actor	The Divine Move	Nominated
KBS Drama Awards	2019	Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Justice	Nominated
		Netizen Award, Actor		Nominated
		Best Couple Award	Choi Jin-hyuk with Nana Justice	Nominated
	2020	Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Zombie Detective	Nominated
	2021	Best Actor in Drama Special/TV Cinema	Drama Special – Siren	Nominated	[57]
KBS Entertainment Awards	2020	Best Challenge Award	Zombie Detective	Won	[58]
KBS Survival Star Audition	2006	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Choi Jin-hyuk	Won
Korea Drama Awards	2014	Excellence Award, Actor	The Heirs	Nominated
MBC Drama Awards	2013	Best New Actor	Gu Family Book	Nominated
	2014	Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama	Pride and Prejudice	Won	[59]
		Popularity Award, Actor		Nominated
		Best Couple Award	Choi Jin-hyuk with Baek Jin-hee Pride and Prejudice	Nominated
SBS Drama Awards	2013	New Star Award	The Heirs	Won	[60]
	2018	Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama	The Last Empress	Won	[61]
SBS Entertainment Awards	2021	Grand Prize (Daesang) [note 1]	My Little Old Boy	Won	[62]
	2024	Excellence Award, Male		Won	[63]
Style Icon Awards	2013	Best K-Style Award	Choi Jin-hyuk	Won	[64]
	2014	Top 10 Style Icons		Nominated

Notes

1. with Shin Dong-yup, Seo Jang-hoon, Cho Hye-seon, Kim Sun-ja, Park Young-hye, Tak Jae-hoon, Im Won-hee, Kim Joon-ho, Kim Jong-kook, Kim Hee-chul, Lee Tae-sung, Oh Min-suk, Park Goon, Lee Sang-min