Dex (YouTuber)
South Korean entertainer (born 1995) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kim Jin-young (Korean: 김진영; born June 9, 1995), also known as Dex (Korean: 덱스), is a South Korean entertainer,[2] actor,[3][4] and YouTuber. He has appeared on Netflix's dating show Single's Inferno Season 2 and zombie apocalypse survival show Zombieverse, and MBC's game survival show Bloody Game.[5][6]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
2016–2020: Military service
In 2016, Kim Jin-young entered the military as a non-commissioned officer in the 251st Class, Republic of Korea Navy and part of ROKN UDT (South Korean counterpart of the U.S Navy Seal), Class 62-2. He served for 4 years.[7]
During his active duty, He was assigned in the Special Mission Battalion of the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla, a counter-terrorism unit. In 2018, He was also assigned to the 13th Akh Unit, a dispatched unit of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces to the United Arab Emirates.[8]
After being discharged from the military in 2020, he appeared in Fake Men 2, a military web entertainment.[9] In the same year, he appeared in MBC's game survival show, Bloody Game.[6]
2022–2023: Rising popularity
In 2022, Kim Jin-young rose to fame when he participated in the Netflix dating show, Single's Inferno Season 2. He was known as the "Catfish Man" (Korean: 메기남), who was brought in later to make the existing cast members stay together first and make the contestants nervous.[10]
In 2023, he returned as a participant in the second season of Bloody Game from which he won the Rookie Male Entertainer Award at the 2nd Blue Dragon Series Awards.[11] He joined as a regular member on the second and third seasons of the travel variety show Adventure by Accident with Kian84, Pani Bottle, and Lee Si-eon.[12] The show won several awards at the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards, including his Rookie Award and Best Couple Award.[13]
Dex is also the sole host for the YouTube show Dex's Fridge Interview by Channel 117.[14] He hosted the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Lee Se-young.[15] He also joined as one of the panels in the third and fourth seasons of Single's Inferno.[16][17]
2024–present: Acting and motorcycle racing debut
Dex appeared in several variety shows in 2024, such as MBC's University Sports Festival: Boys' Athletes' Village, where he served as a coach to college sports athletes;[18] Disney+'s The Zone: Survival Mission 3 with Yoo Jae-suk, SNSD's Kwon Yu-ri, and Dong Hyun Kim;[19][20] and JTBC's My Name is Gabriel, where he experienced the life of Rati, a wine jar maker, for 72 hours.[21]
He also showed sibling-like chemistry on tvN's Fresh off the Sea with Yum Jung-ah, Park Jun-myun, and Ahn Eun-jin.[22] The show became a trending topic every week of its broadcast and Dex was dubbed as the "Nation's Younger Brother".[23]
Dex debuted as an actor in Tarot: The Seven Chapter Story, a horror-thriller drama series.[24] The 1st episode of the film, "Santa's visit", starring Cho Yeo-jeong is the South Korean entry invited to participate at the 2024 Cannes International Series Festival's short form category competition.[25] He used his real name, Kim Jin-young, as an actor, instead of his stage name, Dex, wanting to separate entertainment and acting.[26]
He appeared on the second season of Netflix's Zombieverse, which premiered on November 19, 2024.[27]
Impact
On December 2, 2023, Dex was placed first on the Wavve Year-end Settlement as the "contributor that attracted new paid subscriptions" for the platform.[28] On December 7, he became part of the "fastest growing creator" by YouTube Korea.[29]
Filmography
Films
Dramas
Variety shows
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Toy Soldiers: Fake Men 2 | Instructor | [9] |
| 2021–2022 | Bloody Game | Contestant | [6] |
| 2022–2023 | Single's Inferno Season 2 | [10] | |
| 2023 | Bloody Game 2 | [11] | |
| Masked Singer | [12] | ||
| Adventure by Accident 2 | Cast member | ||
| Smiling Boss | |||
| Radio Star | Special MC | [13] | |
| Zombieverse | Cast member | [12] | |
| I am Angry Now | MC | ||
| Muksuldan | |||
| 2023–2024 | Adventure by Accident 3 | Cast member | |
| Single's Inferno Season 3 | MC | [16] | |
| 2024 | University Sports Festival: Boys' Athletes' Village | Coach | [18] |
| Fresh off the Sea | Cast member | [22] | |
| The Zone: Survival Mission 3 | [20] | ||
| My Name is Gabriel | [21] | ||
| Zombieverse 2 | [27] | ||
| 2025 | Single's Inferno Season 4 | MC | [17] |
Web shows
Accolades
Awards and nominations
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2025 | Best Male Variety Performer | Dex | Pending | [31] |
| Blue Dragon Series Awards | 2023 | Best New Male Entertainer | Bloody Game | Won | [11] |
| 2024 | TIRTIR Popular Star Award | Dex | Won | [2] | |
| Donga.com's Pick | 2023 | I can survive without Dex | Won | [32] | |
| Fundex Awards | 2023 | Best OTT Non-Drama Performer | Won | [33] | |
| Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards | 2023 | Entertainment Star Award | Won | [34] | |
| Korea First Brand Awards | 2024 | Multitainer (Male) | Won | [35] | |
| 2025 | Won | [36] | |||
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2023 | Male Rookie Award – Variety | Adventure by Accident | Won | [13] |
| Best Couple Award | Adventure by Accident (with Kian84 and Pani Bottle) | Won | |||
| Youth Day Creator Awards | 2023 | Young Creator Award | Dex | Won | [37] |
State and cultural honors
| Country or organization | Ceremony | Year | Honor | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | Korean Youth Hope Awards | 2023 | National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's Commendation | [38] |
Listicles
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes | 2024 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 14th | [39] |
References
External links
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