Won Bin

This article is about the South Korean actor. For the boy group member with the same name, see Riize.

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

Kim Do-jin (Korean: 김도진; born November 10, 1977), professionally known as Won Bin (원빈), is a South Korean actor. He first gained wide popularity in 2000 after starring in the KBS's television series Autumn in My Heart. One of the most selective actors in the Korean entertainment industry, he has starred in only five films to date: Guns & Talks (2001), Taegukgi (2004), My Brother (2004), Mother (2009), and The Man from Nowhere (2010). He was Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year in 2010 and 2011.^[1][2]

Won Bin
Won in January 2011
Born	Kim Do-jin (1977-11-10) November 10, 1977 (age 47) Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea
Alma mater	Paekche Institute of the Arts Yong In University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1997–2010
Agent	Eden 9
Spouse	Lee Na-young ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	1
Korean name
Hangul	김도진
Hanja	金道鎭
Revised Romanization	Gim Dojin
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Tojin
Stage name
Hangul	원빈
Hanja	元斌
Revised Romanization	Won Bin
McCune–Reischauer	Wŏn Pin
Website	wonbinus.co.kr
Signature

Early life

Won was born on November 10, 1977, in Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province, South Korea. He is the fifth and youngest child, with one brother and three sisters. His father was employed in a mine and his mother worked on a farm. As was common for other children living in mountainous regions, Won spent most of his time playing around with friends in the mountains and rivers. He was frequently shy, introspective, and quiet, character traits that would continue to follow him throughout adulthood. While not talkative or outgoing, he excelled at athletics. Won started taekwondo lessons and holds a black belt. He graduated from Chuncheon Mech Tech High School and initially planned to become a car mechanic due to his interest in car racing and motorcycling.^[3]

In November 1995, a cable television network was looking to recruit new actors; Won applied and was accepted in his last semester of high school. He was soon noticed by the fashion designer André Kim, who invited him to appear in his fashion show. Afterward, Won signed up with a talent agency and decided to take the stage name "Won Bin".^[3]

Career

Won made his acting debut with a supporting role in the 1997 television series Propose. He then starred in the series Ready Go! (1998) and Kwangki (1999). In 1998, Won graduated from the Broadcasting and Entertainment Department at Paekche Institute of the Arts.^[4][5]

Won had his big breakthrough in 2000. He played the rebellious youngest son in the critically acclaimed drama Tough Guy's Love (Kkokji). However, it was Autumn in My Heart that brought him widespread recognition not only in Korea but throughout Asia. The series became widely popular outside of Korea, ushering in the cultural phenomenon known as the "Korean Wave".^[6]

In 2001, Won graduated from the Department of Theater at Yong In University.^[7] In 2002, he appeared in the series Friends, the first South Korean–Japanese co-production. Also that year, he took the master's course in the Department of Film of the Graduate School of Arts, Yong In University.^[7]

Won's first major big-screen success was the war drama Taegukgi, in which he played a sensitive younger brother who was forcefully drafted into the South Korean army at the start of the Korean War. Taegukgi became the highest-grossing film in South Korea in 2004, selling 11.75 million tickets.^[8] Won also starred in such popular films as Guns & Talks (2001) and My Brother (2004).

In November 2005, Won enlisted for mandatory military service. He was stationed at the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a position for which he volunteered.^[9][10] On June 2, 2006, the military officially confirmed that Won would no longer be active.^[11] The decision was made by the military when Won sustained injury to his ACL. He underwent surgery and was officially discharged on June 7, 2006.^[12] The rehabilitation from the injury took more than a year.

In September 2007, Won was appointed as a special representative of the Korean Committee for UNICEF. He participated in various programs and charity events for the organization over the years. In June 2024, he was appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Korea.^[13]

After a five-year break, Won returned to the screen with the film Mother, directed by Bong Joon Ho. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.^[14] This was followed by The Man from Nowhere, which became the highest-grossing film in South Korea in 2010, and also Won's final appearance as an actor to date.^[15]

Despite his prolonged hiatus from acting, Won retains his popularity with the public. In 2024, Gallup Korea conducted a survey on "The actor you want to see again", in which Won took first place.^[16]

Personal life

On May 30, 2015, Won married actress Lee Na-young in a small, private ceremony held in Won's hometown of Jeongseon County.^[17] The couple reportedly began dating in August 2012.^[18] Lee gave birth to their son in December 2015.^[19]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Saturday, 2:00 PM	Pretty delivery man	Bit part
2001	Guns & Talks	Ha-yun
2004	Taegukgi	Lee Jin-seok
	My Brother	Jong-hyun
2009	Mother	Yoon Do-joon
2010	The Man from Nowhere	Cha Tae-sik

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Propose	Hyun-woo
1997–1998	Ready, Go!	Han Seung-joo
1999	Jump	Won Bin	Special appearance
1999–2000	Kwangki	Kang Min
2000	Drama City: "Small Station"	Min-ho
	Kkokji	Song Myung-tae
	Autumn in My Heart	Han Tae-suk
2002	Friends	Kim Ji-hoon	South Korea–Japan co-production

Music video appearances

Year	Song title	Artist
1999	"Goodbye Day"	Han Sung-ho
2001	"For You"	Yim Jae-beom

Endorsements

In 2001, Won became an exclusive model for Nadri Cosmetics, participating in a commercial video alongside Korean singer Park Ji-yoon.^[20][21] In 2012, Won became an endorsement model for the worldwide male cosmetics brand 'Biotherm Homme'.^{[22][unreliable source?][23][unreliable source?]} In 2020, OLZEN menswear featured Won in their fall pictorial shoot.^[24]

In popular culture

Won in 2010

Many artists in South Korea consider Won to be one of the best examples of a good-looking man; he was nicknamed "Godbin" by Korean internet users.

Adding to his mystique is his role in The Man from Nowhere and his extended break from acting at the height of his fame. Won is referred to as a "dragon" by other celebrities due to the rarity of seeing him in person.^[25][26] As a result, he is frequently mentioned in popular culture.

• Director of Mother, Bong Joon Ho, said that he added the line "Do-joon's eyes are like a work of art. They're like deer's eyes" after casting Won in the part.^[27]

• Won is mentioned in the lyrics of Ladies' Code's single "Kiss Kiss": "난 오늘밤 꿈에서 난 원빈 오빠가 나타나 줄 텐데" (Tonight, in my dreams, Won Bin oppa will appear).^[28]

• South Korean boy band iKon makes a reference to The Man from Nowhere in two songs, "Anthem" and "Hug Me". The lyrics of the first song say, "날고 기어도 다 씹어 먹어줄게 Call me 아저씨" (We'll chew you up like raw meat, call me ahjusshi), while the second song contains a reference to the final scene from the film.

• On Masta Wu's single "Come Here", Bobby says in his rap verse, "실력이 외모면 난 방탄 유리 앞에 원빈" (If skill equals to looks, I'm Won Bin in front of a bulletproof glass).^[29]

• In episode 3 of the 2013 drama The Heirs, Choi Won-young's character asks to call him ahjusshi, to which Krystal Jung replies, "That's Won Bin."

• In episode 20 of the 2013 series Reply 1994, Sung Dong-il's character, who constantly makes incorrect predictions, sees a commercial with a long-haired Won and declares that he won't have longevity as a celebrity and will be forgotten the moment he tries to cut his hair like ahjusshi (a reference to a scene from The Man from Nowhere).

• Won is referenced twice in the 2013 series Good Doctor. In episode 15, Joo Won's character watches as another doctor comforts a little girl and says, "Our Professor is like Won Bin in The Man from Nowhere." In episode 16, the same character quotes Won from the film.

• In episode 7 of the 2015 drama Kill Me, Heal Me, Park Seo-joon's character says to Secretary Ahn that the elusive Writer Omega's looks were rumored to be "on the Won Bin level." When Ji Sung's character hears about this in episode 8, they set out to "look for someone who looks like Won Bin." After the search yields no results, Sung asks, "Truthfully, is a face at Won Bin's level common?"

• In episode 5 of the 2016 drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Kim Go-eun's character mentions Won when Lee Dong-wook's character asks for "a male name that women love."^[30]

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
Asian Film Awards	2010	Best Supporting Actor	Mother	Nominated
Baeksang Arts Awards	2001	Best New Actor – Television	Autumn in My Heart	Won
	2010	Best Actor – Film	Mother	Nominated
	2011	Best Actor – Film	The Man from Nowhere	Nominated
Blue Dragon Film Awards	2001	Best New Actor	Guns & Talks	Nominated
	2010	Best Actor	The Man from Nowhere	Nominated
		Popular Star Award	Won Bin	Won
Buil Film Awards	2010	Best Actor	The Man from Nowhere	Nominated
Chunsa Film Art Awards	2004	Best New Actor	Taegukgi	Won	[31]
Cine21 Awards	2010	Best Actor	The Man from Nowhere	Won
Film Journalists Association Annual Film Awards	2011	Best Actor		Won
Golden Cinematography Awards	2004	Best New Actor	Taegukgi	Won
Grand Bell Awards	2010	Best Actor	The Man from Nowhere	Won	[32]
		Popularity Award	Won Bin	Won
	2011	Popularity Award		Won	[33]
KBS Drama Awards	1999	Best New Actor	Kwangki	Won
	2000	Excellence Award, Actor	Tough Guy's Love Autumn in My Heart	Won
Korea World Youth Film Festival	2011	Favorite Actor	The Man from Nowhere	Won
Korean Film Awards	2002	Best New Actor	Guns & Talks	Nominated
	2004	Best Actor	My Brother	Nominated
	2010	Best Actor	The Man from Nowhere	Won	[34]
Max Movie Awards	2011	Best Actor		Won
University Film Festival of Korea	2011	Best Actor		Won

Other awards/honors

• 2002: BVLGARI Brilliant Dreams Award (Japan)
• 2007: Appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
• 2011: Best Jewellery Wearer Award (Japan)

Magazine/media recognition

• 2000: Best Dresser of the year
• 2002: Voted as the "April 2002 Most Beautiful Man" by MostBeautifulMan.com. The first Asian celebrity to win in this monthly poll.^[35]
• 2005: Voted #1 "Favorite Asian Star" (2005) in the readers' survey by Japanese magazine "CanCam".
• 2005: Voted #1 "Favorite Asian Star" (2005) in the readers' survey by Japanese magazine "an.an".^[36]
• 2006: Voted #1 "Favorite Asian Star" (2006) in the readers' survey by Japanese magazine "an.an".
• 2007: Voted #1 "Favorite Asian Star" (2007) in the readers' survey by Japanese magazine "an.an".

Listicles

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

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2011	Korea Power Celebrity 40	17th	[37]
	2012		37th	[38]