Yoo Yeon-seok

In this Korean name, the family name is Ahn. In the stage name or pen-name, the surname is Yoo.

Ahn Yeon-seok (Korean: 안연석; born April 11, 1984), better known by the stage name Yoo Yeon-seok, is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in Oldboy, he resumed his acting career in 2008. His notable works include the films Re-encounter (2011), Architecture 101 (2012), A Werewolf Boy (2012), Whistle Blower (2014), and Love, Lies (2016), as well as the television series Reply 1994 (2013), Dr. Romantic (2016), Mr. Sunshine (2018), Hospital Playlist (2020–2021), and When the Phone Rings (2024).

Yoo Yeon-seok
Yoo in March 2015
Born	(1984-04-11) April 11, 1984 (age 41) Seoul, South Korea
Education	Sejong University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2003–present
Agent	King Kong by Starship
Korean name
Hangul	안연석
Revised Romanization	An Yeonseok
McCune–Reischauer	An Yŏnsŏk
Stage name
Hangul	유연석
Revised Romanization	Yu Yeonseok
McCune–Reischauer	Yu Yŏnsŏk

Early life

Yoo was born as Ahn Yeon-seok on April 11, 1984, in Seoul, South Korea as a son of professor of engineering. In his junior year in high school, Yoo decided to take up acting and followed his brother, who was studying another year to enter university, to Seoul and they lived together near the district of Samseong-dong.^[1]

While taking acting classes, Yoo met a friend who would later work on the costume staff of film director Park Chan-wook. Remembering that he resembled actor Yoo Ji-tae, he gave him a call about auditioning for a role. Without having to pass out his resume, he made his acting debut as Yoo Ji-tae's younger counterpart in the acclaimed 2003 film Oldboy.^[1][2]

After appearing in Oldboy, Yoo spent a solid amount of time in preparation before becoming a fully-fledged actor, including entering the Department of Film Arts at Sejong University and serving in the military. Upon graduation from Sejong University with a degree in Film Arts, he resumed his acting career in 2008, appearing in the plays In The Burning Darkness and Understudy. He also began using his agency's recommended stage name, Yoo Yeon-seok.^[3]

Career

2008–2012: Career beginnings

After an extended hiatus from acting, Yoo made his return in the medical drama General Hospital 2.^[4]

Yoo took on supporting roles on television, such as the haughty student body president in the horror series Soul and more appealing characters in medical drama Midnight Hospital and Tasty Life.^[5][6][7] But Yoo received his best reviews yet for playing a sensitive ex-boyfriend searching for his child in the independent film Re-encounter.^[8][9]

Soon after, Yoo became known to mainstream audiences as the rich and spoiled antagonist in the box office hit melodramas Architecture 101,^[10] and A Werewolf Boy.^[11][12] He further raised his profile with comedy film Born to Sing,^[13] and the fantasy series Gu Family Book.^[14][15]

2013–2014: Rising popularity and breakthrough

Yoo rose to popularity in the nostalgic campus drama Reply 1994 in late 2013.^[16] Following his breakout year, he was cast in two high-profile films in 2014: Whistle Blower about infamous biotech researcher Hwang Woo-suk, and Joseon-set period drama The Royal Tailor.^[17][18][19] Yoo then appeared in the travel-reality show Youth Over Flowers.^[20][21]

2015–present: Leading roles

In 2015, Yoo was cast in his first leading role on network television as a chef and restaurateur in the romantic comedy series Warm and Cozy, written by the Hong sisters and set on Jeju Island.^[22] He also starred in the thriller Perfect Proposal (a remake of Woman of Straw), and The Beauty Inside (adapted from the social film of the same title).^[23][24] Later in the year, Yoo played the protagonist in Le Passe-Muraille ("The Man Who Walked Through Wall"); this was his first stage musical since his professional acting debut (Yoo had previously appeared in theatrical productions while still in university).^[25]

In 2016, Yoo starred in the period music drama Love, Lies followed by romantic comedy Mood of the Day.^[26][27] He returned to the small screen with hit medical drama Dr. Romantic alongside Han Suk-kyu and Seo Hyun-jin.^[28]

In 2018, Yoo starred in romance melodrama Mr. Sunshine penned by Kim Eun-sook.^[29] He then appeared in the musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.^[30]

In 2020, Yoo starred in the critically acclaimed and hit medical drama Hospital Playlist, playing Ahn Jeong-won, an assistant professor of pediatric surgery^[31] and reprised his role in season 2 in 2021.^[32]

In 2022, Yoo starred in the crime-mystery film Vanishing by French film director Denis Dercourt, as detective Park Jin-ho.^[33] In December, he starred in the JTBC series The Interest of Love, playing an employee at a bank.^[34]

In 2023, he also reprised his role as Kang Dong-joo in a cameo role in the third season of Dr. Romantic.^[35]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2003	Oldboy	Young Lee Woo-jin	Credit as Ahn Yeon-suk	[3]
2009	Short! Short! Short! 2009: Show Me the Money	Man	Segment: "Saw"
2011	Re-encounter	Han-soo		[36][37]
2012	Eighteen, Nineteen	Ho-ya		[38]
	Architecture 101	Jae-wook		[10]
	Two Weddings and a Funeral	Joon	Cameo	[39]
	Horror Stories	Man	Segment: "Beginning"	[40]
	A Werewolf Boy	Ji-tae		[41][12]
2013	Born to Sing	Dong-soo		[13]
	Hwayi: A Monster Boy	Park Ji-won		[42]
2014	Whistle Blower	Shim Min-ho		[17][18]
	The Royal Tailor	King Yeonjo		[19]
2015	Perfect Proposal	Sung-yeol		[23]
	The Beauty Inside	Woo-jin		[24]
2016	Love, Lies	Kim Yoon-woo		[26]
	Mood of the Day	Jae-hyun		[27]
	A Quiet Dream	Motorcycle man	Cameo	[43]
2020	Steel Rain 2: Summit	Jo Seon-sa (North Korean Leader)		[44]
2021	New Year Blues	Jae-Hyun		[45]
2022	Vanishing	Park Jin-ho	Korean-French Film	[46]
2023	My Heart Puppy	Min-soo		[47]
TBA	No Other Choice	Oh Jin Ho	Filming	[48]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2008–2009	General Hospital 2	Heo Woo-jin		[4]
2009	Dream	Noh Chul-joong		[49]
	Soul	Baek Joong-chan		[5][6]
2010	Running, Gu	Heo Ji-man
2010–2011	Pure Pumpkin Flower	Oh Hyo-joon		[50]
2011	Midnight Hospital	Yoon Sang-ho		[5][6]
2012	Tasty Life	Choi Jae-hyuk		[7]
	What About Mom?	Kim Yeon-seok		[51]
2013	Gu Family Book	Park Tae-seo		[14][15]
	Reply 1994	Chilbong		[16]
2015	Warm and Cozy	Baek Gun-woo		[22]
	Mrs. Cop	Jo Young-woo	Cameo (Episode 16)	[52]
2016–2023	Dr. Romantic	Kang Dong-joo	Season 1 and 3 (Special appearance; episode 12–16)	[28][35]
2018	Mr. Sunshine	Goo Dong-mae		[29]
2020–2021	Hospital Playlist	Ahn Jeong-won/Andrea	Season 1–2	[53]
2022–2023	The Interest of Love	Ha Sang-soo		[54]
2024–2025	When the Phone Rings	Paik Sa-eon		[55]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2022	Narco-Saints	David Park	[56][57][58]
2023	A Bloody Lucky Day	Lee Byeong-Min/Geum Hyuk-soo	[59]

Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2012	Cats and Dogs	Host		[60]
2014	Youth Over Flowers	Regular cast	with Son Ho-Jun & Baro (Reply 1994 cast members)	[20][21]
2016	Wekid	Mentor		[61]
2019	Coffee Friends	Regular cast	with Son Ho-jun Choi Ji-woo and Yang Se-jong	[62]
2021	Wise Mountain Village Life	Cast Member	with Hospital Playlist casts (Jo Jung Suk,Jeon Mido,Jung Kyung Ho & Kim Dae Myung)	[63]
2024	Whenever Possible	Host	with Yoo Jae-suk	[64]

Web shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2023	Bro and Marble	Cast Member	with Lee Seung-gi, Lee Dong-hwi, Ji Seok-jin, Kyuhyun, Joshua and Hoshi	[65]

Hosting

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
2018	39th Blue Dragon Film Awards	with Kim Hye-soo	[66]
2019	40th Blue Dragon Film Awards
2021	41st Blue Dragon Film Awards
	42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards
2022	43rd Blue Dragon Film Awards		[67]
2023	44th Blue Dragon Film Awards		[68]

Music video appearances

Year	Title	Artist	Ref.
2008	"Things to Do Tomorrow"	Yoon Jong-shin	[69]
2009	"On the Days I Longed for Love"	Lee Oh Gong Gam [ko]
2013	"You Fool"	Honey-G	[70]
	"Things to Do Tomorrow"	Yoon Jong-shin feat. Sung Si-kyung	[71]
	"The Day to Love"	Lee Seung-chul
	"One Way Love"	Hyolyn	[72]
	"Only Feeling You"	Yoo Yeon-seok, Son Ho-jun and Jung Woo
2014	"Three People"	Toy feat. Sung Si-kyung	[73]
2015	"Because You're Pretty"	Standing Egg	[74]
2018	"Then You"	K.Will	[75]
2020	"Daystar"	Kyuhyun	[76]

Discography

Singles

List of singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		KOR Gaon [77]	US World [78]
"Only Feeling You" (너만을 느끼며)[79] (with Jung Woo and Son Ho-jun)	2013	8	—	Reply 1994 OST Part 7
"To You" (너에게)[80]	2021	73	—	Hospital Playlist Season 2 OST Part 7
"Our Vacation" (with Bro & Marble Cast)	2023	—	—	Bro & Marble OST
"Happy Together" (with Cho Kyu-hyun)		—	—
"Falling"		—	—	Non-album single
"Say My Name"	2024	—	7	When the Phone Rings OST

Stage

Musical

Musical play performances

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2015–2016	Le Passe-Muraille (벽을 뚫는 남자)	Dusoleil	[81]
2017	Hedwig and the Angry Inch (헤드윅)	Hedwig	[82]
2019	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (젠틀맨스 가이드)	Monty Navarro	[83]
2020	Werther (베르테르)	Werther	[84]
2021–2022	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (젠틀맨스 가이드)	Monty Navarro	[85]
2024	Hedwig and the Angry Inch (헤드윅)	Hedwig	[86]

Theater

Theater play performances

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2008	The Good Person of Szechwan (사천사는 착한사람)
2008	In The Burning Darkness (타오르는 어둠속에서)		[3]
2009	The Understudy (언더스터디)
2017	Death of a Salesman - Suwon (세일즈맨의 죽음 - 수원)	Howard	[87][88]

Book

Year	Title	Publisher	ISBN
2014	Yoo Yeon-seok's Dream	Paperbook	ISBN 9788997148387

Ambassadorship

• Ambassador for the 5th Seoul Animal Film Festival (2022)^[89]

Fanmeeting

THE SECRET CODE: Y (2025)

Date	City	Country	Venue
March 1, 2025	Bangkok	Thailand	IDEA LIVE
March 8, 2025	Hong Kong	China	Axa Dreamland
March 9, 2025
March 15, 2025	Tokyo	Japan	Ichikawa City Cultural Hall
March 22, 2025	Taipei	Taiwan	Legacy Max
March 23, 2025
March 27, 2025	Singapore		The Theatre at Mediacorp
April 5, 2025	Jakarta	Indonesia	JIEXPO Theatre

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	2018	Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Mr. Sunshine	Nominated	[90]
Asia Artist Awards	2018	Artist of the Year		Won	[91]
		Best Actor		Won
		Popularity Award (Actor)		Nominated
	2020	Popularity Award (Actor)	Yoo Yeon-seok	Nominated
Baeksang Arts Awards	2015	Best Supporting Actor – Film	The Royal Tailor	Nominated
	2019	Best Supporting Actor – Television	Mr. Sunshine	Nominated	[92]
	2024	Best Actor – Television	A Bloody Lucky Day	Nominated	[93]
Blue Dragon Film Awards	2012	Best New Actor	Horror Stories	Nominated
	2021[A]	Best Supporting Actor	Steel Rain 2: Summit	Nominated	[95]
Golden Cinema Festival	2015	Best New Actor	The Royal Tailor	Won	[96]
Grand Bell Awards	2011	Best New Actor	Re-encounter	Nominated
	2015	Best Supporting Actor	The Royal Tailor	Nominated
Korea Film Actors Association Awards	2016	Popularity Award	Mood of the Day	Won	[97]
Korea Musical Awards	2018	Best New Actor	Hedwig and the Angry Inch	Nominated
MBC Drama Awards	2015	Top 10 Stars Award	Warm and Cozy	Won	[98]
	2024	Best Couple Award	Yoo Yeon-seok (with Chae Soo-bin) When the Phone Rings	Won	[99][100]
		Grand Prize (Daesang)	When the Phone Rings	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries		Won
SBS Drama Awards	2016	Excellence Award, Actor in a Genre Drama	Dr. Romantic	Won	[101]
		Best Couple Award	Dr. Romantic (with Seo Hyun-jin)	Won	[102]
		Idol Academy Award – Best Kiss		Won
SBS Entertainment Awards	2024	Rookie Award (Talk/Reality)	Whenever Possible	Won	[103]
The Seoul Awards	2018	Best Supporting Actor (Drama)	Mr. Sunshine	Won	[104]
Soompi Awards	2018	Best Supporting Actor Male Category		Nominated	[105]
Style Icon Awards	2014	Top 10 Style Icons	Yoo Yeon-seok	Won	[106]

Listicles

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

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2019	Korea Power Celebrity 40	22nd	[107]

Notes

1. Postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19^[94]