The life and career of actor Kim Woo Bin: said to resemble Death Note’s Ryuk, recently overcame cancer

dhanMay 14, 2022Last Updated: May 14, 2022

3 minutes read

Throughout his time in the industry, Kim Woo Bin has landed numerous hits, awards, and even a long-term girlfriend.

Known for his shoulders that are as broad as the Pacific ocean, little do people know Kim Woo Bin started out as an extremely skinny model, and only achieved his current physique through dedicated exercising.

The famous actor has been in a relationship with actress Shin Min Ah since 2015, and the couple are now co-stars on the tvN drama “Our Blues”. Unfortunately, they play protagonists of different storylines, and so have no relationship on the screen.

Kim Woo Bin also recently drew attention after appearing in the tvN show “Unexpected Business 2”, where he was shown greeting guests warmly and working dedicatedly.

Kim Woo Bin was born in 1989, but his real name is actually Kim Hyun Joong. Despite his birth in Seoul, the actor spent his middle and high school days in Jeonju, where he led a friendly student life and dreamed of becoming a model.

In highschool, Kim Woo Bin constantly sent inquiries to a university’s bulletin board, where he expressed his earnest desire to enter the modeling department. His enthusiasm was so great, he sent a handwritten letter to the professors as well.

This continuous effort eventually led to Woo Bin’s debut as a model in 2008, where he walked on the runway of Seoul Fashion Week Spring-Summer.

In 2011, Kim Woo Bin landed his first acting gig in the KBS2’s drama special “White Christmas”, and there managed to make a deep impression with his red hair. Then, the actor started to draw attention with a minor role in the SBS drama “A Gentleman’s Dignity”.

His rise to stardom started in 2013, following the KBS drama “School 2013”. Woo Bin’s portrayal of the rebellious transfer student ParK Heung Soo in this series ended up winning him “Rookie of the Year” at the Apan Star Awards.

The actor then continued to show great acting abilities when working alongside senior Yoo Oh Seong and Joo Jin Mo in the box-office hit “Friend: The Great Legacy”.

In the same year, Kim Woo Bin also took on the role of second male lead Choi Young Do in the successful drama “The Heirs”, where he exuded “bag guy” charms. It was around this time that the actor was said to resemble the grim reaper Ryuk from Death Note, with people making parodies like “The Heirs: Death Note version”. Even Woo Bin heard of this comparison, and could only express that he preferred being compared to dinosaurs rather than Ryuk.

From the aforementioned works, Kim Woo Bin became widely popular to the Asian audience, and managed to win the Popular Star Award at the prestigious Blue Dragon, the Popularity Award at Grand Bell, and entered the Top 10 Stars list at SBS Drama Awards.

He also started hosting the music show “M Countdown” around the same time.

In later years, Kim Woo Bin continued to show newer images via movies like “The Engineers” and “Twenty”. This sloppy and comical portrayal in “Twenty” managed to earn the love of many younger viewers, making the actor a hot topic after the movie’s release.

Another noticeable work of Woo Bin would be “Uncontrollably Fond”, where he transformed into Shin Jun Young, a hot-blooded as picky top star who contracted a fatal illness and only had a limited time to live.

Unfortunately, this disease-prone fate affected the actor in real life as well, and in 2017, Kim Woo Bin was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer and ceased all activities to focus on his treatment. He briefly returned in 2019 as an award presenter at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

Recently, the actor has been appearing in the 2022 K-drama “Our Blues”, and his sci-fi movie “Alien” will hit the cinema this June.

Kim Woo Bin is known for his stunning height of 6’2 (188cm) and his extremely nice manners. Previously, the actor even went viral for his polite gesture of bowing three times to a valet parking staff.