Im Si-wan

Yim Si-wan was born on December 1, 1988,^[5] in Busan, South Korea. He attended Busan Gudeok High School, Pusan National University, University of East Broadcasting Arts, and is currently studying at Woosong Information College.^[6][7] He legally changed his first name from Woong-jae to Si-wan before his debut.^[8]

While he was attending the Chin Chin Song Festival in Busan, Star Empire recruited him as a trainee.^[9] He entered a nine-member group called "Children of Empire", where he trained for three years. In 2009, the group started doing guerrilla performances around the country.^[10] On January 7, 2010, the group debuted with their EP, Nativity under the name ZE:A.^[11] He is also a member of the sub-unit, ZE:A-Five.^[12]

Yim joined the cast of the historical drama Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), playing the young version of Heo Yeom.^[13][14] Moon surpassed 40% ratings and gained "national drama" status, launching Yim to fame.^[15] Later that year, Yim was cast in the revenge drama Man from the Equator, playing a cold young man with a sad story behind his negative outlook on life.^[16] This was followed by the sitcom Standby (2012)^[17] and Drama Special Waiting for Love (2013).^[18]

In 2013, he starred in the courtroom drama film The Attorney, playing a young student activist detained and tortured by the police on accusations of being a communist sympathizer.^[19] The film was a critical and commercial success, selling more than 11 million tickets to become the 8th best-selling Korean film of all time.^[20] Yim won Best New Actor at the Max Movie Awards and the Marie Claire Film Festival.^[21][22]

Yim returned to television in 2014 and starred in two drama series. In Triangle, he played the youngest of three brothers separated at childhood, who grew up in a cold chaebol household.^[23] While in the webtoon adaptation and cable hit drama Misaeng: Incomplete Life, he reprised his role in Incomplete Life: Prequel as a former baduk player who learns to adapt to Korean corporate culture.^[24] Misaeng: Incomplete Life was a commercial hit, recorded high viewership ratings with a peak of 8.4%; and was dubbed a "cultural phenomenon".^[25] Im won the Excellence Award in acting at the 4th APAN Star Awards for his performance,^[26] as well as Best New Actor awards at the 9th Cable TV Broadcasting Awards and the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards.^[27][28]

Yim then took on his first big-screen leading role in the war drama film A Melody to Remember (2016), playing a good-hearted soldier who is hoping for a miracle even in a desperate situation.^[29][30]He was also cast in the Chinese-South Korean web drama My Catman alongside Chae Soo-bin and Kim Myung-soo.^[31]

In a departure from his usual "nice guy" roles, Yim plays a cunning conman in the crime caper movie One Line (2017).^[32] He deviated even farther from his clean-cut image in The Merciless (2017), a crime action film where he played an undercover cop who works for a drug-smuggling ring. Yim was invited to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time.^[33][34] The same year, Yim starred in the historical melodrama The King in Love, playing an ambitious crown prince.^[35]

In 2019, Yim was cast in the thriller drama Hell Is Other People, based on the webtoon of the same name. This marks his first project after enlistment.^[36][37] The same year, he was cast in the period sports film Boston 1947.^[38] In 2020, he was also cast in the disaster film Emergency Declaration.^[39]

In 2020, Yim starred in JTBC's romance drama Run On.^[40]

In 2022, Yim starred in the Wavve's thriller drama Tracer, which flew under many Korean drama fans' radars when it was released that year. In it, he portrays Hwang Dong-joo, a shameless and harsh former accountant who works for the Korean tax collection services in the government, specifically in the National Tax Service.^[41] Yim was nominated for Best Actor at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards, 8th APAN Star Awards, 1st Blue Dragon Series Awards, 13th Korea Drama Awards, Asia Contents Awards and 2022 MBC Drama Awards.^[42] He also appeared in the ENA drama Summer Strike.^[43]

In 2023, Yim held a fan concert called YIM Si wan 2023 'WHY I AM in SEOUL' on February 11.^[44] It was revealed that he was cast for the second season of the hit Netflix series Squid Game alongside previous cast members Lee Jung-jae and Wi Ha-joon and newcomers Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong Geun and Jo Yu-ri.^[45][46] He starred in the Coupang Play's teen comedy drama Boyhood. He played the role of Jang Byeong-tae, a loner who was mistaken for Buyeo Iljjang on the first day of school.^[47] The series was a commercial and critical success and his acting performance got rave reviews and he was nominated for Best Actor at the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards.^[48]

On October 30, 2023, Narwal a smart robot vacuum cleaner company announced that it has selected actor Yim Si-wan as their brand ambassador, who has the image of a sincere and strict child, as its model for its first campaign advertisement with the message 'Narwal who understands me'.^[49]

On April 12, 2024, Nongshim announced that it has selected actor Yim Si-wan as the new model for Baeksan mountain bottled water and will launch a new advertisement. A Nongshim official said they chose him because actor Im Si-wan’s healthy and lively image goes well with the dynamism of Baeksan, a Yongcheon water from Paektu Mountain that rises on its own and he is an actor who is widely loved by various generations.^[50]

On March 4, 2022, Yim donated ₩20 million to the Embassy of Ukraine, Seoul to help Ukrainian victims of Russian invasion, he also booked a 4-bed dormitory in Kiiwu (Kyiv) for about a month, from March 7 to April 4 to help Ukrainian war victims.^[51]

On August 10, 2022, Yim donated ₩20 million to help those affected by the 2022 South Korea floods through the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association.^[52]

On February 8, 2023, Yim donated ₩10 million to help 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes through Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association.^[53]

On July 17, 2023, Yim donated ₩30 million to help those affected by the 2023 South Korea floods through to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association.^[54]

On November 3, 2023, Yim donated donated ₩10 million to build Korea's first Lou Gehrig nursing hospital. He participated in the '2023 Chuncheon Marathon' held in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do on the 29th of last month and completed the 10 km course in 45 minutes and 21 seconds. He also joined Sean's will to donate ₩1000 per meter and gave ₩10 million to the Seungil Hope Foundation. This donation will be used to build Korea's first Lou Gehrig care hospital, which is scheduled to begin construction this month.^[55]

On July 11, 2017, he officially began his mandatory military service.^[56][57][58] Yim was chosen to be an assistant instructor for new recruits due to his good performance.^[59] Yim was discharged on March 27, 2019.^[60]

• 2012 Honorary Ambassador of Korea Tourism Organization^[104]
• 2012 Brand Ambassador of Tissot Swatch Group Korea^[105]
• 2012 Brand Ambassador of Pret-a-Porter Busan (Busan Fashion Week)^[106]
• 2012 Honorary Ambassador of Woosong University of Informatics^[107]
• 2013 Brand Youth Ambassador of Gyeonggi Province^[108]
• 2014 High Ambassador of Korea International Trade Association^[109]
• 2014 Brand Ambassador of FinTech Financial Technology Group Inc^[110]
• 2023 PR Ambassador for the 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan^[111]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yim Si-wan.

• Yim Si-wan at IMDb
• Siwan at HanCinema
• Yim Si-wan on Instagram