Kim Rae-won

Kim Rae-won initially wanted to become a professional basketball player, but when an injured ankle tendon ended that childhood dream, he turned to acting and studied Theater and Film at Chung-Ang University. He made his acting debut in the 1997 teen drama Me, in the role of a newbie at the broadcasting club of his high school.^[1] This was followed by another teen drama, School 2 (1999) and coming-of-age film Plum Blossom (2000).^[2][3]

In 2002, Kim rose to fame after starring in the romance comedy drama My Love Patzzi.^[4] His popularity further increased in 2003, playing a law student slacker who cohabitates with a girl (Jeong Da-bin) in the popular romance series Cats on the Roof.^[5][6] He then played a carefree photographer who enters the life of an introverted girl in melodrama ...ing and starred in the romantic comedy film My Little Bride,^[7] in the role of a college graduate forced to marry a high school girl (Moon Geun-young).^[8] My Little Bride became a sleeper hit and was the second top-grossing Korean film of 2004.^[9]

Kim continued playing romantic heroes on television, in dramas such as Snowman (2003),^[10] Love Story in Harvard (2004),^[11] and Which Star Are You From (2006).^[12][13] But on the big screen, he focused on darker, more masculine fare. He played a lowlife-turned-cop in Mr. Socrates (2005),^[14] a former gangster attempting to turn over a new leaf in Sunflower (2006),^[15] and an antihero art restorer in Insadong Scandal (2009).^[16][17]

In 2008, Kim played an elementary school teacher who falls for a Korean-Japanese jewelry designer (Mirai Yamamoto) in the Japanese film Flower Shadow (花影, Hanakage).^[18] Later that year, he starred as a genius aspiring chef in Gourmet, a hit series based on Huh Young-man's manhwa Sikgaek.^[19][20]

Kim then explored the melodrama genre in A Thousand Days' Promise (2011), by renowned TV screenwriter Kim Soo-hyun.^[21][22] Kim impressed the audience with his portrayal of a character torn between the longtime girlfriend whom his parents approve of, and the woman he truly loves (Soo Ae) who suffers from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.^[23]

In the 2012 film My Little Hero (released internationally as A Wonderful Moment), Kim played a cynical music director who "discovers" a young boy in an audition contest.^[24][25] He next starred in 2014 legal thriller Punch, where he wowed critics with his portrayal of a prosecutor who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to use his remaining six months to bring down the corrupt officials within the legal system.^[26][27]

This was followed by Gangnam Blues, a 2015 noir action film by director Yoo Ha about the seedy underbelly behind the rapid real estate development of Gangnam in the 1970s.^[28][29] Kim shed 15 kilograms to make his role as a fist-fighting gangster more realistic.^[30] He then made his small-screen comeback in the SBS's medical drama Doctors opposite Park Shin-hye.^[31] The drama topped viewership ratings and popularity charts during its 10-week broadcast.^[32] Following Doctors, Kim experienced a rise in popularity and commercial offers.^[33][34]

In 2017, Kim starred in the crime action film The Prison alongside Han Suk-kyu, playing a former detective behind bars.^[35] The film became a surprise hit at the box office and received critical acclaim; and Kim was praised for his realistic execution of action scenes.^[36] Kim next starred in mystery thriller film RV: Resurrected Victims by Kwak Kyung-taek.^[37] The same year, Kim made his television comeback in fantasy romance drama Black Knight: The Man Who Guards Me.^[38]

In September 2018, Kim was cast in the action film Long Live The King alongside Won Jin-ah, based on a webtoon of the same name. Kim will take the role of a mob boss who campaigns and becomes a politician.^[39] In 2019, Kim was also cast in the romantic comedy film Crazy Romance alongside Snowman co-star Gong Hyo-jin.^[40][41]

In July 2021, HB Entertainment's contract ended and Kim decided not to renew it.^[42]

In 2022, Kim returns to the small screen with the SBS drama The First Responders, his first terrestrial television in six years since 2016.^[43] The second season is set to premiere in 2023.,^[44] In April 2022, it was reported that Kim had formed the Whale Company, an entity Kim founded as a sole agency.^[45]

On 28 September 2011, Kim was reportedly involved in a physical altercation with a waitress at a bar in Gangnam, Seoul where he and employees of his then-agency Bless Entertainment were drinking.^[46] He issued a denial, claiming he had only interceded in a verbal argument between the woman and an agency rep, and later made a public apology regarding the incident.^[47]

Kim has long been rumored to come from a very affluent family, which he denied in a 14 January 2013 guest appearance on talk show Healing Camp, though he confirmed that he did inherit an apartment unit during middle school as well as a large sum of money from his grandmother.^[48]

Kim is a practicing Roman Catholic.^[49]

• Kim Rae-won on Instagram