Ahn Hyo-seop

Ahn Hyo-seop (; born April 17, 1995) is a Canadian actor and singer based in South Korea. He debuted as a singer in 2015 with the group One O One, releasing the debut single "Love You". He then gained recognition as an actor for his performances in the second and third seasons of Dr. Romantic (2020–2023), dramas Lovers of the Red Sky and Business Proposal (2022), as well as voicing the character Jinu in the animated musical film KPop Demon Hunters (2025).

Early life and education Ahn was born on April 17, 1995, in Seoul, South Korea as the youngest of three siblings. When he was six years old, his family immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he grew up. Ahn later moved back to South Korea when he was 17, while his family stayed in Canada. He later attended and graduated from Kookmin University, in the Department of International Business.

Career Pre-debut activities After moving back to South Korea, Ahn was scouted by JYP Entertainment and became a trainee for three years, and lived in a dorm with members of the K-pop boy band Got7. He eventually left the company due to stress as a trainee.

2015–2016: Beginnings with One O One and acting debut On October 1, 2015, Starhaus Entertainment launched the project group One O One, releasing their debut single "Love You". The group consisted of Ahn together with fellow Starhaus actors Kwak Si-yang, Song Won-seok and Kwon Do-kyun. However, the group presumably disbanded due to inactivity since January 2019. Ahn made his acting debut in the MBC drama, Splash Splash Love. He then became a cast member of the music variety show Always Cantare. He had supporting roles in One More Happy Ending, Happy Home and Entertainer in 2016.

2017–2020: Rising popularity His popularity rose after his first ever lead role in Queen of the Ring in 2017. He then transitioned to lead roles thereafter. In 2018, Ahn starred in Still 17, playing passionate high school student Yoo Chan – the captain of the high school rowing club. For his performance, he won Best New Actor Award and was nominated for the "Character of the Year" Award at the 2018 SBS Drama Awards alongside Jo Hyun-sik and Lee Do-hyun. In late 2019, Ahn became an MC at the 4th Asia Artist Awards with Leeteuk, Lim Ji-yeon and Nancy.

In 2020, Ahn starred in the second season of the hit medical drama Dr. Romantic, playing general surgeon Seo Woo-jin with Lee Sung-kyung as his leading lady. The show was a success, with both Ahn and Lee keeping their promise of singing for the fans as it crossed the double-digit mark for ratings. His performance in the drama earned him the Best New Actor Award in television at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards. For his portrayal of multiple roles as Ha Ram, Ilwolseong and Ma Wang, he received Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama and won Best Couple Award with Kim You-jung at 2021 SBS Drama Awards. He played the role of Kang Tae-mu, a third generation chaebol and CEO. In March 2022, he was cast in the Netflix series A Time Called You, South Korean adaptation of the Taiwanese drama Someday or One Day. In May 2022, Ahn signed with The Present Company, the agency he co-founded with a manager who worked with him before his debut.

In 2023, Ahn reprised his role as Seo Woo-jin in the third season of the hit medical drama Dr. Romantic. In 2024, he was cast in his first film, the live-action fantasy Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy, an adaptation of the web novel Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint by Sing Shong. Directed by Kim Byung-woo, the film features Ahn as Kim Dok-ja, a character who finds himself in a world where a web novel he read has become reality. He partners with the novel's protagonist, Yoo Joong-hyuk (Lee Min-ho), to alter their destiny and avert the world's destruction.

In June 2025, Ahn made his voice acting debut as Jinu, a member of the fictional K-pop boy band Saja Boys, in the Netflix animated musical film KPop Demon Hunters. The film quickly rose to the top of Netflix's global charts for three consecutive days, achieving the No. 1 ranking in 31 countries. This gave Ahn wider international recognition.

Other ventures

Endorsements Following his successful dramas, Ahn became a model for various brands, including cosmetics, fashion, and food and beverages. In March 2024, he was officially announced as a brand ambassador for Lacoste.

Philanthropy In September 2020, he donated 160,000 face masks (worth about ) to the National Fire Agency to help fight COVID-19. In August 2022, he donated to the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association to help with recovery from heavy rain damage. In October 2023, he volunteered his voice for an audio guide at the special art exhibition for disabled artists, "Your World That I Live In," hosted by the Seoul Arts Center and the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. In May 2024, in celebration of Children's Day, he donated to the Korean Committee for UNICEF to support children around the world. He later joined the "UNICEF Team" campaign as a talent donor, along with Lee Jung, Park Wi, Shim Eu-ddeum, Cha Jun-hwan, and Cha Hyun-seung.

Filmography Film

Year Title Role Notes 2025 KPop Demon Hunters Jinu Voice Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy Kim Dok-ja

Television series

Year Title Role Notes 2015 Splash Splash Love Park Yeon / Che A-jik 2016 One More Happy Ending Ahn Jung-woo Happy Home Choi Chul-soo Entertainer Ji-noo 2017 Three Color Fantasy – "Queen of the Ring" Park Se-gun One-act drama My Father Is Strange Park Cheol-su 2018 Still 17 Yoo Chan 2019 Abyss Cha Min 2020–2023 Dr. Romantic Seo Woo-jin Season 2–3 2021 Lovers of the Red Sky Ha Ram 2022 Business Proposal Kang Tae-moo 2023 A Time Called You Koo Yeon-jun / Nam Si-heon 2026 Sold Out on You Matthew Lee / Lee Hae-seok

Web series Year Title Role 2018 Top Management Hyun Soo-yong

Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2015 Always Cantare – Season 2 Cast member 2016 Celebrity Bromance – Chuseok Special with Jackson Wang

Music video appearances Year Song title Artist(s) 2023 "Even for a Moment" Sung Si-kyung feat. Naul

Hosting Year Title Notes 2019 4th Asia Artist Awards with Leeteuk, Lim Ji-yeon and Nancy 2022 2022 SBS Drama Awards with Shin Dong-yup and Kim Se-jeong

Discography Title Year Album Notes "Get Myself With You" 2018 S.O.U.L as part of S.O.U.L "Gravity" "Sugar Cane" "Me In" "I Will Show You" Top Management OST "Thank You for the Memories" 2023 Dr. Romantic Season 3 OST Part 10 "Something Special" 2026

Accolades Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination Award Year Category Nominee(s) Result A-Awards 2022 A-Awards – Confidence Business Proposal APAN Star Awards 2021 Best New Actor Dr. Romantic 2 2022 Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Lovers of the Red SkyBusiness Proposal Popularity Star Award, Actor Lovers of the Red Sky Best Couple Award Business Proposal Asia Artist Awards 2017 Rookie Award My Father is Strange 2019 Choice Award Ahn Hyo-seop 2020 Best Actor Award Dr. Romantic 2 Popularity Award (Actor) Ahn Hyo-seop 2022 2023 Best Actor Award Hot Trend Award 2026 Best New Actor Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy Beautiful Art Awards 2025 New Artist Award Ahn Hyo-seop Blue Dragon Film Awards 2025 Best New Actor Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy Korea Drama Awards 2019 Best New Actor Abyss Korea First Brand Awards 2024 Male Actor (Vietnam Category) Ahn Hyo-seop 2026 Male Actor (Indonesia Category) MBC Drama Awards 2016 Best New Actor Happy Home SBS Drama Awards 2018 Best New Actor Still 17 Character of the Year 2020 Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Action/Genre Drama Dr. Romantic 2 Best Couple Award Dr. Romantic 2 2021 Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama Lovers of the Red Sky Best Couple Award Lovers of the Red Sky 2022 Business Proposal Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Romance/Comedy Drama Business Proposal 2023 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Seasonal Drama Dr. Romantic 3 Best Supporting Team Best Couple Award Dr. Romantic 3

Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Forbes 2022 Korea Power Celebrity 40 37th 2023 33rd 2024 30 Under 30 – Entertainment (Korea) Top 5