Ahn Jae-wook

Ahn Jae-wook (; born October 30, 1971) is a South Korean actor and singer.

Career Ahn Jae-wook spent most of his childhood in his hometown, the district of Donam-dong in Seoul, before graduating from Seoul Institute of the Arts, where he majored in theater. After graduating in 1994, Ahn made his acting debut in Song of a Blind Bird, which was based on a real-life story, followed by supporting roles in several 1995–96 television series such as Hotel and Their Embrace. In 1997 he and costar Choi Jin-sil shot to stardom in the highly popular trendy drama Star in My Heart, which reached ratings of over 49%. It not only ignited trends in hairstyle, fashion and products featured in the series, Ahn also became a Korean Wave star, extending his popularity to China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

Star in My Heart likewise kick-started Ahn's music career. Forever, which was featured in the series' ending during the concert of his character Kang Min, sold over 700,000 copies, and became the title song of his debut album.

Instead, Ahn focused on the small screen, appearing in over 10 television series from the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s. Among these were Goodbye My Love with Kim Hee-sun, Oh Pil-seung and Bong Soon-young (also known as Oh Feel Young) with Chae Rim, and I Love You (also known as Saranghae) with Seo Ji-hye.

As he entered his forties and his matinee idol status gave way to younger actors, Ahn returned to his stage roots. He played Daniel in Jack the Ripper (a Korean adaptation of the Czech musical ) from 2009 to 2011, then reprised the role in the musical's run in Tokyo, Japan in 2012.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of broadcaster MBC, Ahn headlined Lights and Shadows in 2011. The sprawling drama, which spotlights Korean show business against the backdrop of history in the 1960s to the 1980s, was number one in its timeslot for 20 consecutive weeks.

Ahn then played the title role in the 2012 Korean staging of Rudolf, a musical about the 1889 Mayerling Incident involving the Crown Prince of Austria.

In February 2013 Ahn underwent brain surgery in the U.S. for a subarachnoid hemorrhage. After resting for a year, Ahn returned to work in April 2014 via the musical Le Roi Soleil. He celebrated his 20th anniversary in entertainment by holding a concert titled One Fine Day in October 2014.

In September 2017, It was confirmed that Ahn will be a fixed cast member in Netflix's variety show Busted!. Ahn's involvement in a drunk driving incident in February 2019 caused him to be omitted in the promotions of Busted's second season - including removal from the opening credits and promotional posters, as well as to skip the already-scheduled musical "Hero".

Personal life Ahn married musical theatre actress Choi Hyun-joo on June 1, 2015. The couple met in 2014 when they were cast as lovers in the stage musical Rudolf. The couple have a daughter and a son.

Filmography

Television series

Year Title Role Notes1994 Traveler in Heaven Song of a Blind Bird Kang Young Woo 1994–1997 Partner Oh Min Soo 1995 Make A Song Hotel Yeong Pal Love and War 1996 Their Embrace Ji Yun Woo Salted Mackerel Sang Woo 1997 Star in My Heart Kang Min Hee 1997–1998 Revenge and Passion Kang Joon Ho 1998–1999 Sunflower Dr. Jang Hyun Woo 1999 Goodbye My Love Chang Min Soo 2000 Bad Friends Kim Kang Seok 2000–2001 Mothers and Sisters Kong Su Chul 2003 The Fairy and The Swindler Jung Jae Kyung 2004 Match Made in Heaven Kim Suk Koo Oh Feel Young Oh Pil Seung 2006 Mr. Goodbye Yoon Hyun Suh 2008 I Love You Suk Chul Soo 2011–2012 Lights and Shadows Kang Ki Tae 2012 Faith Eun Soo's ex-boyfriend ep 1 cameo 2016 Five Enough Lee Sang Tae 2021Mouse Han Seo-joon 2022 The Driver Ha Tae-joon The Empire Na Geun-woo 2023 Not Others Jin-hong 2025 For Eagle BrothersHan Dong-seok

Film

Year Title Role 1998 Rub Love Jo Han Tie a Yellow Ribbon Joon Hyuk First Kiss Han Kyeong Hyeon 2003 Garden of Heaven Choi Oh Sung 2009 Triangle Ryu Sang Woo

Variety shows

Year Title Role Notes 2017 Pot Stand Host 2018–2019 Busted! Cast member Season 1–2 2023 Oh Eun-young GameJudge

Radio program 2007–2008: Mr. Radio (KBS Cool FM)

Theater 1995: Baby 1996: 한평 반짜리 혁명 1997: Butterflies Are Free 1998: Guys and Dolls 2009: Jack the Ripper 2010: Jack the Ripper 2010: Rock of Ages 2011: Jack the Ripper 2012: Jack the Ripper 2012–2013: Rudolf 2014: Le Roi Soleil 2014–2015: Rudolf 2022–2023: Dracula as Dracula 2023: Harlan County as John

Discography Album informationTrack listingForever 1st album Released: April 24, 1997Memories 2nd album Released: April 17, 1998Yesterday 3rd album Released: November 1, 1999Reds in Ahn Jae-wook 4th album Released: March 17, 2003사랑,이별 그리고... Track from Garden of Heaven OST Released: April 8, 2003Sounds Like You 5th album Released: November 11, 2005사랑의 향기는 설레임을 타고 온다 Track from All That Love Released: March 2, 2006그녀에게 EP Released: April 1, 2008Best Album Compilation album Released: December 18, 2008사랑에 살다 EP Released: August 5, 2009청춘 Track from 다섯남자의 다섯번째 이야기 Released: January 13, 2010Jack the Ripper Cast recording Released: August 9, 2010At This Moment EP Released: March 28, 2012하늘아 제발 / 바람 Tracks from Lights and Shadows OST Released: July 6, 2012너라는 하늘 Single Released: November 13, 2012

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1994 13th MBC Drama Awards Best New Actor 1996 8th Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actor in TVLove and War 15th MBC Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor 1997KBS Song Festival Top 10 Singer Best New Singer 16th MBC Drama Awards Best Couple Award Ahn Jae-wook (with Choi Jin-sil)Star in My Heart Popularity Award Star in My Heart 1998 19th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actor Tie a Yellow Ribbon 200019th MBC Drama AwardsTop Excellence Award, Actor Bad Friends Mothers and Sisters 2001 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Today's Young Artist Award 200418th KBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor Oh Feel Young Best Couple Award Ahn Jae-wook (with Park Sun-young)Oh Feel Young Grimae Awards Best Actor Oh Feel Young 2007 6th KBS Entertainment Awards Best Radio DJ Mr. Radio 2010 Seoul Art and Culture Awards World Star Award 2016 5th APAN Star Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial DramaFive Enough 30th KBS Drama Awards Daesang (Grand Prize) Top Excellence Award, Actor Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama 2025 11th APAN Star Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama For Eagle Brothers 39th KBS Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Best Couple Award Ahn Jae-wook For Eagle Brothers