Ryu Seung-ryong

Ryu Seung-ryong (; born November 29, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Ryu began his acting career in theater, subsequently becoming one of the most versatile supporting actors in Korean film and television. He gained recognition by starring in the films War of the Arrows, All About My Wife (2012), Masquerade (2012), Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013), and The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014), with the latter being the highest-grossing film in South Korea. For his performance in Miracle in Cell No. 7, Ryu won the Grand Prize at the 49th Baeksang Arts Awards. In 2019, he headlined the comedy film Extreme Job, which is currently the second highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea. Ryu is the first Korean to star in four movies that have drawn over 10 million viewers each.

In television, his notable works include Painter of the Wind (2008), Personal Taste (2010), Kingdom (2019–2020), and Moving (2023). He is currently an adjunct professor in the department of acting arts at Seoul Arts College.

Early life and education Ryu Seung-ryong was born on November 29, 1970 in Seoul and spent part of his childhood in his father's hometown at Seocheon County, South Chungcheong Province. He developed an interest in acting after watching a production of Faust, starring Kim Jin-tae, during his third year of middle school. Despite financial difficulties, his parents supported this interest by taking him to several stage performances annually.

While attending , Ryu experienced bullying attributed to his rebellious nature. He found solace in the school's drama club, where his participation solidified his ambition to become an actor. In 1986, he made his debut in a musical. He also remained academically successful, serving as class president and ranking third in his class and consistently placing in the top 50 students in the school.

In 1990, Ryu enrolled in the Theatre Department at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. His fellow 1990 batch were Ahn Jae-wook and Lee Hae-young. For his graduation project, he played the lead in the play Road, directed by Professor Kang Man-hong, known for the avant-garde production "Kka." The production also featured his classmates Hwang Jung-min, Jung Jae-young, Im Won-hee, and Jang Jin, who was one year his senior in college. Ryu subsequently earned a bachelor's degree in Theatre.

Career

1998–2003: Beginning in theater and Nanta After graduating, Ryu joined the Dongrang Theater Company and performed in several large-scale musicals in a small roles.

A turning point in Ryu's career occurred in 1997 in New York, where he and Yoo Hae-jin performed the avant-garde play Duta (The Road to Gudo) at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York. While there, he observed groundbreaking happening shows like Stomp, Blue Man Group, and Tube. These performances inspired him to question the prevailing didactic nature of Korean plays and the lack of similar non-verbal shows.

Ryu found his answer in October 1997, when he attended the premiere of the non-verbal performance Nanta at Hoam Art Hall, produced by PMC Production. Impressed by the show, he auditioned and became a substitute member, eventually joining as a core cast member in 1998. He worked closely with founding members Kim Moon-soo and Kim Won-hae, and later Jang Hyuk-jin, forming the ensemble that practiced and performed Nanta worldwide. The show quickly gained immense popularity, setting the record for the longest-running open run performance in Korea.

Following its participation in the 1999 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Nanta embarked on a global tour across over 20 countries, including Japan, Europe, Australia, and North America, maintaining an audience occupancy rate of over 90%. It became a major cultural draw, attracting 70% of foreign tourists to Korea. In 2005, he appeared as a rival prosecutor, Seong-jun, a colleague of Choi Yoon-gi (Cha Seung-won) in Jang Jin's feature film, (2005). Although he did not have an entirely independent scene, his low voice and smooth manner of speaking left a distinct impression. In September 2005, his work with the director extended to the stage as he rehearsed for Jang Jin's play, Death of a Salesman. He then appeared in a series of the director's films, including Good Morning President (2009) and Quiz Show (2010), making a solid impression on Chungmuro. He subsequently became a major star in Chungmuro with the box-office success of War of the Arrows (2011), All About My Wife (2012), and Masquerade (2012). He has since become one of the most versatile and dependable character actors in Korea. A sampling of the various roles he has played over the years: a mentally handicapped father in Miracle in Cell No. 7, the royal adviser Heo Gyun in Masquerade, an officer of the North Korean People's Army in The Front Line, a hard-nosed general of the Qing Dynasty in War of the Arrows, a ladies' man in All About My Wife, a gambling husband who fears his wife in The Quiz Show Scandal, a refined gay man in Personal Taste, a vengeful gangster in Secret, a reporter on the trail of a story in The Recipe, and the titular figure in The Piper.

2019–Present: Second career heyday In 2017, Ryu was cast in Kim Eun-hee's Netflix period zombie thriller Kingdom. The series premiered on January 25, 2019, and featured Ryu in the role of Lord Cho Hak-ju. Lord Cho is the Chief State Councilor of Joseon and the ruthless head of the Haewon Cho clan, positioning him as Lee Chang's (Ju Ji-hoon) primary political rival. As the father of the Queen Consort Cho, he desperately seeks to secure his power by making her unborn child the heir to the throne, replacing Lee Chang. thumb Ryu in March 2018In 2019, Ryu starred in director Lee Byeong-heon's comedy film Extreme Job, which went on to become the second highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea. Ryu played Chief Detective Go, known as "The Zombie" for surviving 12 stab wounds. To catch a drug gang, he and his team set up an undercover surveillance post in a chicken restaurant. They end up buying the restaurant and accidentally create a popular rib marinade recipe, turning their operation into a successful fried chicken business.

Ryu reunited with director Park In-je, with whom he had previously collaborated on Season 2 of Kingdom, to join the Disney+ original series, Moving. This action-packed fantasy sci-fi series was written by Kang Full based on Kang's webtoon of the same name. The show features an ensemble cast including Ryu, Han Hyo-joo, Zo In-sung, Cha Tae-hyun, and others. In Moving, Ryu plays Jang Ju-won, a former gangster and ex-ANSP agent (code name Guryongpo) who runs a fried chicken shop and is the father of Hui-soo (Go Youn-jung). His character possesses healing abilities and superhuman strength, though he remains susceptible to pain. The series was released from August 9 to September 20, 2023. Just seven days after its debut, Moving became the most-watched Korean original series on on Disney+ globally and Hulu in the United States, measured by hours streamed.

Continuing his work in streaming, Ryu reunited with director Lee Byeong-heon to lead the Netflix comedy series Chicken Nugget alongside Ahn Jae-hong. In the series, Ryu portrayed Choi Seon-man, the president of More Than Machines. The series follows Choi's desperate search for a method to return his daughter, Min-ah (Kim You-jung), to human form after her transformation into a chicken nugget by a mysterious machine.

In 2026, Ryu won the Grand Prize (Daesang) in the television category at the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards for his performance in 'The Story of Manager Kim, Who Works at a Large Company and Owns a Home in Seoul'.

Other ventures Endorsements Following the box-office success of All About My Wife (2012), Ryu Seung-ryong became a sought-after endorser for major brands, including Samsung Life Insurance, Kumon Learning Center, and SK Telecom. His endorsement deals were strategically finalized just before the release of Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013). The timing of these commercials airing alongside the film's theatrical screening proved highly beneficial for the advertisers. Samsung Life Insurance, for example, noted an increase in advertising interest after the movie surpassed 10 million views. Similarly, SK Telecom experienced a surge in sales after airing its commercial, making it the top-selling new product in March, and the 90-second YouTube version of the ad neared 1 million views.

Following the success of 2014 historical film The Admiral: Roaring Currents, Ryu starred in The Baedal Minjok advertisement with the memorable slogan, "What kind of nation are we?" His campaigns ranged from cinematic broadcast ads to clever outdoor campaigns strategically placed in relevant locations. He won multiple advertising awards that year. The popularity of his CF (commercial film) for the BBQ chicken franchise, particularly the Paris Chicken line, led to a 500% increase in sales. His influence was formally recognized when he was named the Advertising Model of the Year at the 2014 Korea Advertising Awards.

In April 2024, Home Chicken SASE announced the selection of Ryu as its new brand model and launched a related campaign.

Philanthropy In 2015, Ryu Seung-ryong donated 10 million won to support the independent film The Claws of the Five Generals, an adaptation of an award-winning play. The film's production costs were notably raised through citizen participation. Known for his interest in independent cinema and stage performances, Ryu contributed to the project after learning about the production.

On September 3, 2020, Ryu and actress Park Jin-hee lent their talents to a Greenpeace climate crisis campaign, both providing narration for the organization's television commercial.

Personal life Ryu Seung-ryong is a devout Christian and reportedly reads the Bible with his family every evening.

In addition to his acting career, Ryu is noted for his proficiency in a variety of skills, including bloodletting (phlebotomy), wooden swordsmanship, swimming, and singing. He is also skilled in woodworking and can construct simple furniture.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2004 Someone Special Robber 1 Bit part 2006 If You Were Me 2 Kim Joo-joong Short film Righteous Ties Jung Soon-tan Cruel Winter Blues Lee Min-jae 2007 Beyond the Years Yong-taek Hwang Jin-yi Hee-yeol Eleventh Mom Jae-soo's father My Love Jeong-seok 2009 My Girlfriend Is an Agent Won-seok Possessed Detective Tae-hwan Good Morning President North Korean emissary Cameo Secret "Jackal" 2010 Bestseller Park Young-joon Blades of Blood Nobleman Jung The Quiz Show Scandal Kim Sang-do The Recipe Choi Yoo-jin 2011 Battlefield Heroes Yeon Nam-geon Children... Hwang Woo-hyuk The Front Line Hyeon Jeong-yoon War of the Arrows Jyuushinta 2012 All About My Wife Jang Sung-ki Masquerade Heo Gyun 2013 Miracle in Cell No. 7 Lee Yong-gu 2014 The Target Baek Yeo-hoon The Admiral: Roaring Currents Kurushima Michifusa 2015 The Piper Woo-ryong The Sound of a Flower Shin Jae-hyo 2018 Psychokinesis Suk-hun Seven Years of Night Hyun-soo 2019 Extreme Job Squad Chief Go 2021 What Happened to Mr. Cha? Himself Cameo The Book of Fish Doctor Cameo Perhaps Love Kim Hyun 2022 Life Is Beautiful Kang Jin-bong 20th Century Girl Woon-ho's father Voice cameo 2024 Amazon Bullseye Cho Jin-bong 2026 Portrait of a Family Jung-goo Jung's Ranch Man-soo

Television Year Title Role Notes 1998 Shadows of an Old Love Sinawe 2000 Foolish Love 2005 2007 Kang Seung-jo 2008 Mystery X-Files U-Turn Yong Painter of the Wind Kim Jo-nyeon 2009 IRIS Leader of IRIS mercenaries 2010 Personal Taste Choi Do-bin 2014 My Love from the Star Heo Gyun Cameo (Episode 19) 2019–2020 Kingdom Lord Cho Hak-ju Season 1–2 2021 Jirisan Narrator Cameo (Episode 1) 2023 The Good Bad Mother Tailor Cameo (Episode 13) Moving Jang Joo-won 2024 Chicken Nugget Choi Seon-man 2025 Low Life Oh Gwan-seok The Dream Life of Mr. Kim Kim Nak-soo

Music video appearances + Year Song Title Artist 2004"Close Your Eyes Quietly"Jaewook Jeong2005"Are You Happy?"Kim Jang-hoon"Snowman"Gabi NJ 2009"Sign"Brown Eyed Girls 2021"Keep Your Head Up" Lee Dong-hwi

Stage Musical

Theater + Teater play performances of Ryu Year Title Role Venue Date Ref. English Korean 1998 The Reason She is Beautiful 그 여자가 아름다운 이유 Donrang Theater Ensemble June 3 to 15 2002 Welcome to Dongmakgol 웰컴 투 동막골 Villager LG Arts Center in Yeoksam-dong December 14 to 29 2004 Taxi Driver 택시 드리벌 Taxi passenger Arts Center Small Theater Jul 16 to Aug 29 2006 Death of a Salesman 세일즈맨의 죽음 Namsan Drama Center September 29 to October 14 2007–2008 Clumsy People 서툰 사람들 - 장진이 만든 코믹소란극 Jang Deok-bae Dongsung Art Centre Small Theatre Dec 7 to Mar 16

Accolades