Uhm Tae-woong

Uhm Tae-woong (born April 5, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 1998, but initially struggled to emerge from under the shadow of his older sister, popular singer-actress Uhm Jung-hwa. After several years of small roles and work in one-act dramas, Uhm began to gain recognition after his villainous turn in the romantic comedy Sassy Girl Chun-hyang. In 2005, he made his breakthrough in the critically acclaimed Resurrection, followed by another revenge-themed series Lucifer in 2007. Since then, he has starred in diverse leading roles on film and television, notably in Forever the Moment, Chaw (2009), Cyrano Agency (2010), Architecture 101 (2012), and Man from the Equator (2012).

Career 1998–2004: Struggling actor Uhm Tae-woong was unsure which college course to take, so he initially joined Kyungmin College's theater department because his crush was there. But even after the girl shifted majors, Uhm stayed after having befriended a fellow student who would become his current manager, and began acting in earnest.

Then in 2004, Uhm played a dying man in the acclaimed Drama City episode Blue Skies of Jeju Island, a well-received performance for which he won his first acting trophy at the 2004 KBS Drama Awards.

2005: Breakthrough Uhm began his rise to popularity with the 2005 romantic comedy series Sassy Girl Chun-hyang, a modern retelling of the classic Korean folktale Chunhyangjeon. But instead of the villainous magistrate of the folktale, Uhm played a talent agency executive who becomes obsessed with the heroine.

But it was Resurrection later that year that cemented his stardom. He had originally been cast as the antagonist, but after lead actor Park Yong-woo dropped out three weeks before filming due to scheduling conflicts, director Park Chan-hong took a risk and cast Uhm as the protagonist. Playing dual roles as two very different identical twins, one of whom embarks on a quest for revenge, it was Uhm's first leading role in a TV series. Despite low ratings, Resurrection was a critical hit and gained a cult following, and one review praised Uhm for "the kind of acting expected from Song Kang-ho and Choi Min-sik," not from a young little-known actor who'd previously appeared in a few projects in supporting roles. His growing fanbase nicknamed him "the UhmForce" (derived from Star Wars), and he received an Excellence Award from the 2005 KBS Drama Awards and a Best TV Actor nomination from the 2006 Baeksang Arts Awards.

2006–2008: Leading roles continue In 2006, he and Resurrection leading lady Han Ji-min were cast in Wolf, but an on-set accident that injured Han and co-star Eric Mun led to production being halted and the series was cancelled after airing only three episodes. Uhm moved on to Stranger Than Paradise, in which he played the manager of a singer, the same woman his long-lost brother also falls in love with. He also joined the ensemble cast of Kim Tae-yong's critically acclaimed film Family Ties, playing a reckless but charming man who suddenly shows up at his sister's door with a live-in partner 20 years his senior. For this role, Uhm won Best New Actor at the Chunsa Film Art Awards.

In 2007, Uhm, reunited with Resurrection'''s director Park Chan-hong and writer Kim Ji-woo in Lucifer, the second in Park and Kim's noir vengeance trilogy that explore the conflict between good and evil, and sin and punishment. He gave another memorable lead performance as a detective hunting down a serial killer while attempting to atone for his past. Uhm also starred in December romance My Love, in which his character is a Free Hugs activist who returns to Korea after six years overseas in the hopes of finding his ex-girlfriend.

Finally no longer known as simply "Uhm Jung-hwa's kid brother," This was followed by the black comedy Chaw, in which his character is a policeman battling with a mutant boar. Uhm then starred as 7th-century Silla general Kim Yushin in the popular period drama Queen Seondeok, for which he received a Top Excellence Award at the 2009 MBC Drama Awards.

Romantic comedy Cyrano Agency was the 8th most commercially successful Korean film of 2010, and in it, Uhm played a theater actor-turned-dating coach whose ex-girlfriend is being pursued by his client. While in Dr. Champ, after his character's ice hockey career was ended by injury, he became a cranky sports medicine doctor reminiscent of Gregory House.

2011–2013: Reality show In 2011, Uhm joined the cast of 2 Days & 1 Night, a popular variety-reality show which travels throughout Korea, featuring small towns and their inhabitants. Through it, viewers discovered the real-life shy, dorky personality behind Uhm's intense screen persona.

Meanwhile, he continued with his acting projects. He acted opposite 2 Days & 1 Night co-star Joo Won in S.I.U., as two detectives who team up against corruption in their ranks.

In 2012, Uhm played one half of a quirky terminally ill couple in Never Ending Story, and an architect building his first love's house in Architecture 101 (the latter was a box-office hit, breaking records at the time as the top-grossing Korean melodrama of all time).

He returned to television in another revenge-themed drama, Man from the Equator. Uhm drew praise for his performance as a blind man, and received an Excellence Award from the 2012 KBS Drama Awards, as well as a Best TV Actor nomination from the 2013 Baeksang Arts Awards.

In 2013, he made a guest appearance in Joo Won's spy comedy series 7th Grade Civil Servant. Uhm then reunited with Man from the Equator director Kim Yong-soo in The Blade and Petal, a period drama set in Goguryeo. He played Yeon Gaesomun's fictional illegitimate son who has a forbidden romance with the princess whose father, the king, was killed by Yeon in a coup.

Veteran actor Park Joong-hoon then cast Uhm in the lead role in Park's directorial debut Top Star. He played a manager who dreams of becoming an actor.

Later that year, Uhm left 2 Days & 1 Night along with other regulars Lee Soo-geun, Sung Si-kyung, and Yoo Hae-jin.

2014: Cable dramas In early 2014, Uhm played an arrogant film director who falls in love with a divorcee in Can We Fall in Love, Again?, which aired on cable channel jTBC.

This was followed later in the year by Righteous Love from tvN, in which his character's marriage is put to the test after his wife has an affair, so as a marine researcher he sets out to prove that her new romance is "invalid."

2015: Back to variety In January 2015, Uhm and his daughter Ji-on began appearing in The Return of Superman, a reality show in which male celebrities take care of their young children for 48 hours. He left the program in October 2015.

Personal life Uhm's father, Uhm Jin-ok, was a public school music teacher who died in a motorcycle accident before Uhm turned 100 days old. After his father's death, the family (consisting of his mother, Yoo Gyeong-sook, three older sisters, and him as the youngest) faced serious financial problems. His older sister Uhm Jung-hwa entered show business as a pop singer and released her first album in 1993 (earning the label "Madonna of Korea"); she later turned to acting.

On the November 4, 2012 episode of 2 Days & 1 Night, Uhm made the surprise announcement that he was engaged to ballerina Yoon Hye-jin, and that they were expecting their first child. The daughter of veteran actor Yoon Il-bong and niece of veteran actor Yoo Dong-geun, Yoon was a principal dancer with the Korea National Ballet before she moved to the Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. They were introduced by Uhm's older sister Uhm Jung-hwa. The couple wed on January 9, 2013 at Conrad Hotel Seoul. 2 Days & 1 Night'' co-star Sung Si-kyung and singer You Hee-yeol sang on their wedding. Their daughter, Uhm Ji-on, was born on June 18, 2013.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role 1998 The Happenings Employee 2003 Spring Bears Love Lee Young-seok Silmido Won-sang 2004 A Family Dong-su 2005 Another Public Enemy Song Jung-hoon 2006 Family Ties Lee Hyung-chul 2007 My Love Jin-man 2008 Forever the Moment Ahn Seung-pil Sunny Sang-gil Iri Tae-woong 2009 Handphone Oh Seung-min Chaw Police officer Kim 2010 Cyrano Agency Lee Byeong-hoon 2011 S.I.U. Kim Seong-beom 2012 Never Ending Story Kang Dong-joo Architecture 101 Lee Seung-min 2013 Top Star Tae-sik 2017 Fork Lane Kim Gang-il 2025 Final Homework

Television series Year Title Role 2000 Look Back in Anger 2001 High School MBC Best Theater:"An Incomplete Love" 2004 Span Drama:"10 Years Later" MBC Best Theater:"Train for Gomsk" Husband Forbidden Love Sa-joon Drama City:"Blue Skies of Jeju Island" Kim Ki-tae 2005 Sassy Girl Chun-hyang Byun Hak-do Resurrection Seo Ha-eun/Yoo Shin-hyuk 2006 Wolf Yoon Sung-mo Stranger Than Paradise Kang San-ho 2007 Lucifer Kang Oh-soo 2008 Fight Kang Gun's father (cameo) 2009 Queen Seondeok Kim Yu-sin 2010 Dr. Champ Lee Do-wook 2012 Man from the Equator Kim Sun-woo 2013 7th Grade Civil Servant Choi Woo-hyuk (guest, episodes 1-4) The Blade and Petal Yeon Choong 2014 Can We Fall in Love, Again? Oh Kyung-soo Righteous Love Jang Hee-tae 2016 Wanted PD Shin Dong-wook 2025I Kill You

Variety show Year Title Notes 2002 New Year's Special: Pokso Song Festival 2011–2013 2 Days & 1 Night Cast member 2015 The Return of Superman Cast member

Music video appearances Year Song title Artist 1998 "Miracle" Kim Dong-ryool 2001 "Tears" Hwayobi 2003 "I Am Always Alone" Page 2004 "Timeless" SG Wannabe "I Loved You to Death" 2005 "Ordinary Woman" Lyn

Theater Year Title Role The Caucasian Chalk Circle Jesus Christ Superstar

Discography Year Song title From Album Notes 2007 "Please Don't Love Me" Track from Lucifer OST 2009 "The Only One" Track from Queen Seondeok Special OST "Impression" 2010 "I Went to Cheonggyesan Mt." Track from Cyrano Agency OST Duet with Choi Daniel 2011 "Confession Day" Track from Never Ending Story OST "Wedding Song" Duet with Jung Ryeo-won 2012 "One Fine Day in October" Track from Man from the Equator OST Duet with Lee Bo-young "해당화 외 (한용운 작)"

Awards and nominations