Jin Goo (; born July 20, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He won Best Supporting Actor at the Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards for his role in Bong Joon-ho's 2009 noir thriller Mother. He is also known for his role in the critically and commercially successful series Descendants of the Sun.
Career 2003–2008: Beginnings Jin Goo made his television debut in the 2003 gambling drama All In, as the younger version of the protagonist character played by Lee Byung-hun. They reunited onscreen in Kim Jee-woon's film noir A Bittersweet Life, and Jin would later join Lee when he established his own management agency, BH Entertainment.
In 2005, Jin starred in the one-episode drama Saya, Saya ("Bird, Bird"), adapted from the novel written by Shin Kyung-sook about a mother and son who are both deaf. It won the top award in the TV movie/miniseries category of Prix Italia, and the jury praised it as "a magical, moving and poetic story about the power of love with high quality performances."
After a guest appearance as a Korean language teacher on the webisodes of Japanese drama Joshi Deka!, Jin returned to Korean television in 2008's Spotlight, a glimpse into the lives of broadcast news reporters covering the city beat. To prepare for his role, Jin followed a cub reporter for a day, and realized they didn't have time to bathe or even wash their faces.
Though he appeared in little-seen mystery romance The ESP Couple, Jin would become known for playing strong moody characters, such as a low-ranking thug in Yoo Ha's A Dirty Carnival, and a serial killer in Truck. For his portrayal of a secretive doctor in arthouse horror film Epitaph, Jin received a Best New Actor trophy from the Golden Cinematography Awards.
2009–2015: Breakthrough and continued acting Jin's breakthrough would be his critically acclaimed supporting turn in 2009's Mother. His performance in the Bong Joon-ho thriller earned him recognition from the Grand Bell Awards, the University Film Festival of Korea, and the Blue Dragon Film Awards.
In 2010, Jin shed his hardboiled image to play a down-to-earth, aspiring chef in Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle. He said the film was a great pleasure to make since cooking is a hobby of his, though emulating a professional chef meant undergoing "200 hours of chopping radishes" in order to perfect the motion. He added that after the filming, he was able to make kimchi with his mother, which proved to be a memorable experience.
2011 was a busy year for Jin. Besides appearing in conspiracy thriller Moby Dick, he had a starring role as one of three desperate Joseon soldiers in The Showdown. He also made his stage debut as Nathan in a Korean production of the musical Guys and Dolls.
He next starred in 26 Years, based on Kang Full's manhwa about a plot to assassinate the man responsible for the Gwangju Massacre. Jin had been attached to the project since pre-production began in 2008, but investors backed out due to the politically controversial content. Online donations from thousands of private individuals enabled filming to resume in 2012. Jin was the only holdover from the original cast; initially cast as the young policeman, he now played the more central role of the gangster.
In 2013, he played the titular character in TV series Ad Genius Lee Tae-baek, a success story about a man who comes up to Seoul from the countryside armed with nothing but a high school diploma and a gift for drawing, and through sheer hard work, fights his way to become the best ad man and art director in the business.
Supporting roles followed in thriller The Target, period blockbuster The Admiral: Roaring Currents, and nostalgic musical drama C'est Si Bon. In 2015, Jin starred in Northern Limit Line, a naval thriller about the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong.
2016–present: Rising popularity 2016 was a remarkable year for Jin Goo. He was cast as an elite special forces soldier in Descendants of the Sun, a romantic melodrama written by Kim Eun-sook. The drama was a critical and commercial success in Asia, and led to a surge in popularity for Jin. Later in the year, Jin starred in MBC's melodrama Night Light.
In 2017, Jin starred in the action film One Line, where he played a legendary swindler who joins with a student (Yim Si-wan) to rob a bank. He then starred in JTBC's action melodrama Untouchable.
In 2019, Jin starred in the legal drama Legal High, a remake of the Japanese television series of the same name.
In December 2020, Jin signed with new agency Varo Entertainment.
Personal life Marriage and family Jin married his girlfriend on September 21, 2014. The couple welcomed a baby boy in June 2015. They welcomed their second child, a baby girl, in November 2016.
Military service Jin completed his mandatory military service in the Republic of Korea Navy military police.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes/2003 Romantic Assassins Assassin 1+1=6 Short film 2005 A Bittersweet Life Min-gi2006 A Dirty Carnival Jong-soo Ice Bar In-baek Love Me Not Mickey / Tae-ho 2007 Epitaph Park Jung-nam 2008 Truck Kim Young-ho The ESP Couple Su-min 2009 Mother Jin-tae 2010 Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle Seong-chan2011 The Showdown Do-young Moby Dick Yoon Hyuk Always Pottery store owner Cameo 2012 26 Years Kwak Jin-bae2014 The Target Baek Sung-hoon The Admiral: Roaring Currents Lim Jun-young Late Spring cameo2015 C'est Si Bon Lee Jang-hee (20s) Northern Limit Line Han Sang-gook2017 One Line Suk-goo 2018 Heung-boo: The Revolutionist Nolbu Special appearance2021You're Precious to Me (My Lovely Angel)Park Jae-shik2022 The Witch: Part 2. The Other One Yong-du
Television series Year Title Role Notes/ 2003 All In young Kim In-ha 2004 MBC Best Theater Jin-ho Episode "Where Are Arrows We Shoot?" Nonstop 5 Jin Goo MBC Best Theater Bae Sang-woo Episode "Oshio Ddeokbokki" 2005 HDTV Literature Little Brother Episode "Saya, Saya (Bird, Bird)" 2007 Joshi Deka! Korean language teacher guest, episode 10 and webisode2008 Spotlight Lee Seon-chul Tokyo Sun Shower Park Sang-gil 2009 Swallow the Sun young Kim Il-hwan Cameo 2010 Athena: Goddess of War Black agent Jang Hyuk-joon Cameo, episode 7 2013 Ad Genius Lee Tae-baek Lee Tae-baek 2015 Beating Again Ma Dong-wook Guest 2016 Descendants of the Sun Seo Dae-young Entourage Himself Cameo, episode 4Night Light Park Gun-woo 2017 Untouchable Jang Joon-seo 2018 Mr. Sunshine Go Sang-wan Cameo 2019Legal High Go Tae-rim 2022 A Superior Day Lee Ho-cheol Shadow Detective Guk Jin-han Season 1 2024The AuditorsHwang Dae-woong2025Moon RiverKim Han Chul2026The Legend of Kitchen SoldierHa Byung-daeCameo, episode 5Reborn RookieKang Jae-sung
Web series Year Title Role Notes 2022 The King of the DesertChairman
Music video appearances Year Song title Artist 2007 "Sonata of Temptation" Ivy 2009 "Shout to the Heart" Monday Kiz ft. Rhymer "Scar" Monday Kiz "Stupid" Yoon Seo-jin 2013 "V" Lee Jung-hyun
Musical theatre Year Title Role 2011 Guys and Dolls Nathan Detroit
Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, nominated work, category and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominated work Result APAN Star Awards 2016 Best Supporting ActorDescendants of the Sun Best Couple Award (with Kim Ji-won) Asia Artist Awards 2016 Best Celebrity Award, Actor Asia Model Festival 2016 Popular Star Award Baeksang Arts Awards 2007 Best New Actor – FilmA Dirty Carnival Blue Dragon Film Awards 2006 Best New Actor 2009 Best Supporting Actor Mother Buil Film Awards 2013 Best Actor 26 Years Golden Cinematography Awards 2008 Best New Actor Epitaph 2014 Special Jury Prize 26 Years Grand Bell Awards 2009Best Supporting Actor Mother 2015 C'est Si Bon Indonesian Television Awards 2016 Special Award Descendants of the Sun KBS Drama Awards 2005 Best Actor in a One-Act / Special / Short Drama Saya, Saya (Bird, Bird) 2016 Excellence Award, Actor in a MiniseriesDescendants of the Sun Best Couple (with Kim Ji-won) KBS 감동대상 2011 Hope Award Jin Goo Korean Culture & Entertainment Awards 2009 Excellence Award, Movie Actor Category Mother 2022 Best Actor Award The Witch: Part 2. The Other One Korean Film Awards 2006 Best Supporting Actor A Dirty Carnival Korea Junior Star Awards 2009 Special Award Truck Max Movie Awards 2010 Best Supporting Actor Mother MBC Drama Awards 2025 Best Character Award Moon River SBS Drama Awards 2008 Best Supporting Actor in a Special Planning Drama Tokyo Sun Shower University Film Festival of Korea 2009 Best Supporting Actor Mother
References
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