Keun Suk Jang

Jang Keun Suk was born in Danyang County, Chungcheongbuk Province, South Korea. He is an only child. At the age of five, he was "discovered" by a talent agent who advised his parents to allow him to try modeling. Four years later, in 1997, he made his acting debut when he appeared on the HBS sitcom "Selling Happiness." In middle school, he heard the work of some Japanese bands and was inspired to learn the Japanese language. He attended Nelson College, in New Zealand, to learn English and Japanese. He returned to South Korea for a role in the popular MBC sitcom "Nonstop 4." Afterward, Jang fell into a depression, adamant that his acting wasn't good enough. He decided to re-devote himself to becoming the best actor. In 2005, his portrayal of the president's son in the Korean drama "Lovers in Prague" became a hit and fans loved him. In 2006, he made it to the cinema screen in Japanese horror film "One Missed Call: Final." Because he was fluent in Japanese, communicating with co-workers and directors was no problem. Also as his character was deaf, he studied sign language for three months prior to filming. His next role was back on the small screen with the historical drama "Hwang Jin-yi." Jang's performance gained the attention of many female fans, and his popularity began to rise. The following year in 2007, Jang was cast in the rock music themed film "The Happy Life." His portrayal of Hyeon-ju allowed Jang to show off his masculine charms, as well as display his skills as a singer. That same year, he co-hosted SBS' weekly live music show "Inkygayo." 2008 would turn out to be a busy year for the actor as he took on the role of a prince in the KBS historical drama "Hong Gil Dong, The Hero." He would also go on to play in two more music inspired titles in 2008, with the feature film "Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do" and the MBC TV drama "Beethoven Virus." In 2009's "You Are Beautiful," he played the role of Hwang Tae-Kyung, leader of rock band A.N.Jell, who falls in love with a female band member (played by Park Shin Hye) masquerading as a guy on behalf of her brother. The show, which also starred Lee Hong Ki and Jung Yong Hwa, quickly thrust Jang into the limelight and became a hit in other Asian countries as well. His prickly character became the object of millions of fans' fantasies. Also in 2009 he played the role of Robert J. Pearson, a Korean-American accused of murder, in "The Case of The Itaewon Homicide." Jang spoke English for 99% of the film and was praised by "Beyond Hollywood" for having performed very well. In 2010, Jang starred opposite Moon Geun Young in the popular romantic comedy series "Mary Stayed Out All Night," as indie rock musician Kang Mu Gyul. In 2011, Jang participated in writing the screenplay and choosing filming locations for the direct to DVD short film "Budapest Diary." He also costarred in "You're My Pet" with Kim Ha Neul, a film about a younger man becoming the "pet" of a career woman, based on the Japanese manga "Kimi wa Petto." In 2012, Jang took on dual roles in KBS2's melodrama series "Love Rain" opposite Im Yoon Ah. He then starred in KBS2's 2013 drama "Pretty Man," another drama based on a Japanese manga, opposite IU. In 2015, the short film "Jang Keun Suk Special short Film DVD CAMP," which Jang directed and starred in, was released to DVD, and debuted at #1 on Oricon's Weekly Film chart. It was filmed entirely on Jeju Island. 2016 was another very busy year for Jang, as he took on the role of MC for Mnet's music survival show "Produce 101," starred in the SBS historical drama "The Royal Gambler," and took part in tVN's reality show "My Ear's Candy." Show less «