Baek Yoon-sik (; born 16 March 1947) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his characteristic near-expressionless facial acting.
Career Baek Yoon-sik made his debut in 1970 on KBS TV. In the coming years he would appear in four films, taking lead roles in his acting debut Excellent Guys and in romantic comedy Only with You with Seo Mi-kyung, a young star of the time. He also obtained his bachelor's degree and master's degree in Theater and Film at Chung-Ang University.
Nonetheless, his film career appeared to end in the 1970s and he became known thereafter as a TV actor. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he attained a certain degree of visibility in TV dramas such as The Moon of Seoul (1994, with Han Suk-kyu and Choi Min-sik) and Jang Hui-bin (2002, with Kim Hye-soo).
In 2003, however, Baek's career was revived in spectacular fashion with a major role in Jang Joon-hwan's acclaimed debut feature Save the Green Planet!. Playing an arrogant company executive—believed by the film's hero to be an alien from the Andromeda Galaxy—Baek's performance won him a Best Actor Award from the 2003 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, as well as numerous best supporting actor mentions from local awards ceremonies. He quickly became sort of a cult figure among younger cinephiles.
Following on this success, Baek went on to appear in several more high-profile films, including a memorable role in Choi Dong-hoon's caper film The Big Swindle and a showstopping performance as intelligence chief Kim Jae-gyu in Im Sang-soo's controversial drama The President's Last Bang.
The year 2006 turned out to be a particularly prolific year for Baek, as he took leading and supporting roles in four films. (It was a profitable year as well, with his fee rising to $400,000 per film—just a shade below that of the top stars.) Of these four, Choi Dong-hoon's Tazza: The High Rollers proved to be a runaway hit, selling close to 7 million tickets.
In August 2021, Baek signed with new agency Fantagio.
Personal life Baek divorced his wife in March 2004 after 27 years of marriage. His two sons, Baek Do-bin and Baek Seo-bin, are also actors.
Filmography Film Year Title Role 1974 Excellent Guys 1976 Only with You A Woman's Castle 1977 Chu-ha, My Love 2000 A Masterpiece in My Life Boss Yang 2003 Save the Green Planet! Kang Man-shik 2004 The Big Swindle Mr. Kim 2005 The President's Last Bang Kim Jae-gyu 2006 The Art of Fighting Oh Pan-su Like a Virgin Ssireum coach Tazza: The High Rollers Mr. Pyeong How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men Dong Chol-dong 2007 Surf's Up Big Z (voice, Korean dubbed) Bravo My Life Cho Min-hyuk The Bank Attack Detective squad captain Gu 2009 Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard Master (cameo) 2011 Meet the In-Laws Young-kwang Head Baek Jeong Champ President of horse riding association 2012 The Taste of Money Chairman Yoon I Am the King Hwang Hui 2013 The Face Reader Kim Jongseo 2015 Inside Men Lee Kang-hee 2016 The Last Princess Emperor Gojong2017The ChaseShim Deok-su2018Feng ShuiKim Jwa-gun 2023 Noryang: Deadly Sea Shimazu
Television series Year Title Role 1970 Hometown of Legends River Arirang Na Woon-gyu 1974 Land 1978 Establishment of Government 1979 The Solitude of Eun Ji-hwa Lee Jung-seob Water Pattern 1980 Hope 1981 Daemyeong Crown Prince Sohyeon 1983 Naughty Chorus 1984 Independence Gate Yun Chi-ho TV Tale of Chunhyang Byeon Hak-do Video Drama Lee Sang-hwa 1986 Southern Cross South Korean student 1988 Punggaek 1989 The Forest Never Sleeps 1990 In Search of Fog 1991 Numb Fingertips Principal Moon Joong-hoon School of Love Kyoto 25 City 1993 The Beginning of Any Day 3rd Republic Kim Dae-jung 1994 Han Myung-hoi Seong Sam-mun The Moon of Seoul Art teacher Kim In-cheol 1995 Jang Nok-su Grand Prince Je-ahn War and Love Hang-so 1996 The Brothers' River Dr. Choi Hometown of Legends – "Deokdaegol" Terminally ill husband 1997 Hometown of Legend – "Sashin's Smile" A Bluebird Has It Director Baek 1998 Until the Azalea Blooms Baek Woon-soo 2000 She's the One Virtue Jang Cheon-il 2001 Ladies of the Palace Jeong Yun-gyeom 2002 Jang Hui-bin Jo Sa-seok 2003 Apgujeong House Father 2009 Hero Jo Yong-deok 2010 Golden House Park Tae-chon 2011 Deep Rooted Tree King Taejong 2012 Immortal Classic Hwang Young-chul 2013 Hur Jun, The Original Story Yoo Ui-tae 2014 Naeil's Cantabile Franz von Stresemann 2019 Vagabond Jung Kook-pyo2024Family MattersBaek Kang-sung
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2003 7th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival Best Actor Save the Green Planet! 40th Grand Bell Awards Best Supporting Actor 24th Blue Dragon Film Awards 2nd Korean Film Awards 2004 5th Busan Film Critics Awards The Big Swindle 25th Blue Dragon Film Awards 3rd Korean Film Awards Best Actor Cine21 Awards SBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Sitcom Apgujeong House 2005 41st Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor (Film) The President's Last Bang 2013 50th Grand Bell Awards Best Supporting Actor The Face Reader MBC Drama Awards Golden Acting Award, Actor Hur Jun, the Original Story 201652nd Baeksang Arts AwardsBest Actor (Film)Inside Men 11th Max Movie AwardsBest Supporting Actor 21st Chunsa Film Art Awards 2019 SBS Drama Awards Vagabond
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