Joo Won (; born Moon Joon-won on September 30, 1987) is a South Korean actor. He is known for starring in the television series Bread, Love and Dreams (2010), Ojakgyo Family (2011–2012), Bridal Mask (2012), Good Doctor (2013), Yong-pal (2015), and Alice (2020).
Early life and education Joo Won was born in Seoul, South Korea.
He studied at Kaywon High School of Arts and continued his education on Theatre and Arts in Sungkyunkwan University. In 2013, Joo announced that he would be furthering his studies at Konkuk University.
Career 2006–2009: Beginnings Upon making it into college, Joo Won's father came up with the stage name Joo Won for him as the Hangul pronunciation of the name sounds similar to "God-willing".
With his love for singing, he became involved in Frees, a co-ed television performance group formed by SBS as part of a children's TV program. The show premiered in 2006, but Joo Won left the show quickly thereafter. Joo Won later auditioned for the stage musical Altar Boyz, based on the American musical of the same name. This musical role was a first of many to come, as he later appeared in other musicals, namely Singles, Grease, Sinsangnam and most notably, Spring Awakening.
Originally, Joo Won was the understudy for Melchior in Spring Awakening. However, the original actor who played Melchior left the musical midway through the production, thus allowing Joo Won to perform later on in the production. His performance in Spring Awakening caught the attention of his future agency, Sim Entertainment.
2010–2012: Rising popularity and breakthrough Joo Won first appeared in the 2010 television drama Bread, Love and Dreams as the antagonist to the titular character. King of Baking, Kim Takgu recorded high viewership ratings of over 50%, earning "national drama" status, and Joo shot to fame.
He went on to star in the KBS2 weekend family drama Ojakgyo Family in 2011, opposite Uee. He took home the Best New Actor award at the KBS Drama Awards and Baeksang Arts Awards. The same year, Joo made his big-screen debut in the action crime film S.I.U. alongside Uhm Tae-woong.
However, it was Joo's third small screen project Bridal Mask that truly propelled him to mainstream popularity. He portrayed a pro-Japanese Korean police officer by day and a masked vigilante who fights for Korean independence by night. For his role in Bridal Mask, Joo Won took home the Excellence award and Popularity award at the 2012 KBS Drama Awards. The same year, he starred opposite Park Bo-young in the horror thriller Don't Click, and joined the second season of the popular variety program 2 Days & 1 Night.
2013–2017: Mainstream success In 2013, Joo starred in MBC's drama 7th Grade Civil Servant, based on the action-romance movie My Girlfriend Is an Agent. The same year, Joo was offered his most challenging role; an autistic savant who becomes a genius pediatric surgeon for KBS's medical drama Good Doctor.
After four years of absence from the musical scene, Joo returned to the musical stage with the Korean version of Ghost the Musical. Due to schedule conflicts, he has since stepped down from 2 Days & 1 Night to concentrate on his acting career. In late 2013, Joo starred in the romantic comedy film Steal My Heart opposite Kim Ah-joong.
In 2014, Joo starred in Fashion King, based on a popular webtoon of the same title. He returned to the small screen with Naeil's Cantabile, the Korean adaptation of Nodame Cantabile.
In 2015, Joo starred in action thriller Yong-pal, alongside Kim Tae-hee. The drama garnered strong ratings and Joo won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the SBS Drama Awards. He next starred in the thriller Fatal Intuition, which opened at the top of the box office, earning more than 1 million ticket sales.
On November 3, 2015, Joo received the "Most Welcomed Actor" award at the second Asian Influence Awards Oriental Ceremony held in China. He then starred in the Korean-Chinese film Sweet Sixteen, a romantic drama based on an Internet novel will depict the love story of three men and one woman.
Joo's final project before enlistment was My Sassy Girl, a historical remake of the 2001 hit film. The television series premiered in 2017.
2019–present: Comeback from military In 2020, Joo returned to television in the SBS science fiction romance drama Alice. In 2022, he starred in the Netflix film Carter in the title role.
In November 2022, Joo signed with Ghost Studio.
Personal life Military service Joo started his mandatory military service on May 16, 2017. In June, the actor completed his six-week basic training and became an assistant instructor for the 3rd Infantry Division.
During the military service, Joo emceed at the Armed Forces Festival 2017. He also participated at the 63rd Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony on June 6, 2018.
On February 5, 2019, Joo was discharged from the military after completion of 21 months of mandatory military service.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 S.I.U. Kim Ho-ryong 2012 Don't Click Joon-hyuk Niko 2 : Little Brother, Big Trouble Niko Korean dub 2013 Steal My Heart Lee Ho-tae 2014 Fashion King Woo Ki-myung 2015 Fatal Intuition Jang-woo 2016 Sweet Sixteen Qu Weiran Chinese film Clocking Out Seo Ki-woong Short film 2022 Carter Carter Netflix film 2024 The Firefighters Choi Cheol-woong 2027Gye Pil-haryeok
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2010 Bread, Love and Dreams Gu Ma-jun / Seo Tae-jo 2011–2012Ojakgyo Family Hwang Tae-hee 2012 Bridal Mask Lee Kang-to / Sato Hiroshi / Gaksital 2013 7th Grade Civil Servant Han Gil-ro / Han Pil-hoon Good Doctor Park Shi-on 2014 Naeil's Cantabile Cha Yoo-jin 2015 Yong-pal Kim Tae-hyun 2017 My Sassy Girl Gyun-woo 2020 Alice Park Jin-gyeom 2023 Stealer: The Treasure Keeper Hwang Dae-myung / Skunk 2024 The Midnight Studio Seo Ki-joo
Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2006 Frees Cast member 2012–2013 2 Days & 1 Night 2014 Joo Won's Life Log Himself
Narration Year Title Notes 2012 Memories of civilization - Map Four-part series documentary
Music video appearances Year Title Artist 2010 "Miss You" SM the Ballad 2012 "I Made Another Woman Cry" 2BiC
Stage Musical + Musical theatre performances Year Title Role Notes 2007 Altar Boyz Matthew 2008 Singles Ensemble Grease Doody 2009 Sinsangnam Yeon Ha-nam Spring Awakening Melchior 2013–2014; 2020–2021 Ghost the Musical Sam Wheat
Discography Soundtrack appearances Title Year Album "My Love" 2010 Bread, Love and Dreams OST (Part 7) "Judgment Day" 2012 Bridal Mask OST "Love and Love" "Nadeshiko" Bungo: Stories of Desire OST "I Don't Know Love" 2013 7th Grade Civil Servant OST "Love Medicine" () Good Doctor OST "If I Were" "Innocent" 2014 Naeil's Cantabile OST "I Believe" 2017 My Sassy Girl OST
Accolades Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result APAN Star Awards2013Top Excellence Award, ActorGood Doctor2015Top Excellence Award, Actor in a MiniseriesNaeil's Cantabile, Yong-pal2021Excellence Award, Actor in a MiniseriesAlicePopular Star Award, ActorAsia Model Awards2011Special Award – Best New ModelJoo WonAsian Influence Awards Oriental Ceremony2015Most Influential Asian AwardBaeksang Arts Awards2012Best New Actor – TelevisionOjakgyo FamilyBest New Actor – FilmS.I.U.2014 Best Actor – TelevisionGood Doctor2016Yong-palBuil Film Awards2012Best New ActorS.I.U.K-Drama Star Awards2012Excellence Award, ActorBridal MaskKBS Drama Awards2010Best New ActorBread, Love and Dreams2011Ojakgyo Family2012Top Excellence Award, Actor Bridal MaskExcellence Award, Actor in a Serial DramaPopularity Award2013Top Excellence Award, Actor Good Doctor Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length DramaNetizens' AwardPD AwardBest Couple Award Joo Won Good Doctor2014Excellence Award, Actor in a MiniseriesNaeil's CantabilePopularity Award, ActorKBS Entertainment Awards2012Best Newcomer in a Variety Show2 Days & 1 NightKorea Drama Awards2013Top Excellence Award, ActorGood Doctor2015Grand Prize (Daesang)Yong-palKorea Producers & Directors Awards2014Best Performer Good DoctorKorean Culture and Entertainment Awards2012Top Excellence Award, ActorBridal MaskKorea Musical Awards2009Best New ActorSpring AwakeningMBC Drama Awards2013Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries7th Grade Civil ServantThe Musical Awards2010Best New actorSpring AwakeningSBS Drama Awards2015Grand Prize (Daesang) Yong-pal Top Excellence Award, Actor in a MiniseriesTop 10 StarsChinese Netizen Popularity AwardBest Couple Award Joo Won Yong-pal2017Top Excellence Award – Actor in a Monday-Tuesday DramaMy Sassy Girl2020Grand Prize (Daesang)AliceTop Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Fantasy/Romance Drama Producers' Award
State honors + Name of the organization, year presented, and the award given Organization Year Award Financial Services Commission 2021 Prime Minister's Commendation
Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Forbes 2013 Korea Power Celebrity 18th
Notes
References
External links
Joo Won at Huayi Brothers