Song Jae-rim (; February 18, 1985 – November 12, 2024), also known as Song Jae-lim, was a South Korean actor and model. Starting in modelling, Song had a career as an actor in Korean dramas.
Early life Song was born on February 18, 1985; his mother, a devout Christian, named him after Jesus's Second Coming ("Jae-rim" in Korean). Song himself was a believer and had a tattoo of two hands in prayer and the verse Philippians 4:13 on his right shoulder as an expression of faith. He had a younger sister, Su-rim (born in 1986). His family was poor, so much so that it was not affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and Song began working part-time at a young age, modeling to pay for college tuition.
In 2003, he enrolled in the Information Systems Department at Chung-Ang University. He did not perform active military service due to a pneumothorax, replacing it with a job at a defense company.
Career Song began his career as a runway model for the Seoul collections of Juun. J, Herin Homme, and Ha Sang Beg. He also appeared in the magazines Bazaar Korea, Vogue Girl Korea, Dazed Korea, Nylon Korea, GQ Korea, Arena Homme + Korea, Esquire Korea, and Marie Claire Korea.
He developed an interest in acting while performing alternative military service and, seeing it as a way to change his introverted personality, took a leave of absence from college to enroll in an acting academy. He also taught himself directing, lighting and screenwriting techniques. He began acting in 2009 with the film Actresses. In early 2011, he worked for three months as a supermodel in Japan using the name Jay Song and appeared in Men's Non-no, Men's Joker and Street Jack magazines, after which he returned to South Korea to further pursue his acting career. His notable roles include a loyal bodyguard in the period drama Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), and a cold-blooded assassin in Two Weeks (2013). He shot to fame after appearing in the fourth season of We Got Married with Kim So-eun. Wanting a change of environment, in early 2024 he turned to theater for the first time, appearing in the Korean adaptation of Samuel Adamson's Wife. His final role was in the Korean musical adaption of La Rose De Versailles, based on the manga series by Riyoko Ikeda.
Death On November 12, 2024, Song was found dead at his home in Seongdong District, Seoul at around 12:30 (KST). An official from the Seongdong Police Station said that there was no evidence of foul play. Various news agencies reported that the police found a suicide note at the scene. Song's funeral was held at the Yeouido St. Mary's Funeral Hall on November 14. The family wished for a small service and offered no cause of death.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2009 Actresses Photographer's assistant 2010 Grand Prix Lee In-jae 2012 Give Me Back My Cat Short film 2013 The Suspect Professor Kim 2014 Tunnel 3D Ki-cheol 2018 On Your Wedding Day Lee Yoon-geun Special appearance 2019 The Snob Seo Jin-ho 2022 Yaksha: Ruthless Operations Jae Gyu Netflix film Good Morning Barista Yoon 2025 Crypto Man Yang Do-hyun Posthumous release scope="row" rowspan="2" Get Rich Oh Gi-roh Salmon Hae-nam
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2010 Big Thing Official in the club Secret Garden Singer 2011 Cool Guys, Hot Ramen Hee-gon 2012 Moon Embracing the Sun Kim Jae-woon 2013 Nail Shop Paris Kay Fantasy Tower Yong-wan Two Weeks Mr. Kim 2014 Inspiring Generation Mo Il-hwa Big Man Park Dong-pal Cameo Secret Love Time slip helper Ep. 1–2 "Missing You" The Idle Mermaid Kwon Shi-kyung 2015 Unkind Ladies Lee Roo-oh 2016 Goodbye Mr. Black Seo Woo-jin Thumping Spike Hwang Jae-woong 2016–2017 Our Gap-soon Heo Gap-dol 2017 Borg Mom NIS Agent 2018 Secret Mother Ha Jung-wan 2018–2019 Clean with Passion for Now Choi Ha-in / Dr. Daniel Choi 2019 I Wanna Hear Your Song Nam Joo-wan Drama Stage: "Big Data Romance" Kim Seo-joon Season 3 2021 How to Be Thirty Cha Do-hoon Work Later, Drink Now Song PD Cameo 2022 Café Minamdang Han Jae-jung 2023 All That We Loved Dr. Go (Adult Go Yoo) 2024 My Military Valentine Sung Jae-hoon Queen Woo Go Pae-eui
Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2014–2015 We Got Married Season 4 Cast member Partnered with Kim So-eun 2015 House Cook Master Baek 2019 Surfing House
Music videos appearances Year Song title Artist 2009 "Molla-ing" May Doni "Bus" Yeo Hoon-min "Because of You" After School 2010 "Go Away" 2NE1 2012 "The Day Before" Nell 2013 "Runaway" Kara "Message" BoA 2014 "Agape" Zhang Liyin "Not Alone" 2015 "Me, Myself" Shin Seung-hun
Theatre Year Production Role Venue 2024WifeRobertLG Arts Center La Rose de Versailles Florian Victor Clement de Gerodelle Chungmu Arts Hall
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 KBS Drama Awards 2015 Best New Actor Unkind Ladies Popularity Award, Actor Best Couple Award Song Jae-rim Unkind Ladies MBC Entertainment Awards 2014 Best Male Newcomer We Got Married Best Couple Award Song Jae-rim We Got Married SBS Drama Awards 2016 Special Acting Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Our Gap-soon Best Couple Award Song Jae-rim Our Gap-soon 2018 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Daily/Weekend Drama Secret Mother
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