Kim Jin-young (; born June 9, 1995), also known as Dex (), is a South Korean entertainer, actor, YouTuber and former ROKN UDT soldier. He is best known for appearing in Toy Soldiers: Fake Men 2 (2020), Single's Inferno Season 2 (2022–2023), Bloody Game 2 (2023), Adventure by Accident (2023–2025), Zombieverse (2023–2024), and Fresh off the Sea (2024).
Career 2016–2020: Military service In 2016, Dex entered the military as a non-commissioned officer in the 251st Class, Republic of Korea Navy and part of ROKN UDT (South Korean counterpart of the U.S Navy Seal), Class 62-2. He served for 4 years. During his active duty, he was assigned in the Special Mission Battalion of the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla, a counter-terrorism unit. In 2018, he was also assigned to the 13th Akh Unit, a dispatched unit of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces to the United Arab Emirates.
After being discharged from the military in 2020, he appeared in Fake Men 2, a military web entertainment show. In the same year, he appeared in MBC's game survival show Bloody Game.
2022–2023: Rising popularity
In 2022, Dex rose to fame when he participated in the second season of the Netflix dating show Single's Inferno. He was known as the "Catfish Man" (), who was brought in later to make the existing cast members stay together first and make the contestants nervous. Dex returned to Single's Inferno as a panelist for season three.
In 2023, he returned as a participant in the second season of Bloody Game for which he won the Rookie Male Entertainer Award at the 2nd Blue Dragon Series Awards. He joined the second and third seasons of the travel variety show Adventure by Accident as a regular member with Kian84, Pani Bottle, and Lee Si-eon. The show won several awards at the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards, and Dex received the Rookie Award and the Best Couple Award.
Dex is also the sole host for the YouTube show Dex's Fridge Interview by Channel 117. He hosted the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Lee Se-young, and also joined the third, fourth, and fifth seasons of Single's Inferno as a panel member.
2024–present: Acting and motorcycle racing debut Dex appeared in several variety shows in 2024, such as MBC's University Sports Festival: Boys' Athletes' Village, where he served as a coach to college sports athletes; Disney+'s The Zone: Survival Mission 3 with Yoo Jae-suk, SNSD's Kwon Yu-ri, and Dong Hyun Kim; and JTBC's My Name is Gabriel, where he experienced the life of Rati, a wine jar maker, for 72 hours. He also showed sibling-like chemistry on tvN's Fresh off the Sea with Yum Jung-ah, Park Jun-myun, and Ahn Eun-jin. The show became a trending topic every week of its broadcast and Dex was dubbed as the "Nation's Younger Brother".
Dex debuted as an actor in the third episode of Tarot: The Seven Chapter Story, a horror-thriller drama series. He used his real name, Kim Jin-young, as an actor, instead of his stage name, Dex, wanting to separate entertainment and acting. He then appeared in the second season of Netflix's Zombieverse, which premiered on November 19, 2024.
In 2025, Dex appeared in the action thriller The Defects as a main villain, and filmed special appeances for Bloodhounds: Season 2. On September 5, 2025, it was confirmed that Dex will play the lead role in the upcoming fantasy romance The Haunted House, a Korea-Japan joint global film project. The film is based on the short-story House of Ghosts from the book Dead-End Memories by the renowned Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto.
Impact On December 2, 2023, Dex was placed first on the Wavve Year-end Settlement as the "contributor that attracted new paid subscriptions" for the platform. On December 7, he became part of the "fastest growing creator" by YouTube Korea.
Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes 2024Tarot Yoon Dong-in Movie version 2026The Haunted House Yoon-seong
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2024 Tarot Yoon Dong-in 2025 The Defects Jeong-hyun 2026 Bloodhounds Han Seul-gi Season 2; Special appearance
Television shows Year Title Role 2020 Toy Soldiers: Fake Men 2 Instructor 2021–2022 Bloody Game Contestant 2022–2023 Single's Inferno Season 2 2023 Bloody Game 2 Masked Singer Adventure by Accident 2 Cast member Smiling Boss Radio Star Special MC Zombieverse Cast member I am Angry Now MC Muksuldan 2023–2024 Adventure by Accident 3 Cast member Single's Inferno Season 3 MC 2024 University Sports Festival: Boys' Athletes' Village Coach Fresh off the Sea Cast member The Zone: Survival Mission 3 My Name is Gabriel Zombieverse 2 2025 Single's Inferno Season 4 MC Adventure by Accident 4 Cast member Be My Boyz MC 2025–2026I Am Boxer MC 2026 Single's Inferno Season 5 MC The Secret Friends Club Cast member Fresh off the Sea in Calape Kian's Bizarre B&B Season 2Cast Member
Web shows Year Title Role 2023 Matcaron MC 2023–2025 Dex's Fridge Interview
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 Brand Customer Loyalty Awards 2026 Entertainer (Male) Dex Baeksang Arts Awards 2025 Best Male Variety Performer Dex Blue Dragon Series Awards 2023 Best New Male Entertainer Bloody Game 2 2024 TIRTIR Popular Star Award Dex Donga.com's Pick 2023 I can survive without Dex Fundex Awards 2023 Best OTT Non-Drama Performer Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards 2023 Entertainment Star Award Korea First Brand Awards 2024 Multitainer (Male) 2025 2026 Actor – Rookie MBC Entertainment Awards 2023 Male Rookie Award – Variety Adventure by Accident 2 Best Couple Award Dex Adventure by Accident 2 2025 Excellence Award (Male)Adventure by Accident 4Best Couple AwardDex Adventure by Accident 4 Youth Day Creator Awards 2023 Young Creator Award Dex
State and cultural honors + Name of country or organization, name of award ceremony, year given, and name of honor Country or organization Ceremony Year Honor South Korea Korean Youth Hope Awards 2023 National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's Commendation
Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Forbes 2024 Korea Power Celebrity 40 14th
References
External links Dex at Kick The Hurdle Studio