Jang Dong-gun
Jang in May 2019
Born	(1972-03-07)March 7, 1972 (age 53) Geumcheon-gu,Seoul, South Korea[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Ko So-young ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	2
Korean name
Hangul	장동건
Hanja	張東健
Revised Romanization	Jang Dong-geon
McCune–Reischauer	Chang Tonggŏn

Jang Dong-gun (born March 7, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the filmsFriend (2001) andTaegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (2004). Jang is one of the highest-paid actors and celebrity endorsers in Korea,^[2] consistently topping surveys by industry insiders of most bankable stars.^[3]

Jang Dong-gun spent his childhood inYongsan District,Seoul, and later went on to study at theKorea National University of Arts School of Drama, though he dropped out before obtaining a degree.^[4]

Jang first entered the entertainment world in a talent contest in 1992. He began by acting inTV dramas such asIljimae,^[5]The Last Match,^[6] co-starringShim Eun-ha,and he eventually made his film debut inRepechage (1997) together withKim Hee-sun.^[7][8]

By the late 1990s he had become quite popular in Korea, but he also became one of the first Korean stars to garner a fan following in other parts of Asia, after several of his TV dramas were screened there in the late nineties. In 1999, after acting in the critically acclaimedNowhere to Hide asPark Joong-hoon's younger partner, Jang moved on to star in a feature that was filmed on location inShanghai. TitledAnarchists, this tale of five young terrorists from 1930s China helped to elevate his status even further.^[9][8]

Jang's breakout came in early 2001 inFriend, which smashed the box office record set byShiri to become (at the time) the biggest Korean film of all time. After playing the nice guy in almost all his previous roles, this portrayal of a tough-talking gangster fromBusan led him to local stardom.^[10][11][8]The following year he starred in the popular action blockbuster2009 Lost Memories set in a futuristic Great Japan,^[12] and appeared in the low-budget filmThe Coast Guard by controversial directorKim Ki-duk.^[13]

In 2004, Jang took the lead role inKang Je-gyu'sTaegukgi, an epic film about two brothers set during theKorean War. The film brokeFriend's record with an astounding 11 million tickets sold. By this time, Jang's name had become known widely throughout Asia.^[14][15][11]

Jang followed this up withThe Promise, a $30 million pan-Asian production by Chinese directorChen Kaige in which he played opposite Hong Kong starCecilia Cheung.^[16] Meanwhile, he was cast inTyphoon as a modern-day pirate who has been betrayed by both North and South Korea. Directed byFriend'sKwak Kyung-taek,Typhoon set a new record in 2005 for the highest production budget in Korean film history at $15 million.^[17]

For the next four years, Jang kept a low profile in the Korean entertainment sphere as he worked on his Hollywood debutThe Warrior's Way, also starringKate Bosworth andGeoffrey Rush. The film encountered problems with post-production and distribution, and was only released in 2010.^[18][19][20]

He returned to the silver screen in 2009 as the nation's youngest (and most eligible) head of state inJang Jin's comedyGood Morning, President.^{[21][22][23][24][25]}

He reunited with directorKang Je-gyu inMy Way, a film set duringWorld War II based on the true story of a Korean soldier who is drafted by theJapanese army and eventually is present at theBattle of Normandy.^[26][27] A large-scale, ambitious pan-Asian collaboration co-starring Japanese actorJoe Odagiri and Chinese actressFan Bingbing,My Way was the most expensive Korean movie to date (with an estimated budget of ₩28 billion),^[28] But despite being simultaneously released in Korea and Japan in December 2011,^[29] the film flopped at the box office.^[30]

Jang made his highly anticipated return to television dramas inA Gentleman's Dignity, saying he was drawn to the romantic comedy tale of 40-something-year-old men struggling to grow up and mend and forge lasting relationships.^{[31][32][33][34]} After the series ended, Jang and co-starKim Min-jong visitedrefugees in theRepublic of the Congo on a mission trip sponsored byUNICEF,UNHCR andWorld Food Programme. It was televised onSBS documentary programHope TV.^[35][36]

His 2012 filmDangerous Liaisons was a Chinese adaptation of theFrench literature classic set in1930s Shanghai, directed byHur Jin-ho and co-starringZhang Ziyi andCecilia Cheung.^{[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]}

Jang next starred inNo Tears for the Dead, an action thriller directed byLee Jeong-beom. He played a Korean-born American hitman who feels conflicted about killing his last target (played byKim Min-hee).^{[46][47][48][49]}

In 2015, Jang was cast in the filmSeven Years of Night, a revenge thriller based on the novel of the same name by Jung Yoo-jung. He plays a character who takes revenge on his daughter's murderer, by killing his son.^[50] The film premiered in 2018.

In 2016, Jang was cast in his first Chinese drama,Once Loved You Distressed Forever alongside actressTang Yixin.^[51] He was then cast in the espionage noir thrillerVIP, which premiered in 2017.^[52][53]

Jang returned to the small screen after five years, starring in theKorean remake of the popularAmericanlegal drama seriesSuits (2018).^[54][55][56] The same year, Jung starred inKim Sung-hoon's period zombie action filmRampant alongside close friendHyun Bin.^[57]

In 2019, Jang starred in the fantasy historical dramaArthdal Chronicles.^[58][59]

Jang is a practicingBuddhist, having first explored Buddhist reading while hospitalized in high school, after undergoing chest surgery.^[60]

He enjoys playingbaseball and is a member of the celebrity amateur baseball team "Playboys" withLee Jong-hyuk,Hyun Bin,Kim Seung-woo,Hwang Jung-min,Ji Jin-hee, and other actors.^[2][61]

The famously private actor surprised the country in November 2009 when he went public with his two-year romance withKo So-young.^[62][63] Since co-starring together in the 1999 filmLove Wind Love Song, rumors about Jang and Ko had spread several times in the past, but both had consistently denied them. The announcement immediately sparked speculation of an impending marriage although it wasn't until March 2010 that Jang officially told his fans at a fan meeting that he would be marrying Ko in May.^[64][65] After months of media frenzy leading up to their nuptials,^{[66][67][68][69]} the two tied the knot on May 2, 2010 in an extravagant wedding ceremony at Seoul'sShilla Hotel which was attended by their A-list celebrity friends, reporters and fans from around the world.^[70][71]

Their son, Jang Min-joon, was born on October 4, 2010.^{[72][73][74][75]} Their second child, a daughter, was born on February 25, 2014.^{[76][77][78][79]}

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJang Dong-gun.

• Official website(in Korean)

• Best Actor Blue Dragon Film Awards winners
• Best Supporting Actor Blue Dragon Film Awards winners
• Best New Actor for Blue Dragon Film Award winners
• 1972 births
• Living people
• South Korean male film actors
• South Korean male television actors
• South Korean Buddhists
• South Korean musicians
• Male actors from Seoul
• 21st-century South Korean male actors
• People from Geumcheon District
• People from Yongsan District

• CS1 Korean-language sources (ko)
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• CS1: unfit URL
• CS1 uses Chinese-language script (zh)
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• Articles with short description
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