Hyun Bin, a Topnotch South Korean actor

His screen name - ‘Hyun Bin’, his real name - Kim Tae Pyeong, he was born in Seoul, South Korea on Sept. 25, 1982. He is 184 cm tall and averagely weighs 74 kg. His blood type is B. His fans fondly call him ‘Binnie’.

He was accidentally discovered by a talent scout while riding at the back of a friend’s motorcycle. He was in high school then and his parents initially didn’t permit him to enter into show business and pursue an acting career. His parents only relented when he has able to fulfill their condition that is to pass admission to Chung-Ang University, the best university for acting.

After finishing college where he majored in Theatre Studies, he started accepting minor roles and made his acting debut in a TV drama, ‘Bodyguard’ in 2003. His looks and unique way of talking was noticed by a screenwriter who cast him the lead role in another TV drama ‘Ireland’ in 2004. He became more popular especially among female viewers when he got the lead role alongside Kim Sun-ah for the romantic drama “My Name is Kim Sam Soon” which become a huge hit in South Korea, gaining one of the highest ratings in a Korean drama, starting the first episode with 19% viewership that gradually sky rocketed up to 50% in the last episode. The show and its casts received numerous awards in different award giving bodies. This is also the TV series where he learned to play the piano to actually play the character’s hobby.

After that, Hyun Bin continuously gained popularity as he appeared both in TV and movies, and year after year he consistently receives numerous recognitions. The latest of which is from the 47^th Baeksang Arts Awards held last May 26, 2011, he won the Daeksang (grand) award for “Best Actor in a TV drama category” for the romantic-comedy-drama TV series, ‘Secret Garden’ which was also awarded with “Best Drama in a TV category. His co-lead Ha Ji-won won “Best Actress in a TV drama” award while scriptwriter Kim Eun Sook received the “Best Scriptwriting” award and Yoo Inna won Best New Actress.

Secret Garden which was aired from Nov. 13, 2010 to Jan. 16, 2011, became a phenomenal success in South Korea. Some scenes in the drama were even adapted to TV commercials. Hyun Bin’s character as Kim Joo Won created a fad that made him do 6 new product endorsements and renewed his existing endorsement contracts. Because of this, he is now tagged as the new CF (commercial film) king.

Months before that, Hyun Bin filmed the movie ‘Late Autumn’ where he spoke mostly English dialogues, it was intended to be released both locally and internationally. Late Autumn is an entry to various international film festivals such as Toronto, Pusan, Berlin, Fribourg, Jeonju and Seattle’s. He has also managed to do a low-budgeted movie “Come Rain, Come Shine” in just 3 weeks, it is his 2^nd movie entry to Berlin Film Festival. While shooting Secret Garden, he squeezed in his time to provide voice for the narration of a documentary film ‘Tears in Africa’.

On March 7, 2011, he was enlisted in the Marines for South Korea government’s compulsory 21 months of military service. Before entering the Marines, he bid his fans goodbye with teary eyes and told them that he will strive to be a better man during this time and that he wish to return the love he have received from them when he comes back. He has always been grateful to his fans and never fails to greet them wherever he is. His discharge is scheduled on December 6, 2012.

Hyun Bin doesn’t give much weight to TV ratings or to movie production budget so long as he likes the project. He wants to be remembered more for his good acting skills. Another skill he seldom shows is that he also sings and he sings quiet good. He has done some tracks for his TV series since 2009, the most popular of which is his male version of Secret Garden’s OST, ‘That Woman’. His version, ‘That Man’ also became a hit for topping South Korea’s 8 billboard charts in just 5 days after its release, that even beat the original version done by Baek Ji Young. During his international fan meetings, he would usually play the piano and/or sing an English song.

For the images:

Hyun Bin's family postings at http://www.hyun-bin.co.kr

chowonjin posted on star.koreandrama.org

omghairstyles.net, kdramachoa.com, babelpop.com, allkpop.com, bjunkyard.com

wallpaperpimper.com, yonhap news agency, tiffanykimchiland.blogspot.com

Cosmopolitan magazine, Men's Uno magazine

MyDaily, Starnews, MBC, SBS, SPN

For the data:

thedramascenes.com, asianmediawiki.com, hancinema.net

For the video:

KMDb01, XStarCandii