10 Korean actors over 40 who are ageing like fine wine

Date of birth: November 6, 1981
Age: 42

Lee Dong Wook entered the acting arena in 1999, which means he already has a quarter century of experience under his belt! He rose to fame with 2005 rom-com My Girl, and has remained one of the most popular Korean actors since. In 2016, he acted alongside his real-life best friend Gong Yoo in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, further catapulting his fame to greater heights. His most recent work A Shop For Killers, sees him acting as a mysterious man who leaves his shop to his niece after he dies. Dong Wook is known for his youthful looks. When he appeared as a guest on a YouTube channel, the host Meenoi was surprised when she found out that the Korean actor was above 40, and commented that he looked younger than his actual age.

Date of birth: July 10, 1979
Age: 44

Dong Wook’s best friend Gong Yoo is two years older than him. However, he made his acting debut two years after Dong Wook in 2001. It was his 2007 drama Coffee Prince that shot him to fame. However, he is not only about rom-coms. When he was doing his military service, he read the book The Crucible, which was based on a true story about sexual abuse cases that took place in Gwangju Inhwa School, a school for the deaf. He initiated the production of the movie adaptation, which was released in 2011, propelling the case to public scrutiny. Following public outrage, the police reopened investigations into the case, and a revised bill involving sex crimes against minors and the disabled was passed. We stan a man who stands for justice! His more recent works include Squid Game and The Silent Sea.

Date of birth: December 26, 1980
Age: 43

You might recognise Jo Jung-suk from Hospital Playlist. Or Architecture 101. Or You Are The Best!. Or Oh My Ghost. He has acted in so many iconic roles since his television debut in 2011, and he never fails to deliver each time. That’s probably because he didn’t enter the scene as a greenhorn – the actor had been acting in musicals since 2004 prior to debuting on the small screen. Apart from his acting chops, he is also known for his vocals – a testament to his musical background – and has sung the soundtracks of a few dramas and movies. The Korean actor, who is above 40, is allegedly the person behind the YouTube channel Cheonggyesan Daengi Records, on which an anonymous man uploads song covers under a pen name. Netizens found out about the existence of the channel after IU uploaded an Instagram story to thank the person for doing a cover of “Love Wins All”, and speculated that it belonged to the actor because of the guitar used in the video – it was a custom guitar gifted to the actor by his fans. His company didn’t deny or admit the speculation. Jung-suk has a daughter with his wife, Gummy, who is one of the most popular solo singers in South Korea.

Date of birth: July 28, 1981
Age: 42

Up till a few years ago, everyone knew Zo In-sung as the good-looking actor who can act. But in recent years, he has surprised everyone with his quick wit and humour, and even cooking skills on variety shows. Since 2021, he has appeared on reality show Unexpected Business, alongside his good friend Cha Tae Hyun, where the pair takes care of a mart for a period of time. His ramen-making skills have earned praises from customers in the show, and when the show was renewed for new seasons, new customers told him that they looked forward to trying his signature dish when they found out filming for Unexpected Business would take place in their neighbourhood. His acting accolades are no joke too – he has won many awards since 2001, including the Grand Prize (Daesang) for his role in It’s Okay, That’s Love.

Date of birth: September 25, 1982
Age: 41

Those newer to K-dramas might know him as Ri Jeong-hyeok from Crash Landing On You, but this A-lister has had a flourishing career even before that popular drama. Hyun Bin made his debut in 2003 (his first acting project in 2002 was stopped halfway), and rose to fame a few years later after his notable role in My Lovely Sam Soon. He continued to take on various roles on both the small and silver screens, showing off his versatility as an actor. He also captured many hearts in South Korea and beyond with his role in Secret Garden, in which he acted as the CEO of a department store who switched bodies with a stunt actress. Hyun Bin married Son Ye-jin, his co-star from The Negotiation and Crash Landing On You in February 2022. They welcomed their first child in November of the same year.

Date of birth: April 17, 1982
Age: 41

Since his breakout roles in 2005 in The King and the Clown and shortly after, My Girl, Lee Joon Gi has acted in numerous hit dramas, including Iljimae, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Criminal Minds and Flower of Evil. One thing about him is that he rarely uses a stunt double for his fight scenes, as he is well-versed in martial arts. The actor is known to be very close to his co-stars even after filming. For example, he and IU remain good friends to this date, and they even appeared on Men on a Mission together, and in March, he attended her concert in Seoul.

Date of birth: April 22, 1973
Age: 50

You can’t say you know Korean cinema if you don’t know Jung Woo-sung. After all, this A-lister has two decades of acting experience and numerous achievements under his belt. He is the epitome of versatility in acting, as he executes every role perfectly, whether as a hearing-impaired painter, a commander, or even South Korea’s president. He is known for having a great personality, attested to by film directors and his colleagues. A flight attendant also sang the actor’s praises after having served him on a flight. She revealed in a YouTube video that when she was new to the job, she was tasked to escort him to the plane as he was a first-class passenger. However, she had escorted him to the queue for economy passengers and consequently, they had to wait in line for 15 minutes to board the plane. While queueing, he found out she was new and tried to tell her stories to make her less nervous, before thanking her after he boarded. When her company found out that she made a first-class passenger board late, she had to call him to apologise, but he was gracious and thanked her for helping him arrive safely at his destination. What a gentleman!

Date of birth: December 20, 1976
Age: 47

When you think of a Korean actor known for action scenes, one of the first names that come mind is probably Jang Hyuk. The actor is a former taekwondo athlete, and has practised Jeet Kune Do for more than a decade. But his reason for doing his own stunts are not only because of his athletic abilities – he revealed in a 2020 interview that he made the decision after seeing a stuntman got injured on the set of a movie. Of course, that is not to say he only takes on roles in action movies or dramas. The Korean actor who is above 40 has acted in rom-coms such as You Are My Destiny and Wok of Love. Jang Hyuk has been married for 16 years, and has three kids.

Date of birth: March 12, 1978
Age: 46

Namkoong Min is one of the most versatile Korean actors, and this is evident from the roles he has taken on so far. From playing a serial killer in The Girl Who Sees Smells, to helming a comedy drama in Good Manager, and a quirky lawyer in One Dollar Lawyer, he continues to surprise viewers with his performance in every new role. If you’re a fan of detective shows and the mystery genre, you’d love Distorted, Awaken, and The Veil, which are all binge-worthy in their own way. In 2022, the actor married model and actress Jin Ah Reum, whom he dated since 2015, after meeting on the set of the movie Light My Fire, where he was the director and she, the actress.

Date of birth: March 13, 1980
Age: 44

If you were one of the ardent fans of historical Korean drama Queen Seondeok, you would remember Kim Nam-gil as male lead Bidam. Did you know that Bidam wasn’t intended to be one of the main leads? The character was so popular among the public that the writers gave him a bigger role in the narrative. He continued to push boundaries with his choice of movie and drama roles, including playing a killer in Memoir of A Murder, and a Joseon-era physician who time-travelled to modern-day Seoul. In 2019, he acted as a priest who was a former agent from the National Intelligence Service in The Fiery Priest. The role earned him numerous award, including a Grand Prize (Daesang). Besides being an actor, Nam Gil is also the founder and CEO of Gilstory, a culture and art non-profit organisation that promotes culture and arts, while raising relief funds for various causes.

This article was originally published in Singapore Women's Weekly.