Song Joong-ki

Song Joong-ki
At Style Icon Asia 2016
Born	(1985-09-19) September 19, 1985 Daejeon, South Korea
Education	Sungkyunkwan University (Business Administration)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2008–present
Agent	Blossom Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul	송중기
Hanja	宋仲基
Revised Romanization	Song Jung-ki
McCune–Reischauer	Song Chung-ki

Song Joong-ki (Hangul: 송중기; born September 19, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame in the historical drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) and the variety show Running Man as one of the original cast members when it premiered in 2010. Song played his first TV leading role in the melodrama The Innocent Man (2012). He has also starred in feature films, notably as the title character in the box office hit A Werewolf Boy (2012).^[1]

After his mandatory military service, he took on the lead role in the pan-Asia hit 2016 drama, Descendants of the Sun which drew a peak audience share of 38.8% in South Korea, establishing him as a top Hallyu star.^[2][3]

Early life and education

Song competed in short track speed skating competitions. Representing his hometown, the city of Daejeon, he participated in the National Games three times and won awards at other large meets. During his first year of high school, however, he was injured and had to quit the sport (Song would later play a national speed skater in the TV series Triple).^[4][5] He then turned his attention to his studies. Having scored 380 points out of 400 on his national college entrance, he entered the prestigious Sungkyunkwan University and graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 2012.^[6]

Song wanted to be an "actor", "athlete" and a "broadcaster" since he was in elementary school. Song majored in business administration and minored in broadcasting. He first appeared in a TV show as a contestant on KBS's Quiz Korea, substituting a senior who was sick. Song eventually won second place. This brought him significant attention and became a cover model for university magazine College.^[4][5][7]

Career

2008–2011: Career beginnings and breakthrough

Song made his acting debut in the 2008 period film A Frozen Flower. The following year, he appeared in the couple-swapping segment "Believe in the Moment" of omnibus Five Senses of Eros and continued to take on small but notable roles in Triple and Will It Snow for Christmas?. Song also became a regular host of KBS Friday music program Music Bank from 2009 to 2010. He then appeared in the 2010 medical drama OB/GYN Doctors,^[8] and animal movie sequel Hearty Paws 2.^[9]

Song's breakout role came in the fusion historical drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal portraying the role of an 18th-century Joseon-era rich, indolent playboy.^[10][11][12] Song also joined the cast of variety program Running Man from 2010 to 2011. The show gained popularity among Hallyu fans and became a hit across Asia.

In May 2011

Song later released the book Beautiful Skin Project, a bestselling health and beauty guide for men (which was re-released in Japan in 2013).^[13][14] In late 2010, he went on a bicycling tour around Sydney, which aired two episodes on TV via ELLE, an offshoot of the eponymous fashion magazine. Moreover, a TV special of the actor's trip to Japan entitled I'm Real: Song Joong-ki aired two parts in early 2011.^[15] Song later became an MC for jTBC audition program Made in U.^[16]

In 2011, Song starred as a jobless deadbeat in the romantic comedy Penny Pinchers.^{[17][18][19][20]} His acting performance was praised by critics, declaring him a "charismatic, swoon-worthy leading man with a viable presence."^[21]

Song took on the role of the young king Sejong in Deep Rooted Tree (2011). ^[22][23][24] Song received the PD Award at the 2011 SBS Drama Awards for the role.^[25]

He later narrated the six-part documentary Tears of the Antarctic for MBC program Tears of the Earth (2012), which focuses on pressing environmental issues on the planet and donated his entire salary to charity.^[26][27] He reprised his role as narrator when the series was re-edited and released in theaters as Pengi and Sommi (2012).^{[28][29][30][31]} He later went on a fan-meeting tour called Song Joong-ki Asia Fan Meeting Tour – THRILL & LOVE, holding fan meetings in Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea.^{[32][33][34][35]}

2012–2015: Leading roles and military enlistment

At the The Innocent Man press conference, September 2012

Song described 2012 as a "phenomenal year" for his career.^[1] He played the titular character in fantasy romance film A Werewolf Boy, which premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.^[36] In preparation for his role, Song watched nature documentaries and observed stray dogs on the streets to learn how to mime and imitate the body movements of an animal.^[37][38] He also repeatedly watched Tim Burton's 1990 romantic fantasy Edward Scissorhands, Matt Reeves' 2010 vampire flick Let Me In, and Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.^[24][39][40] Song said, "It was a project I took on with the thought that I'm saying good-bye to the young me. I'm not young anymore and it's time for me to become a man."^[41] The film became the most successful Korean melodrama of all time, with more than 7 million tickets sold.^[1][42]

In December 2012

The same year, he took on his first leading drama role in television, The Innocent Man.^[43] His assured and nuanced portrayal of an antihero received praise from critics and audience.^{[44][45][46][47][48][49]} The drama attracted high ratings, which along with the impressive box office run of A Werewolf Boy, cemented Song's image in the press as the "savior" of the melodrama genre both on the big and small screen.^[1][50][51]

In February 2013, after his contract with entertainment agency Sidus HQ expired, Song announced that he will be joining Blossom Entertainment.^[52]

Prior to his enlistment for his two-year mandatory military service, Song held a fan meet on August 17, 2013.^[53] He then enlisted on August 27 at the 102nd draft camp in Chuncheon.^[54][55][56] Song was discharged on May 26, 2015.^[57][58][59]

2016–present: Overseas popularity

In March 2016

Song made his small screen comeback in Descendants of the Sun alongside actress Song Hye-kyo, playing the leader of a special UN peacekeeping unit.^[60][61] The drama peaked 38.8% nationwide viewership rating and 41.6% in the Seoul capital area.^[3][62]

The success of Descendants ,especially in China, made him the Korean Tourism Honorary Ambassador by the Korea Tourism Organization to actively promote Korean tourism worldwide.^[63] He was also listed as one of the Top 100 Future Generation of Leaders, at #34.^[64] He became the face of over 30 brands in 2016 alone and was awarded as one of the recipients of Korea's Brand of the Year.^{[65][66][67][68][69][70]} He then embarked on a series of sold-out Asian tour spanning 10 different cities, where he met more than 60,000 fans.

Song will be appearing next in the 2017 South Korean movie Battleship Island alongside actors So Ji-sub and Hwang Jung-min. He will portray a member of the Korean Independence group, who sneaks onto Battleship Island to rescue a fellow member.^[71][72]

Filmography

Film

Television drama

Variety shows

Music videos

Hosting

Discography

Book

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Song Joong-ki.

• Song Joong-ki at Cyworld (Korean)
• Song Joong-ki at Blossom Entertainment (Korean)
• Song Joong-ki at the Korean Movie Database
• Song Joong-ki at the Internet Movie Database
• Song Joong-ki at HanCinema