Biography
Jang Keun Suk was born in Danyang County, Chungcheongbuk Province, South Korea, on September 26, 1987, according to the Gregorian calendar. This corresponds to the 4th day of the 8th month in the Lunar Calendar of 1987, the Year of the Rabbit. He is an only child.
At five years old, a talent agent discovered him and encouraged his parents to let him try modeling. He started as a catalog model and over time represented brands such as Coca-Cola, Daewoo, Kellogg's, Samsung YEPP, and SK Telecom.
Jang made his acting debut in 1997 in the HBS sitcom "Selling Happiness." The following year, he appeared in the drama "Hug." In 2001, he was cast in SBS's "Ladies of the Palace" and MBC's "The Story of Four Sisters." In 2002, he acted in SBS's "The Great Ambition," "High School Season 3," "Orange," and the short film "Lucky Ten."
Inspired by Japanese pop singer Ken Hirai and rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel during middle school, Jang decided to pursue singing. He took music classes and taught himself Japanese before moving to New Zealand to attend Nelson College, where he studied both Japanese and English. Returning to South Korea in 2003, he appeared in the popular MBC sitcom "Nonstop 4." Despite the show's success, he struggled with confidence and committed himself to improving his acting skills.
From 2003 to 2009, Jang participated in 26 projects. He played an orphaned boy in the short film "The Owl Museum" (2003) and voiced Jim Hawkins in the Korean dub of Disney's "Treasure Planet" (2003). He performed in musicals such as "Theseus" (2004) and "Hercules" (2005). His role as the president's son in "Lovers in Prague" (2005) gained popularity, and he appeared in the Japanese horror film "One Missed Call 3: Final" (2006), where his fluency in Japanese facilitated communication on set. He portrayed a young deaf man in "Hwang Jin Yi" (2006), learning sign language for three months beforehand. That year, he also starred in the Tooniverse comedy "Alien Sam" as Alexander/Bong Sam, an alien prince turned teacher.
In 2007, Jang co-hosted SBS's live music show "Inkigayo" alongside Kim Heechul and hosted the variety show "X-Boyfriend." He starred in the rock music-themed film "The Happy Life" (2007), showcasing his singing and masculine appeal.
The year 2008 was busy, with roles in the feature film "Crazy Waiting," KBS's historical drama "Hong Gil-dong, the Hero," and films "Do Re Mi Fa So La Si Do" and "Baby and I." He also voiced the lead in the animated film "Niko and the Way to the Stars," the Korean dub of "The Flight Before Christmas," and appeared in MBC's drama "Beethoven Virus."
In 2009, Jang portrayed Robert J. Pearson, a Korean-American accused of murder, in "Where the Truth Lies," speaking mostly in English and earning praise for his performance. Later that year, he starred as Hwang Tae Kyung, leader of rock band A.N.Jell, in "You Are Beautiful," alongside Park Shin-hye, Lee Hong-ki, and Jung Yong-hwa. The show became a hit across Asia, elevating his fame.
In 2010, he played indie rock musician Kang Moo Kyul opposite Moon Geun-young in the romantic comedy "Mary Stayed Out All Night."
In 2012, Jang took dual roles in KBS2's melodrama "Love Rain" opposite Im Yoon-ah. He later starred in KBS2's 2013 drama "Pretty Boy," based on a Japanese manga, alongside IU and Lee Jang-woo. In 2015, he directed and starred in the short film "Jang Keun Suk Special Short Film DVD CAMP," filmed entirely on Jeju Island, which debuted at number one on Oricon's Weekly Film chart.
2016 was another active year: he served as MC for Mnet's "Produce 101," starred in SBS's historical drama "The Royal Gambler," and appeared on TVN's reality show "My Ear's Candy." During this period, he pursued a doctorate in Theater and Film at Hanyang University in Seoul and wrote, directed, and starred in the autobiographical short film "Nelson Diary," about his time at Nelson College.
Alongside his acting, Jang has established a successful music career, releasing several singles and albums. He debuted with "Let Me Cry" on April 27, 2011, becoming the first foreigner to top Japan's Oricon Charts. His albums include "Just Crazy" (2012), "I just Wanna Have Fun" (2013), "Nature Boy" (2013), "Driving to the Highway" (2014), "Monochrome" (2015), "Voyage" (2017), and "Mature" (2018). He focused on music in 2017 before returning to acting in 2018.
He appeared as Adam in the film "Human, Space, Time and Human" (2018), made a cameo in episode 3 of "A Korean Odyssey" (2017), and starred in SBS's "Switch: Change the World" (2018), playing dual roles Baek Joon-Su and Sa Do-Chan, further demonstrating his acting talent.
South Korea mandates military service for all male citizens before age 35. Jang began his service on July 16, 2018, and completed it on May 29, 2020.
