Kim Woo Bin

When he was asked to act at pre-meetings for commercials, Woo-bin began studying acting to become a better model. He said, "But, in the course of doing so, I found myself feeling the same thrill and enthusiasm that I felt the first time I came to walk on the runway." Under the stage name Kim Woo-bin, he made his acting debut in 2011, starring in mystery drama White Christmas and the cable sitcom Vampire Idol which was originally scheduled for 120 episodes, low viewer ratings lead to the show’s end at only 79 episodes. In 2012, he had a supporting role in the romantic comedy A Gentleman's Dignity. Also, he appeared in the drama To the Beautiful You. Instead of desiring to become an actor, Kim wanted to pursue a modeling career since his high school years. He debuted as a runway model in 2009 at the age of 20 and has since been appearing in prêt-à-porter and Seoul Fashion Week collections until the present. His career slowly made its way up and soon enough, he started doing commercials which required basic acting skills. Obviously, he was lacking in this area. Not only he obtained a role model (Won-joo Moon) in the process of receiving acting lessons, this is the first time where he fell in love with the acting career.

2013 became his breakout year. First, he joined the ensemble cast of up-and-coming actors in the teen drama School 2013. This was followed by Kim Eun-sook's high-profile trendy drama The Heirs, in which he played the rebellious chaebol heir to a hotel and resorts chain who falls into an unrequited love. His popularity rose after The Heirs, which led to increased advertising contracts and acting offers. Later that year, Kim appeared in his first major film role in Friend 2, the blockbuster sequel to Kwak Kyung-taek's 2001 box office hit. Calling his role of a rising Busan gangster as "the ultimate in rebel roles," Kim said he loved the original film so much that when he heard a sequel was being developed, he pursued getting cast without even reading the script, gaining 9 kilograms for his role. He also became the host of cable music program M! Countdown beginning August 15, 2013.

Last September Kim Woo Bin announced publicly that he was dating fashion model Yoo Ji Ahn. So fans were surprised to learn this week that the couple had broken up four months ago but decided to keep it private until now. At the time that Kim Woo Bin went public with his relationship, his agency, Sidus HQ, said that the actor was not the type to try and hide anything. He and Yoo Ji Ahn dated openly and never tried to keep their relationship a secret. "He does not feel uncomfortable about going public with his relationship," said the Sidus HQ representative at the time. "A young man and woman meeting in such a natural way is nothing to be secretive about." But then Kim Woo Bin was not as famous a few months ago as he is now. Neither of them had ever made the headlines when they first started dating. Kim Woo Bin and Yoo Ji Ahn met in 2011 at a magazine photo shoot. He had been working as a runway model since 2006 and appeared in several fashion shows before his debut in the drama "White Christmas." He then went on to have a role in "Gentleman's Dignity" followed by a leading role in "School 2013" and also a part in the film "Friend 2." That was followed by his role as bad boy Choi Young Do in "The Heirs." It was this role that propelled him to international stardom.