Ahn Jae-wook

Ahn Jae-wook
Ahn Jae-wook
	Ahn in April 2018
Born	October 30, 1971 (age 53); Donam-dong, Seongbuk District, Seoul, South Korea
Education	Seoul Institute of the Arts – Theater (1994) ; Yonsei University Graduate School of Public Administration – Social Welfare
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1994–present
Agents	EA&C; Universal D;
Spouse	Choi Hyun-joo (m. 2015)
Children	2
Korean name
Hangul	안재욱
Revised Romanization	An Jaeuk
McCune–Reischauer	An Chaeuk
Website	www.ahnjaewook.co.kr/jable/

Ahn Jae-wook (Korean: 안재욱; born October 30, 1971) is a South Korean actor and singer.

Career

Ahn Jae-wook spent most of his childhood in his hometown, the district of Donam-dong in Seoul, before graduating from Seoul Institute of the Arts, where he majored in theater. After graduating in 1994, Ahn made his acting debut in Song of a Blind Bird, which was based on a real-life story, followed by supporting roles in several 1995–96 television series such as Hotel and Their Embrace.^[1] In 1997 he and costar Choi Jin-sil shot to stardom in the highly popular trendy drama Star in My Heart, which reached ratings of over 49%. It not only ignited trends in hairstyle, fashion and products featured in the series,^[2] Ahn also became a Korean Wave star, extending his popularity to China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.^[3]

Star in My Heart likewise kick-started Ahn's music career. Forever, which was featured in the series' ending during the concert of his character Kang Min, sold over 700,000 copies, and became the title song of his debut album.^[4] He continued to compose and sing over the years, holding numerous concerts in Japan and China, and releasing albums such as Memories and Reds in Ahn Jae-wook.

In 1998, he played lead roles in three films – Rub Love with Lee Ji-eun, Tie a Yellow Ribbon with Kim Hye-soo, and First Kiss with Choi Ji-woo—but did not meet with box office success despite his popularity at the time. He also starred in Garden of Heaven with Lee Eun-ju in 2003, and the Korea-Japan telecinema project Triangle in 2009.

Instead, Ahn focused on the small screen, appearing in over 10 television series from the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s. Among these were Goodbye My Love with Kim Hee-sun, Oh Pil-seung and Bong Soon-young (also known as Oh Feel Young) with Chae Rim, and I Love You (also known as Saranghae) with Seo Ji-hye.^[5]

As he entered his forties and his matinee idol status gave way to younger actors, Ahn returned to his stage roots.^[6] He played Daniel in Jack the Ripper (a Korean adaptation of the Czech musical Jack Rozparovač [cs]) from 2009 to 2011,^[7]^[8] then reprised the role in the musical's run in Tokyo, Japan in 2012.^[9]^[10]

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of broadcaster MBC, Ahn headlined Lights and Shadows in 2011.^[11] The sprawling drama, which spotlights Korean show business against the backdrop of history in the 1960s to the 1980s, was number one in its timeslot for 20 consecutive weeks.^[12]

Ahn then played the title role in the 2012 Korean staging of Rudolf, a musical about the 1889 Mayerling Incident involving the Crown Prince of Austria.^[13]

In February 2013 Ahn underwent brain surgery in the U.S. for a subarachnoid hemorrhage.^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18] After resting for a year, Ahn returned to work in April 2014 via the musical Le Roi Soleil.^[19] He celebrated his 20th anniversary in entertainment by holding a concert titled One Fine Day in October 2014.^[20]

In September 2017, It was confirmed that Ahn will be a fixed cast member in Netflix's variety show Busted!.^[21] Ahn's involvement in a drunk driving incident in February 2019 caused him to be omitted in the promotions of Busted's second season - including removal from the opening credits and promotional posters, as well as to skip the already-scheduled musical "Hero".^[22]

Personal life

Ahn married musical theatre actress Choi Hyun-joo on June 1, 2015.^[23]^[24] The couple met in 2014 when they were cast as lovers in the stage musical Rudolf.^[25] The couple have a daughter and a son.^[26]

Filmography

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Traveler in Heaven
1994	Song of a Blind Bird	Kang Young Woo
1994–1997	Partner	Oh Min Soo
1995	Make A Song
	Hotel	Yeong Pal
	Love and War
1996	Their Embrace	Ji Yun Woo
1996	Salted Mackerel	Sang Woo
1997	Star in My Heart	Kang Min Hee
1997–1998	Revenge and Passion	Kang Joon Ho
1998–1999	Sunflower	Dr. Jang Hyun Woo
1999	Goodbye My Love	Chang Min Soo
2000	Bad Friends	Kim Kang Seok
2000–2001	Mothers and Sisters	Kong Su Chul
2003	The Fairy and The Swindler	Jung Jae Kyung
2004	Match Made in Heaven	Kim Suk Koo
2004	Oh Feel Young	Oh Pil Seung
2006	Mr. Goodbye	Yoon Hyun Suh
2008	I Love You	Suk Chul Soo
2011–2012	Lights and Shadows	Kang Ki Tae
2012	Faith	Eun Soo's ex-boyfriend	ep 1 cameo
2016	Five Enough	Lee Sang Tae
2021	Mouse	Han Seo-joon	^[27]
2022	The Driver	Ha Tae-joon	^[28]^[29]
2022	The Empire	Na Geun-woo	^[30]^[31]
2023	Not Others	Jin-hong	^[32]
2025	Please Take Care of the Five Eagle Brothers	Han Dong-seok	^[33]

Film

Year	Title	Role
1998	Rub Love	Jo Han
	Tie a Yellow Ribbon	Joon Hyuk
	First Kiss	Han Kyeong Hyeon
2003	Garden of Heaven	Choi Oh Sung
2009	Triangle	Ryu Sang Woo

Variety show

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017	Pot Stand	Host
2018–2019	Busted!	Cast member	Season 1–2
2023	Oh Eun-young Game	judge	^[34]

Theater

1995: Baby
1996: 한평 반짜리 혁명
1997: Butterflies Are Free
1998: Guys and Dolls
2009: Jack the Ripper
2010: Jack the Ripper
2010: Rock of Ages
2011: Jack the Ripper
2012: Jack the Ripper
2012–2013: Rudolf
2014: Le Roi Soleil
2014–2015: Rudolf
2022–2023: Dracula as Dracula^[35]
2023: Harlan County as John^[36]

Radio program

2007–2008: Mr. Radio (KBS Cool FM)

Discography

Album information	Track listing
Forever 1st album Released: April 24, 1997	Track listing Prologue Forever 아침 고은 햇살 Don't go baby 어둠 그리고 그림자 방황 널 보낸 지금 Main The Piano Solo Forever (Bonus Track)
Memories 2nd album Released: April 17, 1998	Track listing 이별 (Good Bye) 기댈 수 없는 세상 (Unreliable World) 天愛擊兒 (천애지아) (Memories) 가 (Go) Only You Tears 그런게 아냐 (It's Not Like That) 기약 (Promise) 지금은 냉전중 (In Cold War) 덫 (A Trap)
Yesterday 3rd album Released: November 1, 1999	Track listing Goodbye Yesterday Please don't go away 인연 (Fate) 너 없는 내일 (Tomorrow Without You) 부탁 (Favor) Baddest Illusion 나의 너에게 (Me To You) Yesterday (Instrumental)
Reds in Ahn Jae-wook 4th album Released: March 17, 2003	Track listing Dear... Pain Friend 시작 (Start) 벽 (Wall) 수호천사 (Guardian Angel) Blessing 배신 (Betrayal) 넌 또다른 나 (Me Other Than You) 모래시계 (Sand Glass) 떠나지마 (Don't Leave) Never Ever 변명 (Alias) 자유 (Freedom)
사랑,이별 그리고... Track from Garden of Heaven OST Released: April 8, 2003	Track listing 14. 사랑,이별 그리고... – Ahn Jae-wook
Sounds Like You 5th album Released: November 11, 2005	Track listing Scene No. 1 ‘They...’ 혼잣말 두루루 (타이틀곡) 너를 사랑하던 말해줘 Scene No. 2 ‘Time that we spent’ 못잊어 반지 사랑은 아프다 Her Smile(Instrumental) 뒷모습 세상을 가진 것처럼... 바람 너를 닮아서
사랑의 향기는 설레임을 타고 온다 Track from All That Love Released: March 2, 2006	Track listing 12. 사랑의 향기는 설레임을 타고 온다 – Lim Hyun-jung feat. Ahn Jae-wook
그녀에게 EP Released: April 1, 2008	Track listing 이별인건지 (Radio Ver.) 안녕 그녀는 이별인건지 (Original Ver.) 안녕 (MR)
Best Album Compilation album Released: December 18, 2008	Track listing 혼잣말 두루루 나에게 너만큼 Yesterday Only You 언제나 너의 곁에서 상처 내가 사는 이유 친구 멋대로 맘대로 Good Bye 너를 닮아서 이별인건지 안녕 Forever
사랑에 살다 EP Released: August 5, 2009	Track listing 사랑이 사랑을 Breeze 화해 사랑을 보내고 Make Me Smile 사랑이 사랑을 (MR) 사랑을 보내고 (MR)
청춘 Track from 다섯남자의 다섯번째 이야기 Released: January 13, 2010	Track listing 01. 청춘 – Tin Tin Five feat. Ahn Jae-wook
Jack the Ripper Cast recording Released: August 9, 2010	Track listing 07. 어쩌면 – Sonya, Ahn Jae-wook 12. 멈출 수 없어 – Ahn Jae-wook 17. 내가 바로 잭 – Shin Sung-woo, Ahn Jae-wook 23. 내가 바로 잭 – Choi Min-cheol, Ahn Jae-wook
At This Moment EP Released: March 28, 2012	Track listing Best Friend 아직도 꿈꾸는 나를 그녀석 미워도 미워도
하늘아 제발 / 바람 Tracks from Lights and Shadows OST Released: July 6, 2012	Track listing 03. 하늘아 제발 (Heaven, Please) – Ahn Jae-wook 09. 바람 (Wind) – Ahn Jae-wook
너라는 하늘 Single Released: November 13, 2012	Track listing 01. 너라는 하늘 (Saw the Sky)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1994	13th MBC Drama Awards	Best New Actor		Won
1996	8th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best New Actor in TV	Love and War	Won
1996	15th MBC Drama Awards	Excellence Award, actor	Love and War	Won
1997	KBS Song Festival	Top 10 Singers	—	Won
	KBS Song Festival	Best New Singer	—	Won
	16th MBC Drama Awards	Best Couple Award with Choi Jin-sil	Star in My Heart	Won
	16th MBC Drama Awards	Popularity Award	Star in My Heart	Won
1998	19th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best New Actor	Tie a Yellow Ribbon	Won
2000	19th MBC Drama Awards	Top Excellence Award, actor	Bad Friends	Won
2000	19th MBC Drama Awards	Top Excellence Award, actor	Mothers and Sisters	Won
2001	Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism	Today's Young Artist Award	—	Won
2004	18th KBS Drama Awards	Top Excellence Award, actor	Oh Feel Young	Won
	18th KBS Drama Awards	Best Couple Award with Park Sun-young		Won
	Grimae Awards	Best Actor		Won
2007	6th KBS Entertainment Awards	Best Radio DJ	Mr. Radio	Won
2010	Seoul Art and Culture Awards	World Star Award	—	Won
2016	5th APAN Star Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama	Five Enough	Won
	30th KBS Drama Awards	Daesang (Grand Prize)		Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, actor		Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama		Won

References

^ Hong, Lucia (August 19, 2011). "Ahn Jae-wook to hold summer camp with 400 fans". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ Seo, Ji-eun (July 8, 2008). "Automakers try to make stars of their cars". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ "Actor Ahn Jae-wook and Actress Kim Hee-sun Most Popular in China". The Chosun Ilbo. November 24, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ Lee, Min-a (February 8, 2007). "Waves of teenage screams sweep across Jeju island as hallyu celebrates". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ Kwon, Mee-yoo (February 10, 2008). "Dramas Adapt New Way of Production". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ Kwon, Mee-yoo (July 5, 2011). "Ahn Jae-wook returns with Jack the Ripper" Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Korea Times. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ Hwang, Hyo-jin (July 5, 2011). "At the rehearsal for musical Jack the Ripper". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ Park, Min-young (July 11, 2011). "Musical fans get star-studded bonanza" Archived March 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. The Korea Herald. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
^ Hong, Lucia (May 2, 2012). "Super Junior Sungmin's musical Jack the Ripper to open in Japan". 10Asia. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
^ Kwon, Mee-yoo (September 18, 2012). "Musical as next hallyu". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ Park, So-jung (September 28, 2011). "Ahn Jae-wook to star in upcoming series". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ Lee, Hye-ji (July 4, 2012). "Light and Shadow keeps No. 1 status till last episode". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ "2013.01.02 TICKET". Korea JoongAng Daily. January 2, 2013. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ "Korean actor Ahn Jae-wook receives surgery in U.S." Yonhap. February 6, 2013. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
^ "Korean actor Ahn Jae-wook receives surgery in U.S." The Korea Herald. February 6, 2013. Archived from the original on February 12, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
^ "Ahn Jae-wook Has Emergency Brain Surgery". The Chosun Ilbo. February 7, 2013. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
^ Sunwoo, Carla (February 7, 2013). "Ahn Jae-wook rushed to brain surgery". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
^ "Korean actor Ahn returns home after getting surgery in US". The Korea Times. March 5, 2013. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
^ "Ahn, Shin to star in musical Sun King". The Korea Times. January 29, 2014. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
^ Lee, Sung-eun (September 22, 2014). "Ahn Jae-wook celebrates 20 years". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
^ "Netflix announces star-studded reality show". Korea JoongAng Daily. April 5, 2018. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
^ "안재욱, 음주운전 사과…'영웅' 측 "향후 일정? 확인 중" [공식입장]". Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
^ "Actor Ahn Jae-wook ties knot with musical actress". K-pop Herald. June 2, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
^ "Actor Ahn Jae-wook ties knot with musical actress". The Korea Observer. June 1, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
^ "Ahn Jae Wook Surprises Girlfriend with Romantic Proposal". Soompi. March 31, 2015. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
^ Ha, Su-jeong. "'9살 연하♥' 안재욱, 반백살에 학부모 됐다..가족 총출동" ['9 years younger ♥' Ahn Jae-wook, became a parent at the age of half a hundred...]. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
^ "이승기·이희준, tvN '마우스' 주연…내년 상반기 방송". Newsis. November 27, 2020. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
^ Kang Nae-ri (August 18, 2021). "김승우 연출작 '더 드라이버', 안재욱·이태란 등 출연…9월 첫 촬영" ['The Driver' directed by Kim Seung-woo, Ahn Jae-wook, Lee Tae-ran, etc. first shoot in september]. YTN (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
^ Kim Na-young (January 10, 2022). "김승우 연출 '더 드라이버' 2월 방송, 안재욱·이태란·안길강 출연" [Directed by Kim Seung-woo, ‘The Driver’ aired in February, starring Ahn Jae-wook, Lee Tae-ran, and Ahn Gil-kang] (in Korean). MK SPORTS. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022 – via Naver.
^ Kim So-yeon (September 9, 2021). "[단독] 안재욱 '디엠파이어' 주인공 캐스팅…'믿보배' 귀환" [[Exclusive] Ahn Jae-wook's 'D-Empire' main character cast... Return of 'Treasure Bae]. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021 – via Naver.
^ Han Seon Han (September 9, 2021). "안재욱, '천공의 성채' 출연 확정..김선아·이미숙 만날까[공식]" [Ahn Jae-wook confirmed to appear in 'Castle in the Sky'... Shall we meet Kim Seon-ah and Lee Mi-sook [Official]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2021 – via Naver.
^ Hwang Hye-jin (March 9, 2023). "전혜진X최수영 '남남' 캐스팅, 독특한 모녀 호흡[공식]" (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023 – via Naver.
^ Jang, Woo-young (December 16, 2024). 엄지원, 골드미스 탈출하니 미망인..시동생 넷 떠안았다 ('독수리 오형제를 부탁해') [Uhm Ji-won, escaped from Gold Miss and became a widow.. took care of four younger sisters-in-law ('Please Take Care of the Five Eagle Brothers')] (in Korean). OSEN [ko]. Retrieved December 16, 2024 – via Naver.
^ Jang Woo-young (December 19, 2022). "오은영 게임' MC 신동엽·이민정→안재욱·정준호·문희준·이대호·소이현 총출동 [공식]" ['Oh Eun-Young Game' MC Shin Dong-yeop · Lee Min-jeong → Ahn Jae-wook · Jung Jun-ho · Moon Hee-joon · Lee Dae-ho · So Yi-hyun all out [Official]] (in Korean). OSEN [ko]. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Naver.
^ Kang Jin-ah (October 11, 2022). "뮤지컬 '드라큘라', 김진환·유승우 합류...11월 개막" [Musical 'Dracula' joins Kim Jin-hwan and Yoo Seung-woo... Opening in November] (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022 – via Naver.
^ Kang Jin-ah (April 4, 2023). "류정한·안재욱·이건명·임태경, 뮤지컬 '할란카운티' 출연" [Ryu Jeong-han, Ahn Jae-wook, Lee Geon-myung, Lim Tae-kyung, appear in the musical 'Harlan County] (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Naver.

External links

Official website (in Korean)