Kam Woo-sung

Last updated
Kam Woo-sung
gamuseong.png
Born (1970-10-01) October 1, 1970 (age 53)
Other namesGam Woo-sung
Gam Wu-seong
Kam Woo-seong
Karm Woo-sung
Education Seoul National University – Oriental Painting
Occupation Actor
Years active1991–present
AgentBright Entertainment
Spouse
Kang Min-Young
(m. 2006)
Korean name
Hangul
감우성
Hanja
Revised Romanization Gam U-seong
McCune–Reischauer Kam Usŏng

Kam Woo-sung (born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his portrayal of a court jester serving a despotic king in the hit period film The King and the Clown .

Contents

Career

Kam Woo-sung majored in Oriental painting at the Seoul National University, then made his acting debut in the 1991 television drama Our Paradise. Through his roles on TV in the following decade, Kam became known for playing gentle and intellectual upper-middle-class men, notably in Hyun-jung, I Love You. Then in 2002, he successfully subverted this image in his first film, the critically acclaimed Marriage Is a Crazy Thing , in which he played a commitment-phobic professor having a passionate affair.

More characters followed in a variety of genres: a man trapped in a confusing and haunting sequence of events in Song Il-gon's mystery film Spider Forest ; [1] the PTSD-afflicted leader of a South Korean squadron in Vietnam who looks into the mysterious disappearance of 18 soldiers in the horror thriller R-Point ; and a son struggling to fake Korea's reunification to fulfill an ailing father's wish in the comedy A Bold Family. [2]

In late 2005, Kam reached a turning point in his 15-year career when he starred in The King and the Clown . Jang Hyuk was originally cast in the leading role of a court jester during the reign of Joseon Dynasty tyrant King Yeonsan, but after Jang was implicated in a draft-dodging scandal, Kam was brought in to replace him. [3] He trained extensively over two months in the art of Korean traditional performance, including street opera, and acrobatic, rope and mask dances. [4] The low-budget film unexpectedly broke box office records to become (at the time) the highest grossing Korean film of all time. Critics praised Kam's "powerful energy and wit," [5] and his performance garnered acting recognition, including Best Actor at the 2006 Grand Bell Awards. [6] [7]

He returned to television in Alone in Love (2006), which was lauded for its realistic portrayal of a divorced couple. [8] Back on the big screen, Kam reunited with previous A Bold Family costar (and close friend in real life) Kim Su-ro in Big Bang (2007), [9] [10] followed by the ensemble romantic comedy My Love and crime thriller The Outlaw (2010). [11] Kam was listed as one of the highest paid entertainers on the KBS network in 2011, earning ₩440 million for playing Geunchogo of Baekje in the 60-episode series The King of Legend . [12]

Though appearing less frequently in projects, Kam has starred in melodramas My Spring Days (2014), Should We Kiss First? (2018) and The Wind Blows (2019) in recent years. [13] [14] [15]

Personal life

After dating for 15 years, Kam married actress Kang Min-Young in Australia in 2006. [16]

Discography

Singles

TitleYearAlbum
"I Will"2014My Spring Days OST

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRole
2002 Marriage Is a Crazy Thing Kim Jun-Yeong
2004 R-Point Choi Tae-In
Spider Forest Kang Min
2005A Bold FamilyKim Myung-Seok
The King and the Clown Jang-Saeng
2007 Big Bang Park Man-Su
My Love Jang Se-Jin
2010The OutlawOh Jeong-Su

Television series

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991Our Paradiseart student
WoohwangcheongsimhwanHyunMBC Best Theater
1992A story of long-distance coupleChoi Wang-JaeMBC Best Theater
Investigation of memoryChoi Jong-GwanMBC Best Theater
EnchantmentCho Hoon-Bae
1993At our last winterGeon-WooMBC Best Theater
Trumpet FlowerChae I-Eon
Stormy SeasonChoi Han-Yeong
Women's generationKim Hyun-SeokMBC Best Theater
A tale of childhoodYong-SikMBC Best Theater
JeremyJeremyMBC Best Theater
1994The White journeyCho Seong-GyuMBC Best Theater
A verse of sad fatherCha Dong-HwaSpecial drama
1995A three-color friendshipTae-HyungSpecial drama
To Make a ManMeong Tae-Min
1997The MountainChoi Seong-Gyu
InstinctLee Jun-Seob
1998Shy LoversChoi Myung-Il
Song of the WindSong In-Gyu
1999MichikoHan Dong-WookSpecial drama
I'm Still Loving YouKim Hyung-Jun
2000 Say It with Your Eyes Jang Ki-Woong
Medical CenterKim Seung-Jae
2001Stars Rise Even in the DayGab-SooSpecial drama
2002Hyun-jung, I Love YouKim Beom-Soo
2006 Alone in Love Lee Dong-Jin
2010 The King of Legend King Geunchogo
2014 My Spring Days Kang Dong-Ha
2018 Should We Kiss First? Son Mu-Han
2019 The Wind Blows Do Dae-cheol [17]
2021 Joseon Exorcist [lower-alpha 1] Kim Tae-jong [18]

Awards

YearCeremonyAwardsWorks
1999 MBC Drama Awards Popularity AwardI'm Still Loving You
Best couple Award (with Chae-Lim)
2002 Grimae Awards Best ActorHyun-jung, I Love You
MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award (Actor in a Miniseries)
Women Viewers Film Awards Best Actor [19] Marriage is a Crazy Thing
Korean Film Awards Best New Actor [20]
Korea Best Dresser Swan AwardSwan Award (Actor in Film)
2004 Women Viewers Film Awards Most Hopeful Actor Award Spider Forest
2006 Grand Bell Awards Best Actor King and the Clown
Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Actor [21]
Blue Dragon AwardsBest Couple Award (with Lee Joon-Ki)
2008National Tax ServicePrime Minister Commendation
2018Ministry of Health and WelfareMinister Commendation
Korea Broadcasting AwardsBest Actor Should We Kiss First?
Korea Drama Awards Top Excellence Award [22]
SBS Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) [23]
Best Couple [24]

Notes

  1. cancels complete broadcast of show due to history distortion and Chinese style props. The show faced a massive amount of criticism leading to sponsorships and advertisements pulling out.

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References

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  2. ""The Story Is on Unification!": Funny, But That's It". Hancinema. The Dong-a Ilbo. 2 June 2005.
  3. Lee, Hoo-nam; Lee, Min-a (22 January 2006). "These kings of the cinema aren't clowning around". Korea JoongAng Daily . Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  4. Kim, Tae-jong (20 December 2005). "Getting Serious About Clowning". The Korea Times via Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  5. "The King and the Clown Bursts with Sheer Energy". The Chosun Ilbo . 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  6. Noh, Jean (24 July 2006). "King And The Clown rings Korea's Grand Bell". Screen International . Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  7. Chung, Ah-young (23 July 2006). "King and the Clown Wins 7 Grand Bell Awards". The Korea Times via Hancinema . Retrieved 2014-01-19.
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  15. Kim, Joo-hyeon (January 29, 2019). "감우성 측 "JTBC '바람이 분다', 검토하고 있는 작품 중 하나" (공식입장)". Beff Report (in Korean). Retrieved April 10, 2019.
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  17. "Kam Woo-sung, Kim Ha-neul to Star in New TV Soap". The Chosun Ilbo. May 2, 2019.
  18. "'조선구마사' 감우성 "재미와 활력 선사하는 작품 위해 노력할 것"". Chosun. November 18, 2020.
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