# Ahn Hyo-seop
**Ahn Hyo-seop** (안효섭; born 1995) is a Canadian actor and singer based in South Korea, also known by his English name **Paul Ahn**, who rose from K-pop trainee to a leading man of Korean romantic comedy television and, in 2025, to voice acting and film leads.[1](https://asianwiki.com/Ahn_Hyo-Seop) • [2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) His best-known roles include the surgeon Seo Woo-jin in *Dr. Romantic 2*, the CEO Kang Tae-moo in *Business Proposal*, and the voice of Jinu in Netflix's animated hit *KPop Demon Hunters*.[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995, Seoul, South Korea; 188 cm; fluent in Korean and English[3](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/profile) |
| Path to acting | K-pop trainee for nearly three years before moving to acting under Starhaus Entertainment; acting debut in MBC's *Splash Splash Love* (2015)[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) |
| First lead role | tvN's *Abyss* (2019), a crime fantasy romance drama[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) |
| Breakthrough television | Seo Woo-jin in *Dr. Romantic 2* (2020, SBS), which won him the 2020 Baeksang Arts Award for Best New Actor on television[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8044332/awards/) |
| Signature rom-com | Kang Tae-moo in SBS's office rom-com *Business Proposal* (2022), opposite Kim Se-jeong[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) |
| 2025 film work | Kim Dok-ja in *Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy*, his first film lead; voice of Jinu, leader of the Saja Boys, in *KPop Demon Hunters*[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) |
| Agency | Founded his own agency, The Present Company, in 2022[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) |
## Early life
Ahn was born in Seoul. When he was seven years old his family emigrated to Toronto, Canada; he moved back to South Korea at 17 while his family stayed in Canada, and he later graduated from Kookmin University's Department of International Business. He plays the piano and violin.[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDJX5np5UtA) His bilingual background is reflected in his official profile, which lists Korean and English as his working languages.[3](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/profile)
He first pursued music rather than acting. Ahn spent nearly three years as a K-pop trainee, training under [JYP Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/jyp-entertainment), before his former agency Starhaus Entertainment picked him up for acting.[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) • [6](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/09/14/2017091400571.html)
## Television career
After debuting in the MBC drama series *[Splash Splash Love](https://www.edgepedia.org/splash-splash-love)* in 2015, Ahn appeared in a series of smaller parts in *Happy Ending Once Again* (2016) and *All Goes Well* on MBC, and *Entertainer* (2016) and *Thirty But Seventeen* (2017) on SBS.[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) He also played Park Cheol-soo in the KBS 2TV family drama *Father Is Strange*, a role that drew early attention.[6](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/09/14/2017091400571.html) Other early credits include [YouTube Premium](https://www.edgepedia.org/youtube-premium)'s romantic comedy *[Top Management](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-management-tv-series)* (2018) and SBS's *Thirty But Seventeen*, in which he played Yu Chan.[3](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/profile) • [7](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=98966)
His first lead role came in tvN's *Abyss* (2019), a crime fantasy romance.[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) In 2020 he was cast as the new male lead of *Dr. Romantic 2*, playing second-year general surgery fellow Seo Woo-jin, a performance that earned wide praise and established him as a television lead.[8](https://seore.org/w/%EB%AC%B8%EC%84%9C%3A%EC%95%88%ED%9A%A8%EC%84%AD) The role brought him the 2020 Baeksang Arts Award for Best New Actor in television.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8044332/awards/)
**Romantic comedy leads.** SBS's *Business Proposal* (2022), in which Ahn played CEO Kang Tae-moo opposite [Kim Se-jeong](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-se-jeong)'s Shin Ha-ri, became the role most associated with him internationally, and the drama is frequently cited as a reference point for the office rom-com genre by viewers.[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) In 2023 he led Netflix's time-slip romance *A Time Called You* and returned to the *Dr. Romantic* franchise for season 3.[3](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/profile) At the 2023 [SBS Drama Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/sbs-drama-awards) he won Best Actor in a miniseries for *Dr. Romantic*, and he also won Best Actor and a Hot Trend Award at the 2023 [Asia Artist Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/asia-artist-awards).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8044332/awards/)
**2026 return to SBS.** Ahn reunited with SBS in *[Sold Out on You](https://www.edgepedia.org/sold-out-on-you)* (오늘도 매진했습니다), a Wednesday-Thursday romantic comedy written by Jin Seung-hee and directed by Ahn Jong-yeon, premiering April 22. He plays Matthew Lee, a perfectionist young farmer in Deokpung Village nicknamed "Quail," opposite [Chae Won-bin](https://www.edgepedia.org/chae-won-bin)'s home shopping host Dam Ye-jin.[9](https://news.sbs.co.kr/english/article.do?autoplay=Y&cooper=SBSNEWSAMP&news_id=N1008483493&plink=MAINIMG) The drama reached the Netflix Global Top 10 for two straight weeks despite ratings of about 2 percent on Korean television.[10](https://www.allkpop.com/artisttag/Ahn-Hyo-Seop)
## Film and voice work
In 2025 Ahn took two prominent screen roles. He made his live-action film debut and first movie lead as Kim Dok-ja in *Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy*, adapted from the popular web novel *Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint* (2018-). He also voiced Jinu, the leader of the fictional boy band Saja Boys, in Netflix's animated musical *KPop Demon Hunters*, directed by Maggie Kang.[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, *KPop Demon Hunters* holds 91 percent while *Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy* holds 25 percent.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ahn_hyo_seop) His film work brought him a 2025 Blue Dragon Award nomination for Best New Actor.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8044332/awards/)
## Music and fan events
Ahn has remained active as a musician. In 2026 he released his solo debut single "Something Special," an R&B collaboration with the American singer Khalid, with an official music video following in August.[10](https://www.allkpop.com/artisttag/Ahn-Hyo-Seop) He has headlined fan events including the 2023 Asia Tour *'here and now'*, its Tokyo encore *THE PRESENT SHOW*, and the 2024 fanmeeting tour *I WANT TO SAY ( )* in Japan and Jakarta, with live clips of the performances released through his Weverse channel.[12](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/) • [13](https://weverse.io/ahnhyoseop/media) In January 2026 he made his American late-night debut on NBC's *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon*.[14](https://news.sbs.co.kr/english/article.do?news_id=N1008387519)
## The Present Company
Ahn established his own entertainment agency, The Present Company, in 2022. As of 2026 the agency also represented Maggie Kang, director of *KPop Demon Hunters*, and the actors [Park So-dam](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-so-dam), Shin Sae-kyeong, and [Kim Seol-hyun](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-seol-hyun).[2](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388) His next project under the agency's slate is JTBC's *Final Table* (파이널 테이블), scheduled for the second half of 2026, in which he plays Kang Han, a chef trained overseas who competes in a contest called "The Table: K-Chef 2026" on behalf of the restaurant Familia; the cast also includes Hong Fa-yong, Chang Yul, and Jung Yu-jin.[15](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/news/2026/03/1714)
## References
1. [Ahn Hyo-Seop profile, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Ahn_Hyo-Seop)
2. [Who is Ahn Hyo-seop? From Business Proposal star to KPop Demon Hunters voice actor, Korea JoongAng Daily](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/who-is-ahn-hyoseop/12756388)
3. [AHN HYO SEOP profile, Japan Official Site](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/profile)
4. [Ahn Hyo-seop Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8044332/awards/)
5. [Brief Biography of Ahn Hyo-Seop (안효섭), YouTube: Life Biography Plus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDJX5np5UtA)
6. [Oh!쎈 토크 '아이해' 안효섭 인터뷰, The Chosun Daily](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/09/14/2017091400571.html)
7. [씨네21 인물정보: 안효섭](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=98966)
8. [문서:안효섭, seore.org](https://seore.org/w/%EB%AC%B8%EC%84%9C%3A%EC%95%88%ED%9A%A8%EC%84%AD)
9. [Ahn Hyo-seop Reunites with SBS: Youth Farmer Turn in 'Sold Out on You', SBS World News](https://news.sbs.co.kr/english/article.do?autoplay=Y&cooper=SBSNEWSAMP&news_id=N1008483493&plink=MAINIMG)
10. [Ahn Hyo Seop artist tag, allkpop](https://www.allkpop.com/artisttag/Ahn-Hyo-Seop)
11. [Ahn Hyo-seop, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ahn_hyo_seop)
12. [AHN HYO SEOP JAPAN OFFICIAL, News and Events](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/)
13. [AHN HYO SEOP Community Media, Weverse](https://weverse.io/ahnhyoseop/media)
14. [Ahn Hyo-seop Makes Tonight Show Debut Amid 'KPop Demon Hunters' Frenzy, SBS World News](https://news.sbs.co.kr/english/article.do?news_id=N1008387519)
15. [JTBC新ドラマ『ファイナルテーブル(原題)』出演決定, AHN HYO SEOP JAPAN OFFICIAL](https://ahnhyoseop.jp/news/2026/03/1714)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of East and Southeast Asia › South Korean actors, 2000s onward › Surnames A to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license