# Baek Seo-hoo (백서후)
**Baek Seo-hoo** (백서후) is a South Korean actor known for playing Ko Won, a top idol performing social service, in the JTBC drama *Miss Night and Day* (2024) and the villain Ma Min-hwan in TVING's *Study Group* (2025).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12191543/) • [2](https://asianwiki.com/Baek_Seo-Hoo) Born in South Korea in 1996, he built his career through supporting and character roles before the 2024 drama brought him wider public recognition.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12191543/) • [3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1996, South Korea[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12191543/) |
| Breakthrough role | Ko Won, a top idol doing social service work at the Seohan District Prosecutors' Office, in *Miss Night and Day* (JTBC, 2024)[3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7) |
| Villain turn | Ma Min-hwan, close associate of Cha Woo-min's Pi Han-ul and part of the evil at Yusung Technical High School, in *Study Group* (TVING, 2025)[4](https://enter.etoday.co.kr/news/view/271203) |
| Physical preparation | Lost 7–8 kg and grew his hair for the vampire Ri Man-hwi in *Heartbeat* (KBS2, 2023); lost 7 kg in about two months for the idol role in *Miss Night and Day*[5](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/broadcasting-service/10816879) • [3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7) |
| Awards | Male rookie award at the 15th Korea Drama Awards and the new male actor category at the 2025 Korea First Brand Awards, both after *Miss Night and Day*[4](https://enter.etoday.co.kr/news/view/271203) |
| Height | 177 cm[2](https://asianwiki.com/Baek_Seo-Hoo) |
## Television career
Baek's screen credits begin with a single-episode appearance as [Kim Hyun-joong](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-hyun-joong) in *Love Revolution* (KakaoTV, 2020).[2](https://asianwiki.com/Baek_Seo-Hoo) In the same year he took the role of Jeong Joo-haeng in *Color Rush*, a series he continued through 2022 across 16 episodes, and IMDb also lists him in *Color Rush 2*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12191543/) He then played Tae-young in *Idol: The Coup* (JTBC, 2021) and Jonathan in *Cafe Minamdang* (KBS2, 2022).[2](https://asianwiki.com/Baek_Seo-Hoo)
**Character roles, 2023.** In 2023 he appeared as Boo Hyeon-joon in *Sound Candy* and as Ri Man-hwi in *Heartbeat*, a KBS2 Monday-Tuesday drama about a half-vampire who fails to become human by one day in a hundred years.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12191543/) • [5](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/broadcasting-service/10816879) Ri Man-hwi is a cruel vampire who despises humans, and Baek won the part through an audition. To look the part he lost 7 to 8 kg, grew his hair longer at the director's request because his character opposes [Ok Taec-yeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/ok-taec-yeon)'s, and adjusted his makeup to a paler tone.[5](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/broadcasting-service/10816879)
**Breakthrough with *Miss Night and Day*.** The 2024 JTBC weekend drama, in which a job seeker in her twenties wakes up as a woman in her fifties whenever the sun rises, exceeded a 9 percent viewership rating.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7) Baek played Ko Won, a top idol working as a social service agent at the Seohan District Prosecutors' Office, who forms a friendship across a 30-year age gap with the character played by Lee Jung-eun.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7) The role drew on his own past: he had trained as an idol trainee and been selected for a debut group before turning to acting.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7) He lost 7 kg in about two months for the part and studied interviews and stage footage of senior top singers, including G-Dragon, whom the director named as the model for the character.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7) In interviews he described the drama as a new starting point, saying it was the work that properly introduced his face to the public about four years after he began acting.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7)
## Study Group and recognition
In January 2025 Baek was confirmed for *Study Group*, TVING's adaptation of the popular webtoon of the same name, which premiered on the service on January 23.[4](https://enter.etoday.co.kr/news/view/271203) He plays Ma Min-hwan, a villain prominent in the original webtoon and a close associate of [Cha Woo-min](https://www.edgepedia.org/cha-woo-min)'s Pi Han-ul, forming one axis of the wrongdoing at Yusung Technical High School; the role also required him to attempt various action sequences.[4](https://enter.etoday.co.kr/news/view/271203)
Following *Miss Night and Day*, he received the male rookie award at the 15th Korea Drama Awards and then the new male actor category at the 2025 Korea First Brand Awards.[4](https://enter.etoday.co.kr/news/view/271203) In interviews he has said he wants to appear in dramas with humanistic warmth, in the manner of writer Noh Hee-kyung's works, and to play characters carrying deep pain.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7)
## References
1. [Baek Seo-hoo, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12191543/)
2. [Baek Seo-Hoo, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Baek_Seo-Hoo)
3. [Baek Seo-hoo, 'Miss Night and Day' as a new starting point, The Fact (TF interview)](https://v.daum.net/v/Y7RJMsaVF7)
4. [Baek Seo-hoo takes the Ma Min-hwan role in 'Study Group', Biz Enter](https://enter.etoday.co.kr/news/view/271203)
5. [Interview: Baek Seo-hoo lost 8 kg to become a vampire for 'Heartbeat', Star Today (Maeil Business)](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/broadcasting-service/10816879)
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*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 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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