# Hyun Bin (현빈)
**Hyun Bin** (현빈) is a South Korean actor, born Kim Tae-pyung (김태평) in 1982, who rose to fame through television melodramas in the mid-2000s and later became one of Korea's leading film stars through the *Confidential Assignment* series and the 2019–2020 drama *Crash Landing on You*.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1593460/bio/) He is married to the actress [Son Ye-jin](https://www.edgepedia.org/son-ye-jin), his co-star in *Crash Landing on You*, and co-founded the management company VAST Entertainment.[3](https://www.imdb.com/es-es/name/nm1593460/bio/) • [4](https://v.daum.net/v/20260626150218752)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, Seoul, South Korea; birth name Kim Tae-pyung (김태평)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1593460/bio/) |
| Debut | Minor part in the KBS rom-com series *Bodyguard* (2003)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) |
| Breakthrough | *My Lovely Sam-soon* (2005), which made him a star at 24 and earned the nickname "prince of melodramas"[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Hyun_Bin.jsp) |
| Major awards | Baeksang Arts Awards popularity award (2006) and Grand Prize, television category, for *Secret Garden* (2010–2011)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) |
| Box-office anchor | *Confidential Assignment* (2016) drew 7.8 million viewers; its 2022 sequel topped the Korean weekend box office for five consecutive weeks[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) |
| Signature drama | *Crash Landing on You* (2019–2020), playing a North Korean army officer opposite Son Ye-jin[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) |
| Company | Co-founded VAST Entertainment in 2016 with his acting teacher Kang Geon-taek[4](https://v.daum.net/v/20260626150218752) |
## Early life and training
Hyun Bin grew up in Seoul as the younger of two sons. In high school he joined a theater club on the advice of a senior student and decided on acting over his father's preference for a conventional career; his father agreed to support him on the condition that he be admitted to the Theater and Film Department of Chung-Ang University, then a coveted program for aspiring actors. He was accepted and later graduated from the university with a degree in theater and film studies.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1593460/bio/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/es-es/name/nm1593460/bio/) His profile lists a height of 185 cm.[6](https://hyunbin.jp/profiles)
## Television career
He debuted in 2003 with a minor part in the TV rom-com series *Bodyguard*, then gained recognition as a laconic bodyguard in *Ireland* (2004) and as an egocentric restaurant owner in *My Lovely Sam-soon* (2004–2005). The latter made him a star at 24, earned him the nickname "prince of melodramas," and spread his popularity across Asia, including Japan and China.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) • [7](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=20745)
**Diversifying beyond the romantic lead.** His turn as a gangster in Kwak Kyung-taek's *[Friend](https://www.edgepedia.org/friend-2001-film), Our Legend* (2009), the series adaptation of the director's 2001 crime film, was aimed at proving his range beyond his looks.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) The romantic fantasy *[Secret Garden](https://www.edgepedia.org/secret-garden-south-korean-tv-series)* (2010–2011), in which he played Kim Joo-won, a man hiding his traumas behind bluster, was a smash hit and brought him the Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize in the television category.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) • [5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Hyun_Bin.jsp)
*Crash Landing on You* (2019–2020) reunited him with Son Ye-jin, whom he had faced as an adversary in *[The Negotiation](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-negotiation-film)* (2018). He played Ri Jeong-hyeok, a North Korean officer who helps, and eventually falls in love with, a South Korean businesswoman who crash-lands across the Military Demarcation Line. The series was a hit and is widely regarded as the peak of his television career.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1593460/bio/)
## Film career
After a movie debut in the martial arts comedy *Spin Kick* (2004), his first lead role came in *A Millionaire's First Love* (2006), followed by the Baeksang popularity award that year. He took lower-profile parts deliberately: the low-budget *I Am Happy* (2009), playing a megalomaniac, and the art film *Come Rain, Come Shine* (2011), which he made without a fee, reflecting a stated unwillingness to be consumed as a short-lived pretty face.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) • [5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Hyun_Bin.jsp) His first international project was the Seattle-set *Late Autumn* (2010), co-starring the Chinese actress [Tang Wei](https://www.edgepedia.org/tang-wei).[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975)
After military service in the Marine Corps, he returned with the big-budget period film *The Fatal Encounter* (2014) as King Jeongjo of Joseon; it sold more than 3 million tickets, but his impassive performance drew criticism from moviegoers.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) His film career revived with the buddy-cop comedy *Confidential Assignment* (2016), in which the humor came from the contrast between his stiff, neat North Korean elite detective and [Yoo Hae-jin](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoo-hae-jin)'s clumsy South Korean counterpart; the film drew 7.8 million viewers, one of the year's most successful releases.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) He followed it with *The Swindlers* (2017), the zombie period film *[Rampant](https://www.edgepedia.org/rampant-film)* (2018), and *The Negotiation* (2018) as a hostage taker.[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Hyun_Bin.jsp)
**The 2020s.** In 2022 he reprised his detective role in *Confidential Assignment 2: International*, which topped the Korean weekend box office for five consecutive weeks after release, and played a top negotiator in Yim Soon-rye's hostage film *The Point Men* (2021).[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975) In *[Harbin](https://www.edgepedia.org/harbin-film)* (2024), directed by Woo Min-ho, he played the independence activist [Ahn Jung-geun](https://www.edgepedia.org/ahn-jung-geun) (안중근) in a historical epic set in the early 1900s among Korean fighters in Harbin, northeastern China, during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea (1910–1945).[7](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=20745) • [8](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Hyun_Bin.jsp) He next leads the Disney+ series *Made in Korea*, with season 2 announced for September 9, 2026, alongside [Jung Woo-sung](https://www.edgepedia.org/jung-woo-sung) and Woo Do-hwan.[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYu_T7bCc08)
## Public standing
Hyun Bin has remained a durable star across three career peaks, in 2005, 2010, and 2020, a record the Korean Film Council's *Korean Actors 200* profile describes as rare in a star system that replaces faces quickly.[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Hyun_Bin.jsp) In a January 2025 survey by the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute he ranked first among film actors, with link analysis highlighting the words "agonize," "donate," and "thank" and keyword analysis highlighting *Harbin*, Ahn Jung-geun, and carré au ra (a coffee drink he was seen with).[10](https://v.daum.net/v/bFoa9QHEys) Overseas audience surveys of Hallyu, the Korean wave, consistently place him among the most preferred Korean actors; a 2024 survey of Southeast Asian viewers named him among the favorite actors alongside [Lee Min-ho](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-min-ho), Song Hye-kyo, Kim Soo-hyun, and [Song Joong-ki](https://www.edgepedia.org/song-joong-ki).[11](https://snuac.snu.ac.kr/2015_snuac/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/asiabrief_4-24.pdf)
He married Son Ye-jin on March 31, 2022, and they have one child.[3](https://www.imdb.com/es-es/name/nm1593460/bio/) VAST Entertainment, which he co-founded in 2016 with his acting teacher Kang Geon-taek, manages actors including Yoo Hae-jin, Jang Keun-suk, and Ryu Hye-young.[4](https://v.daum.net/v/20260626150218752) • [12](https://vastenm.com/)
## References
1. [HYUN Bin, People database, Korean Film Council (KOFIC) / KoBiz](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975)
2. [Hyun Bin – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1593460/bio/)
3. [Hyun Bin – Biografía, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/es-es/name/nm1593460/bio/)
4. [[공식] 현빈 소속사 떠나 허남준과 한솥밥 택했다…신도현, 에이치솔리드 계약, Daum news](https://v.daum.net/v/20260626150218752)
5. [Hyun Bin, KOREAN ACTORS 200, Korean Film Biz Zone (KOFIC)](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Hyun_Bin.jsp)
6. [PROFILE, Hyun Bin Japan Official Site](https://hyunbin.jp/profiles)
7. [현빈, 씨네21 인물 데이터베이스](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=20745)
8. [Hyun Bin to Lead Woo Minho's HARBIN, Korean Film Biz Zone news](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10088975)
9. [메이드 인 코리아 시즌 2 | 메인 예고편 | 디즈니+, Disney Plus Korea (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYu_T7bCc08)
10. ['하얼빈' 현빈, 1월 영화배우 브랜드평판 1위…2위 이준혁·3위 이제훈, Daum news](https://v.daum.net/v/bFoa9QHEys)
11. [Asia Brief: Southeast Asian audiences and Korean dramas, Seoul National University Asia Center](https://snuac.snu.ac.kr/2015_snuac/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/asiabrief_4-24.pdf)
12. [VAST Entertainment & Media, official site](https://vastenm.com/)
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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 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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