# Kim Jung-hyun (김정현) (actor, born 1990)
**Kim Jung-hyun** (김정현) is a South Korean actor born in 1990, known for leading roles in the KBS2 dramas *School 2017* (2017) and *[Welcome to Waikiki](https://www.edgepedia.org/welcome-to-waikiki)* (2018) and for playing the king in the fantasy comedy drama *Mr. Queen* (철인왕후).[1](https://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=15054391331277719020) • [2](https://www.dreamforone.com/~kacademy2r/bbs/board.php?bo_table=star01&wr_id=89) • [3](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EA%B9%80%EC%A0%95%ED%98%84%281990%29)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1990[4](https://k-calc.com/celeb/p/kim-jung-hyun) |
| Screen debut | Film *Overman* (2015), as the gymnast student Do-hyun[5](https://host.cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=47694) |
| Breakthrough | Lead role Hyun Tae-woon, the rebellious son of the school's board chairman, in KBS2's *School 2017* (2017)[1](https://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=15054391331277719020) |
| Comedy lead | Kang Dong-gu in JTBC's *Welcome to Waikiki* (2018)[2](https://www.dreamforone.com/~kacademy2r/bbs/board.php?bo_table=star01&wr_id=89) |
| Historical hit | King Cheoljong in *Mr. Queen* (철인왕후)[3](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EA%B9%80%EC%A0%95%ED%98%84%281990%29) |
| Military service | Enlisted at age 21 and continued pursuing acting during his service[6](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/hot-issues/7990056) |
| Agencies | O& Entertainment (contract ended by agreement after a dispute), Story J Company (expired February 2025), then Management Soo[7](https://v.daum.net/v/ciQMFKJDep) • [8](https://v.daum.net/v/20250106095604015) • [9](https://v.daum.net/v/20260824085441137) |
## Early career
Kim Jung-hyun's first screen role was in the 2015 independent film *Overman* (초인), directed by Seo Eun-young, in which he played Do-hyun, a high school gymnast who begins working in a library as punishment for troublemaking and there meets a girl who introduces him to books.[5](https://host.cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=47694) The film screened at the 20th Busan International Film Festival in 2015 and won the Daemyung Culture Wave Award there.[5](https://host.cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=47694)
He has said that he enlisted in the military at 21 and did not give up his ambition to become an actor even during his service.[6](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/hot-issues/7990056)
## Television breakthrough
**School 2017.** Within two years of his debut, Kim reached a leading role in a terrestrial network miniseries, playing Hyun Tae-woon in KBS2's *School 2017* (2017), written by Jung Chan-mi and directed by Park Jin-seok.[1](https://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=15054391331277719020) His character is the rebellious son of the school's board chairman, and the role paired him with Kim Sejeong in a romantic storyline.[1](https://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=15054391331277719020) A Yonhap review of the series noted that Kim, in a role very different from his previous appearance in MBC's *Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People*, was praised for playing a "cute tough guy" in the banter-filled romance, even as the drama struggled with ratings below 5 percent against competing series.[10](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170821140700005) In interviews after the series ended, Kim credited luck for his rapid rise but also described building scenes with Kim Sejeong through improvisation, including the "we're dating from today" line and a chicken-coupon scene, and was self-critical about his own acting in the later episodes.[1](https://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=15054391331277719020)
**Welcome to Waikiki and Mr. Queen.** In 2018 he played Kang Dong-gu, a lead role in JTBC's comedy *Welcome to Waikiki* (으라차차 와이키키).[2](https://www.dreamforone.com/~kacademy2r/bbs/board.php?bo_table=star01&wr_id=89) His profile of television work also includes *Jealousy Incarnate* (질투의 화신, 2016).[4](https://k-calc.com/celeb/p/kim-jung-hyun) He later took the male lead as King Cheoljong in *Mr. Queen* (철인왕후), opposite [Shin Hye-sun](https://www.edgepedia.org/shin-hye-sun), a comedy in which a modern chef's spirit becomes trapped in the body of a Joseon queen.[3](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EA%B9%80%EC%A0%95%ED%98%84%281990%29)
## Controversy and agency disputes
During the production of the drama *Time*, Kim withdrew from the series partway through for personal reasons, and criticism of his on-set attitude followed. In December 2020 he issued a handwritten apology, saying he had caused an unpleasant situation through personal problems, that his mid-production withdrawal and behavior at the production press conference were things he himself could not accept, and that he sincerely apologized to his co-star Seo Hyun and to those involved.[11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUGbZu1yN6c)
His contract with his agency at the time, O& Entertainment, became the subject of a dispute: the agency argued that the contract had not expired because of the period he had not worked after leaving *Time*, and filed for mediation with the Korea Entertainment Management Association, while Kim sought adjustment of the contract term. About a month after the conflict began in April 2020, the two sides resolved their misunderstanding and agreed to end the exclusive contract.[7](https://v.daum.net/v/ciQMFKJDep) A Taiwanese industry compilation likewise records the dispute between Kim and O& Entertainment over the contract period and the petition filed with the association.[12](https://pic.tasker.com.tw/file/1/144/4847292/16214472191246013336.pdf)
## Comeback and later work
Kim returned to acting in 2023 with the drama *Gukdoosuijeol* (꼭두의 계절), and then worked on the film *Secret* and the drama *Iron Family* (다리미 패밀리).[8](https://v.daum.net/v/20250106095604015) In January 2025 his agency Story J Company announced that his exclusive contract would expire in February 2025 without renewal, leaving him a free agent; the same report noted that he had formally apologized at the 2024 KBS Drama Awards, recorded on December 31, 2024, for an attitude controversy that had surfaced there.[8](https://v.daum.net/v/20250106095604015)
He subsequently signed with the agency Management Soo (매니지먼트 시선), whose roster also includes Kim In-kwon, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Hee-soon, and Shin Hye-sun.[9](https://v.daum.net/v/20260824085441137) • [13](https://web.insight.co.kr/news/570248) Under that agency he made his musical debut in *The Days* (그날들), playing Jeong-hak, the cool-headed and thorough [Blue House](https://www.edgepedia.org/blue-house) security chief, and completed the run in August 2026; he described the production as a valuable time in which he learned and grew, and said he would carry the experience into future acting work.[9](https://v.daum.net/v/20260824085441137) His next television role was announced as Kim Si-hyun, a mysterious lawyer, in the tvN series *Love in Disguise* (나의 유죄인간), scheduled to air in the second half of the year.[9](https://v.daum.net/v/20260824085441137)
## References
1. [Kim Jung-hyun interview, TV Daily (September 15, 2017)](https://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=15054391331277719020)
2. [Korea Theater and Film Academy alumni page: Kim Jung-hyun (actor)](https://www.dreamforone.com/~kacademy2r/bbs/board.php?bo_table=star01&wr_id=89)
3. [Kim Jung-hyun (1990), Namu wiki entry listing Mr. Queen work](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EA%B9%80%EC%A0%95%ED%98%84%281990%29)
4. [Kim Jung-hyun profile, K-Calculator](https://k-calc.com/celeb/p/kim-jung-hyun)
5. [Overman (2015), Cine21 movie database](https://host.cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=47694)
6. [Interview: Kim Jung-hyun, "I enlisted at 21 and never gave up acting even in the military," Star Today (Maeil Business)](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/hot-issues/7990056)
7. [Kim Jung-hyun and O& Entertainment agree to end exclusive contract, Daum news](https://v.daum.net/v/ciQMFKJDep)
8. [Kim Jung-hyun becomes a free agent as Story J Company contract expires in February, Daum news (January 6, 2025)](https://v.daum.net/v/20250106095604015)
9. [Kim Jung-hyun completes first musical The Days, bnt news via Daum (August 24, 2026)](https://v.daum.net/v/20260824085441137)
10. [School 2017 review, Yonhap News (August 22, 2017)](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170821140700005)
11. [Kim Jung-hyun apologizes for attitude controversy, SBS Morning Entertainment via YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUGbZu1yN6c)
12. [Korean content work list noting the Kim Jung-hyun and O& Entertainment contract dispute](https://pic.tasker.com.tw/file/1/144/4847292/16214472191246013336.pdf)
13. [Management Soo signs The Boyz's Current as actor Lee Jae-hyun, Insight (August 26, 2026)](https://web.insight.co.kr/news/570248)
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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 Ki to K*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 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