# Kim Nam-gil (김남길)
**Kim Nam-gil** (김남길) is a South Korean actor, producer, singer, and philanthropist known for lead roles in the disaster film *Pandora* (2016), the crime thriller *The Shameless* (2015), the adventure film *The Pirates* (2014), and the television dramas *Queen Seondeok* (2009) and *The Fiery Priest* (2019), and for founding the cultural-arts NGO Gilstory.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) In 2026 he added a music career, releasing his first single and performing at festivals and fan meetings in South Korea and Japan.[2](https://www.news1.kr/entertain/broadcast-tv/6130120)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1980 in Seoul, South Korea; the Korean Film Council's profile gives 1981[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) • [3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10003788) |
| Breakthrough | Bidam in *Queen Seondeok* (2009), the most watched Korean drama series of 2009 with ratings above 40%[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) |
| Notable films | *No Regret* (2006), *Portrait of a Beauty* (2008), *The Pirates* (2014), *The Shameless* (2015), *Pandora* (2016), *Emergency Declaration* (2022)[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10003788) |
| Television landmark | *The Fiery Priest* (2019) reached a 22.0% rating and brought him the SBS Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang)[4](https://v.daum.net/v/20200203083845731) |
| Awards | Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actor (TV, 46th edition); Best Actor at the Asian Content Awards; Prime Minister's Commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards[5](https://host.cine21.com/db/person/info/?href=filmography&person_id=55827) • [6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp) |
| Music debut | First single "Neo-ege Gago Isseo" (너에게 가고 있어, roughly "I Am Going to You") released March 26, 2026[2](https://www.news1.kr/entertain/broadcast-tv/6130120) |
| Agency | Gilstory ENT, which he founded after running the nonprofit Gilstory since 2015[7](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/372118) |
## Early career and name change
Kim's career began in youth-oriented television. IMDb places his first appearance as a minor role in the KBS series *School 1* in 1998, while the Korean Film Council dates the same series to 1999.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) • [3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10003788) He then won the 31st MBC open talent audition in 2003 and spent several years in small roles on that network.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) He had also performed on stage, joining a theater troupe in 2000, and his acting work since has drawn on both stage and screen experience.[6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp)
**A stage name and a return.** In 2005 he began working under the stage name Lee Han (이한). In 2006 he took his first film lead role in *No Regret*, a low-budget independent film about a [same-sex relationship](https://www.edgepedia.org/same-sex-relationship); the film was praised by critics and screened in Berlin, but it did not make him a star on its own.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) • [3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10003788) Before appearing in Kang Woo-suk's *Public Enemy Returns* (2008) he abandoned the stage name and returned to his birth name, a decision he made on the director's advice.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) The 2008 films *Portrait of a Beauty* and *Modern Boy* date from this period, with *Portrait of a Beauty* being his first film lead role after the name change.[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10003788)
## Stardom and screen career
The MBC period drama *Queen Seondeok* (2009) changed his standing. As the antagonist Bidam, he became one of the production's most promoted characters, and the series finished as the most watched drama of 2009, regularly exceeding 40% ratings. His popularity rose sharply, and he won the Best New Actor ([Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television)) prize at the Baeksang Arts Awards for the role.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) • [6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp) Follow-up dramas *Bad Guy* (2010) and *Shark* (2013) cast him in sleek, morally shaded roles that built a fan base across Asia.[6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp) • [8](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20161130101000005)
**Film range.** His film foothold came with *The Pirates* (2014), a swashbuckling period comedy co-starring [Son Ye-jin](https://www.edgepedia.org/son-ye-jin) that attracted 8.67 million viewers and ranked second at the Korean box office among films released that year, behind *Roaring Currents*.[6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp) *The Shameless* (2015), in which he played a detective who falls for the girlfriend of a murder victim, was invited to the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival; the Korean Film Council describes ambiguity and duality as his strength as an actor.[6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp) The same year he played the 19th-century regent [Heungseon Daewongun](https://www.edgepedia.org/heungseon-daewongun) in *The Sound of a Flower*, opposite [Bae Suzy](https://www.edgepedia.org/bae-suzy).[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10003788) In the disaster film *Pandora* (2016) he played a nuclear plant worker who becomes a reluctant hero, a role he said he approached by thinking about ordinary affection for family and colleagues rather than heroism.[8](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20161130101000005)
Later film work spans the revenge thriller *Memoir of a Murderer* (2017), the Lee Yoon-ki melodrama *One Day* (2017), the zombie comedy *The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale* (2019), the occult horror *The Closet* (2020) with [Ha Jung-woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/ha-jung-woo), the action film *A Man of Reason* (2020/2023 release) in [Jung Woo-sung](https://www.edgepedia.org/jung-woo-sung)'s directorial debut, a short appearance in [Lee Jung-jae](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-jung-jae)'s *HUNT* (2022), and the aviation disaster film *Emergency Declaration* (2022).[6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp) • [3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10003788) Cine21's filmography also lists *Lovers Vanished* (2010), *No Tears for the Dead* collaborator-era credits such as *Trigger* (2025), and roles including Lee Yoon in *Band of Thieves: Sound of a Sword* (2023) and Song Ha-young in *Those Who Read the Hearts of Evil* (2022).[5](https://host.cine21.com/db/person/info/?href=filmography&person_id=55827)
## Television success and recognition
*The Fiery Priest* (2019), an SBS crime comedy in which he played a priest and former special agent with an anger-management disorder, renewed his popularity; the series reached a 22.0% rating and brought him the SBS Drama Awards Grand Prize, a first major trophy in a career then sixteen years old.[6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp) • [4](https://v.daum.net/v/20200203083845731) Through that drama he also received the Asian Content Awards Best Actor prize and the Prime Minister's Commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards.[6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp) He reprised the role of Kim Hae-il in *The Fiery Priest 2* (2024).[5](https://host.cine21.com/db/person/info/?href=filmography&person_id=55827) In 2022 he played Ban, a half-human half-monster immortal, in the TVING original series *[Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/island-south-korean-tv-series)*, his first fantasy character, which he discussed in an interview with Forbes.[7](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/372118)
## Gilstory and philanthropy
Kim founded Gilstory, a cultural and arts nonprofit, in 2015 together with about one hundred cultural figures, initially to raise relief funds for victims of the 2014 typhoon in the Philippines; the organization focuses on preserving cultural heritage, promoting the arts, and special-purpose relief.[7](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/372118) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/) He later founded the management company Gilstory ENT, which combines artist management with film, drama, and IP businesses, and represents him as well as actors including Lee Soo-kyung.[7](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/372118) • [9](https://v.daum.net/v/20220609234524816) His charity performance series, the Gilstory "Uju Choegang Show" (우주최강쇼, "Strongest Show in the Universe"), enlists fellow actors and musicians in talent-donation performances and invites young people from underserved regions free of charge; a 2026 edition was scheduled for Kyung Hee University's Peace Hall in November.[10](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010294862) • [11](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/519770) In 2023 a life-insurance foundation's culture and arts recognition named him its figure of the year in the arts category.[12](https://www.christiandaily.co.kr/pdf/20251219.pdf)
## Music and fan meetings, 2026
In March 2026 Kim released his first single, "Neo-ege Gago Isseo," and began performing as a singer. On a tvN talk show he clarified that he performs under his own name; the word Coolton (쿨톤), which some fans took for his stage name, was the name of his band project.[2](https://www.news1.kr/entertain/broadcast-tv/6130120) His 2026 fan meeting tour, titled *G.I.L* under the slogan "Give Infinite Love," opened at the KBS Arena in Seoul on March 28; the Seoul show ran about five hours, opening with a cover of Day6's "Han Peijiga Doel Su Itge" and premiering his new single in a full-band live.[13](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/499761) The Japanese dates ran to 4 hours 40 minutes in Osaka and 4 hours 20 minutes in Tokyo, a combined 540 minutes, far above the roughly three-hour norm for such events, and both sold out.[14](https://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/502498) In May he performed at the [Yonsei University](https://www.edgepedia.org/yonsei-university) festival to an audience of about 20,000.[15](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/entertain/12051773) In September he made his first festival appearance at the KB Joy Olpak Festival 2026 in Seoul's Olympic Park, delivering a 30-minute full-band live set.[16](https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1008763525) On screen he was filming the SBS drama *Aegmong* (악몽, "Nightmare") and preparing to play Prince Suyang in the film *Mongyudowondo* ([몽유도원도](https://www.edgepedia.org/canvas-of-blood)).[14](https://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/502498)
## References
1. [Kim Nam-gil – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2339825/bio/)
2. [Kim Nam-gil, 'You Quiz on the Block' appearance on his singing debut, News1](https://www.news1.kr/entertain/broadcast-tv/6130120)
3. [KIM Nam-gil, KOFIC Korean Film Database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=10003788)
4. ['연기 대상' 김남길 인터뷰, 경향신문 via Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/20200203083845731)
5. [김남길 프로필 및 필모그래피, 씨네21](https://host.cine21.com/db/person/info/?href=filmography&person_id=55827)
6. [KoBiz - Korean Film Biz Zone](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/kofic/200_actors/Kim_Namgil.jsp)
7. [김남길, 美 포브스 인터뷰, iMBC 연예](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/372118)
8. [김남길 인터뷰, 연합뉴스 (2016)](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20161130101000005)
9. [경성환, 길스토리이엔티와 전속계약, Daum 뉴스](https://v.daum.net/v/20220609234524816)
10. [김남길, 길스토리 기부쇼 기사, SBS 연예](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010294862)
11. ['이번엔 몇 시간 할까' 김남길 우주최강쇼, iMBC 연예](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/519770)
12. [생명보험재단 문화예술 인물 선정, Christian Daily PDF](https://www.christiandaily.co.kr/pdf/20251219.pdf)
13. [김남길 5시간 팬미팅, iMBC 연예](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/499761)
14. ['540분의 기적' 김남길 일본 팬미팅, iMBC 연예](https://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/502498)
15. ['신인가수' 김남길 연세 축제, 매일경제](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/entertain/12051773)
16. ['신인 가수' 김남길 첫 페스티벌, SBS 뉴스](https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1008763525)
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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