It seems our love of celebrity culture knows no bounds. We fawn over the famous and want to know everything about them. There's an entire industry to satisfy our desire for the inside scoop.
Whether or not the information is credible is another matter. And whether our idols approve of the intense scrutiny over every aspect of their lives... Well, that's a whole other debate, too.
And now, we have another universe of luminaries to gush over. Hallyu, the Korean word for popular South Korean culture exports, carries on unabated. It's great, isn't it?
We get to broaden our horizons and learn about Korean culture. We might even pick up a few Korean words and phrases, here and there. The celebrities we need to know about include:
- athletes: football, swimming and archery
- entertainers: broadcasters, presenters and comedians
- musicians: singers and bands, songwriters and music industry moguls
- actors from stage, screen and the ever-popular Korean dramas
Do you have a few South Korean heartthrobs whose faces you know but not their names? We have a few favs to talk about, too. Do you know these famous people from South Korea? Is your best oppa or nuna on our list?
Forbes Power Celebrities
It should come as no surprise that Forbes, the American business magazine, tracks and reports on wealthy people around the world. In 2009, they added a 'powerful people' list. You might count heads of state as powerful, or religious figures like the Pope.
South Korean diplomat Ban Ki-moon once made Forbes' powerful people list. He stepped down as the secretary general of the United Nations in 2016, after serving nine years. But he is still active in politics today.
Forbes' Korea Power Celebrity 40 list also started in 2009. It's rather interesting to note that Forbes ranks American celebrities only according to their wealth. But they rank Korean celebrities according to their professional achievements and social media presence. The media exposure they gain and how often they appear on the telly matter too.
You won't always see the highest paid Korean actor or singer on a Forbes list. But you will find popular Korean actors and singers with active social media presences who star in a lot of films and television programs. Those who are famous for their charity work, who add much to South Korea's good reputation.
BTS and Blackpink top the Forbes Korea list. In fact, the Bulletproof Boy Scouts (BTS, in English) have been in the Top 5 since 2017, most often at Number 1. Blackpink is K-pop's top girl band; they are set to headline Coachella this year. Other singers on Forbes' 2022 list include Jang Min-ho, Lee Chan-won and Lee Seung-gi.
In South Korea, it's quite common for an entertainer to sing, dance, act, model and present on television. Lee Seung-gi is such an all-around performer, as is Kim Tae-hyung, better known as V from BTS. Veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung, with her five-decades-long career, falls into this category, too. She has an impressive list of awards to her name, not the least of which was her inclusion in the 2021 Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World, alongside Simone Biles.
Rounding out Top Ten on the Forbes list are baseball player Ryu Hyun-jin, who plays for the Toronto Blue Jays, and footballer Son Heung-min. You may know about Son Heung-min. He plays forward for Tottenham when he's not busy captaining South Korea's national team.
Top Korean Male Actors
South Korea's entertainment business is far too large to include everyone on a tiny Top 40 list. But there are still so many oppas to get to know! Let's now gush over the ones that Forbes overlooked. We'll start with the stars of Hwarang.
This popular series is set in the Three Kingdoms period. Park Seo-joon, Park Hyung-sik and Kim Tae-hyung lead an all-star cast. As mentioned above, Kim Tae-hyung is a BTS band member.
Park Hyung-sik has a dozen years in the entertainment business. He dabbles in everything from musical theatre to music production. He got his start as a member of the boy band ZE:A but soon branched into acting. He has many film and television credits to his name, and featured on the Forbes Power Celebrity list in 2015.
Park Seo-joon also has a string of television and film hits under his belt too. At one time, he was crowned the king of romantic comedy but has lately lost that title to his friend, Choi Woo-shik. You probably know Woo-shik from the Korean films Parasite and Train to Busan. These four celebrities, along with the rapper Peakboy (Kwon Sung-hwan) form the famous Wooga Squad.
But they're far from being the only Korean actors to star in drama series or take comedy roles. We could go on and on about our fav Korean oppas - Park Bo-gum, Kim Woo-bin and Lee Jun-ho... Song Joong-ki, the star of Vincenzo who recently married his English rose, Lee Ki-woo and all his good works. What about their leading ladies?
The Best Female Korean Actors
The South Korean entertainment machine is proud of its cohort of veteran actors, both male and female. Earlier, we mentioned Youn Yuh-jung; she is in a league with several others of her calibre. Clearly, the Korean ageing system matters not to Kim Hye-ya.
She began her acting career in 1963 and shows no sign of slowing down. Her latest star-studded offering, the 2022 series Our Blues, showcases her phenomenal talent. But if you really want to see her tour de force performance, check out The Light In Your Eyes.
Should you put Our Blues on your watchlist, you'll get to see Lee Jung-eun, who played the desperate housekeeper in Parasite, in a completely new light. You'll also see Han Ji-min, who played Kin Hye-ya's younger self in Light. But don't get Han Ji-min confused with Hwang Jung-eum. They're equally talented and look enough alike to be sisters.
You'd never confuse Park Bo-young with anyone because this diminutive powerhouse actor's list of film and television credits rivals her charity works. Most recently, she donated over £1 9500 to the Türkiye-Syria disaster relief fund. She's by no means the only generous Korean celebrity. Actress and singer IU (Lee Ji-eun) has donated well over two million pounds to various causes throughout her career.
Again pressed for time, we can mention Han So-hee, Jun Ji-hyun - one of South Korea's highest-paid actresses, and Bae Suzy only in passing. Suzy is one of the most in-demand actresses in Korean entertainment. And, of course, the luminous Son Ye-jin, who recently wed handsome Korea actor Hyun Bin. They fell in love while filming Crash Landing on You, a must-watch series about love across the demilitarized zone.
Infamous Korean Celebrities
Doesn't it sometimes seem like we prefer our celebrities to act bad? Just let Ye or Ezra step out of line and the headlines run for days. And some corners of the internet are still dissecting the Slap Heard Round the World.
But it seems we love our famous villains no matter what. And all their bad deeds hardly dent their pocketbooks. Nor does it dim their star power.
The same cannot be said of any South Korean celebrity. Whether solo singer or group, actor or actress, South Korean culture insists its representatives remain scandal-free. Any hint of disgrace will see stars discredited and reviled across every social media platform.
Such was the case with Ji Soo a couple of years ago. A former classmate accused the Strong Girl Bong Soon actor of school bullying. Ji Soo was immediately pulled from the project he was then working on. He's not acted since, perhaps only partly because of his mandatory military service.
Actress Seo Ye-ji had a spot of trouble over Kim Jung-hyun. The social media uproar caused her to withdraw from the project she was then on, too. Her image has somewhat been rehabilitated, though. She's now back at work.
Even a messy divorce can be enough to banish former stars. That was the case with Ahn Jae-hyun split from Koo Hye-sun, who starred in Boys Over Flowers. Their very public, very nasty proceedings caused him to lose all of his endorsements. Word has it that Song Joong-ki lost many endorsement deals over his divorce from Song Hye-kyo, though their split wasn't nearly as public or messy.
Not even K-pop idols are exempt from having to maintain a squeaky-clean reputation. Did you hear about the Burning Sun scandal? It was one of the biggest sex, drug and all-around corruption scandals to rock the K-pop world. Shortly after news of the offences got out, Seungri announced his retirement from the entertainment industry.
He served 18 months in prison before being released in February 2023 but veteran pop idol Yunho didn't fare nearly as badly for his transgressions. He was nabbed while clubbing in Seoul's stylish Gangnam district after hours during the pandemic lockdowns.
By itself, that might not have been too bad but that bar is known for its escort service. He quickly apologised on social media and paid his fines but that didn't save him from being scrubbed from various food adverts. All this just goes to show that even the highest paid Korean actors and singers must abide by the rules. Isn't that refreshing?
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