Bae Yong-joon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bae Yong-joon
Waxwork of Bae Yong-joon
Born	(1972-08-29) August 29, 1972 (age 52) Mapo District, Seoul, South Korea
Occupation	Actor, businessman
Years active	1994–2017
Spouse(s)	Park Soo-jin ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	2
Awards	Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit (2008)
Korean name
Hangul	배용준
Hanja	裵勇浚
Revised Romanization	Bae Yongjun
McCune–Reischauer	Pae Yongjun
Signature

Bae Yong-joon (Hangul: 배용준; Hanja: 裵勇浚; born August 29, 1972) is a South Korean businessman and former actor. He became famous for starring in many TV shows, especially Winter Sonata. This show helped start the "Korean Wave", which made Korean culture popular around the world. Bae stopped acting after 2007, but he is still active as the head of a company called KeyEast.

Early Life

Bae Yong-joon was born in Mapo District, Seoul, South Korea. He later studied Film at Sungkyunkwan University in 2000.

His Acting Career

Bae started acting in 1994 in a TV show called Salut D'Amour. He quickly became popular. Just one year later, he won an award for Best New Actor for his role in Our Sunny Days of Youth.

Becoming a Star

Throughout the 1990s, Bae continued to play main characters in TV shows. Some of these included Papa (1996) and First Love (1996). First Love was incredibly popular, with over 65% of people watching it at its peak! He also starred in The Barefooted Youth (1998) and Did We Really Love? (1999). In 2001, he played a character in Hotelier who was trying to take over a hotel.

The Winter Sonata Effect

In 2002, Bae's career changed forever with the show Winter Sonata. This romantic drama was about first love, lost memories, and family secrets. It became a huge hit across Asia and in more than 20 countries, especially in Japan.

Bae gained a massive fan base, particularly among Japanese women. They lovingly called him Yon-sama, which means "Emperor Yon". This show and Bae's popularity brought in billions of dollars from tourism and merchandise sales. It was a big part of the Korean Wave, making Korean dramas and culture famous worldwide.

Movies and More

In 2003, Bae took on his first big movie role in Untold Scandal. This was different from his usual gentle characters. He played a nobleman in a historical movie set in 18th-century Korea. His acting earned him awards for Best New Actor.

He also released a photo book called The Image: Volume 1 in 2004, which sold many copies. In 2005, he starred in the movie April Snow. Even though it didn't do very well in Korea, it broke box office records for a Korean film in Japan because of Bae's fame.

Business Ventures

Bae Yong-joon also became a successful businessman. He opened restaurants and cafes that focused on healthy food. He owns a health food restaurant called Gorilla in the Kitchen and a fancy traditional Korean restaurant called Gosire. Because he was so famous in Japan, he helped promote Korean food there. His Gosire lunchboxes were even sold in Japanese stores!

By 2006, Bae became one of Korea's richest celebrities. He owned a large part of a management company called KeyEast. Many of the people who work at KeyEast used to be Bae's managers and have worked with him for over ten years.

Return to TV and New Projects

Bae returned to TV in 2007 with the big-budget historical fantasy show The Legend. He played two roles: Gwanggaeto the Great, a powerful king, and Hwanung, a mythical figure. He was paid a very high amount per episode, making him one of the highest-paid Korean TV actors at the time.

In 2009, Bae and his Winter Sonata co-star, Choi Ji-woo, lent their voices to the animated series Winter Sonata Anime in Japan. He also wrote a book of essays called A Journey in Search of Korea's Beauty. This book promoted Korean traditional culture, like ceramics, traditional clothes (hanbok), and historical sites. It became a bestseller and was translated into many languages. This book was later made into a TV documentary in 2011.

Bae also helped create a series of Nintendo DS games called "Learn Korean with Bae Yong-joon". These games helped people learn the Korean language.

In 2009, Bae's company KeyEast teamed up with JYP Entertainment to create the show Dream High (2011). This was a musical series about students at a performing arts high school. Bae helped with the script and production, and he even appeared in a few episodes as a guest star.

Personal Life

Bae Yong-joon announced his engagement to actress Park Soo-jin in May 2015. They got married on July 27, 2015, at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel. The couple had a private wedding, inviting only close friends and family.

Filmography

Television series

Films

Music videos

Video games

Books

Awards and Nominations

Listicles

See also

In Spanish: Bae Yong-joon para niños

• Contemporary culture of South Korea
• Korean Wave