
Acting
Hwang Jung-min
Born 1970-09-01 · Masan, South Gyeongsang, South Korea
Hwang Jung-min (황정민) is a South Korean actor. He was born on September 1, 1970 and began his career in musical theatre, making his acting debut in Line 1 in 1995. He then starred in various musicals and plays in Daehangno such as "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Cats". Despite a career on stage, Hwang had difficulty transitioning to film. He went through a long struggle for recognition, with people saying he "didn’t have the right face for film." He even considered giving up his dream, but stuck to his conviction about walking the path of acting. Hwang said, "After becoming interested about the stage and how it feels to be that person on stage, I've never thought of anything else. That I never swayed -- that is one thing I can say with confidence." His big break came when he was cast in Waikiki Brothers, a 2001 film that was a sleeper hit in Korea. In his role as a hopeless drummer, Hwang left a strong impression and earned favorable reviews, with director Im Soon-rye calling him "an uncut gemstone." It was in 2005 that Hwang became a household name, portraying a naive farmer in love with an AIDS-stricken prostitute in the hit melodrama "You Are My Sunshine". Hwang explains that he was "moved by the tale of the genuine love between two people. I agreed with the director's idea of showing it as pure love, like an uncut gem, without sloppily adding to it or embellishing it." When he accepted the best actor award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for his performance in You Are My Sunshine, many were moved by his now-famous speech: "All I did was add a spoon to a dinner table that had already been prepared by others."
Acting credits
8.2In the remote South Korean village of Hope Harbor, police chief Bum-seok and officer Sung-ae are called to investigate a mysterious creature wreaking havoc on the community. But all is not as it seems, and perceptions can be misleading. What begins as ignorance plants the seed of disaster, escalating through human conflict into a tragedy of cosmic proportions.
Hope
2026
7.4A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.
The Wailing
2016
7.4An undercover cop has his loyalties tested when the boss of the corporate gang he's spent years infiltrating dies.
New World
2013
7.6After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d'état bursts out by Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-shin, an obstinate soldier who believes the military should not take political actions, fights against Chun Doo-gwang to stop him. The conflict between the two grows while military leaders are holding their decision and Defense Minister is gone. In the midst of chaos, the spring of Seoul that everyone longed for heads to unexpected direction.
12.12: The Day
2023
6.9A retired contract killer goes on a bloody rampage when a young girl finds herself at the mercy of gangland human traffickers and only one man can come to her rescue, with an arsenal of weapons and years of experience in the art of killing.
Deliver Us from Evil
2020
7.4Kim Sun-woo is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by a cold, calculative crime boss, Kang who assigns Sun-woo to a simple errand while he is away on a business trip; to shadow his young mistress, Hee-soo, for fear that she may be cheating on him with a younger man with the mandate that he must kill them both if he discovers their affair.
A Bittersweet Life
2005
6.8A shady cop finds himself in over his head when he gets caught between Internal Affairs and the city’s corrupt mayor.
Asura: The City of Madness
2016
7.2During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island 'Hashima Island' to mine for coal, attempt to escape.
The Battleship Island
2017
6.7After a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy, known as Donglim, who is deeply embedded within their agency. When the spy begins leaking top secret intel that could jeopardize national security, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other.
Hunt
2022
5.7A woman, married and with a child but becoming increasingly distant from her husband who is already cheating on her, reluctantly enters a secret relationship with her neighbor, a teenage boy.
A Good Lawyer's Wife
2003
6.9At work, she's a renowned assassin. At home, she's a single mom to a teenage daughter. Killing? That's easy. It's parenting that's the hard part.
Kill Boksoon
2023
7.0The veteran detective Seo Do-cheol and his team at Major Crimes, relentless in their pursuit of criminals, join forces with rookie cop Park Sun-woo to track down a serial killer who has plunged the nation into turmoil.
I, the Executioner
2024
7.3South Korea, 1993. An agent of the National Intelligence Service is sent to Beijing to infiltrate a group of North Korean officials with the ultimate goal of obtaining information about their nuclear program.
The Spy Gone North
2018
6.4North Korea's 8th Special Forces hijack a shipment of CTX, a potent new liquid explosive, and threatens South Korea as part of a plot to re-unify the two countries. Ryu and Lee, special agents of O.P., South Korea's secret intelligence service, attempt to track down the terrorists and find the CTX. Meanwhile Hee, the 8th's ultra-bad female sniper, resurfaces to wreak havoc and haunt Ryu.
Shiri
1999
6.9When an old collaborator gets severely injured, a veteran policeman tries to figure out the way to bring to justice the ultimately suspected aggressor, a spoiled young executive, heir to a mega corporation, who believes he is above the law.
Veteran
2015
6.6An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.
The Unjust
2010
7.4Duk-soo lost his father and younger sister while taking refuge during the Korean War. He leaves for Germany to work as a miner and enters the Vietnam War. He wishes to find his sister.
Ode to My Father
2014
5.8A group of Korean tourists is taken hostage by an extremist Taliban group in Afghanistan. The Korean government dispatches Jae-ho, known as one of Korea's most skilled diplomats, in order to handle the situation. Once he arrives, he asks for the Afghan government's cooperation and uses every means possible to free the hostages. However, his efforts go in vain. Due to his failure, he's forced to work with Dae-sik, a special agent who is an expert on the Middle East. As they begin making their move to get to the Taliban, the first hostage death occurs. With nowhere else to turn, the two become unlikely allies in a race against time to save the rest of the hostages.
The Point Men
2023
7.0In the ultimate test of marriage, an agent-turned-househusband gets tangled in a perilous mission with his detective wife, who's clueless about his past.
Mission: Cross
2024
7.2Tae-il lives a fast life as low level thug. He then learns that he has a terminal illness and not much time left to live. Then, for the first time in his life, he falls in love.
Man in Love
2014
10.0After the COVID-19 pandemic, Busan International Film Festival founder Kim Dong-ho, at eighty-five, picks up a camcorder for the first time and decides to make a documentary. His lens turns toward cinemas struggling through the crisis, as beloved theaters vanish amid dwindling audiences. Seeking to reconnect with old friends, "Mr. Kim" — now nearing ninety — travels the world to talk with filmmakers and cinephiles. Through these encounters, he reflects on cinema’s past and future, finding wisdom and resilience in a time of transformation. His journey becomes a meditation on change, memory, and the enduring spirit of film.
Mr. Kim Goes to the Cinema
2026
6.2The next mayor of Seoul candidate's wife becomes a dance singer in this movie as Hwang Jeong-min takes on the role of poor lawyer turned politician and Uhm Jung-hwa as the wife who makes an attempt at singing without her husband knowing at first.
Dancing Queen
2012
5.0In this anthology film centered around the theme of "Eros," five seperate stories are presented by five top Korean directors. The main characters from each segment are connected with each other in one way or another.
Five Senses of Eros
2009
7.0After a prosecution lawyer is framed and convicted for murder, he tries to catch the real murderer from jail with the help of a con artist.
A Violent Prosecutor
2016