Jin Goo

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title: "Jin Goo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["south-korean-male-film-actors", "south-korean-male-television-actors", "south-korean-male-musical-theatre-actors", "male-actors-from-seoul", "people-from-dongdaemun-district", "21st-century-south-korean-male-actors", "1980-births", "living-people"] description: "South Korean actor" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Goo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary South Korean actor ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Jin Goo
image	Jin Goo in October 2022.png
caption	Jin in October 2022
birth_date
birth_place	Hwigyeong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea
education	Sahmyook University - Advertising
occupation	Actor
years_active	2003–present
agent	Varo Entertainment
module	{{Infobox Korean name/auto
hangul	%진구
hanja	晋久
::

| name = Jin Goo | image = Jin Goo in October 2022.png | caption = Jin in October 2022 | birth_date = | birth_place = Hwigyeong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea | education = Sahmyook University - Advertising | occupation = Actor | years_active = 2003–present | agent = Varo Entertainment | spouse = | children = | website = | module = {{Infobox Korean name/auto|child=yes|headercolor=transparent | hangul = %진구 | hanja = 晋久 Jin Goo (; born July 20, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He won Best Supporting Actor at the Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards for his role in Bong Joon-ho's 2009 noir thriller Mother. He is also known for his role in the critically and commercially successful series Descendants of the Sun.

Career

2003–2008: Beginnings

Jin Goo made his television debut in the 2003 gambling drama All In, as the younger version of the protagonist character played by Lee Byung-hun. They reunited onscreen in Kim Jee-woon's film noir A Bittersweet Life, and Jin would later join Lee when he established his own management agency, BH Entertainment.

In 2005, Jin starred in the one-episode drama Saya, Saya ("Bird, Bird"), adapted from the novel written by Shin Kyung-sook about a mother and son who are both deaf. It won the top award in the TV movie/miniseries category of Prix Italia, and the jury praised it as "a magical, moving and poetic story about the power of love with high quality performances."

After a guest appearance as a Korean language teacher on the webisodes of Japanese drama Joshi Deka!, Jin returned to Korean television in 2008's Spotlight, a glimpse into the lives of broadcast news reporters covering the city beat. To prepare for his role, Jin followed a cub reporter for a day, and realized they didn't have time to bathe or even wash their faces.

Though he appeared in little-seen mystery romance The ESP Couple, Jin would become known for playing strong moody characters, such as a low-ranking thug in Yoo Ha's A Dirty Carnival, and a serial killer in Truck. For his portrayal of a secretive doctor in arthouse horror film Epitaph, Jin received a Best New Actor trophy from the Golden Cinematography Awards.

2009–2015: Breakthrough and continued acting

Jin's breakthrough would be his critically acclaimed supporting turn in 2009's Mother. His performance in the Bong Joon-ho thriller earned him recognition from the Grand Bell Awards, the University Film Festival of Korea, and the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

In 2010, Jin shed his hardboiled image to play a down-to-earth, aspiring chef in Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle. He said the film was a great pleasure to make since cooking is a hobby of his, though emulating a professional chef meant undergoing "200 hours of chopping radishes" in order to perfect the motion. He added that after the filming, he was able to make kimchi with his mother, which proved to be a memorable experience.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Jin_goo_in_2011.JPG" caption="Jin for the ''Guys and Dolls'' musical in 2011"] ::

2011 was a busy year for Jin. Besides appearing in conspiracy thriller Moby Dick, he had a starring role as one of three desperate Joseon soldiers in The Showdown. He also made his stage debut as Nathan in a Korean production of the musical Guys and Dolls.

He next starred in 26 Years, based on Kang Full's manhwa about a plot to assassinate the man responsible for the Gwangju Massacre. Jin had been attached to the project since pre-production began in 2008, but investors backed out due to the politically controversial content. Online donations from thousands of private individuals enabled filming to resume in 2012. Jin was the only holdover from the original cast; initially cast as the young policeman, he now played the more central role of the gangster.

In 2013, he played the titular character in TV series Ad Genius Lee Tae-baek, a success story about a man who comes up to Seoul from the countryside armed with nothing but a high school diploma and a gift for drawing, and through sheer hard work, fights his way to become the best ad man and art director in the business.

Supporting roles followed in thriller The Target, period blockbuster The Admiral: Roaring Currents, and nostalgic musical drama C'est Si Bon. In 2015, Jin starred in Northern Limit Line, a naval thriller about the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong.

2016–present: Rising popularity

2016 was a remarkable year for Jin Goo. He was cast as an elite special forces soldier in Descendants of the Sun, a romantic melodrama written by Kim Eun-sook. The drama was a critical and commercial success in Asia, and led to a surge in popularity for Jin. Later in the year, Jin starred in MBC's melodrama Night Light.

In 2017, Jin starred in the action film One Line, where he played a legendary swindler who joins with a student (Yim Si-wan) to rob a bank. He then starred in JTBC's action melodrama Untouchable.

In 2019, Jin starred in the legal drama Legal High, a remake of the Japanese television series of the same name.

In December 2020, Jin signed with new agency Varo Entertainment.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Jin married his girlfriend on September 21, 2014. The couple welcomed a baby boy in June 2015. They welcomed their second child, a baby girl, in November 2016.

Military service

Jin completed his mandatory military service in the Republic of Korea Navy military police.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Romantic Assassins	Assassin
1+1=6		Short film
2005	A Bittersweet Life	Min-gi
2006	A Dirty Carnival	Jong-soo
Ice Bar	In-baek
Love Me Not	Mickey / Tae-ho
2007	Epitaph	Park Jung-nam
2008	Truck	Kim Young-ho
The ESP Couple	Su-min
2009	Mother	Jin-tae
2010	Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle	Seong-chan
2011	The Showdown	Do-young
Moby Dick	Yoon Hyuk
Always	Pottery store owner	Cameo
2012	26 Years	Kwak Jin-bae
2014	The Target	Baek Sung-hoon
The Admiral: Roaring Currents	Lim Jun-young
Late Spring		cameo
2015	C'est Si Bon	Lee Jang-hee (20s)
Northern Limit Line	Han Sang-gook
2017	One Line	Suk-goo
2018	Heung-boo: The Revolutionist	Nolbu	Special appearance
2021	You're Precious to Me (My Lovely Angel)	Park Jae-shik
2022	The Witch: Part 2. The Other One	Yong-du
::

Television series

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	All In	young Kim In-ha
2004	MBC Best Theater	Jin-ho	Episode "Where Are Arrows We Shoot?"
Nonstop 5	Jin Goo	url=https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=001&aid=0000767782	script-title=ko:'논스톱5' 진구, "갈고 닦은 것 보이겠다"
MBC Best Theater	Bae Sang-woo	Episode "Oshio Ddeokbokki"
2005	HDTV Literature	Little Brother	Episode "Saya, Saya (Bird, Bird)"
2007	Joshi Deka!	Korean language teacher	guest, episode 10 and webisode
2008	Spotlight	Lee Seon-chul
Tokyo Sun Shower	Park Sang-gil
2009	Swallow the Sun	young Kim Il-hwan	Cameo
2010	Athena: Goddess of War	Black agent Jang Hyuk-joon	Cameo, episode 7
2013	Ad Genius Lee Tae-baek	Lee Tae-baek
2015	Beating Again	Ma Dong-wook	Guest
2016	Descendants of the Sun	Seo Dae-young
Entourage	Himself	Cameo, episode 4
Night Light	Park Gun-woo
2017	Untouchable	Jang Joon-seo
2018	Mr. Sunshine	Go Sang-wan	Cameo
2019	Legal High	Go Tae-rim
2022	A Superior Day	Lee Ho-cheol
Shadow Detective	Guk Jin-han	Season 1
2024	The Auditors	Hwang Dae-woong
::

Web series

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.	2022
The King of the Desert	Chairman
::

Music video appearances

::data[format=table]

Year	Song title	Artist
2007	"Sonata of Temptation"	Ivy
2009	"Shout to the Heart"	Monday Kiz ft. Rhymer
"Scar"	Monday Kiz
"Stupid"	Yoon Seo-jin
2013	"V"	Lee Jung-hyun
::

Musical theatre

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role
2011	Guys and Dolls	Nathan Detroit
::

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table]

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2005	19th KBS Drama Awards	Best Actor in a One-Act / Special / Short Drama	Saya, Saya (Bird, Bird)
2006	5th Korean Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor	A Dirty Carnival
27th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best New Actor
2007	43rd Baeksang Arts Awards	Best New Actor
2008	31st Golden Cinematography Awards	Best New Actor	Epitaph
16th SBS Drama Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Special Planning Drama	Tokyo Sun Shower
2009	2nd Korea Junior Star Awards	Special Award	Truck
46th Grand Bell Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Mother
17th Korean Culture & Entertainment Awards	Excellence Award, Movie Actor Category
5th University Film Festival of Korea	Best Supporting Actor
30th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor
2010	7th Max Movie Awards	Best Supporting Actor
2011	KBS 감동대상	Hope Award
2013	22nd Buil Film Awards	Best Actor	26 Years
2014	34th Golden Cinema Festival	Special Jury Prize
2015	52nd Grand Bell Awards	Best Supporting Actor	C'est Si Bon
2016	11th Asia Model Festival	Popular Star Award	Descendants of the Sun
1st Indonesian Television Awards	Special Award
5th APAN Star Awards	Best Couple Award (with Kim Ji-won)
Best Supporting Actor
1st Asia Artist Awards	Best Celebrity Award, Actor
30th KBS Drama Awards	Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries
Best Couple (with Kim Ji-won)
2022		Best Actor Award	The Witch: Part 2. The Other One
2025	2025 MBC Drama Awards	Best Character Award	Moon River
::

Listicles

::data[format=table title="Name of publisher, year listed, name of [[listicle]], and placement"]

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.	Korean Film Council
2021	Korean Actors 200
::

Notes

References

References

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8. Oh, Jean. (May 12, 2008). "Reporters get the spotlight". [[The Korea Herald]] via [[Hancinema]].
9. "The ESP Couple". Korean Film Biz Zone.
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11. (July 20, 2006). "Film "Dirty Carnival" Draws 2 Million Viewers". KBS Global.
12. "All That Star: Jin Goo". [[Arirang (TV network).
13. Yi, Chang-ho. (April 4, 2008). "Epitaph sold to Japan, Hong Kong, and North America". Korean Film Biz Zone.
14. (December 23, 2008). "Filmmakers Honored at Golden Cinematography Awards". [[KBS World]].
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28. Kwon, Mee-yoo. (July 7, 2011). "Summer musical treats". [[The Korea Times]].
29. Kim, Jessica. (August 8, 2011). "Lee Yool, Ock Joo-hyun, Jin Goo act out ''Guys and Girls''". 10Asia.
30. Jang, Kyung-jin. (August 8, 2011). "At the press call for musical ''Guys and Dolls''". 10Asia.
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33. (September 1, 2008). "Ryu Seung-beom, Kim Ah-joong Cast in New Film ''29 Years''". KBS Global.
34. Lee, Hye-ji. (July 26, 2012). "Han Hye-jin, Jin Goo's ''26 Years'' kickstarts with social funding". 10Asia.
35. Hong, Lucia. (June 13, 2012). "2AM's Seulong, Jin Goo signs on for Kang Full's political film". 10Asia.
36. Choi, Eun-hwa. (January 30, 2013). "Jin Goo Explains Why He Hasn't Been In Many Dramas". enewsWorld.
37. link. (April 29, 2014)
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40. Conran, Pierce. (July 11, 2014). "LEE Hyun-woo Prepares for BATTLE OF YEONPYEONG".
41. Jeon, Su-mi. (April 2, 2015). "Song Joong Ki, Song Hye Kyo, Jin Goo and Kim Ji Won Confirm for ''Descendants of the Sun''".
42. (April 9, 2016). "Jin Goo Back in Spotlight with Hit TV Soap". [[The Chosun Ilbo]].
43. (March 22, 2016). "(Yonhap Interview) Actor Jin Goo gets boost with 'Descendants of the Sun'". [[Yonhap News Agency]].
44. (May 8, 2016). "Jin Goo talks life, love and regrets". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
45. (November 18, 2016). "New MBC series 'Night Light' depicts world ruled by power, money and greed". [[Kpop Herald]].
46. (November 18, 2016). "Uee and stars of hit dramas to show off chemistry in series 'Night Light'".
47. (March 28, 2017). "[INTERVIEW] Jin Goo returns to big screen, more mature and humbler".
48. (November 22, 2017). "'Untouchable' cast, producer discuss wealth, power".
49. link. (October 12, 2018)
50. (December 21, 2020). "[단독] 진구, 17년 매니저 손잡고 의리도 지켰다…바로엔터테인먼트 전속계약(종합)".
51. Park, Gyu-oh. (September 21, 2014). "Actor Jin Goo ties knot".
52. Noh, I-seul. (September 22, 2014). "Behind story of Jin Gu's wedding ceremony revealed".
53. Choi, Eun-hwa. (May 12, 2014). "Jin Goo to Wed Girlfriend After Dating for 9 Months". enewsWorld.
54. Kim, Hee-eun. (May 14, 2014). "Jin Goo will marry former 'crush'". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
55. Lee, Sung-eun. (September 22, 2014). "Jin Goo marries a non-celebrity".
56. "Jin Goo is a dad! Mom and baby boy are healthy and are doing well".
57. (May 18, 2016). "Jin Goo to welcome a second child this year". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
58. (April 27, 2016). "[씨네인터뷰] 멜로도 잘하지 말입니다 - <태양의 후예> 진구". [[Cine 21]].
59. (April 10, 2017). "[인터뷰] '원라인' 진구 "원톱 주연 욕심? 없다면 거짓말"". [[Hankook Ilbo]].
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90. (December 1, 2009). "Ha Ji-won Wins 1st Best Actress Award".
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93. Formerly known as Golden Cinematography Awards.
94. link. (December 24, 2014)
95. link. (May 21, 2016)
96. (September 16, 2016). "ITA 2016 Persembahkan Special Award untuk Jin Goo".
97. link. (October 3, 2016)
98. link. (November 16, 2016)
99. link. (December 31, 2016)
100. (December 1, 2022). "제30회 대한민국문화연예대상 개최...한파도 뚫은 열기".
101. Yoo. Ji-hye. link. (December 31, 2025). [[JTBC]]
102. 조선일보. (2021-01-18). "[공식] 영화진흥위원회, 韓배우 200인 선정..'Korean Actors 200' 해외 홍보 나선다".
103. "KOREAN ACTORS 200".

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