Jung Woo-sung is one of the most popular and successful South Korean actors with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. His raising popularity emerged after he was cast in a gangster movie called “Beat” in 1997 for which he received the Best New Actor award at the 17th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards. He is also the first Korean UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. He is popular not only in South Korea, but also in Japan and other Asian countries.
Jung Woo-sung’s Profile
Name: Jung Woo-sung Nickname: Young Old Man Birthday: March 20, 1973 Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea High School: Kyung-gi Commercial High School Height: 186cm Blood Type: O Skills: Basketball and swimming Debut: 1994 as a model Years active: 1994–present Agent: Artist Company
Facts:
Jung Woo-sung was born in on April 22nd, 1973 to an underprivileged family in Sadang-dong. He grew up in Sadang-dong, one of the poorest towns in Seoul. He later gave up school and dropping out of high school after one year, to work and thus support the family budget. He never concealed this fact, and stated that he did not regret his decision. He grew very tall already in primary school, his height causing him to constantly hunch. Later, when trying to break into the film industry, he was told he was too tall to become an actor, so he worked as a model which eventually helped him pursue a career in acting. Later, he started appearing in commercials as well. Jung Woo-sung made his acting debut in the 1994 South Korean film “The Fox with Nine Tails”. A few years later, Jung Woo-sung gained a lot of teenaged fans after appearing in the gangster film “Beat”. He later became one of the most popular and successful stars of South Korea. He has been a part of many super-hit projects like “Reign of Assassins”, “Don’t Forget Me” and “Asura: The City of Madness”. His first major movie project was “Musa”, a 2001 South Korean epic film. The film, which was directed by Kim Sung-su, starred Jung in the lead role, along with Ahn Sung-ki, Joo Jin-mo and Zhang Ziyi. The movie was about a Korean peace delegation making their way back to Korea, through the inhospitable deserts of Northern China. The film was a commercial success. Another Jung Woo-sung’s movie success is “Cold Eyes”. The movie directed by Cho-Ui seok and Kim Byeong-seo, the film was a remake of the 2007 Hong Kong film “Eye in the Sky”. The story is about detectives from the surveillance team of a crime unit who attempt to take down a bank robbing organization. The cast included Sol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, Han Hyo-joo and Jim Kyeong. The film was a huge success, and won several awards as well. For his success, he also become jury member at various film festivals including the 17th Busan International Film Festival in 2012, 14th Jeonju International Film Festival in 2013 and Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in 2015. Recently, he also become jury member at the 2016 International Film Festival and Awards in Macao. In 2014, UNHCR Korea appointed Jung Woo-sung as its first celebrity supporter. He was officially nominated as the UNHCR National Goodwill Ambassador on June 17, 2015. He went on his first UNHCR mission to Nepal in 2014. He then donated ₩50 million (US$46,000) to help victims of the April 25th earthquake. Jung Woo-sung also participated in several voluntary mission. He visited South Sudan and in the beginning of March 2016 and met with Syrian refugees in Lebanon. In June 2017 he went to Kurdistan Region of Iraq and visited Qushtapa camp for Syrian refugees and Hasansham U3 camp housing mainly Iraqis displaced from Mosul region.
