Kam Woo-sung
Born (1970-10-01) October 1, 1970 (age 53)
Okcheon County, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea
Other namesGam Woo-sung
Gam Wu-seong
Kam Woo-seong
Karm Woo-sung
EducationSeoul National University – Oriental Painting
OccupationActor
Years active1991–present
AgentBright Entertainment
Spouse
Kang Min-Young
​
(m. 2006)​
Korean name
Hangul
감우성
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGam U-seong
McCune–ReischauerKam Usŏng

Kam Woo-sung (born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his portrayal of a court jester serving a despotic king in the hit period film The King and the Clown.

Career

Kam Woo-sung majored in Oriental painting at the Seoul National University, then made his acting debut in the 1991 television drama Our Paradise. Through his roles on TV in the following decade, Kam became known for playing gentle and intellectual upper-middle-class men, notably in Hyun-jung, I Love You. Then in 2002, he successfully subverted this image in his first film, the critically acclaimed Marriage Is a Crazy Thing, in which he played a commitment-phobic professor having a passionate affair.

More characters followed in a variety of genres: a man trapped in a confusing and haunting sequence of events in Song Il-gon's mystery film Spider Forest;[1] the PTSD-afflicted leader of a South Korean squadron in Vietnam who looks into the mysterious disappearance of 18 soldiers in the horror thriller R-Point; and a son struggling to fake Korea's reunification to fulfill an ailing father's wish in the comedy A Bold Family.[2]

In late 2005, Kam reached a turning point in his 15-year career when he starred in The King and the Clown. Jang Hyuk was originally cast in the leading role of a court jester during the reign of Joseon Dynasty tyrant King Yeonsan, but after Jang was implicated in a draft-dodging scandal, Kam was brought in to replace him.[3] He trained extensively over two months in the art of Korean traditional performance, including street opera, and acrobatic, rope and mask dances.[4] The low-budget film unexpectedly broke box office records to become (at the time) the highest grossing Korean film of all time. Critics praised Kam's "powerful energy and wit,"[5] and his performance garnered acting recognition, including Best Actor at the 2006 Grand Bell Awards.[6][7]

He returned to television in Alone in Love (2006), which was lauded for its realistic portrayal of a divorced couple.[8] Back on the big screen, Kam reunited with previous A Bold Family costar (and close friend in real life) Kim Su-ro in Big Bang (2007),[9][10] followed by the ensemble romantic comedy My Love and crime thriller The Outlaw (2010).[11] Kam was listed as one of the highest paid entertainers on the KBS network in 2011, earning ₩440 million for playing Geunchogo of Baekje in the 60-episode series The King of Legend.[12]

Though appearing less frequently in projects, Kam has starred in melodramas My Spring Days (2014), Should We Kiss First? (2018) and The Wind Blows (2019) in recent years.[13][14][15]

Personal life

After dating for 15 years, Kam married actress Kang Min-Young in Australia in 2006.[16]

Discography

Singles

Title Year Album
"I Will" 2014 My Spring Days OST

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
2002 Marriage Is a Crazy Thing Kim Jun-Yeong
2004 R-Point Choi Tae-In
Spider Forest Kang Min
2005 A Bold Family Kim Myung-Seok
The King and the Clown Jang-Saeng
2007 Big Bang Park Man-Su
My Love Jang Se-Jin
2010 The Outlaw Oh Jeong-Su

Television series

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Our Paradise art student
Woohwangcheongsimhwan Hyun MBC Best Theater
1992 A story of long-distance couple Choi Wang-Jae MBC Best Theater
Investigation of memory Choi Jong-Gwan MBC Best Theater
Enchantment Cho Hoon-Bae
1993 At our last winter Geon-Woo MBC Best Theater
Trumpet Flower Chae I-Eon
Stormy Season Choi Han-Yeong
Women's generation Kim Hyun-Seok MBC Best Theater
A tale of childhood Yong-Sik MBC Best Theater
Jeremy Jeremy MBC Best Theater
1994 The White journey Cho Seong-Gyu MBC Best Theater
A verse of sad father Cha Dong-Hwa Special drama
1995 A three-color friendship Tae-Hyung Special drama
To Make a Man Meong Tae-Min
1997 The Mountain Choi Seong-Gyu
Instinct Lee Jun-Seob
1998 Shy Lovers Choi Myung-Il
Song of the Wind Song In-Gyu
1999 Michiko Han Dong-Wook Special drama
I'm Still Loving You Kim Hyung-Jun
2000 Say It with Your Eyes Jang Ki-Woong
Medical Center Kim Seung-Jae
2001 Stars Rise Even in the Day Gab-Soo Special drama
2002 Hyun-jung, I Love You Kim Beom-Soo
2006 Alone in Love Lee Dong-Jin
2010 The King of Legend King Geunchogo
2014 My Spring Days Kang Dong-Ha
2018 Should We Kiss First? Son Mu-Han
2019 The Wind Blows Do Dae-cheol [17]
2021 Joseon Exorcist[a] Kim Tae-jong [18]

Awards

Year Ceremony Awards Works
1999 MBC Drama Awards Popularity Award I'm Still Loving You
Best couple Award (with Chae-Lim)
2002 Grimae Awards Best Actor Hyun-jung, I Love You
MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award (Actor in a Miniseries)
Women Viewers Film Awards Best Actor [19] Marriage is a Crazy Thing
Korean Film Awards Best New Actor [20]
Korea Best Dresser Swan Award Swan Award (Actor in Film)
2004 Women Viewers Film Awards Most Hopeful Actor Award Spider Forest
2006 Grand Bell Awards Best Actor King and the Clown
Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Actor [21]
Blue Dragon Awards Best Couple Award (with Lee Joon-Ki)
2008 National Tax Service Prime Minister Commendation
2018 Ministry of Health and Welfare Minister Commendation
Korea Broadcasting Awards Best Actor Should We Kiss First?
Korea Drama Awards Top Excellence Award[22]
SBS Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang)[23]
Best Couple[24]

Notes

  1. ^ cancels complete broadcast of show due to history distortion and Chinese style props. The show faced a massive amount of criticism leading to sponsorships and advertisements pulling out.

References

  1. ^ Lee, Seung-jae (1 September 2004). "A Mystery Thriller: Spider Forest". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  2. ^ ""The Story Is on Unification!": Funny, But That's It". HanCinema. The Dong-a Ilbo. 2 June 2005.
  3. ^ Lee, Hoo-nam; Lee, Min-a (22 January 2006). "These kings of the cinema aren't clowning around". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  4. ^ Kim, Tae-jong (20 December 2005). "Getting Serious About Clowning". The Korea Times via Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  5. ^ "The King and the Clown Bursts with Sheer Energy". The Chosun Ilbo. 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  6. ^ Noh, Jean (24 July 2006). "King And The Clown rings Korea's Grand Bell". Screen International. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  7. ^ Chung, Ah-young (23 July 2006). "King and the Clown Wins 7 Grand Bell Awards". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  8. ^ Han, Eun-jung (12 March 2006). "After Big Screen Success Son Ye-jin Returns to TV". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  9. ^ Kim, Tae-jong (20 November 2006). "Two Friends to Co-Star in New Movie". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  10. ^ "New Movie: Big Bang". The Dong-a Ilbo. 8 March 2007. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  11. ^ ""My Love" Is Loathsomely Sweet". HanCinema. The Korea Times. 20 December 2007.
  12. ^ "KBS' Highest-Paid Stars Revealed". The Chosun Ilbo. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  13. ^ Jin Eun-soo (18 July 2014). "Leads chosen for My Spring Days". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  14. ^ "'키스 먼저 할까요' 감우성 "4년 만에 복귀, 느낌이 좋아 선택"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 20 February 2018.
  15. ^ Kim, Joo-hyeon (January 29, 2019). "감우성 측 "JTBC '바람이 분다', 검토하고 있는 작품 중 하나" (공식입장)". Beff Report (in Korean). Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  16. ^ 영화배우 감우성 아내 강민아. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 18 June 2007. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  17. ^ "Kam Woo-sung, Kim Ha-neul to Star in New TV Soap". The Chosun Ilbo. May 2, 2019.
  18. ^ "'조선구마사' 감우성 "재미와 활력 선사하는 작품 위해 노력할 것"". Chosun. November 18, 2020.
  19. ^ 제7회 여성관객영화상: 여성의 욕망에 꽃을 던져라!. Cine21 (in Korean). 23 December 2002. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  20. ^ '감우성의 재발견' ... 드디어 충무로 정상에. Joins.com (in Korean). 21 July 2006. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  21. ^ '왕의 남자' 감우성-'타짜' 김혜수, 춘사대상영화제 남녀주연상. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 27 October 2006. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  22. ^ Jeon, Aram (October 2, 2018). [종합] '2018 KDA' 유동근, 대상 영예...'같이 살래요' 4관왕 '쾌거' [[Comprehensive] '2018 KDA' Dong Keun Lee, Grand Prize 'Let's live together' 4 crowns 'comfort']. Xports News (in Korean) – via Naver.
  23. ^ Lee, Jihyun (January 1, 2019). [SBS 연기대상] 감우성·김선아, 공동 대상..베스트 커플상까지(종합) [[SBS Drama Awards] Gam Woo-sung, Kim Sun-ah, co- grand prize.. Best Couple Award (Comprehensive)]. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  24. ^ Lee, Jihyun (January 1, 2019). [SBS 연기대상] 감우성·김선아, 공동 대상..베스트 커플상까지(종합) [[SBS Drama Awards] Gam Woo-sung, Kim Sun-ah, co- grand prize.. Best Couple Award (Comprehensive)]. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kam Woo-sung.
Chunsa Film Art Awards for Best Actor
Grand Bell Awards for Best Actor
Korea Drama Awards for Top Excellence Award, Actor
Grimae Awards for Best Actor
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