Nam Joo-hyuk to Lee Jong-suk – 5 Korean actors who started off as fashion models before hitting the K-drama big time
Why are so many 30-something K-drama hotties making a comeback?
Kim Woo-bin
Although he has been on a long hiatus since 2017 due to a battle with cancer, Kim Woo-bin is remembered for his hit roles in The Heirs and Uncontrollably Fond. Previous to that, he first came to public attention as a model in 2009 at Seoul Fashion Week, before making his small screen debut in 2011’s White Christmas. AM Entertainment has announced that Kim will be returning to the big screen in the upcoming sci-fi film, Alien.
Nam Joo-hyuk
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Lee Jong-suk
Kim Young-kwang
The first Asian model to walk for Dior Homme, Kim’s impressive resume also includes work with Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. You might remember him in romcom tear-jerker, On Your Wedding Day, as he played a boy who loved his high school crush all the way until her marriage to another man.
Lee Soo-hyuk
Lee has been walking runways and shooting covers for big names including GQ, Elle and Vogue since 2006. But he truly made a splash with his turn in 2015’s spooky historical romance The Scholar Who Walks the Night with Lee Joon-gi. In 2020, he made a comeback after military service with the drama, Born Again.
While none of these five stars are still active on the runway, fans can continue to watch them grow in their roles as actors, using the confidence and poise they learned in their modelling days.
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Lee Soo-hyuk, Kim Woo-bin and Kim Young-kwang also made our list of dreamy South Korean stars who began strutting on the catwalk before going on to star in hit series including Secret Garden, The Heirs, Uncontrollably Fond and I Can Hear Your Voice