Biography of Gong Yoo
Gong Ji-cheol, popularly known as Gong Yoo, is a South Korean actor, who is well recognised for his work in the movies ‘Silenced’ (2011), ‘Train to Busan‘ (2016), and ‘The Age of Shadows’ (2016), as well as the television dramas ‘Coffee Prince‘ (2007), ‘Guardian: The Lonely and Great God‘ (2016-2017), ‘The Silent Sea’ (2021), and ‘Squid Game‘ (2021).
He has established himself as one of the most talented and versatile actors in South Korea and has gained a large and dedicated fan base. His career began in the early 2000s, and since then, he has taken on a wide range of roles, earning critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase along the way.
One of his most notable achievements is winning the ‘Best Actor’ award at the ‘Korean Drama Awards’ for his role in the popular drama ‘Coffee Prince’ in 2007. He also received critical acclaim for his performance in the hit film ‘The Crucible’ (2011) where he won the ‘Best Actor’ award at the 48th ‘Grand Bell Awards’ and the ‘Best Actor’ award at the 2011 ‘Korean Film Actors Association Awards’.
Gong Yoo also starred in the highly successful zombie film ‘Train to Busan’ (2016), which grossed over $90 million worldwide, and his drama series ‘Goblin’ (2016–2017) broke rating records in South Korea, with an average viewership rating of 20%. Gong Yoo’s performances have won him numerous awards and he has been recognized as one of the most talented and versatile actors in South Korea, with a large and dedicated fan base.
Early Life & Education
Gong Yoo was born on July 10, 1979, in Busan, South Korea. His baptismal name is Joseph, and he is catholic.
His father was the manager of the Lotte Giants from 1983 to 1985 and he also attended the baseball academy Busan Sango. His mother is Yoo Myung-joo, and she is a representative of Paechon County. He also has an older sister named Gong Eun-Jung.
Gong Hyun-dai is the name of his grandfather. He belonged to Confucius’ 77th generation. His maternal grandmother was Lee Soon-gi, and she was a member of the Gyeongju Lee clan in the province of Gyeongju.
Gong Yoo completed his education at Busan’s Nakmin Elementary School, Naesung Middle School, and Dongin High School. He did his bachelor’s in theatre and film at the Kyung Hee University Global Campus in Yongin and his masters in Performing Arts at Kyung Hee University’s Graduate School of Art and Fusion Design.
Career & Achievements
Gong Yoo began working for Mnet as a video jockey in 2000, and in 2001, he made his acting debut in the TV show ‘School 4’. After that, he performed in a number of supporting roles in dramas and films. In 2004, he also served as the host of the music show ‘Music Camp’.
He was cast as the lead alongside Gong Hyo-jin in SBS’s ‘Hello My Teacher’ in 2005. The 2006 romantic melodrama One Fine Day came after this.The romantic comedy ‘Coffee Prince’ on MBC was the show where Gong Yoo got his big break. His role as a leading man was cemented by the drama’s success, which also elevated him to Hallyu stardom.
After his mandatory military service, Gong Yoo made his comeback in the Korean romance comedy ‘Finding Mr Destiny’, which was a mediocre box-office success.
Then he started and pursued the making of a stage version of the novel ‘The Crucible’, written by Gong Ji-young. This film was then released globally under the title ‘Silenced’. When the movie came out on September 22, 2011, people became outraged. This prompted the reopening of inquiries into the events depicted in the novel and film. A new measure to address sex offences against juveniles and the disabled, known as the Dogani Bill, was enacted in late October 2011 in response to public demand for legislative reform as a result of the film.
The romantic comedy series ‘Big’, written by the Hong sisters, featured Gong Yoo alongside Lee Min-jung. The drama earned positive reviews despite some criticism for its climax.
After a two-year break, he made a comeback with the 2013 film ‘The Suspect’. He portrayed a top-notch North Korean spy who defected after his nation betrayed him. In November 2013, to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Gong Yoo was chosen to serve as a special representative of UNICEF in Korea. He has been to numerous nations since being appointed to spread awareness of the plight of children in developing nations.
On July 7, 2014, alongside the actress Ha Ji-won, Gong Yoo was appointed as an ambassador for the National Tax Service (NTS). The two participated in street initiatives that promote honest tax payments in support of the NTS and posed for promotional posters.
With a string of hits in 2016, Gong Yoo reached a new career peak. He co-starred with Jeon Do-yeon in the drama, ‘A Man and a Woman’, which was his first movie of 2016.
Gong Yoo made a comeback to television in December 2016 when he appeared as the title ‘Goblin’ in Kim Eun-fantasy-romance sook’s drama ‘Guardian: The Lonely and Great God’. The drama was a huge success, and Gong’s performance earned him the Baeksang Award for Best Actor.
In 2018, Gong Yoo co-starred with actress Jung Yu-mi in the feminist film ‘Kim Ji-young: Born 1982’, which was his third film with her after ‘Silenced’ and ‘Train to Busan’.
Gong Yoo confirmed in March 2020 that he would make a special appearance in Kim Tae-yong’s upcoming movie ‘Wonderland’.
In 2021 Gong Yoo and Park Bo-gum were featured in Lee Yong- ju’s action movie ‘Seo Bok’, in which Gong Yoo portrays a former intelligence operative who becomes involved in the hunt for the first human clone in order to learn the key to eternal life.
In the same year, he also made an appearance in the famous Netflix series ‘Squid Game’ as a recruitment salesman. The series became the first foreign-language show to win top honours at the 74th Prime Time Emmy Awards.
In December 2021, Gong Yoo joined Bae Doona, Lee Joon, Kim Sun-young, and other actors in the Netflix sci-fi thriller series, ‘The Silent Sea’ as team commander Han Yoon-jae. The series, which is set in a distant dystopian future in which Earth suffers from a severe water shortage, follows an exploration team to a deserted lunar station. Although the series received a mixed reception from viewers, it quickly rose to the top of Netflix’s global ratings to become the most-watched non-English series. One of Netflix’s greatest sci-fi programmes to date, according to Forbes.
Military Life
Personal Life
Gong Yoo is still single and unmarried. Even though it is rumoured that Gong Yoo dated a lot of his co-stars, he is reportedly still single.
Yoon Eun-Hye, a South Korean actress who co-starred with Gong Yoo in the 2007 drama Coffee Prince, was rumoured to be Gong Yoo’s girlfriend at the time the drama was being filmed. However, the agency confirmed that it is not true, and they weren’t dating. After the release of his series Finding Mr Destiny, he was then rumoured to be dating the South Korean actress Im Soo-jung. Due to their on-screen chemistry, the couple was speculated to be dating. A rumour that the couple had secretly married in America appeared in 2011. The information was denied by both of their organisations.
After the debut of Goblin, he was rumoured to date Kim Go-eun. This information was also denied by their agencies. Then, in 2017, when Kim Sun-ah claimed that Gong Yoo was his ideal type, he was rumoured to have dated her. Similarly, he was said to be dating his other co-stars Lee Min-jung, Jung Yu-mi, and Jeon Do-Yeon.
Interesting Facts about Gong Yoo
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His real name isn’t Gong Yoo. Gong Ji-cheol is his real name. His stage name is a mix of his father’s last name (Gong) and his mother’s last name (Yoo).
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He is a descendant of Confucius. In 2017, Gong Yoo was asked about his connection to the renowned Chinese philosopher Confucius at a fan event in Taiwan. He revealed that his parents had informed him that he is a member of the 79th generation of the Chinese philosopher’s ancestors.
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He never wanted to be an actor. Gong Yoo received a Bachelor of Theatre from Kyung Hee University. In an interview with CNN, he admitted that he did not consider becoming an actor when deciding on his degree. He only became interested in performing on screen after connecting with those around him throughout his time in college.
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He is not active on social media. Gong Yoo doesn’t actually have any social media profiles of his own as he prefers to keep his personal life private. However, his agency manages his social media handles and they have a huge fan following.
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He loves watching basketball and baseball. Gong Yoo is a huge supporter of the Golden State Warriors, an American basketball team. In December 2018, the Warriors were playing in San Francisco, and he went to a live NBA game. On a talk program, he described the experience and how walking inside the arena made him feel as if his heart was going to burst. He continued by saying that he spoke to the players as if they were his buddies and applauded quite loudly.
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He prompted reform in Korean law. He adapted a novel called Crucible, which contains real-life incidents concerning sexual assaults against children with hearing impairment and disabilities, into a movie called Silenced, which was released worldwide in 2011. The movie revealed that the criminals either got away with nothing or received low sentences, which formed public outrage. A new bill was subsequently passed in South Korea to address sex offences against children and people with disabilities when the case was revisited. The name of this new law, the Dogani law, comes from the Korean name of the movie.
FAQs
- How old is Gong Yoo?
As of 2023, he is 44 years old. He was born on July 10, 1979, in Busan, South Korea. - Is Gong Yoo single?
Gong Yoo is still single and unmarried. Even though it is rumoured that Gong Yoo dated a lot of his co-stars, he is reportedly still single. - How tall is Gong Yoo?
He is 1.84 m tall. - What is Gong Yoo’s net worth?
According to reports, his current estimated net worth is around $2-5 Million. - What is Gong Yoo’s Instagram id?
@gongyoo_official
