Kim Won-hae: One of Korea's Most Entertaining Supporting Actors

Why Everyone Recognizes Kim Won-hae

If you have watched more than a handful of Korean dramas over the past decade, you have almost certainly seen Kim Won-hae (김원해). From the crime thriller Signal to the romantic fantasy While You Were Sleeping, from the horror hit Revenant to the heartwarming The Good Bad Mother, and from Lovely Runner to the recent Undercover Miss Hong, Kim Won-hae seems to appear in nearly every important and popular K-drama. International fans often joke that a Korean drama is not complete until Kim Won-hae shows up on screen.

This ubiquity is not an accident. In the Korean entertainment industry, Kim Won-hae has earned the nickname of a "myeongpum joyeon" (명품 조연), which translates to "masterpiece supporting actor" or "luxury supporting actor." Directors and writers request him again and again because he can disappear into virtually any role: a warm-hearted father, a terrifying serial killer, a comic gangster, a weary detective, or a small-town shopkeeper.

Actor Profile and Career Background

Kim Won-hae was born on April 6, 1969, South Korea. He studied theater at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and made his professional debut in 1991 in the musical Foolish Ones (철부지들). Long before he became a familiar face on television, Kim spent roughly two decades honing his craft on stage in plays and musicals.

One of the most fascinating chapters of his early career is his time with NANTA (난타), Korea's legendary non-verbal kitchen percussion performance. Kim Won-hae was an original cast member when NANTA premiered in 1997, and he performed with the show for nearly a decade, from 1997 to 2006, touring internationally and even performing in New York. Fellow NANTA original members included actors such as Ryu Seung-ryong, which shows just how strong that generation of stage performers turned out to be.

Kim's breakthrough into mainstream public recognition came through SNL Korea, the Korean adaptation of Saturday Night Live, where he was a cast member during seasons one through four. His fearless comic timing on the sketch show, combined with his deep theatrical training, opened the door to a flood of television drama and film offers. He is also famously close to acclaimed actor Hwang Jung-min, a longtime friend and stage colleague who frequently names Kim Won-hae as the senior actor he most wants to work with, and the two have shared the screen in films such as The Himalayas, A Violent Prosecutor, Asura: The City of Madness, and The Battleship Island.

Kim Won-hae's Best Supporting Actor Awards: Which Dramas Won?

Many fans know that Kim Won-hae has won Best Supporting Actor honors, but they are often unsure which dramas earned him the trophies. In fact, he has won the Best Supporting Actor award three times at major Korean broadcast network year-end drama awards:

• While You Were Sleeping (당신이 잠든 사이에), 2017 SBS Drama Awards — Kim Won-hae won the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2017 SBS Drama Awards for his role as the tenacious and endearing prosecutor Choi Dam-dong in the fantasy legal romance starring Lee Jong-suk and Bae Suzy.

• The Ghost Detective (오늘의 탐정), 2018 KBS Drama Awards — He won Best Supporting Actor at the 2018 KBS Drama Awards for the supernatural mystery series The Ghost Detective, in which he played a key supporting lead role. In his acceptance speech he joked warmly about being starstruck by veteran actors in the audience.

• Revenant (악귀), 2023 SBS Drama Awards — Five years later, he won Best Supporting Actor again, this time at the 2023 SBS Drama Awards in the miniseries genre/action category, for the occult horror thriller Revenant starring Kim Tae-ri and Oh Jung-se. Accepting the award, he noted that receiving the same prize five years apart still made him tremble because of the weight the award carries.

In other words, Kim Won-hae is a three-time Best Supporting Actor winner: SBS in 2017 (While You Were Sleeping), KBS in 2018 (The Ghost Detective), and SBS again in 2023 (Revenant). This rare feat of winning supporting actor honors at two different major broadcast networks across three different years is powerful proof of how consistently excellent his work is. Notably, in 2017 he was simultaneously nominated at the KBS Drama Awards for Chief Kim (김과장), which aired the same year, meaning he was competing at two networks' award shows on the very same night.

Complete List of Kim Won-hae K-Dramas

Below is a comprehensive list of Kim Won-hae's major Korean television dramas, organized by year. Because he works so prolifically, this list excludes cameos and brief special appearances and focuses on his significant, credited supporting roles. Award-winning performances are marked with a star (★).

Year Drama Title (English / Korean) Role Network

2013 Reply 1994 (응답하라 1994) Kim Yong-sik (Trash's father) tvN

2016 Signal (시그널) Detective Kim Gye-cheol tvN

2016 Drinking Solo (혼술남녀) Supporting role tvN

2016 Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (화랑) Ureuk KBS2

2017 Chief Kim / Good Manager (김과장) Choo Nam-ho KBS2

2017 Strong Woman Do Bong-soon (힘쎈여자 도봉순) Kim Kwang-bok / dual twin roles JTBC

2017 Tomorrow With You (내일 그대와) So-joon's father tvN

2017 Criminal Minds (크리미널 마인드) Kim Yong-chul, "The Reaper" tvN

2017 While You Were Sleeping (당신이 잠든 사이에) ★ AWARD Prosecutor Choi Dam-dong SBS

2018 Are You Human Too? (너도 인간이니) Supporting role KBS2

2018 The Ghost Detective (오늘의 탐정) ★ AWARD Supporting lead KBS2

2018 The Player (플레이어) Supporting role OCN

2018 Where Stars Land (여우각시별) Supporting role SBS

2019 The Fiery Priest (열혈사제) Vladimir Gozaev SBS

2019 When the Devil Calls Your Name (악마가 너의 이름을 부를 때) Gong Soo-rae tvN

2019 Hotel del Luna (호텔 델루나) Supporting role tvN

2019 Melting Me Softly (날 녹여주오) Ma Pil-gu tvN

2019 Chocolate (초콜릿) Kwon Hyun-seok JTBC

2020 Start-Up (스타트업) Supporting role tvN

2021 Youth of May (오월의 청춘) Supporting role KBS2

2021 Monthly Magazine Home (월간 집) Supporting role JTBC

2021 One the Woman (원 더 우먼) Supporting role SBS

2022 Through the Darkness (악의 마음을 읽는 자들) Police team leader SBS

2022 From Now On, Showtime! (지금부터, 쇼타임!) Supporting role MBC

2022 The Law Cafe (법대로 사랑하라) Supporting role KBS2

2022 The Empire (디 엠파이어: 법의 제국) Supporting role JTBC

2023 Duty After School (방과 후 전쟁활동) Supporting role TVING

2023 The Good Bad Mother (나쁜 엄마) Village-community supporting role JTBC

2023 Revenant (악귀) ★ AWARD Supporting role SBS

2023 Cold Blooded Intern (남남 / 차가운 인턴) Supporting role tvN

2023 Strong Girl Nam-soon (힘쎈여자 강남순) Supporting role JTBC

2024 Lovely Runner (선재 업고 튀어) Supporting role tvN

2024 The Player 2: Master of Swindlers (플레이어2) Supporting role tvN

2024 Virtuous Business (정숙한 세일즈) Supporting role JTBC

2025 The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call (중증외상센터) Supporting role Netflix

2026 Can This Love Be Translated? (이 사랑 통역 되나요?) Supporting role tvN/Netflix

2026 Undercover Miss Hong (언더커버 미쓰홍) Supporting role Netflix

A few dramas on this list deserve special mention for international fans. In Strong Woman Do Bong-soon (2017), Kim Won-hae famously played dual roles as twin brothers, one a police officer and one a gangster, delighting viewers with two completely different characterizations in the same show. In Criminal Minds (2017), he shocked audiences with a chilling turn as a serial killer, then flipped to the opposite side of the law in Through the Darkness (2022) as the leader of a criminal-behavior analysis team. In The Fiery Priest (2019), he stole scenes as the Russian gangster Vladimir Gozaev, and in Lovely Runner (2024) and The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call (2025) he continued to anchor two of the buzziest Korean hits of recent years. His recent projects, including Virtuous Business (2024), Can This Love Be Translated? and Undercover Miss Hong, prove that demand for his talents has only grown.

Complete List of Kim Won-hae Movies

Kim Won-hae's film career is just as impressive as his television resume. He has appeared in blockbusters, thrillers, comedies, horror films, and prestige dramas alongside Korea's biggest movie stars. Here are his most notable films:

Year Movie Title (English / Korean) Role

2009 Good Morning President (굿모닝 프레지던트) Presidential aide

2013 Hide and Seek (숨바꼭질) Supporting role

2014 The Pirates (해적: 바다로 간 산적) Choon-seob

2015 The Himalayas (히말라야) Supporting role

2015 The Long Way Home (서부전선) Tank commander

2016 A Violent Prosecutor (검사외전) Supporting role

2016 Asura: The City of Madness (아수라) Jakdaegi

2016 Sori: Voice from the Heart (로봇, 소리) Goo-cheol

2016 Life Risking Romance (목숨 건 연애) Officer Park

2017 The Battleship Island (군함도) Supporting role

2017 Heung-boo: The Revolutionist (흥부) Kim Eung-jip

2018 Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (곤지암) Supporting role

2018 Unstoppable (성난황소) Ship owner

2019 Forbidden Dream (천문: 하늘에 묻는다) Jo Soon-saeng

2020 Samjin Company English Class (삼진그룹 영어토익반) Ahn Gi-chang

2022 In Our Prime (이상한 나라의 수학자) Park Pil-joo

2023 Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman (천박사 퇴마 연구소) Supporting role

Standouts include Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018), one of the highest-grossing Korean horror films of all time; Asura: The City of Madness (2016), a gritty crime noir with Jung Woo-sung and Hwang Jung-min; Samjin Company English Class (2020), a beloved office drama set in the 1990s; and In Our Prime (2022), a warm mathematical drama with Choi Min-sik.

What Makes Kim Won-hae Such a Great Actor?

Several qualities explain why Kim Won-hae has become one of the most in-demand supporting actors in Korean dramas and films.

• Theatrical foundation. Twenty years of theater built an unshakeable foundation. Before television fame, Kim spent two decades performing live, including nearly ten years of physically demanding NANTA performances. Stage actors must project emotion with their entire bodies, and this training shows in every role he plays.

• Extraordinary range. He is equally convincing as a lovable comic father, a cold-blooded murderer, a corrupt official, a devoted detective, and a foreign gangster speaking Russian-accented Korean. Very few actors possess this tonal range.

• He serves the story. Korean critics often say Kim Won-hae "blends into" every production. He never overwhelms the leads, yet he makes every scene he touches more textured, funnier, or more frightening.

• Award-validated consistency. His three Best Supporting Actor trophies from SBS and KBS confirm what audiences already know: he elevates every project he joins, which is exactly why casting directors for important, high-profile dramas keep calling him.

Frequently Asked Questions About Kim Won-hae

Q: What awards has Kim Won-hae won?

A: He has won Best Supporting Actor three times: at the 2017 SBS Drama Awards for While You Were Sleeping, at the 2018 KBS Drama Awards for The Ghost Detective, and at the 2023 SBS Drama Awards for Revenant.

Q: What are Kim Won-hae's most famous dramas?

A: His most internationally recognized dramas include Signal, Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, While You Were Sleeping, The Fiery Priest, Hotel del Luna, Through the Darkness, The Good Bad Mother, Revenant, Lovely Runner, The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, and Undercover Miss Hong.

Q: Was Kim Won-hae really in NANTA?

A: Yes. He was an original cast member of the famous non-verbal performance NANTA from its 1997 premiere until 2006, including performances in New York.

Kim Won-hae is one of the finest examples of a masterpiece supporting actor. Korean drama is blessed with an extraordinary generation of scene-stealing supporting players — Yeom Hye-ran, Ra Mi-ran, and Lee Jung-eun among them — and Kim Won-hae has earned his place in that company through sheer range, humor, and reliability. From his humble beginnings in 1991 musical theater, through a decade of drumming on stage with NANTA, to his comedy breakout on SNL Korea and his current status as the face you can find in seemingly every major Korean drama, his career is a testament to craftsmanship, versatility, and quiet excellence. His three Best Supporting Actor awards — for While You Were Sleeping (2017, SBS), The Ghost Detective (2018, KBS), and Revenant (2023, SBS) — are official recognition of what fans around the world have long understood: when Kim Won-hae appears on screen, the show is in good hands. If you are building a K-drama watchlist, you could do far worse than simply working your way through the Kim Won-hae filmography above; it doubles as a list of some of the best Korean dramas and movies of the last decade.

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