1. Uhm Hong-sik, known professionally as Yoo Ah-in, is a South Korean actor, creative director, and gallerist.
58 Facts About Yoo Ah-in
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Yoo Ah-in is known for playing a diverse spectrum of roles in both television and film, where he often portrays dynamic characters who exhibit significant personal growth.
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Yoo Ah-in is the recipient of various accolades including Asian Film Awards, Fantasia International Film Festival's Cheval Noir award, two Blue Dragon Film Awards and two Baeksang Arts Awards.
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Yoo Ah-in is known for his politically and socially charged views on his social media account.
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Yoo Ah-in, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sik, was born in Nam District, Daegu in southeastern South Korea, the youngest of three children.
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Yoo Ah-in traveled to Seoul by himself and began living independently, which he said developed into a personal asset.
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Yoo Ah-in was enrolled in Seoul Arts High School, but soon dropped out of school to carry on his broadcast activities.
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Yoo Ah-in later entered Dankuk University and Konkuk University, having completed a GED for high school certification.
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Yoo Ah-in then chose Yoo Ah-in, Ah-in taken from the German word meaning "one".
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Yoo Ah-in was then cast in the teen series Sharp after auditioning, playing the role of a model student majoring in painting.
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Yoo Ah-in appeared in various commercials including school uniforms and youth apparel.
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Yoo Ah-in felt the need for a hiatus to reflect upon what he wanted for himself instead of catering to others, and what kind of path as an actor he would want to take in the future.
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In 2008, Yoo Ah-in starred in historical drama Strongest Chil Woo, playing a cruel but lonely assassin adopted by a nobleman.
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Yoo Ah-in gained recognition from critics and viewers for his performance, despite it being the first historical drama for him.
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Yoo Ah-in was featured in Min Kyu-dong's comedy-drama film Antique, adapted from Yoshinaga Fumi's manga Antique Bakery.
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Yoo Ah-in next starred in the film Sky and Ocean as a pizza delivery man who strives to make his own livelihood.
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Yoo Ah-in's rise to fame came in 2010, when he acted in fusion period drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal, adapted from a book with the same title.
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Yoo Ah-in played the role of an unpredictable man who moonlights to reveal the corruption of rich nobles.
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Yoo Ah-in's popularity was later referred to as "Geol-oh-al-yee", coined after the name of his character.
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The next year, Yoo Ah-in starred in drama Fashion King, taking over the role of a self-made but obsessed-with-success fashion businessman.
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Yoo Ah-in called the role one of the biggest challenges of his career and he garnered favorable press reviews for his mature, charismatic and versatile portrayal of Sukjong.
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Yoo Ah-in then played the titular character in the film Tough as Iron, about a Busan pier worker who takes care of his mother afflicted with dementia and kidney disease.
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In 2014, Yoo Ah-in appeared as a quirky supporting role in Lee Han's Thread of Lies.
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Yoo Ah-in garnered favorable press reviews for his delicate, three-dimensional and passionate portrayal of a genius pianist.
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Yoo Ah-in makes the affair looks so irresistible and concrete, he makes the viewers sympathize for his forbidden love and follow his journey till all hell breaks loose.
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Yoo Ah-in was then cast in the historical drama Six Flying Dragons, reuniting with Fashion King co-star Shin Se-kyung.
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Yoo Ah-in played double roles of a now famous novelist and the leader of a resistance group during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea.
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In 2018, Yoo Ah-in starred in Lee Chang-dong's film Burning opposite Steven Yeun, portraying a pure and sensitive young man, Jong-su, who tries to solve the mystery surrounding the woman he loves.
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Yoo Ah-in is irreplaceable for this role, he is capable of conveying great nuance and sensitivity.
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Yoo Ah-in was featured in Forbes as a star to take note of in January 2019.
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Yoo Ah-in next became the host, co-writer and co-producer for 12 episodes of KBS1 special talk show Do-ol Ah-in Going All Directions with philosopher Do-ol Kim Yong-ok, broadcast from January 5 to March 23,2019.
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Hong Eui-jeong said that the original character in the script was supposed to be a slender young man, but in their first meeting, Yoo Ah-in already gained weight because he thought it would suit with the character who worked a lot of physical labor.
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Yoo Ah-in won Best Actor in the Film Category at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards, Cheval Noir Award for Best Actor at the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival, and Best Actor awards at the 30th Buil Film Awards and 15th Asian Film Awards respectively in 2021 for his performance in Voice of Silence.
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Yoo Ah-in gained recognition from critics and viewers for his performance, despite him being antagonist.
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In 2022, Yoo Ah-in portrayed the "Sanggye-dong Supreme Team" leader in a Netflix crime comedy film Seoul Vibe with Kim Sung-kyun, Jung Woong-in and Moon So-ri among the cast.
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Yoo Ah-in is the representative, curator, and creative director of Studio Concrete; a creative collective which was established in 2014 by a group of artists born in the 1980s.
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In 2013, Yoo Ah-in donated to a campaign titled "I Am Against The Unfair Food Tray of Children" through The Beautiful Foundation.
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In 2014, Yoo Ah-in launched a local clothing line named Newkids Nohant to create Hangul-themed T-shirt designs.
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Yoo Ah-in then donated the profits worth 100 million won made through the clothing line, opening up the Newkids Yoo Ah In Charity Fund in 2015.
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Yoo Ah-in is the first Asian actor to be the global model of Diesel.
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In September 2018, Yoo Ah-in joined Diesel's "Hate Couture" Global Campaign to take a stand against Cyberbullying.
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Yoo Ah-in took the helm as the creative director and the main character himself.
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Yoo Ah-in has been a supporter of breast cancer awareness campaigns since 2012 through Amore Pacific Group and W Korea Magazine's annual campaign activities, such as "Pink Ribbon Love Marathon" and "Love Your W" campaigns.
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In January 2017, together with the renown sculptor Osang Gwon, Yoo Ah-in teamed up to produce a bust-sized cubist sculpture, symbolizing the breast cancer awareness campaign "Love Your W".
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Yoo Ah-in criticized the age regulation on Lady Gaga's concert in Seoul which were first sold as PG-13 but later on changed to PG-18.
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On November 19,2016, Yoo Ah-in took part in the biggest mass rally calling for president Park Geun-hye's resignation.
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Yoo Ah-in has appeared in advertising campaigns for international brands, such as McCafe, Diadora, Diesel, Cartier, Absolut Vodka, Calvin Klein, Burberry, Birkenstock, Burger King, and Puma.
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Yoo Ah-in is the first Asian actor to be a global model of Diesel, and the first Korean actor to be a Korean brand ambassador for Cartier.
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Yoo Ah-in is the first Korean and only Asian celebrity to be chosen as a global ambassador for Calvin Klein's 2019 "I Speak My Truth" campaign, and was chosen by Riccardo Tisci to be Burberry's only male global ambassador since 2019.
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In November 2022, Yoo Ah-in was chosen by GQ Korea as one of the Men of the Year.
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Yoo Ah-in had been the chief editor of Tom Greyhound's fashion magazine Tom Paper from 2014 to 2016, and had contributed several columns for magazines such as InStyle Korea, and Movieweek.
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In 2017, Yoo Ah-in revealed that he had a bone tumor, and thus had been delaying his mandatory military service.
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Yoo Ah-in's representatives stated that his symptoms were benign, which meant that the non-cancerous tumor would have minimal effect on his everyday life and carry no risk of spreading.
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On June 27,2017, Yoo Ah-in's representatives announced that he had been exempt from military service after failing five medical examinations.
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On February 8,2023, Yoo Ah-in was questioned by the police for propofol use, and would share more details and promise to cooperate with all investigations, confirmed by his agency UAA.
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Yoo Ah-in had tested positive for marijuana in a previous drug test.
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On February 18,2025, Yoo Ah-in was released after being sentenced to a one-year prison sentence in prison due to receiving a suspended sentence from an appellate court.
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Yoo Ah-in's lawyer denied the allegations and stated that the claims were unfounded.