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Hallyu Spotlight: Kim Seon-ho, the drama and theatre actor who’s now making his film debut

Kim Seon-ho started out acting in theatrical plays back then before he scored mainstream drama deals like Start Up and Hometown Cha Cha Cha.

Staff Writer

| June 28, 2023

He was a skinny adolescent with a passion for theatric acting. He is Kim Seon-ho.

Kim first entered the mainstream spotlight after his breakout role in Netflix’s Start Up (2020) as tech start-up mentor Han Ji-pyeong. And he later found himself bagging another hit role in Hometown Cha Cha Cha (2021) as handyman Hong Du-sik.

That fame was well-deserved but unfortunately short-lived.

The scandal

Shortly after, Kim was involved in issues surrounding his private life and suffered from allegations made by his ex-girlfriend, Choi.

Choi had accused him of coercing her to terminate her pregnancy. This sent him on a downward spiral as his image took a blow. At the same time, he suffered from several rescinded commercials and movie contracts, including those from Canon Korea and Domino’s Pizza Korea.

Kim’s name was cleared a week later. Korean news outlet Dispatch released an exposé that debunked allegations with reports stating that the decision to end her pregnancy was mutual.

Though the truth surfaced, the actor imposed a seven-month-long reflection period on himself. He went back to his roots, making a gradual public return with theatric play Touching the Void. Kim played laying British mountaineer Joe Simpson.

Since young, Kim is no stranger to plays. He was coined “idol of theatre” in the theatre realm for his good looks and acting prowess. And he has quite a number of successful plays under his belt, including New Boeing Boeing, Rooftop House Cat and Closer.

Kim’s debut film: The Childe

Kim is now embarking on a new adventure — he is making his silver screen debut as a lead in the noir film The Childe.

In the 118-minute film, Kim plays Nobleman, or the mad chaser. He embarks on a relentless pursuit of the target, Marco (Kang Tae-joo), a boxer who came to Korea from the Philippines in search of his wealthy father whom he has never met.

The Childe also stars Kim Kang-woo, Go Ara and Kim Ki-young. You can now catch the film in Golden Village and Cathay cinemas in Singapore starting today (28 Jun).