Kim Bum

Kim Bum, born Kim Sang-bum on July 7, 1989, is a South Korean actor whose early television work led to a major regional breakthrough in 2009’s Boys Over Flowers. In that KBS2 adaptation of the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango, he played So Yi-jung, one of F4 and the heir to a ceramics family. Yi-jung’s refined exterior, troubled family history, and storyline with Chu Ga-eul made the character especially visible alongside Lee Min-ho’s Gu Jun-pyo and Kim Hyun-joong’s Yoon Ji-hoo. The role firmly established him as a leading young performer across Asia and substantially expanded his international fan base. Kim began acting with the sitcom High Kick! in 2006, appearing as a classmate in its school-centered ensemble. He subsequently appeared in the historical drama East of Eden and the horror film Death Bell, both released in 2008. His film work also includes The Gifted Hands (2013), a thriller in which he portrayed Kim Jun, a young man whose drawings are connected to murders. Rather than confining himself to romantic roles, he took on the supernatural cable drama Padam Padam in 2011, playing Lee Gook-soo, an angel who watches over the protagonist Yang Kang-chil after serving a lengthy prison sentence. In 2013, Kim played Park Jin-sung in That Winter, the Wind Blows, a melodrama centered on a con man and a visually impaired heiress. Park is the loyal friend of Oh Soo, played by Zo In-sung, and Kim’s performance gave the supporting character a notable emotional stake. That year, he also led MBC’s historical series Goddess of Fire as Kim Tae-do, a military officer devoted to the gifted potter Yoo Jung, portrayed by Moon Geun-young. In 2015, he starred in tvN’s Hidden Identity as Cha Geon-woo, an officer in a covert police unit, shifting decisively toward action and procedural material overall. Kim returned to a fantasy role as Lee Rang in tvN’s Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020). Lee Rang is the half-gumiho younger brother of Lee Yeon, played by Lee Dong-wook, and his resentment, loyalty, and eventual reconciliation are central to the series. Kim reprised the part in Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938, whose story sends Lee Yeon back to the Japanese-colonial era. Between those productions, he headlined JTBC’s Law School (2021) as Han Joon-hwi, a first-year law student whose uncle’s death drives the campus murder case. In Ghost Doctor (2022), he played Go Seung-tak, a privileged resident doctor.