Kim Bum

Kim Bum, born Kim Sang-bum on July 7, 1989, is a South Korean actor whose breakthrough came with television roles rather than a manufactured pop persona. He entered entertainment after appearing on the KBS survival program Survival Star Audition in 2006, and made his acting debut that year in the sitcom High Kick! The following years brought supporting work in Outrageous Women and the historical drama East of Eden. In East of Eden, he played the younger Lee Dong-chul, a role that earned him attention alongside the series’ large ensemble and intergenerational family story. It aired on MBC in 2008.

His defining early role was potter So Yi-jung in KBS2’s 2009 adaptation of Boys Over Flowers. The drama recast Japan’s Hana Yori Dango for Korea, placing Kim’s character in F4, the wealthy group surrounding scholarship student Geum Jan-di. Yi-jung’s unresolved romance with Chu Ga-eul, played by Kim So-eun, became one of the show’s memorable secondary storylines. Boys Over Flowers made him widely recognizable and led to work in the sports drama Dream (2009), the romantic comedy The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry (2010), and JTBC’s fantasy melodrama Padam Padam (2011). He also appeared in several Korean films as well.

Kim appeared in the 2008 horror feature Death Bell, then led the 2013 thriller The Gifted Hands as a young man linked to a series of child kidnappings. He also expanded into Chinese productions with Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013), Tsui Hark’s prequel centered on Dee Renjie. Back on Korean television, he played Park Jin-sung, brother to Song Hye-kyo’s character, in That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013). In 2015, he took the lead in tvN’s Hidden Identity, playing detective Cha Gun-woo in a covert investigative unit. Later, he starred in the legal thriller series Law School.

Kim returned to a major supporting role in Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020), playing Lee Rang, the half-fox brother of Lee Yeon, portrayed by Lee Dong-wook. Rang’s resentment toward Yeon and his shifting alliance with humans drove much of the fantasy’s conflict. Kim reprised the part as the lead of Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 (2023), which placed Rang in 1938-era Japanese-occupied Korea. Between those seasons, he played gifted resident doctor Go Seung-tak in Ghost Doctor (2022) opposite Rain, and principled law student Han Joon-hwi in Law School (2021). He completed mandatory military service from 2018 to 2020.