Many have heard of K-dramas and mind-bending horror movies and thrillers, but South Korean cinema is more than that. Action movies are among their most popular, with premises featuring spies, North and South Korean secret agents, and dystopian scenarios. But, finding the right actor to carry out the action is often more delicate than it seems.
Much like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, and Gerard Butler, there is a South Korean actor carrying the genre in their style. These actors have the range to go from mellow characters to hardcore badasses, sometimes in the same feature. These actors have starred in some of the most famous movies in and outside of South Korea.
10 Song Joong-ki
Currently known as Vincenzo in the same name action drama on Netflix, Song Joong-ki has filmed his fair share of action flicks. Although he’s most known for his role in the romantic K-drama Descendants of the Sun, the show had Song doing loads of action scenes while portraying Special Forces Captain Yoo. This started his reputation as a potential action lead.
Song has found his footing in historical and action comedies as of late; Vincenzo is one such show where he plays an Italian-Korean mobster. Folks can also watch him in Netflix’s sci-fi comedy Space Sweepers. If they’re down for more historical action, Song plays one of the leads in The Battleship Island, a story about 400 Korean prisoners on Hashima Island.
9 Lee Je-hoon
Lee Je-hoon is a fairly young actor, though his acting credits on IMDb go back to 2005. Today, Lee is one of the busiest South Korean actors; many have likely seen him in the exciting time travel series Signal, but those who haven’t might recognize him from Netflix’s intense action thriller Time to Hunt.
Lee tends to play cerebral types who aren’t afraid to get into action when necessary; his role in Phantom Detective shows as much. His most recent project is Taxi Driver, a high-octane series where he plays a cab driver seeking revenge on behalf of people who contact him. He engages in fist fights, car chases, and shootouts – the perfect viewing for any action lover.
8 Kang Ha-neul
While Kang Ha-neul may be more recognizable from romantic K-dramas, he’s a low-key fantastic action movie star. His career upturned after his romance roles, but he’s been chasing thrills ever since. One of his first big action roles was alongside Park Seo-joon in Midnight Runners, where they play police cadets on the trail of a trafficking ring.
After that, he starred in one of South Korea’s most intense horror movies, Forgotten, and most lately, in the thriller series Insiderand the action comedy The Pirates. Kang’s characteristic portrayals make him a memorable actor; although he has excellent comedic timing, he can be very convincing in more serious roles, often combining them perfectly.
7 Park Seo-joon
Park Seo-joon embodies the best qualities of a movie star. Charming, handsome, and versatile, Park has shown some great acting chops. Much like Kang Ha-neul, Park began his career as a romantic comedy lead, but after his first action role in Midnight Runners with Kang, Park’s career took a more exciting turn.
In 2019, he played the lead in the tense The Divine Fury, and in 2022, he led the disaster flick Concrete Utopia. When asked why he’s been choosing action roles lately, Park said he wanted to step away from rom-coms and challenge himself. The challenge worked, and he’ll soon be seen in the Marveluniverse, with a role in the upcoming movie The Marvels.
6 Kim Woo-bin
Kim Woo-bin is an elusive but highly beloved star in South Korea. While he dabbled in romantic dramas and comedies, his best stuff is made up of pure action. His leading role in one of the best Korean heist movies, The Con Artists, propelled him into the action lead mold, which is impressive for someone who never intended to be an actor.
Kim Woo-bin typically plays skilled but brooding characters. That can be seen in the heist thriller Master, the sci-fi actionAlienoid, and most recently, in the Netflix dystopian series Black Knight, where he returned to his recognizable style after nearly a decade. Kim Woo-bin enchanted audiences immediately after appearing and continues his legacy as an action star.
5 Ha Jung-woo
Ha Jung-woo is one of the most popular South Korean leading men. He started in the disturbing and intense movie The Chaser with an interesting breakout role. He achieved stardom after this role, and Ha became a consistent action star, often playing flawed but likable characters. Park Chan-wook fans may recognize him from the BAFTA-winning thriller The Handmaiden.
Fans of South Korean action will surely recognize Ha from one of his many blockbusters: he prevented disaster in Ashfall, led a team of soldiers in Take Point, played a god in the epic Along With the Gods, carried the movie Tunnel as a man trapped in a collapsed tunnel, and stopped a killer in The Terror Live. Netflix fans can also watch him in the intense series Narco Saints.
4 Lee Jung-jae
For fans of Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game is enough proof he’s one of the best. However, his career is long-lasting and filled with excellent gems; he’s an action star similar to Ha Jung-woo — his roles are often ambiguous, but his charm makes it tough not to like him. They even starred together in the historic action thriller Assassination and the epic Along With the Gods.
A consistent action star, Lee has had roles of various calibers. In The Thieves, he’s one of the ten people robbing a casino; in Deliver Us From Evil, he’s the antagonist with a neck tattoo; and in Hunt (which he also directed), he’s involved in a spy conspiracy. Diverse roles like these made Lee Jung-jae an international star and a beloved face in South Korea.
3 Hyun Bin
Hyun Bin is another versatile actor, though his stature and acting style often suit the action genre the most. Fans of K-dramas know him from one of the best Korean rom-coms of today, Crash Landing on You, where he plays a strong-willed and brave captain. Even in a romantic setting, Hyun Bin is a man of steel — often a recipe for his success in multiple movies.
For folks who want to see an old-fashioned spy thriller, Confidential Assignment is some of his best work. He played a cold-blooded villain in a race against time in The Negotiation and a con man in The Swindlers. Hyun Bin’s latest project includes him playing a special agent negotiating for the lives of Korean hostages in Afghanistan, The Point Men, which was based on a true story.
2 Gong Yoo
Although he’s never gone international, Gong Yoo is among the most famous South Korean actors globally. As a convincing leading man with superb acting chops, it’s a matter of time before he gets more recognition. Over the years, he starred in heavy dramas and cheesy romances but shone the best in action-packed thrillers.
Train to Busan may be Gong Yoo’s most famous project, but he first played an action lead in 2013’s The Suspect, which helped him land grittier roles later on. He also starred in the exciting historical feature The Age of Shadows, Netflix’s sci-fi thriller The Silent Sea, and the world-famous Squid Game on the watchlist.
1 Lee Byung-hun
Lee Byung-hun is often the synonym for a South Korean action hero. He’s so popular that his foray into Hollywood made him an even bigger star at home. Lee always picked diverse roles, though most often as the villain, like in Terminator: Genisys, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and The Good, The Bad, The Weird.
Despite choosing villainous characters, Lee is favored by directors and fans. His biggest anti-hero role was in the critically acclaimed movie A Bittersweet Life, while his roles as good guys in the spy movie The Man Standing Next and the disaster movie Emergency Declaration are nothing short of excellent.
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