Kim Dong-wan (; born November 21, 1979) is a South Korean entertainer, known as a member of South Korean boy band Shinhwa. He has been acting since 2002, and has starred in television dramas such as A Farewell to Sorrow and Children of Heaven. He has said that given the opportunity he would prefer a career in acting rather than as a singer,"Shinhwa's Kim Dong Wan to Star in KBS Series" KBS Global. 8 June 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-13. However, since the release of his debut album, he has stated that now he prefers singing more. From Shinhwa, Kim is the fourth member to go solo, following Lee Min-woo, Shin Hye-sung, and Jun Jin.
Early life Kim was a child actor and starred in several dramas as a teenager but opted not to pursue acting as a career. He later joined S.M. Entertainment as a trainee after being "streetcasted". He was educated in Whimoon High School.
Career
1998: Debut with Shinhwa
Kim made his debut in 1998 as a vocalist in the boy band Shinhwa. Although he is not the lead vocalist, he began singing bigger parts on Shinhwa's 7th album, Brand New. In one song from the album "Liar", Kim is the vocalist, and he is accompanied by Eric Mun's rapping. He also wrote, composed, and arranged a song on the album, titled "Set Free". Though he had branched out as a solo artist, he is part of Shinhwa and just released Shinhwa's 9th album."김동완 '노래 있어 연기도 가능했다..가수는 내 고향'" Star News. 4 July 2007. Retrieved 2011-11-08
Kim was one of several Korean celebrities praised by the Japanese media for giving generous donations for flood victims in 2006.Korean Stars Praised for Generosity in Japan . KBS Global, August 14, 2006. Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
On April 16, 2007, Kim appeared as a guest on MC Mong's "Pleasure and Pain" radio show. When asked about an incident early in his career where he injured his nose, he confessed that he had undergone plastic surgery to change its shape."Kim Dong-wan's Surprising Plastic Surgery Confession" , KBS World, April 16, 2007. Retrieved on May 5, 2007.
2007: Solo debut
Kim released his debut solo album, Kimdongwan Is, on July 5, 2007, which featured collaborations with his fellow Shinhwa members, including Lee Andy rapping in the song "Loving Summer", Shin Hye Sung singing a duet with Kim in "The One Left Alone", and Eric rapping in "My Love"."김동완 '솔로 준비에 앤디가 가장 반대'" Star News. 1 July 2007. Retrieved 2011-11-08 The other members have contributed to the album as well, with Lee Min Woo writing, composing and arranging the song "My Love" and Jun Jin helping him with choreography. Kim expressed gratitude for their contributions, saying, "I've been working together with the group Shinhwa, thus there was a lot of pressure working on the solo album, but since the other members showed up and helped me with most of it, it has been a great big help for me". Kim's first single was the ballad, "Handkerchief", a song about a guy who consoles his girlfriend and wipes away her tears.
Despite Shinhwa's musical genre being predominantly American R&B and bubblegum pop, Kim said he wanted his album to be more J-pop influenced, having redone a song by GLAY×EXILE in the album. Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment, was an admirer of X Japan and instructed Kim to dress in X Japan-inspired makeup during the promotion appearances for the group's album T.O.P. in 1999. Kim later performed Yoshiki's composition "Say Anything" at his first solo concert in 2008.
For the debut album, Kim also lost a lot of weight, saying that "it's not good for a ballad singer to have a muscular image. Someone singing ballads should have a lean, 'hungry-looking' image." His album sold over 25,000 copies in two days, with 41,490 copies sold by the end of 2007; it was ranked 19th in album sales for the year. In 2008, he released his 2nd solo album, The Secret; Between Us. The album featured collaborations with Tiffany of SNSD, Jade Valerie, Shinhwa bandmate Eric, and Heritage.
2008–2011: Military service and musical Kim enlisted for mandatory military service in November 2008, at an army training camp in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province Joongang Daily. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 2011-11-08 He was discharged on 17 December 2010, after serving 24 months as an administrative worker at the Seodaemun-gu District Office. Joongang Daily. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-11-08
Upon being discharged Kim joined Shinhwa bandmate Shin Hye-sung at Liveworks Company and has since played the lead role of Hedwig in theatrical musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Sang Sang Art Hall in Seoul. In August 2011, Kim played the role of Korean independence activist, Lee Youk-sa in MBC two-part special drama, The Peak, also known as Life of Lee Youk-Sa, the Poet who Embraced Epoch. It was broadcast on Korea's Liberation Day, 15 August 2011. Lee Youk-sa was a poet during the Japanese Colonial Period who died in prison at the age of 40, leaving behind a collection of some 40 works of poetry.
2012: Shinhwa comeback and acting In March 2012, Kim reunited with his Shinhwa bandmates for their comeback after four years, under the management of 'Shinhwa Company'. It is a joint venture agency for members to perform as a group, of which Eric and Lee Min-woo are co-CEOs and the remaining members are shareholders. The Company manages the group as a whole, whilst members' individual activities are managed by their respective agencies."Shinhwa Form Their Own Agency" Chosun Ilbo. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-05 The group released their tenth studio album The Return on 23 March 2012, launched their comeback concerts 2012 Shinhwa Grand Tour: The Return throughout Asia and their first exclusive variety program Shinhwa Broadcast premiered on 17 March 2012 on cable channel JTBC.
In July, Kim co-starred with Kim Myung-min and Lee Hanee in thriller Deranged as Jae-pil, a detective agonized with guilt for squandering his brother's money in the stock market. In August, Kim was cast as the title role of Kim Tae-pyung in KBS' daily drama, Cheer Up, Mr. Kim!, about a male domestic cleaner and housekeeper, the guardian of three, later four, children, none of whom are his own. The series premiered in November and marked Kim's first television drama since Good Bye, Sadness in 2005. At the 2012 KBS Drama Awards, Kim received the Best Actor in Daily Drama award for his portrayal of Mr Kim.
Philanthropy In April 2015, after the earthquake in Nepal, Kim was reported to have donated ₩36,000,000 (equivalent to approximately $33,660 USD) towards the relief fund.
Discography
Studio albums TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSalesKORRIAKRecording Industry Association of Korea monthly chart positions: Kimdongwan Is: The Secret Between Us: Kimdongwan Is Released: July 5, 2007 (SDL-0009) Repackaged: October 4, 2007 (SDL-0051) Label: H2 Entertainment Format: CD 4 KOR: 41,490The Secret Released: May 13, 2008 (SDL-0111) Repackaged: July 22, 2008 (SDL-0140) Label: H2 Entertainment Format: CD 2 KOR: 16,537
Compilation albums TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSalesJPNOricon chart positions: Japan Premium Best: Japan Premium Best Released: December 15, 2010 Label: Tsubasa Records Format: CD+DVD 57
Video albums Title DetailsPromise: The First Live Concert (약속: 첫번째 라이브 콘서트) Released: June 18, 2009 Format: DVD
Extended plays TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSalesKORGaon Album Chart positions: D: W: Trace of Emotion: ...LER: D Released: October 21, 2015 Label: CI Entertainment Format: CD, digital download 5 KOR: 11,580 W Released: November 27, 2015 Label: CI Entertainment Format: CD, digital download 6 KOR: 7,272 Trace of Emotion Released: November 14, 2017 Label: CI Entertainment Format: CD, digital download 9 KOR: 15,546 ...LER Released: January 21, 2020 Label: Office DH Format: CD, digital download 3 KOR: 11,359
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumKORJPN "Handkerchief" (손수건) 2007—— Kimdongwan Is "Men's Love" (남자의 사랑) 2008—— The Secret "The Secret" (비밀) —— "Promise" (약속) — — rowspan="2" "My Summer Girl" 2011 — 109 "He_Sunshine" 2014—— W "He_Starlight" —— "I'm Fine" 201566— D "Du Du Du"—— W "After Image" (헤어지긴 한 걸까) 2017—— Trace of Emotion "The Reason the Earth is Pretty" (지구가 예쁜 이유)—— rowspan="2" "Neither Slumber Nor Sleep" (졸지도 않으시고) 2018—— "Red Shoes" 2020—— ...LER
Filmography
Television dramas 2001 – Nonstop 2002 – Children of Heaven (KBS) 2005 – MBC Best Theater – "Magic Power Alcohol" 2005 – Beating Heart 2005 – A Farewell to Sorrow 2007 – The One I Love 2011 – The Peak 2012 – Cheer Up, Mr. Kim! (KBS) 2016 – Moorim School: Saga of the Brave 2017 – Drama Stage – The Picnic Day (TVN) 2019 – I Hate Going to Work (KBS2) 2025 - For Eagle Brothers (KBS2)
Film 2002 – Emergency Act 19 – cameo with Shinhwa 2004 – Spin Kick, aka Taekwon Boys 2012 – Deranged - as Jae-pil, an investigator and younger brother of Jae-hyuk, played by Kim Myung-min 2015 – Springtime Fantasy 2015 – Glory Day 2015 – The Megalomaniac 2021 – A Long Day 2022 – B Cut - as Seung Hyun 2022 – The Clown: The Singer as Fallen Yangban
Variety shows 2003 – Yoon Do-Hyun's Love Letter “Lately” – KBS 2004 – Yoon Do-Hyun's Love Letter “Cigarette Shop Girl” – KBS 2005 – Public Relations – Officer of JeonJu International Film Festival 2005 – Love Letter (ep 1 to 14) – SBS 2005 – X-Man – SBS 2006 – Heroine 6 2006 – New X-Man – SBS 2012–2013 – Shinhwa Broadcast (ep 1 - 49) - JTBC 2015 – I Live Alone (ep 99 - 150) - MBC 2015 – King of Mask Singer Contestant with the stage name "Holding the End of the Night" (Episode 29-30) - MBC 2018 – Worldwide Correspondence - TVN 2018 – Battle Trip - KBS 2018 – 2 Days & 1 Night - (ep 705 - 706) - KBS 2021 – Chosun Panstar - MBN (judge)
MC 2000–2002: DJ for Ten Ten Club 2003–2005: Host for SBS Inkigayo 2006: Host for SBS I Love My Teacher Day Concert 2018: Host for Worldwide Correspondence of TVN
Stage Musical +Musical performancesYearTitleRoleEnglishKorean 2011 Hedwig 헤드윅Hedwig 2013 Le Passe Muraille /The Man Who Breaks Through Walls 벽을 뚫는 남자Dutilleul 2014 Hedwig 헤드윅Hedwig 2016 Edgar Allan Poe 에드거 앨런 포Poe 2017 Cyrano 시라노Cyrano 2018 Gentleman's Guide: Love and Murder 젠틀맨스 가이드: 사랑과 살인편Monty Navarro 2022 Something Rotten 썸씽로튼Nick Bottom Seopyeonje서편제Dong-ho
Theater +Theater performancesYearTitleRoleTheaterDateEnglishKorean2020Theatrical Battle 8 - LungsMArt One Theater Hall 2March 9 to July 5
Awards and nominations
Year Awards Category Work Result Ref 2004 25th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actor Spin Kick 2005 KBS Drama Awards Best New Actor A Farewell to Sorrow Best Couple 2007 SBS Inkigayo Mutizen Award Handkerchief Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Ballad Performance "2007 Mnet KM Music Festival Part1" . MAMA. Retrieved 2014-12-14. 2012 KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Daily Drama Cheer Up, Mr. Kim! 2013 49th Baeksang Arts Awards Most Popular Actor (Film) Deranged 6th Korea Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor Cheer Up, Mr. Kim! 2015 SBS M The Show The Show Choice winners I'm Fine 2015 MBC Entertainment Awards Excellence Award, Variety Show I Live Alone 2025 KBS Drama Awards Best Supporting Actor For Eagle Brothers
References
External links
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNwjaN9w8W2RnZqbE4A0UcA ( in Korean)