Im Siwan turns 32 on December 1st. To Celebrate It, WowKeren Will Complete The Career Of The Actor Who Was An Idol Through The Birthday Spotlight Rubric.
Im Siwan or better known as Siwan has his 32nd birthday (by international reckoning) on December 1. To celebrate, WowKeren will thoroughly review the actor who was once an idol through the Birthday Spotlight column.
Im Siwan is a well-known South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boy group ZE: A as well as its sub-group ZE: A Five.
As an actor, Im Siwan is best known for starring in the film "The Attorney" (2013) and the tvN hit drama "Misaeng: Incomplete Life" (2014), which were both box office and ratings successes.
Im Siwan is known for his handsome and cute visuals. His acting is also really cool. No need to linger, let's take a peek at Im Siwan's career since pre-debut until now.
(wk / chus)
1. Pre Debut
Im Siwan was born with the name Im Woongjae in Busan, South Korea and attended Busan Gudeok High School, Busan National University, University of East Broadcasting Arts and is currently studying at Woosong Information College. He officially changed his first name from Woongjae to Siwan before his debut.
While attending the Chin Chin Song Festival in Busan, Star Empire recruited Im Siwan as a trainee. He later joined a nine-member group called the Children of Empire, where he trained for three years.
In 2009, Children of Empire began conducting guerrilla shows across the country. On January 7, 2010, Siwan and the group debuted with a mini album titled "Nativity" under the name ZE: A.
2.Debut
Im Siwan with ZE: A first debuted with the mini album "Nativity" on January 7, 2010 in South Korea. With the title song "Mazeltov", the members successfully wowed fans with their hardcore performance as well as performed their live vocals.
When ZE: A debuted, they had to follow trends and disguise their voices in background voices. What most people really don't know is that ZE: A reached number 1 on the Daum album charts and artist charts as well as took 3rd place on the Oricon charts on the day of their debut.
Im Siwan made his debut as an actor in 2012 by starring in the hit drama "The Moon Embracing The Sun". At that time he got the role of a teenager from one of the main actors in the drama. Her acting and visuals received a positive response.
3. Career Peak
As an idol, Siwan has never won his first music show with ZE: A. However, his career in acting was quite successful. He received a number of awards for his acting in dramas and films.
In 2013, Im Siwan starred in the film "The Attorney", playing a young student activist who is detained and tortured by police on allegations of communist sympathies. The film was a critical and commercial success, selling more than 11 million tickets to become the 8th highest grossing Korean film of all time. Siwan won Best New Actor at the Max Movie Awards and the Marie Claire Film Festival.
Then in 2014, Im Siwan starred in the webtoon drama adaptation "Misaeng: Incomplete Life" which was a huge hit. The drama recorded high viewership ratings, with a peak of 8.4 percent and was dubbed a "cultural phenomenon". Siwan won the Excellence Award at the 4th APAN Star Awards, as well as the Best New Actor award at the then Cable TV Broadcasting Awards and Baeksang Arts Awards.
4. Solo activities
Im Siwan marked his solo activities as an actor by starring in the royal drama "The Moon Embracing The Sun" in 2012, playing the young version of Heo Yeom. The drama, starring Kim Soo Hyun and Han Ga In, surpassed 40 percent ratings and gained the status of "national drama", making Siwan famous.
Then in 2013, Im Siwan starred in the film "The Attorney" making his acting as an idol-actor even more recognized. He returned to television screens in 2014 starring in "Triangle" and "Misaeng: Incomplete Life".
Im Siwan continues his acting career by starring in two films, "One Line" and "The Merciless". In the same year, Siwan starred in the historical melodrama "The King in Love", playing the role of the ambitious crown prince.
Im Siwan was on hiatus due to his military service. In 2019, Siwan was cast in the thriller drama "Strangers from Hell", a drama adaptation of the webtoon of the same name. This marked his first project following his military service.
5. Controversy
Im Siwan officially started his mandatory military service on July 11, 2017 and was chosen to be an assistant instructor for the new recruits because of his good looks. But Siwan got controversy in 2019 after his leave was revealed.
Im Siwan attracted unwanted attention from critics after it was revealed that he took 123 days off while serving in the military. Responding to the controversy, the Korean Army Headquarters released a statement regarding the preferential treatment in the military involving Siwan.
Im Siwan is accused of using his celebrity status to get preferential treatment. Her agency responded by clarifying that she did not accept it.
Korean Army Headquarters further emphasized that Im Siwan did not receive an unfair advantage in regards to his vacation days. "There is no unfair advantage in terms of Im Siwan's number of days off. Other soldiers who are not celebrities also receive days off by the same standards," they explained.
6. Future Projects
Im Siwan has returned to being active in acting after completing his military service in 2019. He immediately greeted fans through his new drama entitled "Run On" with Shin Se Kyung, Girls' Generation's Sooyoung and Kang Tae Oh. The drama is scheduled to premiere on December 16 on JTBC.
"Run On" tells the love story of Kim Sun Gyeom (Siwan) and Oh Mi Joo (Shin Se Kyung). Ki Sun Gyeom was once a popular sprinter for the national team. Due to one case, he quit the sport. Sun Gyeom then started working as a sports agent.
Meanwhile, Oh Mi Joo writes the subtitle translation for the film. He was very happy when he first mentioned his name as a translator at the end of the credit. He met Ki Sun Gyeom, who had just stopped being a sprinter and felt they were destined to meet. /wk
