Park Bo-gum

Park has received major industry honors. He is regarded as a prominent figure of the Korean Wave.

Park was born in Mok-dong, Seoul, South Korea on June 16, 1993, the youngest of three siblings. His given name, "Bo-gum" (Korean: 보검; Hanja: 寶劍), translates to "precious sword" and was given to him by a pastor. His mother died when he was in fourth grade. Park began piano lessons in kindergarten and maintained an interest in music throughout his studies. Following his 2012 graduation from Shinmok High School, he enrolled as a musical theatre major at Myongji University in March 2014. After receiving his baccalaureate in February 2018, Park continued his studies and earned a master's degree in New Media Music at the Graduate School of Sangmyung University.

During his sophomore year of high school, Park sent a video of himself singing and playing the piano to major entertainment agencies and received callbacks from SM, YG, and JYP among others. Although he initially intended to become a singer-songwriter, a talent agent recommended that he pursue acting, and Park subsequently signed with an agency representing actors. His acting career began in 2011 with a supporting role in the thriller Blind, alongside Kim Ha-neul. After taking on minor and child roles in several dramas and films, he landed the role of Go Young-jun in the 2013 drama Wonderful Mama (2013). In 2014, he starred in weekend drama Wonderful Days (2014) as the teenage version of Lee Seo-jin's character Dong-seok. He concluded 2014 by portraying a gifted cellist in Naeil's Cantabile.

Park drew positive reviews for his performance in the crime drama Hello Monster (2015). His portrayal earned him the Popularity Award and Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2015 KBS Drama Awards. The same year, he appeared in Han Jun-hee's neo-noir film Coin Locker Girl. The role earned him a nomination for the Best New Actor in Film at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards and won him the Rising Star Award at the 11th MaxMovie Awards. From May 2015 to June 2016, Park hosted the music show Music Bank with singer Irene. The pairing received significant media attention for their hosting and vocal performances, with press outlets identifying them as one of the program's best partnerships. In 2016, Park auditioned for the third installment of the Reply series, Reply 1988, by Shin Won-ho and Lee Woo-jung. He successfully passed the audition and portrayed the character Choi Taek, a professional baduk player. In August 2016, Park took on his first leading role as Crown Prince Lee Young in KBS2's historical drama Love in the Moonlight, directed by Kim Seong-yoon and based on the webtoon Moonlight Drawn By Clouds. Park was named Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year in 2016 and became the first actor to top the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list in 2017. Park took a hiatus from acting to focus on his studies. His first project following this break was the tvN drama Encounter, which began filming in September 2018. The series was the first Korean drama partially filmed in Cuba. In 2020, Park starred in the tvN drama Record of Youth, directed by Ahn Gil-ho. He played Sa Hye-jun, a model aspiring to be an actor.

In December 2022, Park ended his contract with Blossom Entertainment after a decade with the agency. In January 2023, he signed with The Black Label. His first acting project following his military discharge was a role in the musical Let Me Fly. Director Lee Dae-woong noted that Park expressed interest in joining the production after attending the premiere performance. The show ran from September 26 to December 10, 2023, marking Park's stage debut. Ticket for his performances were reportedly sold out. In the following year, He hosted the 2024 MAMA Awards in Los Angeles, California. In March 2025, Park starred in the Netflix television series When Life Gives You Tangerines, directed by Kim Won-seok and written by Lim Sang-choon. This was followed by the JTBC series Good Boy, directed by Shim Na-yeon, in which Park played Yoon Dong-joo, a former Olympic gold medalist in boxing who becomes a police officer. Beyond his acting work, Park hosted KBS2's late-night music talk show The Seasons: Park Bo-gum's Cantabile from March until August 2025, for which he received the Best Entertainer Award at the 52nd Korea Broadcasting Prizes. He was also nominated for the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the 23rd KBS Entertainment Awards and won the Entertainer of the Year award. With a series of well-received projects, Moon Ji-yeon from Sport Chosun referred to 2025 as the "Year of Park Bo-gum". In December 2025, Park was named the 2025 Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year, his second time being selected.

Park became widely known in South Korea in his early twenties. Regarded as a prominent figure of the Korean Wave, the official web portal of the South Korean government has described him as a "hallyu superstar". In 2016, Park became the youngest actor to be named Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year at age 23. In 2017, he topped Forbes magazine's Korea Power Celebrity list, making him the first actor to do so, and has been included in the list regularly since. He was one of the torchbearers of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Through his screen roles and public persona, he has been attributed several nicknames by media outlets, including "Nation's Little Brother", "Nation's Crown Prince", "Nation's Boyfriend", "Nation's Son-in-Law", and "Prince of Asia". Park has served as an ambassador and endorser for a wide range of dometic and international brands. The Korean Business Research Institute has referred to his strong consumer influence as the "Park Bo-gum Effect", noting his consistently high brand reputation rankings. He was voted the Top Celebrity Endorser of 2017 by South Korean marketing executives, and has ranked highly in Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation's Advertising Model of the Year surveys. In April 2025, The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed Park as the face of 2025 Hanbok Wave Initiative.

On August 31, 2020, Park enlisted as an active-duty soldier with the Republic of Korea Navy's Military Band and Honor Guard Cultural Promotion Corps as part of his compulsory military service. Park was originally scheduled for discharge on April 30, 2022, but was released on February 21, 2022, after using his remaining leave in accordance with the Ministry of Defense COVID-19 guidelines. During his service, Park obtained a barber's license.

Selected filmography Hello Monster (2015) Reply 1988 (2015–16) Love in the Moonlight (2016) Encounter (2018–19) Record of Youth (2020) When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025) Good Boy (2025)