Moon Jun-won, better known by his stage name Joo Won, is a South Korean actor who has proven his worth in the industry by giving outstanding performances in films, television series, musical theaters, and variety programs. He is well known for his lead roles in famous television shows such as “Bridal Mask,” “Yong-pal,” and “Good Doctor.” With his father’s stage name “Joo Won,” this young talent got known for his passion of singing on the SBS network variety show “Frees,” marking his first foray into the world of entertainment. His first acting performance was in the stage musical ‘Altar Boyz,’ in which he played a musical role. He went on to appear in a number of additional Broadway musicals, including ‘Grease’ and ‘Spring Awakening.’ His first TV series was ‘King of Baking, Kim Takgu,’ but it was ‘Bridal Mask’ that catapulted him to fame, leading the door for other important programs such as ‘Yong-pal’ and ‘Good Doctor.’ He made his big screen debut in the South Korean action crime thriller ‘S.I.U.,’ and has since appeared in films such as ‘Fatal Intuition’ and ‘Sweet Sixteen.’
Childhood and Adolescence
Moon Jun-won was born in Seoul, South Korea, on September 30, 1987. He went to the ‘Kaywon High School of Arts’ before enrolling at Sungkyunkwan University to study Theatre and Arts. Later that year, he announced his intention to continue his education at ‘Konkuk University.’
Career of Joo Won
With his father’s stage name of ‘Joo Won,’ he entered the world of glamour and entertainment. In 2006, he made his first on-screen appearance as a member of the SBS-formed co-ed TV performing group ‘Frees,’ where he worked for a brief time. In 2007, he auditioned and was cast as Matthew in the on-stage musical comedy ‘Altar Boyz,’ marking his stage musical debut.
Following that, she appeared in more stage musicals such as ‘Singles’ (2008), ‘Grease’ (2008), and ‘Sinsangnam’ (2009), as well as the rock musical ‘Spring Awakening’ (2009). Won was originally an understudy for the character of Melchior in the latter, and he ended up playing it when the original actor dropped out in the middle of the production.
Won was recognized by ‘Sim Entertainment,’ the agency with which he eventually became linked, because of his performance in ‘Spring Awakening.’ The South Korean melodrama ‘King of Baking, Kim Takgu’ (2010), which aired on KBS2, was his first TV series. The series in which he played Goo Ma-joon, an antagonist of the titular character, became one of the most popular in the country, establishing Won’s fundamental recognition and popularity.
He was a cast member of the second season of KBS2’s South Korean reality-variety show ‘2 Days & 1 Night’ from 2010 to 2013. He was the youngest of the season’s four newcomers. At the 2012 ‘KBS Entertainment Awards,’ he was named Best Newcomer in a Variety Show. Meanwhile, in his next TV series, ‘Ojakgyo Family’ (2011-2012), a weekend comedy-romance family drama aired on KBS2, he played one of Hwang Tae-key hee’s parts. He won Best New Actor at the 2011 KBS Drama Awards and Best New Actor on Television at the 48th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2012.
Following stage musicals and TV shows, Won made his big screen debut as Kim Ho-ryong in the South Korean action crime film ‘S.I.U.’, which was released on November 24, 2011. From May 30, 2012 to September 6, 2012, he played Lee Kang-to/Sato Hiroshi/Lee Young in the romantic action period drama TV series ‘Bridal Mask,’ which aired on KBS2 for 28 episodes.
Won rose to prominence with his spectacular performance in ‘Bridal Mask’ as a pro-Japanese Korean police officer who finally plays such a position during the day and battles for Korean independence as a masked vigilante “Gaksital” during the night. It also earned him the KBS Drama Awards’ Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama, and Popularity Award in 2012. He played one of the lead parts of Joon-hyuk opposite Park Bo-young in the South Korean horror film ‘Don’t Click,’ which was released on May 31, 2012.
He began 2013 with the South Korean TV series ‘7th Grade Civil Servant,’ which is based on the South Korean romantic action comedy film ‘My Girlfriend Is an Agent,’ which was released in 2009. He won the Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries at the 2013 MBC Drama Awards for his role as a rookie spy who subsequently becomes a NIS agent in the series that aired on MBC from January 23, 2013 to March 28, 2013.
Won’s portrayal of Park Shi-on, an autistic savant who transforms into a genius paediatric surgeon, in the South Korean medical drama TV series ‘Good Doctor,’ was one of his most noteworthy and hard roles. From August 5, 2013 through October 8, 2013, the series remained at or near the top of its timeslot while airing on KBS2. Won’s acting prowess and versatility were once again showcased in ‘Good Doctor,’ which not only bolstered his budding career and expanding popularity, but also gained him multiple prizes. The Top Excellence Award for Actor at the 2013 KBS Drama Awards, as well as the Best Performer award at the 2014 26th Korea Producers & Directors (PD) Awards, were among them.
He also starred alongside Kim Ah-joong in the South Korean romantic comedy film ‘Steal My Heart’ in 2013. On December 18 of that year, the film was released. Following a four-year hiatus, he returned to musical theatre in 2013, playing Sam Wheat in the stage musical ‘Ghost the Musical.’ In 2014, he starred as Woo Ki-myung in the South Korean film ‘Fashion King,’ appeared as himself in the variety show ‘Joo Won’s Life Log,’ and played Cha Yoo-jin in the South Korean TV series ‘Cantabile Tomorrow,’ a music romance and coming-of-age drama. At the 2014 KBS Drama Awards, he won the Popularity Award for Actor for the latter.
Won’s performance as Kim Tae-hyun in the action thriller TV series ‘Yong-pal’ was one of the highest-rated Korean primetime drama miniseries of 2015. In 2015, he won multiple SBS Drama Awards for the series that aired on SBS, including the Grand Prize (Daesang). ‘Fatal Intuition,’ a South Korean murder thriller film, was released in South Korean theaters on October 28, 2015; and ‘Sweet Sixteen,’ a Chinese-South Korean romance film, was released in China on August 5, 2016.
He starred as Gyun-woo in the South Korean television drama ‘My Sassy Girl,’ which aired on SBS from May 29, 2017 to July 18, 2017. Meanwhile, he began his mandatory military service on May 16, 2017 and completed a 6-week basic training course in June 2017. He will be assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division as an assistant teacher.
Estimated Net Worth
Joo Won is one of the wealthiest TV actors and one of the most popular. Joo Won’s net worth is estimated to be $3.2 billion, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.