Profile: Yoo Seung Ho

YOO SEUNG HO (Wikipedia)

Yoo Seung-ho (born 17 August 1993) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame as a child actor in The Way Home (2002), and has continued acting in films and televisions series, including teen drama Master of Study (2010), suspense thriller Blind (2011), andromantic comedy Operation Proposal (2012). Yoo starred in ongoing drama (2015-2016) of Remember: War of the Son and Imaginary Cat, and latest release

Early life[edit]

Yoo Seung-ho was born and raised in Incheon. The younger of two siblings, Yoo later said his family had been poor.^[1]

Career[edit]

Beginnings as child actor[edit]

Yoo made his entertainment debut in a N016 cellphone commercial in 1999. The advertising agency responsible for the campaign had been looking for a "new face," not a professional model, so Yoo's mother sent in a photo of her son and he was chosen.^[1]

When he was seven years old, Yoo began his career as a child actor in 2000, first appearing in television dramas. But Yoo rose to stardom in his first film The Way Home, playing a bratty city boy who learns to appreciate country life when he's forced to spend the summer with his deaf-mute grandmother. The low-budget film was a surprise box office hit in 2002, drawing more than 4 million admissions.^[2] Thereafter affectionately labeled as "Korea's Younger Brother," Yoo also starred in Heart Is... (2006) about a boy and his beloved dog,^[3] and Unforgettable (2008) about schoolchildren from a remote island who go on a field trip to a candy factory in Seoul during the 1970s.^[4][5]

He also continued acting in television, appearing in Magic Warriors Mir & Gaon (2005), an adventure series for children. Yoo further built his filmography playing the younger counterparts of male protagonists in television dramas, including general Yi Sun-sin in Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin (2004), King Seongjong in The King and I (2007), andGwanggaeto the Great in The Legend (2007).^[6]

In 2009, Yoo starred in City of Fathers, a film about a rebellious teenager with kidney cancer, his alcoholic adoptive father and his pimp biological father; followed by 4th Period Mystery, in which two students hunt for a murderer after finding a body in their classroom. Beginning episode 34, he also appeared as Kim Chunchu in the period epic Queen Seondeok, one of the highest-rated Korean dramas of that year.

Teen leading roles[edit]

Now in his teens, Yoo was cast in one of the major roles in Master of Study (2010), a Korean screen adaptation of Japanese manga Dragon Zakura, about a group of underdog students at a low-ranking high school who study to get into a top university with the help of a strong-willed lawyer-turned-educator.^{[7][8][9][10]} Yoo had previously appeared in T-ara's music video "Lies" with Master of Study costar Park Ji-yeon.^[11]

He then played a more adult role in Flames of Desire, as the second-generation son of a wealthy chaebol family who is uninterested in the battles of succession among his relatives and becomes a married man at 21.^[12] Later that year, Yoo sang a duet with singer/actress IU titled "Believe in Love." The song's lyrics was based on a diary that Yoo had written while seeing orphans of war in the slums of Sri Lanka for the charity program Love Request.^[13]

In 2011, Yoo trained in swordplay and martial arts in his role as an assassin in Warrior Baek Dong-soo, an action-period drama based on the manhwa by Lee Jae-heon.^[14] He was also one of the voice actors for Leafie, a Hen into the Wild, which was adapted from a bestselling children's novel by Hwang Sun-mi and became one of the highest-grossing Korean animated films of all time. Yoo's character is the duckling Greenie, who is raised lovingly by his adoptive mother Leafie, an escaped farm hen.^[15] He then played a motorcycle delivery guy who witnesses a hit and run, but whose testimony contradicts that of a sight-impaired ex-police officer, in the thriller Blind. ^[16]

Yoo also landed in the news that year for declining "special admission" offers from prestigious Korean universities upon his graduation from Baekshin High School in Goyang,Gyeonggi Province.^[17] He said he decided to forgo college in order to pursue acting full time, instead of having a difficult time balancing school work and his acting career, adding that he "didn't want to enter a university, until I find what I really want to study."^[18][19][20] His decision was received positively, amidst mounting criticism of celebrity college students with lackluster attendance records.^[21]

In 2012, Yoo was cast in his first role as a leading man in Operation Proposal, a Korean remake of the Japanese drama Proposal Daisakusen, about a baseball player who regrets never confessing his love for his childhood best friend, until he gets the chance to repeatedly travel back in time to win her heart and prevent her from marrying someone else.^[22][23]

This was followed by a supporting role as the Jade Emperor, ruler of the heavens, in the fantasy/period drama Arang and the Magistrate.^[24] Afterwards, he starred in the melodrama Missing You, playing a cold man who hides a vengeance-filled heart behind his seemingly gentle smile.^[25][26][27]

Known in the press as "Little So Ji-sub" for his resemblance to the said actor, in 2013 Yoo starred in the music video for So's single "Eraser." This was his second time to promote So's musical endeavors, after "Lonely Life" in 2008.^[28][29] Following that, Yoo's first photo book titled Travel Letter, Spring Snow, And... was published; it was the last project shot by celebrity photographer Bori before her death on 9 April 2013.^[30]

Military service[edit]

Yoo quietly enlisted for his mandatory military service as a regular soldier on 5 March 2013, reportedly working as a trainer of new recruits.^[31] He drew praise for doing so at age 19, as majority of Korean men choose to carry out their army duty shortly after high school or during university, unlike most male Korean celebrities who choose to delay their enlistment until they turn 29.^{[32][20][33][34][35]} Yoo was discharged on 4 December 2014.^[36][37]

Comeback[edit]

As his first post-army project, Yoo appeared in the music video for Naul's "You From the Same Time" in 2015. He was next cast as a stubborn webcomic writer raising a cat in the TV adaptation of webtoon Imaginary Cat.^[38][39] Yoo is also set to star in the upcoming period film Joseon Magician directed by Kim Dae-seung, followed by a leading role as a lawyer with hyperthymesia defending his father on death row in legal thriller series Remember – War of the Son.^[40][41]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year	Title	Role
2002	The Way Home	Sang-woo
2003	Happy Ero Christmas	Children's angel choir
2004	Don't Tell Papa	Kim Cho-won
2006	Heart Is...	Chan-yi
2008	Unforgettable	Gil-su
2009	Astro Boy	Astro Boy (voice, Korean dubbed)[42]
	City of Fathers	Kim Jong-chul
	4th Period Mystery	Han Jung-hoon
2011	Leafie, A Hen into the Wild	Greenie (voice)
	Blind	Kwon Gi-seob
2012	Fragments of Sweet Memories (3D short film)[43]
2015	Joseon Magician	Hwan-hee
2016	Kim Seon-dal	Kim Seon-dal

Television series[edit]

Year	Title	Role	Network
2000	Daddy Fish	Jung Da-um	MBC
2001	MBC Best Theater "Boys Don't Cry"	Doo-san	MBC
	MBC Best Theater "It Happened in the Parking Lot"		MBC
2003	MBC Best Theater "All That Ramen"	Joon-young	MBC
	MBC Best Theater "Winter Bird's Dream"	Joon-ho	MBC
	Love Letter	young Lee Woo-jin	MBC
2004	MBC Best Theater "Hi, Clementine"	Se-beom	MBC
	Sweet Buns	young Lee Shin-hyuk	MBC
	Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin	young Yi Sun-sin	KBS1
	Precious Family	Park Joon-yi	KBS2
2005	Sad Love Story	young Seo Joon-young	MBC
	Magic Warriors Mir & Gaon	Mir	KBS2
2006	Alien Sam	Wang Hae-ryong	Tooniverse
2007	The King and I	young Seongjong	SBS
	The Legend	young Damdeok	MBC
2009	Queen Seondeok	Kim Chunchu	MBC
	You're Beautiful	Customer at convenience store (cameo, episode 9)	SBS
2010	Master of Study	Hwang Baek-hyun	KBS2
	Flames of Desire	Kim Min-jae	MBC
2011	Warrior Baek Dong-soo	Yeo Woon	SBS
2012	Operation Proposal	Kang Baek-ho	TV Chosun
	Arang and the Magistrate	Jade Emperor, King of Heaven	MBC
	Missing You	Kang Hyung-joon/Harry Borrison	MBC
2013	Studying Humans	Documentary narrator[44]	KBS1
2015	Imaginary Cat	Hyun Jong-hyun	MBC Every 1
2015-2016	Remember - War of the Son	Seo Jin-woo	SBS

Music video[edit]

Year	Song Title	Artist
2002	"Have You Ever Been Lovesick?"	Lyn
	"Photo"	Dragonfly
2004	"I Was Thankful"	Tim
2008	"Don't Go, Don't Go"	Brown Eyes
	"Lonely Life"	So Ji-sub
2009	"Take Care of Her"	Jo Sung-mo
	"Lies (Part 1)"	T-ara
2010	"Like a Star"	Taeyeon and The One
	"Believe in Love"	IU and Yoo Seung-ho
2011	"Whenever You Play That Song"[45]	Huh Gak feat. LE of EXID
2013	"Eraser"[46]	So Ji-sub
2015	"You From the Same Time"	Naul

Discography[edit]

Year	Song Title	Notes
2010	"Believe in Love"	Duet with IU

Photo book[edit]

Year	Title	Publisher	ISBN
2013	Travel Letter, Spring Snow, And...	Wisdom House	ISBN 9788959137268

Endorsements[edit]

List of endorsements [show]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2002	Young Artist Awards	Recipient	The Way Home	Won
2005	KBS Drama Awards	Best Young Actor	Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin, Precious Family	Won
2007	1st Korea Movie Star Awards	Best Young Actor	Heart Is...	Won
	SBS Drama Awards	Best Young Actor	The King and I	Won
2008	2nd Mnet 20's Choice Awards	Hot Younger Male	N/A	Won
2009	4th Andre Kim Best Star Awards[48]	Male Star Award	N/A	Won
	MBC Drama Awards[49]	Best New Actor	Queen Seondeok	Won
2010	46th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best New Actor (TV)	Master of Study	Nominated
	26th Korea Best Dressed Swan Awards	Best Dressed, TV Actor category		Won
	KBS Drama Awards	Best Couple Award with Park Ji-yeon		Nominated
		Netizens' Award, Actor		Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries		Nominated
2012	MBC Drama Awards	Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Arang and the Magistrate, Missing You	Nominated
2013	New Soldiers Education Unit[50]	Excellence Award from the Battalion Commander	N/A	Won

Queen Seondeok

Queen Seondeok

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Cast:

Lee Yo Won

Go Hyun Jung

Uhm Tae Woong

Park Ye Jin

Kim Nam Gil

Yoo Seung Ho

Summary:

Princess Deokman was born as Princess Cheonmyeong's twin and a member of the Silla royal family, but a prophecy leads to her abandonment as a baby. After an unconventional childhood in the Taklamakan Desert, Deokman eventually returns to Silla, and, disguised as a boy, trains as a Nangdo. There, she joins forces with her twin sister and the naive commander Kim Yushin to oppose the villainous Lady Mishil, a royal concubine and high-ranking official who will stop at nothing to rule Silla herself. Mishil eventually deduces her identity and devises sinister plans to have the two Silla princesses exiled from the kingdom, eventually accidentally assassinating Cheonmyeong. But Deokman and Yushin enlist the help of the dashing yet troubled rogue Bidam to restore her position and sway Kim Alcheon and the rest of the Hwarangs to her side. Eventually, Deokman's faction triumphs over Mishil after her second coup d'état, and Deokman becomes the first female ruler of Silla as Queen Seondeok. But the story is far from over as Bidam and Yushin face off to win the heart of a queen and the destiny of the Three Kingdoms.

Dream High

Dream High

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Cast:

Suzy

Kim Soo hyun

Taecyeon

Wooyoung

Eunjung

IU

Summary:

Six students at Kirin High School have the dream of becoming K-pop idols. During their school years, they learn how to develop their singing, songwriting and dancing skills while undergoing personal growth. They also go through their love life and start to develop feelings for each other. Each one of the students has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, but they strive to debut with the support and guidance of each other.

She Was Pretty

She Was Pretty

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Cast:

Hwang Jung Eun

Park Seo Joon

Choi Siwon

Goo Joon Hee

Summary:

A romantic comedy about two past acquaintances who meet again after they've gone through a reversal of fortunes and appearances, set in the backdrop of a fashion magazine's publishing office.

Kim Hye-jin was a very pretty girl from a rich family. After her family's publishing company went bankrupt, she experienced hardships then lost her beauty too. Ji Sung-joon was an unattractive boy with low self-esteem, but grows up as a handsome and successful editor.

The two decided to meet again as adults, but Sung-joon was unable to recognize Hye-jin. Ashamed to meet her first love and ruin his perception of her, Hye-jin asks her attractive best friend, Ha-ri, to appear in her place. Things, however, soon get complicated as Hye-jin was assigned to work at The Most magazine publishing office where Sung-joon is the deputy chief editor. He openly mistreats and belittles her for her clumsy nature, not knowing that she was his real childhood friend. Ha-ri also continues to meet Sung-joon, and soon develops feelings for him. On the other hand, Hye-jin finds a good friend in her workplace, Shin-hyuk, who slowly falls in love with her.

Romantic Princess

Romantic Princess

----------------------

Cast:

Wu Chun

Angela Chang

Calvin Chen

George Hu

Summary:

Adopted by middle classed parents, Xiao Mai (Angela Chang) has always had a dream to be an heiress. Finally, her dream becomes reality. Xiao Mai discovers that her biological grandfather, Huangfu Xiong (Emp) (Gu Bao Ming), is the head of a prestigiousaristocratic family. After being kidnapped by their family's enemies and after many years of searching, he finally finds his long lost granddaughter.

As she starts her life as an heiress, everyday is filled with excitement; however, everything seems a bit different from what she had imagined it to be. In the family, there are 4 candidates, one of whom will become the successor of Emp. One of those candidates is Nan Feng Jin (Wu Chun). At first, Nan Feng Jin dislikes Xiao Mai because he knows that he will be engaged to Xiao Mai and as a result, can never leave the Huangfu family and will be forced to be the successor of Emp.

Because Jin wants to be a normal sales person, he tried his best to ignore his growing fondness for Xiao Mai, but love prevails. Initially, the two want to hide their relationship from Emp, because they fear that exposing their relationship will result in their engagement and Jin's establishment as Emp's successor.

Then one day, a new 'Huangfu Shan' appears that has the same birthmark and evidence that she is the real Huangfu Shan, such as a ring with her birthdate encrypted in it. Xiao Mai and Gong Mo Li, the 'real' Huangfu Shan, have the same interests and birthdates. As a result, Xiao Mai gets kicked out of the household and instead becomes a maid in the Huangfu house. She later discovers a plot invented by Gong Mo Li and Emp, where Gong Mo Li is pretending to be the 'Huangfu Shan' and in love with Jin. In reality, Gong Mo Li is in love with Cai and is merely an actress hired by Emp to make Xiao Mai and Jin confess their relationship such that they can become engaged.

Although the four try to confront Emp, he keeps hiding, with the help of Butler Yi. Soon the group eventually face Emp and tell him that Xiao Mai doesn't want to be the heiress anymore, and that neither Jin nor Cai doesn't want to be the successor. Emp becomes furious and lets them do what they want: "starting from scratch", and kicks them out of the house.

Jin, out in the real world, is unable to find work because of Emp's influence, however he manages to find a job as a construction worker. Cai And Gong Mo Li, who were also kicked out of the Huangfu House, start selling their things to the pawnshop but end up spending their money on useless things. Eventually, Cai and Gong Mo Li give up and returned to the Huangfu House.

Over time Emp becomes ill and has to go under operation. He has kept his illness a secret, something that only Butler Yi knows about. Even though his condition is becoming worse, he still doesn't want to go under the knife. When Xiao Mai learned about his illness, she realizes that her grandfather's stubbornness could lead to his death. She confronts Butler Yi and tells him to get Emp to agree to surgery and that if he is angry, that he can blame her.

The operation is successful, but Emp remains unconscious following the procedure. If Emp does not wake up in the days following the operation, the co-owners of the Huangfu business will take over his company. Even though Xiao Mai is the heiress, the co-owners do not believe that women, and Xiao Mai in particular, are capable of running the company. But Xiao Mai tries her best and takes the same exams that were previously taken by Jin and the other 3 successors (Cai,Ying and Lin) to prove her worth. Unfortunately she fails her exams, but just as the co-owners are about to take control of the company, Emp awakens. He insists that Xiao Mai is to become his successor and as a result, Xiao Mai ends up being both heiress and successor. Jin, on the other hand, remains an office worker.

Following the announcement, Xiao Mai has to go to America for a 3 year long course to learn how to become the successor for Huang Fu Corp. Jin is waiting for his clients to sign his first big contract which he stayed up the night before working on. Emp and the Nan Feng boys (other than Jin) are at the airport sending Xiao Mai off. As the time to leave nears, it appears that Jin will not make it to the terminal before Xiao Mai is to leave. However, just as Xiao Mai is walking towards her gate, Jin finally appears and calls out her name. She smiles and turns to him. Jin runs towards her and they share a kiss.

Hana Yori Dango

Hana Yori Dango

----------------------

Cast:

Mao Inoue

Jun Matsumoto

Shun Oguri

Shota Matsuda

Tsuyoshi Abe

Summary:

Makino Tsukushi is a tough, hard-working, middle-class student at the prestigious escalator school Eitoku Gakuen. Initially, Makino wanted to attend Eitoku because her idol, an internationally renowned model named Todou Shizuka, was an alumna of the school. Not long after however, Makino discovers the superficial nature of her classmates. Their arrogance and her inability to relate to them because of her social status, limits her chances at making friends. Worse yet, the school is ruled by the F4 or Flower Four, composed of playboys Nishikado Soujiro and Mimasaka Akira, introverted Hanazawa Rui and violent and bratty Domyouji Tsukasa. The F4, sons of Japan's wealthiest and most powerful tycoons, bully fellow students out of boredom or malevolence until they are expelled or quit.

Makino's only wish was to remain invisible in Eitoku to avoid getting into trouble. However, she is immersed into the lives of the four legendary bullies after her first and only friend at school, Sanjo Sakurako, accidentally spills juice on Domyouji's white shirt in the cafeteria and she defends her. The next day, she receives a red tag in her locker (an order from the F4 to bully the target student in whatever means possible) and as a result, the whole school turns against her. Despite the harassment, Tsukushi, the "tough weed", refuses to give in and quit. After Domyouji crushes the prawn her parents painstakingly cooked for her with his shoe, she finally snaps, knocks him out and declares war back on him. This unexpected retaliation catches him by surprise and causes him, ironically, to fall in love with her. But Tsukushi is in love with Rui, who in turn harbors romantic feelings for his childhood friend Shizuka.

The courtship between Tsukasa and Tsukushi is the main theme throughout the series. Various challenges threaten their blossoming relationship including Tsukushi's wavering feelings for Rui, the envy of fellow Eitoku students, an obsessed childhood classmate, their differences in social class, Tsukasa's brash and possessive nature, and the animosity of Domyouji Kaede, Tsukasa's mother. The first season ends with Domyouji giving the saturn necklace to Makino and her confession of love right before he leaves for New York.

Kiss Me

Kiss Me

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Cast:

D'Angelo Mike

Manaying Sucharat

Summary:

Taliw a cute, lively but clumsy girl has had a crush on a popular and genius, Tenten, a new student who has 200 IQ. Tenten just returned from Japan with his family. How Taliw will deal with her feelings towards Tenten? Sometimes, he treats her kindly and cares about her. But sometimes he teases and made her embarrass in front of all students in their school.