Jung Il-woo (Hangul: 정일우; born 9 September 1987) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the sitcom Unstoppable High Kick (2006), and the television dramas The Return of Iljimae (2009), 49 Days (2011), Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (2011), and The Night Watchman's Journal (2014).

Biography

Jung first rose to fame for his role in 2006 daytime family sitcom Unstoppable High Kick, as troubled teen motorcycle fanatic Lee Yoon Ho. After some cameo TV appearances and a co-starring role in romantic comedy My Love, he starred as the lead in 2009 MBC historical drama The Return of Iljimae. Jung continued his acting studies, taking on a challenging role as a young HIV-positive gay man in the sold-out play Beautiful Sunday. Subsequent Korean TV appearances included idealistic, upper-class lawyer Lee Tae Yoon in the 2009 romantic comedy My Fair Lady and a breakout role as the Scheduler, a witty, modern-day Grim Reaper in the drama 49 Days.

His popularity rose in 2011 cable TV drama Flower Boy Ramyun Shop where he starred as arrogant heir Cha Chi-soo and 2012 historical drama Moon Embracing the Sun On 4 May 2012, Jung signed on to be managed by Soop Management. and MBC drama Golden Rainbow

Recent South Korean product endorsements include LG LTE II mobile phones, Domino's Pizza, Doritos, Fila Sport clothing, and Philips razors. Jung Il-woo has not only starred in TV and print ads for these companies, but also frequently makes personal appearances, autographing and being photographed with contest winners.



Hallyu Star Jung Il Woo
Jung has achieved hallyu (international) star status. He actively communicates with fans around the world through social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook, WeiBo and me2day. From uploading photos he’s taken himself to replying to fans on Twitter, Jung has garnered the nickname ‘Kind Il Woo.’ The actor says that he can feel his foreign fans’ love.

“On Twitter, there are fans who write comments in English or use translators to write in Korean,” said Jung. “And when I go abroad, I can sense the differences in the fans’ propensities, depending on the country. Japanese fans like to keep their distance and watch from afar while Chinese fans are much more forward. After the drama "49 Days", I made some Southeast Asian fans. I’m amid preparations to promote in Southeast Asia next year. I really want to meet them.”

Most of Jung Il-woo's TV dramas have been licensed to TV stations or streaming, subtitled internet video-on-demand sites in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the Philippines, Eastern Europe, Russia and the United States.


Jung Il Woo ranks first place as the best actor in China
Jung Il Woo, who recently appeared on a popular variety talk show, ranked first place on Baidu as the most popular actor.
According to his agency, Forest, on May 21, Jung’s popularity rose dramatically after the appearance on Chun Chun Hyang Sang and ranked first place as the most popular actor on a Chinese portal site, Baidu on May 13.
Chun Chun Hyang Sang is a program regarding etiquette, and has the highest viewer ratings in China for the last two years.


Jung Il Woo attends the ‘Shanghai TV Festival’ for ‘The Moon That Embraces the Sun'
On June 15th, the 18th ‘Shanghai TV Festival’ held its awards and closing ceremony where Jung Il Woo attended as a special invitee. ‘The Moon That Embraces the Sun’, which ended its broadcast in Korea in March, won silver in the international drama category. As one of the leads in the drama, Jung Il Woo accepted the trophy on behalf of the cast and crew. The ‘Shanghai TV Festival’ was launched in 1988 and is one of the biggest TV festivals in China


Jung Il Woo is Asia’s Actor of The Year
The Huading annual awards show in Beijing recognizes the Chinese public’s favorite entertainers. Jung became the first non-Chinese entertainer to be nominated and win an award since the awards started seven years ago. The Huadings had previously focused only on Chinese entertainment, but decided to include all of Asia in 2012. Award winners were chosen through phone and online surveys as well as by a panel of entertainment insiders and experts.

Accepting the award on the TV broadcast, Jung thanked his Chinese fans in Mandarin and said it was an honor to take home the coveted award.After the show, Jung also was named Most Popular Entertainer at the show in a poll by the Chinese search engine Sina.com.