My Take
Ha Jung-woo is one of those rare actors who makes every genre look easy — thrillers, horror, dark comedies, prestige dramas — and yet never seems like he's coasting. His real name is Kim Sung-hoon, but he built the Ha Jung-woo brand through sheer range and a quiet intensity that sneaks up on you. The Yellow Sea and The Chaser back-to-back basically announced him as a force to take seriously, and he just kept delivering. His films have sold over 100 million tickets in South Korea, a milestone only a handful of actors have ever reached, and he got there faster than any of them. He won the Asian Film Award for Best Actor, which feels both well-deserved and a bit overdue given how long he'd been carrying films by then. I genuinely look forward to whatever he picks next.
Overview
Kim Sung-hoon (Korean: 김성훈; born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (하정우), is a South Korean actor and filmmaker. One of the highest grossing actors in South Korea, Ha's starring films have accumulated more than 100 million tickets. Only 3 other actors have reached this milestone, with Ha being nearly a decade younger than the rest when achieving this.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ha Jung-woo
- Name (Japanese)
- ハ・ジョンウ
- Reading
- は・じょんう
- Born
- March 11, 1978 (age 48)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Horse
- Origin
- South Korea, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / film actor / stage actor / director / film director
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Chung-Ang University
Awards & achievements
- Asian Film Award for Best Actor
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.