Kim Jun-han (Korean: 김준한; born March 29, 1983) is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter, and former musician. Kim embarked on his acting journey with director Jang Kwon-ho's film Navigation (2014). He fully committed himself to an acting career in 2017 where he starred in several movies as supporting roles, including in Kim Seong-hun's Confidential Assignment (2017), Lee Joon-ik's film Anarchist from Colony (2017), Ryoo Seung-wan's historical film The Battleship Island (2017), Min Kyu-dong's Her Story (2018), Lee Joon-ik's Sunset in My Hometown (2018), and Woo Min-ho's The Drug King (2018).
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Early life
Kim was born on March 29, 1983, and raised in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, where he lived until he graduated from high school. He is only son of an elementary school teacher. From a young age, Kim showed an interest in music and expressed his desire to pursue it further while still in high school. Initially, his father resisted the idea, leading to a month-long disagreement between them. However, his father eventually advised him to fully commit and pursue music seriously if that was his passion.
Career
2005 to 2007: Career as drummer in Izi Band
Kim Jun-han started on his music career as drummer in a school band during high school. It was 2003. He then worked as the drummer for four-members band Izi, alongside Oh Jin-seong, Lee Dong-won, and Shin Seung-ik. The band made their official debut with their first album titled "Modern Life... And... With izi...." on April 19, 2005. They gained significant recognition for their popular song "Emergency Room," which was the theme song for the 2005 drama Sassy Girl Chun-hyang. Izi's activities came to a halt after the release of digital single 'Father' in 2007.
After leaving Izi in 2007, Kim made a living by performing on stage as a drummer at other singers' performances and by participating as a drum session during recordings. He also worked part-time distributing cosmetics at a department store.
2010–2016: Early career as actor
Kim contemplated pursuing acting and held a modest belief that he would eventually make appearances in movies or dramas. In 2010, a close stylist friend introduced him to actor Go Jun, from whom Kim received acting lessons. "I have never properly studied acting. That’s why Go Jun feels like an acting teacher to me. He always told me, who was an unknown actor, that (he as) my older brother should develop his acting skills first and that he should be well prepared because he never knew when an opportunity would come. I learned from his older brother's perseverance."It was in his late 20s, after military service, Kim started his acting career. He appeared in short films in 2012 and auditioned without a manager. When Go Jun landed a role in the film Tazza: The Hidden Card, Kim worked as Go Jun's manager and even received a salary from him.
Kim and Go Jun also collaborated on a short film titled "Frog" (Hyundoga) in 2015, which they co-directed.
In 2016, Kim starred in the independent film "Greet." The film tells the story of seven friends who come together in their thirties to share pleasant and heartfelt stories. It gained attention when all seven actors received the Actor Award at the 16th Jeonbuk Independent Film Festival, and it further entices the audience by revealing that the actors themselves participated in the scriptwriting process. The film also received an invitation to the 17th Daejeon Independent Film Festival. It was later released in theaters in May 2018. Until 2017, Kim worked in about 30 short films.
2016 to present: Breakout role
Afterward, Kim was chosen by directors who were seeking new actors fluent in Japanese. He appeared in Ryoo Seung-wan's historical film The Battleship Island as Japanese soldier. Filming for the movie took place from June 17, 2016, in Cheongju, and concluded on December 20, 2016. In the same year, based on a recommendation from Kim In-woo, whom he had met during the filming of The Battleship Island, Kim auditioned for director Lee Joon-ik's film Anarchist from Colony. Choi Hee-seo, the female lead, saw him and actively recommended him to the director. Prior to Anarchist from Colony, Kim had already worked in around 30 short films.
On January 18, 2017, Kim made his official debut in commercial film with the release of Confidential Assignment, directed by Kim Seong-hun. He played a minor role as an NIS agent. Shortly after, on June 28, 2017, director Lee Joon-ik's film Anarchist from Colony was released. In the film, Kim portrayed Datemas Kaisei, an examining Japanese judge who undergoes a transformation in his beliefs during the interrogation of the anarchist and revolutionary Park Yeol (Lee Je-hoon) and his lover Kaneko Fumiko (Choi Hee-seo). Kim Jun-han garnered significant attention alongside the main characters, Lee Je-hoon and Choi Hee-seo, capturing the interest of both the audience and industry professional, leading to his nomination for the Rookie of the Year Award at the 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards. His impressive fluency in Japanese language also left a lasting impression on the audiences."I had the opportunity to perform in Japan while working in a band before. I also had to record in Japanese and appear at festivals and radio broadcasts. I thought I couldn't just go, so I started studying Japanese a few months before I went, and I found it fun. I was doing it little by little and it turned out to be a good opportunity. I'm not that good at Japanese, however I can have basic conversations and travel alone."Prior to the release of The Battleship Island on July 26, 2017, Kim signed an exclusive contract with CL&Company on July 5, 2017. Around the same time, he ventured into the world of dramas tvN's Prison Playbook (2017), directed by Shin Won-ho. In the series, he portrayed the character Song Ji-won, love interest of Haerongi Hanyang (Lee Kyu-hyung). The first script reading of the cast was held on July 17, 2017. It aired on tvN from November 22, 2017, to January 18, 2018, every Wednesday and Thursday for 16 episodes. Kim's performances received praise from viewers, and his work in 2017 earned him a spot in the 2018 Cine21 Rising Star Actors feature.
Directors Min Kyu-dong was also searching for actors fluent in Japanese for his film Herstory for the role of Lee Sang-il, a Korean-Japanese lawyer in the. Lee Sang-il was hired by Kim Hee-ae to represented the grandmothers in the comfort women trial in Japan, acted by veteran actresses such as, Kim Hae-sook, Ye Soo-jung, Moon Sook, Lee Yong-nyeo. Kim was chosen for the role.
Personal life
Kim led an acting study group that he founded with fellow actors, including Choi Hee-seo, Bae Ki-gi, and Yoon Seul, who had previously worked together in Anarchist from Colony. The group would meet once a week to discuss movies and acting. Director Lee Joo-young of Anna affectionately refers to Kim "Yeonba," which means a fool who only cares about acting. Kim always talks about acting and doesn't pay much attention to other things. Even Kim's younger colleagues, view him as somewhat lacking in other aspects besides acting.
