Join Us
With The King’s Warden now the highest-grossing Korean film of all time by revenue, Yoo Hae-jin has also drawn significant fan and critical attention. But his rise into stardom is anything but late. Yoo Hae-jin has been one of the most essential presences in Korean film for over two decades. His roles ranged from gamblers to soldiers to detectives, and he often played comic relief that somehow always stole the scene. He is one of those actors whom you might have seen before but cannot recall their name. Here are five roles that prove Yoo Hae-jin has always been an extraordinary artist, delivering quality performances in every movie.
1. A Taxi Driver (2017)
- Director: Jang Hoon
- IMDb: 7.9/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix (South Korea), Prime Video (India)
Plot: A Taxi Driver is a 2017 South Korean political action drama film based on the true story of a Seoul cab driver who smuggled a German journalist into Gwangju during the 1980 pro-democracy uprising. The film drew over 12 million admissions domestically and was selected as South Korea’s submission for the Academy Awards’ foreign-language film category. Yoo Hae-jin’s supporting turn was praised for its emotional depth and grounded authenticity, proving that he could hold his own in prestige historical drama just as convincingly as in action comedy.
2. King and the Clown (2005)
- Director: Lee Joon-ik
- IMDb: 7.3/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix (South Korea)
Plot: The King and the Clown is a 2005 South Korean historical drama film set in the late 15th century during the reign of King Yeonsan. The group focuses on two male street clowns and tightrope walkers who form a new group in Hanyang (the capital). The group writes a skit mocking members of the royal court, and they are eventually arrested for treason. Their condition to live is to make the king laugh or face execution.
Yoo Hae-jin plays Yuk-gab, one of the street performers, in an early role that showcased his ability to hold emotional weight in a film balancing tragedy and dark comedy with unusual sophistication. For a low-budget film costing only 4 billion KRW, it surpassed the 10 million-viewer mark and was selected as South Korea’s submission for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Trending
3. Tazza: The High Rollers (2006)
- Director: Choi Dong-hoon
- IMDb: 7.1/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix (South Korea)
Plot: Tazza: The High Rollers is a 2006 South Korean crime film based on the manhwa of the same name. It revolves around a group of gambling drifters involved in the Korean card game ‘hwatu’. Yoo Hae-jin plays a professional gambling cheat in a film that is stacked with strong character actors, demonstrating great comic timing and physical specificity. His scene-stealing presence was impossible to miss even in a film filled with seasoned performers. Tazza: The High Rollers was a huge commercial and critical success, becoming one of South Korea’s highest-grossing films of 2006 with 6,847,777 admissions nationwide.
4. Veteran (2015)
- Director: Ryoo Seung-wan
- IMDb Rating: 7/10
- Where to Watch: Apple TV (India, rent or buy), Netflix (South Korea)
Plot: Veteran is an action crime film that follows an honest detective taking on a corrupt, untouchable conglomerate heir. The story blends hard-hitting action with sharp social commentary. Yoo Hae-jin’s supporting role is one of the film’s most entertaining presences. His naturalistic comic delivery and screen presence make for an entertaining watch. The film went on to become one of the highest-grossing Korean films of all time, drawing over 13 million admissions domestically. There is a sequel to Veteran as well, but Yoo Hae-jin is not a part of it.
5. Confidential Assignment (2017)
- Director: Kim Sung-hoon
- IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix (South Korea), Prime Video Channels (India)
Plot: Before Hyun Bin was a North Korean soldier in Crash Landing on You, he played a North Korean agent in Confidential Assignment. Confidential Assignment is a 2017 South Korean action-comedy film in which a North Korean officer and a Seoul detective team up to track down a dangerous fugitive running a gang of counterfeiters. Yoo Hae-jin plays a bumbling but big-hearted South Korean detective, who stands in stark contrast to Hyun Bin’s stoic and brooding North Korean agent character. Yoo Hae-jin’s chemistry with Hyun Bin became one of the film’s most beloved qualities, and his comic sensibility was integral to making the film’s cross-border tone work as effectively as it did. The movie became the most-viewed Korean film of the first half of 2017, attracting 7.8 million domestic admissions. There’s a sequel that brings back this iconic duo once again.
Yoo Hae-jin’s journey to acting in Korea’s biggest film of all time was not an overnight ascent. It was two decades of disciplined, varied work in supporting and character roles, building a reputation that no single standout performance could have manufactured. The King’s Warden is the milestone, but the foundation was laid long before.
Advertisement
Check out our recommendations on What to Watch
Must Read: Top 5 Highest-Grossing Korean Films Of All Time: From The King’s Warden To Ode To My Father
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News
