Kim Jung Tae

Biography

Kim Jung-tae (born Kim Tae-wook on December 13, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in film and television.

He made his acting debut in 1999 with the film The Uprising under his birth name Kim Tae-wook. In 2006 he started going by his current stage name Kim Jung-tae. Best known as a supporting actor, Kim was often typecast in antagonistic roles, mostly as gangsters, loan sharks, and other such villains.

Kim drew praise in 2010 when he played the leading role in the 25-minute short film Remember O Goddess, a film noir involving memory loss. That same year, audiences first got a taste of Kim's comical side in He's on Duty.

In 2014, he and his son Kim Ji-hoo appeared on The Return of Superman, a reality show that follows celebrity fathers who take over caring for their children for a few days while their wives are away. 

They were originally guest stars in his friend Jang Hyun-sung's segment on episodes 20 and 21, but netizens liked Ji-hoo for his bright and happy personality and asked to see more of him.

 On episode 21, Kim said that he calls Ji-hoo by the nickname "Yakkung" because while playing peekaboo (kkakkung in Korean) with him as a baby, Ji-hoo would not answer to kkakkung, but to yakkung. They officially became cast members on episode 25.

In 2009, Kim married his girlfriend of 19 years, Jeon Yeo-jin; the two have known each other since they were teenagers. Jeon has a doctorate in Engineering and teaches at Pukyong National University. The couple currently reside in Busan with their two children, Kim Ji-hoo and Kim Si-hyun.

Kim suffers from cirrhosis and almost died from it on multiple occasions. He was cared for by his mother, who ultimately died of the same disease (which is not infectious but may be hereditary).

If he had not become an actor, Kim has said that he would most likely have become a poet. He has penned over 200 poems since the age of 17 and plans to publish them in a book.