Kwon Sang Woo

Biography

Kwon Sang-woo is a South Korean actor and model, born on August 5, 1976, in Daejeon, South Korea. He began his entertainment career as a model before making his acting debut in the television drama Delicious Proposal and the film Volcano High, both in 2001.

He rose to prominence in the early 2000s with the romantic comedy My Tutor Friend (2003) and the highly popular melodrama Stairway to Heaven (2003). His performance in Stairway to Heaven helped establish him as a major Hallyu star.

Kwon subsequently appeared in films and dramas including Once Upon a Time in High School (2004), Sad Love Story (2005), Cinderella Man (2009), Queen of Mystery (2017), Delayed Justice (2020–2021), Curtain Call (2022), and Switch (2023). He also became known for comedy-action films such as The Accidental Detective (2015), The Accidental Detective 2: In Action (2018), and Hitman: Agent Jun (2020).

In Han River Police (2023), Kwon played Han Doo-jin, a hot-tempered but justice-driven police officer assigned to patrol Seoul's Han River. The six-episode Disney+ action-comedy follows a team of officers dealing with accidents, crimes, and other threats along the river.

Kwon performed numerous physically demanding scenes for Han River Police, including underwater sequences. He trained to dive to around 10 metres and described the experience as a challenging but enjoyable part of the production.

With a career spanning more than two decades, Kwon Sang-woo has built a diverse filmography covering romance, melodrama, action, comedy, crime, and television drama, and remains one of the prominent actors of modern South Korean entertainment.