Childhood & Early Life
He was born on September 21, 1973, in South Korea. According to sources as a child he would fantasise himself as a superhero and would act out characters from Star Wars films as also like Superman. This would have people around him wonder what if he turns out to be an actor. While recalling such childhood incidents he said “I was good at impersonating other people”.
According to his interview posted at hancinema.net, he wanted to be a singer and not an actor. He said “As a child, I wanted to be a scientist, but when I was in high school, I wanted to become a singer. But I failed all the auditions. No matter how well I could sing in karaoke bars, strangely enough my voice failed me at auditions.”
In the interview he also said that “When I was in my mid–20s, my mother told me to stop singing. (Laughs.) And I never thought of acting. The agency that had promised to make me a singer offered me only roles in TV dramas. It was frustrating.”
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Career
He started his journey in showbiz in 2005 with the SBS aired South Korean television series ‘Marrying a Millionaire’. That year he also featured in a Tudou commercial.
This was followed by other TV series like ‘Exhibition of Fireworks’ (2006), ‘Common Single’ (2006) and ‘One Mom and Three Dads’ (2008) of which ‘Common Single’ won him a New Star Award at the 2006 SBS Drama Awards.
Meanwhile he made his big-screen debut with the cameo role of a man on date in the February 9, 2006 released comedy film ‘Ssunday Seoul’.
Although a few years old in the showbiz Yoon landed up with his real breakthrough with ‘Queen of Housewives’, a hit South Korean rom-com TV series. The series that topped the ratings chart during its run aired on MBC for 20 episodes from March 16, 2009 to May 19, 2009.
His characterisation of Tae-bong, an immature chaebol, in ‘Queen of Housewives’ starring along with Kim Nam-joo and Oh Ji-ho among others garnered him widespread attention. He won the Top Excellence Award, Actor at the 2009 MBC Drama Awards for the role.
In 2009 he featured in yet another notable South Korean romance comedy series ‘My Fair Lady’ that aired on KBS2 for 16 episodes from August 19, 2009 to October 8, 2009. He essayed the character of Seo Dong-chan in it marking his first lead role starring along with Yoon Eun-hye, Moon Chae-won and Jung Il-woo.
‘My Fair Lady’ not only furthered his popularity earning him acclaims but also won him Popularity Award, Actor and Best Couple Award shared with Yoon Eun-hye at the 2009 KBS Drama Awards.
While continuing with his acting pursuits, Yoon endeavoured into taking forward his childhood passion for singing. This saw him making soundtrack contribution in ‘Queen of Housewives’ and ‘My Fair Lady’. He also lent his voice in a single for Woori Card commercial that was released on August 25, 2009.
With rising popularity Yoon was soon flooded with commercials in 2009 that saw him featuring for Pizza, Maxim and Korean Wells among others. Since then he has appeared in many other commercials including for Digital Cable TV (2010) along with Kang Ho-dong; for Hi Mart Refrigerator TV and Hi Mart Laptop in 2011 with T-ara; and for Shin Ramyun Black in 2013 with Jang Hyuk.
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On April 1, 2010, he came out with a Japanese single titled ‘Saigo no Ame’ (‘The Last Rain’) released under Sony Music. The song debuted at #11 on the Oricon Chart.
His burgeoning television career bolstered with yet another hit South Korean series ‘Secret Garden’ that aired on SBS for 20 episodes during weekends starting from November 13, 2010 to January 16, 2011. He essayed the role of Hallyu star Oska in the series starring along with Ha Ji-won, Hyun Bin and Kim Sa-rang.
His contribution in ‘Secret Garden’ as a singer includes tracks ‘Tears Stains’, ‘Gazing’, ‘Liar’ and ‘Here I Am’ (Drama ver.). The series also included clippings of the live Secret Garden Concert where Yoon also performed.
On February 17, 2011, he released his first Japanese studio album titled ‘Precious Days’ under Sony Music. On 25th and 27th of that month he took part in concerts and showcases in Tokyo and Osaka respectively which went sold out only after a day.
Moving on, he featured as Yeon Hyung-woo, one part of a lawyer couple entangled with their own issues in and outside the courtroom, in the South Korean romantic comedy television series ‘Can't Lose’. The series that is a remake of the Japanese TV drama ‘The Sasaki Couple's Merciless Battle’ (2008) aired on MBC for 18 episodes from August 24, 2011 to October 20, 2011.
He landed up with his first major big-screen role in the November 29, 2012, released South Korean romantic comedy film ‘Tone-deaf Clinic’ that was released world-wide as ‘Love Clinique’. His character in the film was that of Shin-heung, a voice coach.
He furthered his fame with the starring role of Cha Gwan-woo in the popular South Korean TV series ‘I Can Hear Your Voice’. The series that garnered good ratings aired on SBS for 18 episodes from June 5, 2013 to August 1, 2013.
His last feature in a film so far is in the December 4, 2014 released flick ‘A Dynamite Family’. He played the leading role of Soo-kyo in the film starring along with Song Sae-Byeok, Lee Ah-Lee, Chansung and Kim Ji-Min.
Moving further he featured in several other TV series including ‘Gap-dong’ (2014), ‘Shopaholic Louis’ (2016) and ‘Ms. Perfect’ (2017). He also took part in variety shows Family Outing 2 (2010), ‘Law of the Jungle in Yap Islands’ (2015) and The Human Condition Season 2 (2015).
