Who is Yoon Shi-yoon? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Height: 5'10" (178 cm), 5'10" Males

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

Actors Who Are In Their 30s

South Korean Actors

South Korean Film & Theater Personalities

Childhood & Early Life

Yoon Shi-yoon was born on September 26, 1986 in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. His birth name was Yoon Dong Gu, Yoon being the family name.

He was raised by his grandparents in his early childhood. He was the only child in the family. He did not go to a kindergarten or learn English at a young age. Instead, he went to Seodang, which is a traditional school that teaches Confucianism and Chinese characters.

Upon the advice of his agency, he officially changed his name when he entered college.

His unusual childhood was revealed through his song, ‘Grandpa’s Bicycle’ in ‘Barefooted Friends’.

Continue Reading Below

Recommended Lists:

Libra Men

Career

Yoon debuted on TV playing Jun Hyuk, a semi-rebellious teenage boy in the sitcom, ‘High Kick Through The Roof’. Following his debut series, he starred as the lead character in the slice-of-life TV series, ‘King Of Baking, Kim Tagku’. He was specially picked for the show by the writer after he watched Yoon’s debut role in ‘High Kick Through The Roof’.

Yoon made his big screen debut in 2010 in the film, ‘Death Bell 2: Bloody Camp’. In 2011, he acted in the romantic comedy drama TV series, ‘Me Too! Flower’ which had to be taken off-air later due to low viewership ratings.

He was a part of the Japanese web drama, ‘Brand Guardians’. It was based on fashion and was orchestrated by the Japanese Apparel Fashion Industry Council (JAFIC). It was based on the story of a young Korean guy who travels to Japan to pursue fashion styling. The reason behind JAFIC orchestrating it was to increase awareness of Japanese fashion.In the same year, i.e., in 2012, he made his debut in his first Chinese drama, ‘Happy Noodles’.

In 2013, he starred in ‘Flower Boys Next Door’, where he played a genius game developer who happens to enter into the life of a modern-day Rapunzel.He was then cast as a member of the variety show ‘Barefooted Friends’.Later, he played in the romantic drama series ‘Prime Minister and I’.

In 2014, he appeared in his second film, ‘Mr. Perfect’, where he played a professional golfer who loses everything, but later becomes a golf coach.In 2016, he was cast as the Joseon’s famous doctor, Hur Jun in the historical fantasy drama, ‘Mirror of the Witch’.

He then became a part of the regular cast of the variety show ‘2 Days & 1 Night’. In October 2016, he starred in ‘Romance Full of Life’, a 3-episode miniseries which was a part of a 9-episode miniseriescalled ‘Three Color Fantasy’.

In 2017, he starred in the youth drama, ‘Hit The Top’. Along with these, he has also appeared in other series and shows like ‘Once Upon A Time In Saengchori’, ‘High Kick: Revenge Of The Short Legged’, ‘Ms. Temper And Nam Jung Gi’, and ‘Queen of The Ring’.

Major Works

He secretly enlisted in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps on 28thApril, 2014. He purposefully did it in secret as he had previously expressed his desire to do so to avoid harming other soldiers.

He was a narrator in the Fanfare of the Little Band.

Continue Reading Below

He hosted the KBS Songs Festival in 2013.

He has sung songs like ‘The Road To Me’, ‘Only You’, ‘I Want to Date You’, ‘Grandpa’s Bicycle’, and others.

Awards & Achievements

He won the Award for MBC’s Best Couple along with Shin Se Kyung in his debut TV sitcom, ‘High Kick Through The Roof’.

The Final Episode of King Of Baking, Kim Tagku received a viewership rating of over 50%. After the TV series completed, Yoon was named promotional ambassador for the North Chungcheong province along with his co-star Lee Young Ah.

In 2012, he won the Popular Star Prize at the 2012 Asia Top 10 Popular Star Awards by CETV in China.Flower Boys Next Door was the highest sold cable drama in Japan.

In 2010,Yoon won the Popularity Award for an Actor at the 18th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards, Male Grand Prize (Daesang) for Drama at the 11th Korean Entertainment Culture Awards, KBS Drama Awards for Best Couple along with Lee Young Ah and an Excellence Award for an Actor in a Special Production Drama for King Of Baking, Kim Tagku.

He won a Rookie Award in a Variety Show at The KBS Entertainment Awards for 2 Days & 1 Night in 2016.

Personal Life

He worked in the military from April 28, 2014 to January 27th, 2016.

Yoon’s favorite hobby is reading books. He is so addicted to reading and collecting books, that he has a collection of over 2000 books at his home.

In a recent interview, he talked about the pressure of his fans’ expectations from him. According to him, after he played the wonderful role of Kim Takgu, it is difficult to find such a nice role and thus, this has an added pressure when he does other performances.

According to him, “Kim Takgu was like an amazing hat that I got to wear. When I took the hat off, it left such a deep impression that sometimes people can't see me without the hat.”

Adding to the above, he also said, "My debut project got over 30 percent ratings and Kim Takgu got over 50 percent. Rather than liking it, I was terrified. I wanted to hide rather than try and live up to the pressure. But then my colleagues kept trying new things and got over that fear and walked their own paths. When I went to the army, I wanted to cry out of regret that I didn't follow their example."

Trivia

He appeared on Radio in 2016 on Lee GukJoo’s Young Street twice on Networks like SBS Power FM and Special DJ.

Yoon Shi-yoon Biography