Won Bin - The actor "Autumn in my heart" hasn't acted in a movie for 12 years, only filming ads is still rich.

Despite his success in many areas outside of acting, Won Bin is still one of Korea's most recognized actors, a rare face to keep his fame despite 12 years away from the screen.

The saint of Korean showbiz

Won Bin was born in 1977, is one of Korea's top stars. The actor started acting in 1997. After 13 years, his acting fortune was only 12 works in both film and television.

With such a small number of films, Won Bin is still one of the most influential actors in Korean showbiz. The works with his appearance have all become TV hits or achieved great sales, highly appreciated by experts such as Taegukgi, Mother, The Man from Nowhere...

The most famous TV series of the actor born in 1977 is Autumn Heart. This is also the work that helped Won Bin become the most expensive actor on the Korean screen in the early 2000s.

After the role of the infatuated Han Tae Suk in Autumn in My Heart, Won Bin became the love symbol of Korean girls. His reputation even surpassed that of the male lead Song Seung Hun, helping Won Bin become the winner of the Best Actor award at the KBS TV Awards.

Thanks to the effect from the work, Won Bin continuously topped the ranking of the most attractive men in Asia. In 2004, he even entered the list of 10 sexiest male stars in the world voted by Coolest Guy Celebrity, equal to David Beckham.

The 7X actor is also the most sought after product model in the advertising industry. At his peak, the actor surprised many people when he received a salary of up to 4 billion won (3.2 million USD) for a beer commercial.

Not only being loved for his appearance, Won Bin also "scored" thanks to his acting ability. Compared to his co-star in Autumn in My Heart, Song Seung Hun, he is more appreciated.

Asian media commented that Won Bin has a sharp, expressive face, and bold "color" eyes. In addition, the Korean actor does not frame himself in a certain image. He tries many genres, from action to socio-psychology or history... At the same time, Won Bin once revealed that he always puts human values and character's inner depth first when choosing plays. copy.

Also during the peak of his career, Won Bin worked hard in charity work in Korean territory. He takes on the role of UNICEF ambassador, visiting and building many charity projects for children across Asia.

With all the good impression Won Bin brought, the audience of kimchi gave him the nickname "Saint" - a phrase of adoration. It can be said that in Korea, the position of the 7X actor is almost unshakable.

12 years of rest and regretful missed roles

Won Bin's last movie was released in 2010, and the last time he appeared on the small screen was in 2002. After the role of Kim Ji Hoon in Friends, the actor did not receive any more TV scripts. which is completely redirected to the big screen.

This is probably the reason why Won Bin turned down the role of Captain Yoo Shi Jin in Descendants of the Sun, despite being "invited" by the producer. He also refused to accept the role of Oh Soo in that year's Winter Wind because he didn't want to work as a barkeeper, even if it was only in the movie.

However, fans could not explain the fact that Won Bin continued to refuse the role of bodyguard Kanglim in the two blockbuster episodes "Along With Gods", and the clumsy father Seok Woo in Train to Busan.

These are all works with great resonance, reaching box office revenue or "terrible" ratings, raising the level of the participating cast. Therefore, fans of the 7X actor couldn't help but regret seeing him again and again miss the opportunity to receive another hit role.

When asked about the reason Won Bin hasn't acted in a movie for a long time, his wife - actress Lee Na Young - once said, "Won Bin wants to show a story with a human spirit. Because he was busy looking for the right script. appropriate, his period of rest is getting longer and longer."

In fact, during those 10 years of "retirement", Won Bin once expressed interest in a movie work. Korean media sometimes reported that the actor wanted to take on the role of Lee Jong Su in Burning - an art film by director Lee Chang Dong which was highly appreciated at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

Below the posts related to Won Bin, fans still expressed their regret when he was not invited to participate in the film adaptation of Haruki Murakami's short story. Director Lee Chang Dong spent many years preparing for Burning, delaying the start of filming three times, and Won Bin chose to wait for the role the whole time. In the end, the filmmaker decided to give the main role to the youngest "king image" on the Korean screen: Yoo Ah In.

"Since being turned away by director Lee Chang Dong, I feel that Won Bin will not act in any more films. He has been waiting for Burning for so many years", "Lee Chang Dong betrayed Won Bin, he choose Yoo Ah In", "Won Bin is also suffering, he is always waiting for a role like Jong Su"... are some of the comments of the Korean audience surrounding the incident.

Too rich to not need to act?

Also on this issue, Lee Na Young once frankly expressed her opinion that she did not understand why Won Bin was criticized for not accepting a new film. "My husband wants to be told a good story through the role, but recently there are not many works like that," the actress said at a press conference in 2018.

Although there are many reasons given, it is still difficult for the audience to accept the fact that the 45-year-old actor has not appeared on the set for 12 years. During that time, he only received advertising and attended events to make money.

At one point, the wave of criticism in Korea was pushed up quite high. Many people sarcastically: "Won Bin is not an actor, he is just a model", "Even asking the brand not to call himself actor Won Bin is not earnest about acting anymore". "No one for more than 10 years only acts in commercials and attends events and still claims to be an actor."

Besides, many people think that Won Bin is too rich so he no longer wants to work on the set. The actor only earns profit from advertising and real estate is enough to "eat until the end of his life".

"People don't go to work because they want to, they work because they don't want to starve. Won Bin is so rich, with so much money in his hand, why should he work for his body?", a Korean audience Quoc commented on Naver.

Another shared that view when writing, "I understand why Won Bin doesn't want to work anymore. The couple already have enough money for their whole life and their children are still young. If it were me, I would also like to stay at home. , spend time sticking with each stage of your child's growth".

However, Won Bin once shared in an interview in 2013 that: "When I meet a new movie, I first feel it with my heart, then I use my head to think. In my head, I know there are The roles were very necessary for my career and I had to accept. But in fact, even though I read the script many times, my heart still didn't like it, so I finally decided to give up."

In the above interview, the actor repeatedly expressed his strict opinion when choosing the script, but in his heart he always wanted to dedicate roles full of humanity and artistic value to the audience.

Because of that statement, even though he has been absent from the screen for 12 years, Won Bin has always been trusted by a large number of fans on the day he returns.

Recently, My Daily reported that on June 29, Won Bin appeared in an advertisement for sportswear with actress Ji Yi Soo. In the photo, Won Bin is still handsome and young at the age of 45.

Kim Soo Hyun and Won Bin are compared, who is the real male god, suitable for Kim Sae Ron? Keng16:40:09 19/03/2025On the morning of March 18, Allkpop reported that a post comparing two A-list actors Kim Soo Hyun and Won Bin has become a hot topic on social media. The writer emphasized that if two actors in their early 20s were compared, Kim Soo Hyun would surpass his senior.