Kim Seon-ho (Korean: 김선호; pronounced [kim.sʰʌnho̞]; born May 8, 1986) is a South Korean actor. He had his breakthrough role as Han Ji-pyeong from Start-Up (2020) and gained further attention with his role as Hong Du-sik in the romantic comedy Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021). For the latter, he was named Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year. He also stars as Joo Ho-jin in the Netflix series Can This Love Be Translated? (2026), for which he received a Best Actor nomination at the 5th Blue Dragon Series Awards.
In 2005, Kim began studying acting at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. While still in college, he launched his acting career as a theater actor in Daehangno in 2009. After graduating with his bachelor's degree in 2011, he continued gaining recognition through his stage performances and earned the moniker "theater idol". He made his television debut in KBS drama Good Manager (2017). After auditioning for supporting roles in Strongest Deliveryman (2017) and Two Cops (2017), he was upgraded to the second male lead in both dramas, winning two MBC Drama Awards for the latter. His first leading role came in the four-episode MBC drama special You Drive Me Crazy (2018), followed by secondary lead roles in tvN's 100 Days My Prince (2018), before he transitioned to full miniseries leads in JTBC's Welcome to Waikiki 2 (2019) and tvN series Catch the Ghost (2019).
In 2023, he received top billing for his feature film debut in Park Hoon-jung's action noir The Childe (2023), for which he won several Best New Actor awards. The pair subsequently collaborated again on their first streaming series, Disney+ The Tyrant (2024). Alongside his screen career, he continues to perform in stage productions.
Beyond acting, he ventured into variety programming as a main cast member on the KBS show 2 Days & 1 Night (2019–2021), winning the Rookie Award at the KBS Entertainment Awards. Later, he joined the cast of Bonjour Bakery (2026) and received a Best New Entertainer nomination at the 5th Blue Dragon Series Awards. He has also worked as a brand model in South Korea and across Asia, and engaged in various philanthropic activities.
Early life and education
Kim Seon-ho was born on May 8, 1986, in Seongbuk District, Seoul, South Korea. His given name, "Seon-ho" (Korean: 선호; Hanja: 宣虎), translates to "benevolent tiger." He grew up as an only child in Bongcheon-dong, a low-income hillside neighborhood known as a daldongnae. When he was in the second grade, a home invasion forced him to hide under a bed and witness his mother being stabbed. The trauma left him timid and introverted, causing severe public anxiety, an inability to read aloud in class, and intense discomfort whenever anyone stood behind him. During his third year of high school, a chance visit to an acting academy with a friend sparked an interest in the craft, leading him to enroll. Through acting, he discovered an outlet that helped him work through his trauma.
Encouraged by his acting academy teacher, an alumnus of the Seoul Institute of the Arts, Kim chose the same institution to pursue his goal of becoming a professional actor. His parents fully supported his career choice and agreed to help finance his education. Although enrolled in the Department of Broadcasting and Entertainment as part of the Class of 2005, Kim focused heavily on theater coursework, through which he met Lee Dong-hwi and Kwon Hyuk-soo, who were students in the Department of Theater. Together, they joined the campus theater club, the Dramatic Arts Research Society, which performed established works such as My Town, The Seagull, and Chunpung's Wife, alongside original pieces written and produced by members. While playing a cafe worker in an early student production, Kim experienced severe stage fright, but regained his composure upon seeing his high school friends in the audience and gradually grew comfortable on stage through subsequent roles.
In 2007, Kim began his mandatory military service. Initially serving as a drill instructor at the Nonsan Army Training Center before transitioning to a role as a public service worker. He credited his time as a drill instructor with improving his pronunciation and enunciation, while noting that managing and counseling diverse individuals as a public service worker enhanced his communication skills and fostered a more outgoing personality. He has characterized this period as transformative, stating that it broadened his worldview and provided new perspectives for his acting career.
Career
2009–2016: Beginnings in theater
Kim made his professional stage debut in 2009 in the Daehakro theater district's open-run production of New Boeing Boeing, an adaptation of French playwright Marc Camoletti's farce Boeing-Boeing. He reprised this role in 2013 and 2014. After graduating with his bachelor's degree in 2011, he continued his career in Daehakro, auditioning for roles while leveraging the experience he gained at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. In 2012, he portrayed Dr. Watson in Han Jae-hyeok's Sherlock: The Secret of Birlstone, a Korean adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The Valley of Fear.
In December 2013, Kim took the leading role in Park Jung-in's Words I Couldn't Say for 7 Years at the Daehakro Moonlight Theater, Seoul, later reprising this role in 2014 at venues in Ulsan, Daejeon, and Busan. In autumn 2014, he was triple-cast as Lee Kyung-min in season 10 of Alligator Theater Company's Rooftop House Cat after winning an audition against 200 candidates. Kim was recast for seasons 11 and 12. In 2015, he secured another lead role in the company's romantic comedy Purpose of Love.
Later that year, Kim continued his work with the Alligator Theater Company while transitioning to a darker repertoire, auditioning for Oh Man-seok's revival of Sam Shepard's True West. Kim shared the role of Austin alongside Lee Hyun-wook and Moon Sung-il, alternating performances opposite Jeon Seok-ho, Kim Jun-won, and Lee Dae-il, who shared the role of Austin's brother, Lee. The production ranked first in Interpark sales as soon as bookings opened. To close out the year, he took on the role of Valentin in the revival of Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman, in which he performed from November through January 2016.
In 2016, Kim auditioned for Theater Ganda's production of John Cariani's Almost, Maine. Despite a 200-to-1 competition rate, he secured a place in the production and portrayed four different roles as part of the second cast, beginning his run in April. He followed this with two consecutive productions with Alligator Theater Company: first reprising the role of Austin in the Korean encore of Sam Shepard's play True West Return and subsequently performing in the revival of Patrick Marber's Closer. Directed by Roh Deok, the latter featured him alongside an ensemble including Bae Seong-woo, Seo Hyun-woo, Kim So-jin, and Park So-dam. In November, he joined the production of Park Dong-wook's Voice of Millennium. The play was produced by Space to Create and directed by Park Seon-hee. Kim's rising prominence in Daehakro during this period earned him the nickname "theater idol." In a year-end review, critic Huh Yun-seon recognized Kim as an actor with significant potential, highlighting his "explosive energy" on stage.
2017–2019: Television debut
Kim debuted on screen in early 2017, playing accounting department employee Seon Sang-tae in the KBS2 office drama Good Manager. He secured this supporting role after producer Lee Eun-jin recommended he audition, having previously observed his performance in the play Closer. Later that year, despite initially auditioning for a minor deliveryman role, Kim was cast by director Jeon Woo-sung as second lead Oh Jin-kyu in KBS2 drama Strongest Deliveryman, starring alongside Go Kyung-pyo, Chae Soo-bin, and Go Won-hee. His performances in both series earned him a nomination for Best New Actor at the 2017 KBS Drama Awards. Kim followed this with the MBC…