Rowoon (Korean: 로운, born August 7, 1996) is a South Korean actor, singer, model and endorser. As an actor, he is known for his roles in television series Extraordinary You, She Would Never Know, The King's Affection and Tomorrow. Rowoon is a member of the boy band SF9.
Early life[]
Rowoon was born Kim Seok Woo on August 7 1996, in Ilsan, South Korea. Growing up, he was a diligent student and had a great memory – in elementary, he was known locally as the student who could memorize 400 different plants, and won a contest for this skill. He was also a good soccer player, as his team won third place in a national competition. His parents raised him and his older sister in a comfortable household in Daechidong, an affluent community in Gangnam. His mother ran a hagwon (cram school) in Seoul.
Career[]
Rowoon started his vocal, dance, acting and hosting training when he was in 9th grade under FNC Entertainment, home to K-Pop groups F.T. Island, CNBLUE, and AOA. He was first introduced to the public as a resident trainee in the agency-produced reality television series, “Cheongdam-dong 111,” aired on the TVN cable channel from November 2013 to January 2014.
In 2015, his agency divided him and the other trainees into two groups, called NEOZ Band and NEOZ Dance. Both groups competed in the reality TV survival series, “D.O.B,” (Dance or Band) for the chance to be given a grand showcase debut. Rowoon along with Chani, Dawon, Hwiyoung, Inseong, Jaeyoon, Taeyang, Youngbin, and Zuho belonged to the dance group that won the competition.
SF9, solo activies and rising popularity[]
In 2015, he was a part of pre-debut team, “Neoz School”, under FNC Entertainment as a member of the group called NEOZ. In May 2016, he participated as a member of "NEOZ Dance" in FNC Entertainment's survival show d.o.b (Dance or Band), competing against NEOZ Band (later known as Honeyst). "NEOZ Dance" won the competition with 51% of the votes and received the opportunity to debut. He debuted with group SF9 in October 2016 with the single "Fanfare". and
His acting career in television series began with KBS2's School 2017 with a minor supporting role. After his appearance, he steadily began receiving bigger roles. In March 2018, he was confirmed to star in tvN's About Time as the female lead's brother. In July 2018, he was confirmed to star in SBS’s Where Stars Land in which he was nominated for the New Actor award.
On May 9, 2019, Rowoon was confirmed to be the male lead in MBC's school fantasy drama, Extraordinary You based on the hit Daum webtoon July Found by Chance. After receiving the role of Haru, Rowoon’s popularity skyrocketed, launching him into stardom. He was nominated at the MBC Drama Awards with fellow costars, Kim Hyeyoon and Lee Jaewook, for Best Couple, and was awarded with Best New Actor. On May 10, 2019, Rowoon was featured in NC.A's music video, "밤바람" (Awesome Breeze).
In January 2020, Rowoon was selected as the new model for makeup brand KLAVUU. In April, it was revealed that he would be the voice of Branch in the Korean dub of the animated movie Trolls World Tour. Later that month, Rowoon was selected as the new brand ambassador for Gong Cha Korea. On May 25, 2020, FNC Entertainment confirmed that Rowoon will star in upcoming JTBC drama She Would Never Know, based on the webtoon of the same name. The drama began airing in January 2021. On August 18, 2020, it was announced that Rowoon was selected as the new brand ambassador for The North Face White Label 2020 Fall/Winter collection.
In 2021, Rowoon starred as the male lead in the historical drama The King's Affection which premiered in October 2021. On July 1, 2021, Rowoon was selected as the new model for cosmetic brand Estée Lauder. In late 2021, Rowoon became an MC for KBS Song Festival along with ASTRO's Cha Eun Woo and Kim Seol Hyun. In 2022, Rowoon starred in the MBC fantasy drama Tomorrow.
Personal life[]
Education[]
He attended Seoul Daehyun Elementary School and Whimoon Middle School, and matriculated from the exclusive all-boys Kyunggi High School, then graduated from Kyung Hee Cyber University.
Filmography[]
Television series[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Click Your Heart | Himself |
| 2017 | School 2017 | Kang Hyun-il / Issue |
| 2018 | Modulove | |
| About Time | Choi Wee-jin | |
| Where Stars Land | Ko Eun-sub | |
| 2019 | Extraordinary You | Ha-ru |
| 2020 | Find Me in Your Memory | Joo Yeo-min |
| Was It Love? | Himself | |
| 2021 | She Would Never Know | Chae Hyun-seung |
| The King's Affection | Jung Ji-woon | |
| 2022 | Tomorrow | Choi Joon-woong |