Personal life[]
On February 29, 2024, Namoo Actors announced that Song Kang will enlist to fulfill his mandatory military service as an active duty soldier on April 2[1].
Career[]
2016-17: Early life[]
Professionally, Song Kang is a young and prominent actor most recognized for his lead roles in TV dramas like Love Alarm and Sweet Home among others. The young actor made his acting debut in the year 2017 with the TV drama series The Liar and His Lover. He played the role of Baek Jin-woo in this tvN drama. The same year, Kang also acted in The Ade’s music video for the song Sweet Summer Night (달콤한 여름밤), as well as Suran’s song Love Story (러브스토리). Similarly, also in 2017, he was a cast member in Man in the Kitchen.
The young actor is singed under the management agency Namoo Actors. This agency organized a fan meeting on July 8, 2017, called “Introduction to Rookies”. This was especially for the new and rising actors Song Kang, Oh Seung-hoon, and Lee Yoo-jin.
2017–18: Popularity rises and Son of Netflix[]
Song made his acting debut with a supporting role in the 2017 romantic comedy television series The Liar and His Lover. The same year, he was cast in the family drama Man in the Kitchen. He also appeared in two music videos: "Sweet Summer Night" by acoustic duo The Ade and "Love Story" by Suran. On July 8, 2017, his agency Namoo Actors organised a fan meeting – "Introduction to Rookies" for Song alongside Oh Seung-hoon and Lee Yoo-jin.
Song hosted the SBS music program Inkigayo from February to October 2018 along with Seventeen's Kim Min Gyu and DIA's Jung Chae Yeon. He also joined as a fixed cast member on the variety show Village Survival, the Eight. For the two works, he was nominated for the "Rookie Award" at the 2018 SBS Entertainment Awards. In July 2018, Song marked his big-screen debut with the fantasy film Beautiful Vampire.
2019–2021: Lead of main roels and pan-Asian fame[]
In 2019, Song played the supporting role of Jung Kyung-ho's assistant in tvN fantasy melodrama When the Devil Calls Your Name. He next starred in the Netflix original romantic series Love Alarm, based on the popular webtoon of the same name. Song was cast in his first main role through auditions out of 900 people; he played the role of a handsome high-school student who falls in love with a girl who was his best friend's secret crush. Love Alarm was ranked as one of Netflix's top releases of the year and was renewed for a second season. His final appearance that year was in the music video of Vibe's "Call Me Back".
Song was propelled to stardom in 2020 when he starred in apocalyptic horror Netflix original Sweet Home, based on the eponymous webtoon. He was auditioned for the cast on the recommendation of Love Alarm - Season 2's director to the director of Sweet Home, Lee Eung-bok. His role was Cha Hyun-su, a suicidal high school boy who, along with a group of fellow apartment residents, tries to survive a "monsterization" apocalypse. Critical responses of the series were mixed, but gathered a wide international audience. One month after the release of the series, Variety revealed that it had been viewed by 22 million member households of Netflix. At the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards Song received a nomination for Best New Actor – Television.
In 2021, reprised his role as Hwang Sun-oh in the Love Alarm 2 which was released on Netflix on March 12. He next appeared in the tvN series Navillera, adapted from the eponymous webtoon. He played a ballet student who struggles due to unresolved issues about his father and tries to support himself by working as a part-timer. Song took ballet lessons for six months in order to portray his character. Later the same year, Song starred in another webtoon adaption Nevertheless, JTBC's romance drama, longside Han So-hee.
In 2022, Song starred in another JTBC drama, Forecasting Love and Weather, alongside Park Min-young. On March 4, 2022, Song held a fan meeting to communicate with fans around the world in real time via 'The Swoon', a YouTube channel dedicated to South Korea.
2021–present: The Son of Netflix[]
As of June 2021, South Korea’s Song Kang has played leading roles in three Netflix original series, all of which were international hits, leaving a mark on audiences all over the world. But there is even more to come from this 27-year-old, with new romance K-drama Nevertheless now hitting screens, likely to ensure his current reign as a king of K-drama will continue. Now in 2021, the actor is going back to his roots as he reprises his beloved role as the handsome and sweet Hwang Sun-oh for the second season of Love Alarm. That said, the actor admitted that his character is a completely different person now. The show’s director, Kim Jin Woo, agreed, acknowledging that Sun-oh grew the most amongst the main characters, “We put a lot of thought in [Sun-oh] and Song Kang himself thought long and hard about this character as he was thinking from Sun-oh’s perspective. And I think if you try to put a lot of thought into interpreting him, the character always ends up growing and becoming more mature.” Song Kang confessed that Sun-oh’s story, coupled with the actor truly embodying his role, resulted in him breaking out into tears more than usual this time around. He explains, “The conflicts from the previous season have evolved and I have to overcome those challenges. I rewatched season one again and as I was trying to act out those scenes where I had to cry, I became Sun-oh literally and I think that’s why I shed a lot of tears.”
In July 2021, Kang and Singian have confirmed that Sons of Netflix as their platforms are not expected and Kang's position as Son of Netflix will last in the change in place of Singian, who together as a child and Singian became the Prince of other platforms and became Doctor's Prince and Nurse's Prince in UNICEF in United States.
In June 2022, The actor will return to his character Cha Hyun Soo who has vowed to return the apocalypse fiction ‘Sweet Home’ which is in two seasons to take place.
Endorsements[]
In 2020, Song was selected as brand ambassador for South Korean cosmetics brand Banila Co.[2]. In 2021, Italian luxury fashion house Prada announced that Song was selected as a brand ambassador.[3] In 2022, he was also selected as the brand ambassador for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in the Asia-Pacific region.[4] In February 2022, Song was named as Penshoppe's global ambassador[5].
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Beautiful Vampire | Lee So Nyeon | Web film |
| 2024 | Escape | Seon Woo-min | Special appearance |
Television series[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Liar and His Lover | Baek Jin Woo |
| 2017–2018 | Man in the Kitchen | Kim Woo Joo |
| 2019 | Touch Your Heart | Deliveryman |
| When the Devil Calls Your Name | Luka Aleksijević | |
| 2021 | Navillera | Lee Chae Rok |
| Nevertheless | Park Jae Eon | |
| 2022 | Forecasting Love and Weather | Lee Shi Woo |
| 2023 | My Demon | Jeong Gu-won |
Web series[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–2021 | Love Alarm | Hwang Sun-oh | Season 1–2 |
| 2020–2024 | Sweet Home | Cha Hyun-soo | Season 1–3 |
Television Show[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Inkigayo | Host | Ep. 945–979 |
| 2018–2019 | Village Survival, the Eight | Cast member | |
| 2024 | I-Land 2 | Storyteller |
Web Shows[]
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | I Oppa Don't Know | Cast Member | Studio Lulu Lala |
Music video appearance[]
| Year | Title | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Sweet Summer Night" (달콤한 여름밤) | The Ade |
| "Love Story" (러브스토리) | Suran | |
| 2019 | "Call Me Back" (이 번호로 전화해줘) | Vibe |
Awards & Nominations[]
Award Ceremony[]
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Contents Awards | 2021 | Newcomer Actor | Navillera | Nominated |
| ACA Excellence Award | Sweet Home | Won | ||
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2021 | Best New Actor – Television | Nominated | |
| Brand Customer Loyalty Award | 2021 | Male actor – Rising Star | Song Kang | Won |
| Brand of the Year Awards | 2021 | Rising Star Actor | Nominated | |
| Newsis Hallyu Expo | 2021 | Seoul Tourism Foundation CEO Award | Won | |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2023 | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Romance/Comedy Drama | My Demon | Won |
| Best Couple Award | My Demon(with Kim Yoo-jung) | Won | ||
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2018 | Male Rookie Award | Village Survival, the Eight, Inkigayo | Nominated |
| Seoul International Drama Awards | 2021 | Outstanding Korean Actor | Sweet Home | Nominated |
| Character of the Year | Won |
Listicles[]
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cine21 | 2020 | 10 Stars and Rising Stars | Placed[6] |
| 2021 | New Actors that will lead Korean Video Content Industry in 2022 | 5th[7] |
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ The Korea Times. (2024, Feb 29). "'Sweet Home' star Song Kang to begin military service in April". The Korea Times. Retrieved on August 30, 2024.
- ↑ In-gwi, Kang. (2020, Jan 23). "바닐라코, 배우 송강 브랜드 모델로 발탁... 밝은 에너지 · 조각같은 미모에 주목". Money S. Retrieved on August 30, 2024.
- ↑ Jamie, Lee. (2023, Feb 22). "LIVESTREAM: WATCH THE PRADA FW'23 SHOW ATTENDED BY SONG KANG AND CAI XU KUN". ELLE Singapore. Retrieved on August 30, 2024.
- ↑ Harper's Bazaar Singapore. (2022, Aug 31). "Song Kang Is Bobbi Brown's Newest Brand Ambassador". Harper's Bazaar Singapore. Retrieved on August 30, 2024.
- ↑ Marga Buenaventura, (2022, Feb 18). "EXCLUSIVE: K-actor Song Kang is Penshoppe's newest ambassador". CNN Philippines. . Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved on August 30, 2024.
- ↑ So-mi, Kim. (2020, Jul 17). "[스페셜③] 10인의 스타와 기대주들". Cine21. Retrieved on August 30, 2024.
- ↑ Dong-mi, Bae. (2021, Dec 31). "2022년 주목해야 할 작품과 배우는...한국 영상산업 리더 62명이 꼽았다". Cine21. Retrieved on August 30, 2024.