From Chungju in North Chungcheong Province, Park Jungmin was born in 1987 and attended Korea University and later the Korea National University of Arts. His credits stretch back all the way to 2007, but Park’s unique brand of intensity and subtle characterization was properly recognized when he appeared as one of the leads in the breakout indie <Bleak Night> (2011), a feature production of the Korean Academy of Film Arts and recipient of the New Currents Award from t...More

From Chungju in North Chungcheong Province, Park Jungmin was born in 1987 and attended Korea University and later the Korea National University of Arts. His credits stretch back all the way to 2007, but Park’s unique brand of intensity and subtle characterization was properly recognized when he appeared as one of the leads in the breakout indie <Bleak Night> (2011), a feature production of the Korean Academy of Film Arts and recipient of the New Currents Award from the Busan International Film Festival. The role led to many other big parts in low-budget productions, such as the firebrand antagonist in <Tinker Ticker> (2013), another KAFA production. Around the same time, he was noticed by the mainstream film industry and scored small roles in major productions such as Lee Seokhoon’s romantic comedy <Dancing Queen> (2011), Kang Woosuk’s MMA drama <Fists of Legend> (2012) and Kim Sungsu’s disaster drama < Flu> (2013).

After roles in youth title <Hot Young Bloods> (2013) and the 3D anthology <MAD SAD BAD> (2014), which opened the Jeonju International Film Festival in 2014, Park put in a turn as a slippery young salary worker in horror-thriller <Office> (2014), which was a midnight screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. Park saw his star rise significantly in early 2016, when he wowed critics and viewers as a scene-stealing co-star in Lee Joonik’s low-budget Colonial Era drama <DONGJU; The Portrait of A Poet> (2015), which became a surprise low-budget sensation. His performance was so applauded that he picked up no less than five accolades that award season, most notable among Best New Actor from the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Director’s Cut Awards, run by an organization representing around 300 directors. In 2016, he appeared in the romantic drama <UNFORGETTABLE> (2015), the horror anthology <Horror Stories III> (2016) and the star-driven crime-thriller <The King> (2016). He then played a mentally disabled man who turns out to be a gifted pianist against Lee Byunghun in the family comedy <Keys to the Heart> (2017), and he also appeared that same year in <Train to Busan> director Yeon Sangho’s follow-up, <Psychokinesis> (2017). After showing his rapping chops in <Sunset in My Hometown>, his second collaboration with Director Lee, and portraying cult fanatism in <SVAHA : THE SIXTH FINGER> (2018), Park was particularly busy in 2019 as he took top billing in the heist thriller <Tazza: One Eyed Jack> (2019) and the comedy <START-UP> (2019), and he appeared in the action film <DELIVER US FROM EVIL> (2019), one of the only success stories in a year afflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which also net him the Blue Dragon Award for Best Supporting Actor. Also in 2019, he reunited with the one who launched his career, Yoon Sunghyun, for his sophomore directing effort <Time to Hunt> (2020), which premiered at the Berlinale. In 2020, Park played once again a young genius in the drama <The Miracle> (2020).
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