He studied theater at Seoul Institute of the Arts, where early stage work and a collaboration with senior classmate Jang Jin set the foundation for his career. Minor film roles in the late 1990s led to his breakout in Jang's Guns & Talks (2001), a gritty turn in No Blood No Tears, and a death-row soldier in Silmido (2003). A lead in Someone Special (2004) earned the Busan Film Critics Best Actor p…
