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MBC Bests Theater

1991

Lee Sun-kyun

Cast · Known for Parasite

Lee Sun-kyun (March 2, 1975 – December 27, 2023) was a South Korean actor. He was best known for his roles in the films, Helpless (2012), romantic comedy All About My Wife (2012), and crime/black comedy A Hard Day (2014). He was also known for his role in the Bong Joon-ho's Academy Award-winning black comedy film Parasite for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award along with his castmates. He received several other awards including nomination for an International Emmy Award. After beginning his career in musical theatre, for many years Lee was relegated to minor and supporting roles onscreen, only getting to play lead characters in one-act dramas on KBS Drama City and MBC Best Theater. In one such Best Theater project, he worked with TV director Lee Yoon-jung on Taereung National Village (2005), which led to him being cast in her later series Coffee Prince in 2007. Coffee Prince, along with medical drama White Tower brought Lee mainstream popularity, which he followed with Pasta (2010), Golden Time (2012) and My Mister (2018). Meanwhile, on the big screen, he received a Best Actor award from the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival for his role in Paju (2009), followed by critical acclaim for mystery thriller Helpless (2012), romantic comedy All About My Wife (2012), and crime/black comedy A Hard Day (2014). Lee also continues to collaborate with auteur Hong Sang-soo, and his arthouse films with Hong include Night and Day (2008), Oki's Movie (2010), and Nobody's Daughter Haewon (2013). In 2019, he starred in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning black comedy film Parasite.

Han Hyo-joo

Cast · Known for Ad-lib Night

Han Hyo-Joo (한효주) was born on February 22, 1987 in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. Her mother worked as an elementary school teacher before becoming an inspector for public schools and her father worked in the military. As a child, Han Hyo-Joo was good in sports and enjoyed track & field. In her sophomore year of high school, Han Hyo-Ju moved to Seoul and attended Bulgok High School. Although her father, conservative & strict, opposed her move to Seoul she was able to go forth with her wishes. After high school, Han Hyo-Joo majored in theatre at Dongguk University. According to Han Hyo-Ju, her personality fits her blood type-A classification: calm, doesn't get angry easily, & able to endure without a lot of expression. In 2003, Han Hyo-Ju won the grand prize for the Miss Bing-geure contest, which attracted the attention from the entertainment world (Bing-geure is a Korean food company). In 2005, Han Hyo-Ju received her first acting roles in the MBC sitcom “Nonstop 5” and the movie “My Boss, My Teacher”. Her debut performances went largely unnoticed. In 2006 Han Hyo-Ju received her first leading role in the KBS2 drama “Spring Waltz”. Director Yun Seok-Ho of “Spring Waltz” stated that he first got the idea to cast Han Hyo-Joo after browsing the Internet and coming across her picture. Yun Seok-Ho felt she still held the purity of a child and a sense of mysteriousness which suited her character well. Han Hyo-Joo also stated that working on “Spring Waltz” was difficult, largely due to her inexperience in acting. Han Hyo-Joo's first leading performance in a feature film came with the 2006 independent film “Ad Lib Night,” helmed by well-regarded director Lee Yoon-Ki. Han Hyo-Joo's experience working on “Ad Lib Night” went far more smoothly than her first leading role in a drama series. Han Hyo-Joo recalled that the one month shoot seemed to zoom by and wished it could have lasted longer. Her performance was enthusiastically received by critics and Han Hyo-Joo received “Best Actress” awards from the 26th Korean Movie Critics Organization and the 20th Singapore International Film Festival. Han Hyo-Joo's commercial break-out role came with her performance in the popular 2009 SBS drama series “Brilliant Legacy,” alongside actor/singer Lee Seung-Ki. The drama series, mixing a healthy dose of Korean melodrama with a Charles Dickens' “Great Expectations” like storyline, captured the attention of Koreans throughout the summer of 2009. “Brilliant Legacy”regularly received ratings in excess of 40% and catapulted Han Hyo-Joo as one of the more popular young actresses in Korea. With her popularity, media reports and gossip magazines began to speculate on who Han Hyo-Joo was dating. In 2010, Han Hyo-Joo branched out of her comfort zone and took the lead role in the MBC historical drama series “Dong Yi”.

Kim Young-ae

Cast · Known for Oldboy

Kim Young-ae began her acting career when she joined MBC's 3rd Open Recruitment in 1971. She made her acting debut in the TV police procedural Chief Inspector and subsequently built a prolific career in film and television. After she made her film debut in 1973's Long Live the Island Frogs, Kim became most active on the big screen in the 1970s and early 1980s, appearing in films such as Wang Sib Ri, My Hometown (also known as Wangsimni or A Bygone Romance, 1976), Suddenly at Midnight (1981), and Diary of King Yeonsan (1987). As she grew older, Kim transitioned to more television work. Among her notable television dramas are Queen Min (1973), Ilchul (or Sunrise, 1989), Magpie-in-law (1991), The Brothers' River (1996), Waves (1999), Go, Mom, Go! (2003), Hwang Jini (2006), Royal Family (2011), and Moon Embracing the Sun (2012). In 2009, she drew praise for her portrayal of a terminally ill yet headstrong mother who has a love-hate relationship with her daughter in the dramedy film Aeja (internationally known as Goodbye Mom).Another notable role was as a Busan restaurant owner whose son is arrested and tortured during the 1980s in The Attorney (2013). Kim later won Best Supporting Actress at the Grand Bell Awards and the Blue Dragon Film Awards for her performances.

Kim Young-dae

Kim Young-dae is a South Korean actor and model under the Agency Outer Korea. His acting debut was in 2018 in the web drama "Office Watch 2". Since then, he has appeared in a variety of television dramas and was nominated for Best New Actor in the 2019 MBC Drama Awards for the drama "Extraordinary You".

Lee Won-tae

Director · Known for The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil

Lee Won-tae is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for the 2019 action-thriller The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil. Before moving into film, he spent over a decade producing shows for the South Korean TV network MBC. He also co-founded the company Wontak, which focuses on creating "movels" — novels written specifically with future film adaptations in mind.

Namkoong Min

Cast · Known for My Dearest

Namkoong Min (born March 12, 1978), is a South Korean actor, director and screenwriter. He first gained recognition with neo-noir film A Dirty Carnival (2006), and has since given notable performances in Remember (2015–2016), Beautiful Gong Shim (2016), Good Manager (2017), Hot Stove League (2019–2020), and My Dearest (2023). He won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the 2020 SBS Drama Awards for Hot Stove League; the drama also gained Namkoong his third Best Actor nomination at the Baeksang Arts Awards. The next year, he received the Grand Prize at the 2021 MBC Drama Awards for The Veil. In 2023, he again received the Grand Prize at the 2023 MBC Drama Awards for My Dearest.

Nam Ji-hyun

Cast · Known for Make Me Tingle

Nam Ji-hyun (born September 17, 1995) is a South Korean actress who successfully transitioned from being one of the industry's premier child artists to an acclaimed lead, well-loved for her roles in Queen Seondeok, Shopping King Louis, Suspicious Partner, and 100 Days My Prince. Nam began her career as a child actress, and is best known for her roles in East of Eden (2008), Queen Seondeok (2009), Will It Snow for Christmas? (2009), Angel Eyes (2014), and What Happens to My Family? (2014). She also appeared in the miniseries Girl Detective, Park Hae-sol, teen drama To the Beautiful You, and the films A Reason to Live and Hwayi: A Monster Boy. In 2016, she headlined her first drama, MBC's romantic-comedy Shopaholic Louis with Seo In-guk, where she impressed viewers with her acting. In 2017, she starred in SBS's legal drama Suspicious Partner alongside Ji Chang-wook. The show enjoyed modest viewership share, but it beat its competitor by topping the important 20-49-year-old demographic, as well as streaming, popularity, and brand reputation charts for consecutive weeks. In 2018, Nam starred alongside EXO's D.O in the historical romance drama 100 Days My Prince. The series was a commercial success, becoming the fifth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history. In 2020, Nam starred in the fantasy mystery thriller 365: Repeat the Year as a perfectionist webtoon writer.

Jin Soo-wan

Writer · Known for Chicago Typewriter

Jin Soo-wan (진수완) is a South Korean television screenwriter born on December 30, 1970. She launched her career in 1996 after winning the KBS Open Screenwriting Contest, contributing early on to the landmark youth series School 1 (1999) and School 2 (1999). Jin is celebrated for writing several of South Korea's most popular television dramas. Her major works include the period romance Capital Scandal (2007), the mega-hit fantasy historical series Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), and the critically acclaimed psychological drama Kill Me, Heal Me (2015), for which she won Best Screenwriter at the MBC Drama Awards. Her television credits also include the fantasy romance Chicago Typewriter (2017) and the time-travel youth drama Twinkling Watermelon (2023).

Shin Eun-soo

Shin Eun-soo (신은수, born October 23, 2002) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 2016 by winning the lead role alongside Gang Dong-won in the fantasy feature film Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned out of more than 300 auditionees. Her television and film credits include playing the younger version of Jun Ji-hyun in The Legend of the Blue Sea (2016), Bad Papa (2018)—for which she won the MBC Drama Award for Best Young Actress—Homme Fatale (2019), Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020), and The Good Detective 2 (2022). She earned critical acclaim for her performance as the deaf student Yoon Chung-ah in the youth drama Twinkling Watermelon (2023) and starred in the Netflix retro romance film Love Untangled (2025).

Nam Yoon-su

Cast · Known for Merry Berry Love

Nam Yoon-su is a model and actor under the agency "Agency Garten". When he was a second -year school fashion model with Hallym Entertainment High School , he came to audition at five models agencies.[6] At this time, he signed a contract with Agency Garten and debuted as a CECI pictorial at the age of 17 in 2014 . Since then, he has been active as a model such as fashion magazines, fashion shows, lookbooks, and music videos. Before his official debut as an actor, he had been acting through music videos, but began his acting career in earnest in 2018 . In 2018, he appeared as Junha in the MBC every1 drama 《 4 Houses 》. This is Nam Yoon- soo's debut film as an actor . Jun-ha is a fashion photographer who studied abroad in France and is a friend of the female protagonist, Na-yoon . She returns to Korea and lives in a share house with Seonmin , Nayun , and Jihyeon . She acted like she liked Na-yoon, quietly taking care of her behind her back, with the image of her being like a romantic comic book heroine. There are a total of 7 episodes based on Naver TV , with only voice acting in part 1.[7] , will appear in earnest starting from Part 4. In 2018, he appeared as Lee Gyeom in the 2018 Playlist web drama 《 If You Don't Do It, Do It 19 》. Lee Gyeom is a male friend who has a crush on the female protagonist, Kim Yuna (Shin Ki-hwan). He attracts the attention of many female students with his gentle smile, but he only has eyes for Kim Yoon-ah (Shin Ki-hwan) and silently takes care of her behind her back. However, Kim Yun-ah (Shin Ki-hwan) likes Kang Eun-gu (Jeong Ha-jun) and the two start dating, but in the end, her unrequited love does not come true. There are a total of 7 episodes, and Lee Gyeom's unrequited love episode is EP.03 . In 2019, he appeared in the Dingo web drama “ I’m Not a Robot ” as Jeong Seong-yoon. Jeong Seong-yoon is an all-round fraud character who is good at grades, sports, and good looks. He also has a good personality and has many friends. She is the male friend of Mid Summer, and she has a crush on the female protagonist, Cha Eun . In 2020, he appeared as Lee Chan-sol in the tvN D web drama “ Temperature of Language: Our Nineteen .” Lee Chan-sol is a high school senior preparing for the physical education department entrance exam and the male friend of the female protagonist, Woo Jin-ah . In 2020, he appeared as Kwak Ki-tae in the Netflix original series “ Human Class ”. He is Seo Min-hee's boyfriend and is a second-year student at Gyewang High School. His image changed with his acting, which was completely opposite to his previous roles. For this work, he was nominated for the Best New Actor Award at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards . In November 2020, he appeared as Ha Kyung-hoon in the tvN drama Postpartum Care Center . Ha Kyung-hoon is a kind and personable delivery driver and is called Happy Man because of his charming smile. In the JTBC drama " Monster , which aired in February -April 2021, he appeared as a police officer at the Manyang police box. In the fall of the same year, KBS 2TV drama " Yeonmo appeared as Lee Hyun -hyun. In October 2024, he appeared as the main character Go Young in the TVING drama “ Love in the Big City ” for the first time since his debut.

Idol Radio

2018

A South Korean radio show created by MBC Radio specially for idols.

Nonstop

2000

ComedyDrama

Nonstop is a South Korean slice-of-life sitcom that broadcast its first season in 2000 on MBC. It continued with 5 more seasons. The series was popular for its cast of teen idols, many who debuted through the show..

Jeon Jin-soo

Director · Known for Nonstop

South Korea drama & variety show PD (Program Director). One of MBC Academy PD. Currently Head of MBC Variety Show Department 1 & Leader of MBC Variety Show Team 1.

Nonstop

nonstop-18495

Jeon So-min

Cast · Known for KBS Drama Special

Jeon So-min is a South Korean actress. She made her debut in 2004 MBC sitcom called "Miracle". In 2013, Jeon played her first leading role in the MBC television series Princess Aurora. Wikipedia

Yeoum Ji-hye

Yeoum Ji-hye (coreano: 염지혜) is a South Korean announcer and news anchor currently working for G1, the regional SBS-affiliated broadcaster serving Gangwon Province. Before joining G1/SBS, she worked as an announcer and Newsdesk anchor at MBC Mokpo. Ji-hye studied Theatre at Chung-Ang University (45th class) and later began graduate studies at the university's College of the Arts, which she is currently on leave from. With a background in performing arts, she has appeared in theatre productions such as Nabi and Romeo and Juliet. She also previously taught at Goyang Arts High School.

Kim Hye-yoon

Kim Hye-yoon is a South Korean actress and model. She first became known through her portrayal as Kang Ye-seo in JTBC's television series Sky Castle and received her first leading role with MBC's Extraordinary You.

Yoon Park

Yoon Park is a South Korean actor. Yoon began his entertainment career as a drummer for the band Can't Play Well (Hangul: 못 노는 애들), which won the Bronze Prize at the 34th MBC Campus Song Festival in 2010. When his contract with agency S.M. Entertainment expired, he joined JYP Entertainment in 2013. Yoon had starring roles in the television dramas "What Happens to My Family?" and "Queen's Flower".

Kim Kang-min

Kim Kang Min, who debuted in the 2019 drama ‘Stove League(SBS)’, attracted viewers with his fresh mask and stable acting ability. After that, he played the role of ‘Bae Jin Woo’ in ‘She knows Everything(MBC)’, and will play the role of ‘Pyo Jae Hwan’ in ‘Nine Tailed(tvN)’. He is currently under Mystic Story.

Park Ha-seon

Park Ha-seon is a South Korean actress. Park debuted in 2005 with the TV series Love Needs a Miracle and rose to stardom with her role as Queen Inhyeon in MBC's 2010 historical drama Dong Yi, followed by a comedic turn as a teacher in the popular sitcom High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged that aired in 2011-2012. She has since appeared in the films The Last Blossom (2011), Champ (2011), and Tone-deaf Clinic (2012).

Kim Jin-min

Director · Known for MBC Bests Theater

Kim Jin-min (김진민) is a South Korean television director born in 1972. Beginning his career at MBC, he gained early acclaim directing series such as Time Between Dog and Wolf (2007), Pride and Prejudice (2014–2015), and Marriage Contract (2016). He achieved global recognition directing high-profile original streaming series for Netflix, including Extracurricular (2020), My Name (2021), and Goodbye Earth (2024).

Ghassan Massoud

Cast · Known for Kingdom of Heaven

Ghassan Massoud (Arabic: غسّان مسعود / Ghassān Masʻūd; born September 20, 1958) is a Syrian actor and filmmaker born on September 20, 1958, in Damascus, Syria. He achieved global recognition for his roles in both Arabic and worldwide films. Massoud has been active in the industry for several decades, earning a distinguished reputation as one of the most highly regarded actors in the Middle East. Massoud is known for writing and directing the theater play "Diplomasiyyoun," as well as his appearances in many Syrian-made films. He has appeared in the Syrian television series "The Chant of Rain," but most recently, he starred as Abu Bakr in MBC's series "Omar." He's most well-known internationally for his role as Saladin in Ridley Scott's 2005 film "Kingdom of Heaven," alongside playing Ammand the Corsair in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Throughout his career, Massoud has been recognized for the commitment he has to his craft. He continues to be an influential figure in the world of Arab cinema, teaching drama at both the Damascus Music and Drama School and the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts.

Kim Yeo-jin

Kim Yeo-jin (born June 24, 1972) is a South Korean actress and activist. Kim made her acting debut in the stage play What Do Women Live For in 1995, and has since remained active in film and television, drawing praise for her supporting roles in Im Sang-soo's Girls' Night Out (1998), Lee Chang-dong's Peppermint Candy (2000), and Im Kwon-taek's Chi-hwa-seon (2002). Kim is known for being actively engaged in various rallies and civic group activities, attracting public attention to controversial social and political issues, including efforts to reinstate laid-off shipbuilders at Hanjin Heavy Industries, calls to lower university tuition fees, and opposition to the Four Major Rivers Project. She often expresses her opinions on social networking service Twitter,[8][9][10][11][12] and has been called one of the most popular socialtainers. Because of her outspokenness, MBC banned Kim in 2011 (she was originally scheduled to appear as a "progressive" panelist on the current affairs radio show Sohn Suk-hee's Spotlight), which led to prominent figures from academic, literary and media circles to call for a boycott of the network's programs. Kim has also campaigned for liberal politicians Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in and Park Won-soon.