Biography

Yoo Hai-Jin developed his dream of becoming an actor after watching the mono-drama Our Clown by veteran actor Chu Song-Woong during his middle school years. He later built the foundation of his acting at Cheongju’s "Youth Theater," and after enrolling in the Department of Theater at Seoul Institute of the Arts, continued his stage career with the theater company "Mokhwa". He made his screen debut in 1997 with the film Blackjack (1997).

Yoo Hai-Jin began gaining public recognition with Attack the Gas Station. He left a strong impression on audiences with his performances as the clown Yuk-gap in The King and the Clown (2005) and Go Gwang-Ryeol in Tazza: The High Rollers (2006), Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014), earning widespread popularity. Since then, he has captivated audiences with his wide acting spectrum, seamlessly moving between comedy and drama in films across genres and historical periods, including Woochi: The Demon Slayer (2009) , Intimate Strangers (2018), The Secret Mission (2019), and The Night Owl (2022).

In 2016, Yoo Hai-Jin took on his first leading role in Luck-Key (2016), which attracted over 7 million moviegoers and solidified his position as a leading actor. With a string of box-office hits such as Confidential Assignment (2017), Veteran (2015), A Taxi Driver (2017), Exhuma (2024) , and Yadang: The Snitch (2025), the cumulative audience for films he has appeared in surpassed 100 million, demonstrating his enduring presence as one of the pillars of the Korean film industry.

In 2026, he delivered a standout performance as the village chief Eom Heung-do in director Jang Hang-jun’s film The King’s Warden (2026), leading the film to a remarkable box-office success of 15 million admissions. The film ranked third in all-time admissions in Korean box office history and first in total revenue.
- IMDb mini biography by: Clair Song