Kim Won-hae (Korean: 김원해; born April 6, 1969) is a South Korean actor. Since his debut in musical in 1991, Kim Won-hae worked on stage in plays and musicals before joining the non-verbal performance Nanta as an original member in 1997. He is best known as a former cast member of SNL Korea (season 1–4).
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Early life
Kim Won-hae was born on May 21, 1969, in Busan, South Korea. He was known as an extrovert who loved grabbing the mic at gatherings from a young age. In school, he was nicknamed "Rascal." He realized, "Oh, there's something this fun in the world," when he started the drama club in high school.
In 1988, he enrolled at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. There, he met Director Jang Jin and Jung Jae-young. They got to know each other through the Dongrang Youth Theater Festival and became close while working together in the same university theater club. After graduating from the Seoul Institute of the Arts, he enrolled in the first class of the dance department at the Korea National University of Arts. However, he was unable to graduate because he was busy performing in the Nanta show.
Career
1991 to 2008: Early career as a theater and musical actor, non-verbal performance Nanta
Kim Won-hae made his debut in the musical Iron Kids (철부지들). In 1994 he joined musical Subway Line 1, where he met Sul Kyung-gu, Hwang Jung-min, and Jang Hyun-sung.
Kim Won-hae became an original member of the non-verbal performance Nanta in 1997, following Song Seung-hwan's recommendation. He met founding member Kim Moon-soo, who had joined the group in spring 1996. Produced by PMC Production under co-CEOs Song Seung-hwan and Lee Kwang-ho, Nanta premiered in Korea at Hoam Art Hall in October 1997. Ryu Seung-ryong joined the original cast in 1998, while Jang Hyuk-jin joined later. These actors laid the foundation for Nanta, practicing and performing across Korea and the world. The show became popular and holds the record for the longest-running open run performance in Korea.
After participating in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1999, Nanta toured over 20 countries around the world, including Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, and North America, and has recorded an audience occupancy rate of over 90% to date. It continues to attract 70% of foreign tourists and was gaining great popularity.
Nanta was the first performance in Korea to introduce the concept of a dedicated theater. PMC Production opened a 300-seat theater in Gangbuk in Jeong-dong in 2000, followed by another 300-seat theater in Gangnam in Cheongdam-dong in 2002. By 2003, PMC were operating seven theaters. In 2004, PMC opened a state-of-the-art 500-seat theater in Jeong-dong, which was expanded and relocated in January 2004. Nanta consistently maintained high seat occupancy rates.
In 2002, they entered New York, USA, and appeared on the Today Show before Psy.
Nanta made history as the first Asian production to secure an official invitation to Broadway with a $140,000 guarantee. The show's journey to Broadway began when Marie Rose, program director of the New Victory Theater, visited Korea and signed a contract after seeing the performance at the Nanta Theater. Originally scheduled for the first half of 2004, the Broadway run was rescheduled due to the success of its Los Angeles performance. "Nanta" was renamed "Cookin'" and was chosen as the opening act for the 2003-2004 season at the New Victory Theater. Kim flew to New York City to do a four-week performance from October 25 to November 19, 2003. The performance featured 10 actors, including Kim Kang-il, Kim Won-hae, Seo Chu-ja, Seol Ho-yeol, and Lee Beom-chan. It completed a month-long invitational performance at the New Victory Theater on 42nd Street, which is famous for not performing one performance for a long period of time.
2006 to present: Acting hiatus, back to theater and screen debut
Kim Won-hae was a member of the Nanta cast from 1997 to 2006, dedicating nearly a decade of his life to the show from the age of 28 to 37. He refers to this period as his "Lost Decade," feeling he had nothing left after those years. Feeling adrift, he took a break and eventually opened a small gimbap restaurant in 2007. One day, Kim received a drunken call from his former understudy, Yoon Jeong-hwan, who was yelling at him, "Why are you rolling gimbap? Aren't you an actor?" Overwhelmed with emotion, Kim couldn't bear leaving acting any longer. In April, Kim returned to the stage in the black comedy play Jjamppong, which Yoon Jeong-hwan had written and directed.
Premiering in 2004, Jjamppong follows the story of the Chunraewon Chinese restaurant family, who mistakenly believe that the Gwangju Uprising was triggered by a jjamppong delivery mishap. As they pursue their modest dreams, the family encounters unexpected challenges. In the 2007 encore performance from April 5 to June 10, 2007, at Shotick Theater 2, Kim played the role of Shin Jak-ro, the head of the Chunraewon Chinese restaurant family. He showed an "insane presence" in the plays.
Feeling left behind by his former colleagues after a hiatus, Kim focused on his theater works, approaching acting with a "rookie" mindset. In his first year back in 2007, he faced financial challenges, as his income was only mere 1.73 million won, earning only 9,000 won per day through theater work and 6,000 won per hour at a supermarket part-time job.
In November, Kim made his television debut with a minor role as Mr. Jin in the KBS drama Beautiful Days. At the end of 2007, Kim joined the cast of Clumsy People alongside actors such as Jang Young-nam, Han Chae-young, Jang Deok-bae, and Ryu Seung-ryong. Clumsy People was opening work of The Best Play Festival 2, returning after four years since the original festival in 2004. Written and directed by Jang Jin, Clumsy People was based on a script he had written in his early career. The performance ran from December 7, 2007, to March 2, 2008, at the Dongsung Arts Center Small Theater.
Kim Won-hae then joined the cast of the third encore performance of The Story of the Neulgeun Thief, which includes existing members such as Park Cheol-min, Hyeong Hyeong-gwan, Park Gil-soo, Jeong Kyung-ho, and Min Seong-wook, as well as Seo Hyeon-cheol, Lee Jun-hyuk, Lee Sang-hong, and Choi Deok-moon. The performance took place at Daehakro Wonder Space Circle Theater from August 8 to January 4, 2009. His performance in the play The Story of the Neulgeun Thief earned him the 1st Young Drama Award, with a prize of 3 million won. This award was established by the cultural arts support forum "Alpha," which is composed of around 60 domestic CEOs, including Samsung Electronics CEO Kwun Oh-hyun. The award ceremony was held on September 19, 2008, at Shinhan Art Hall in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Personal life
At the 2009 Theater Festival Awards, he made headlines with his acceptance speech, saying, "Since I had no roles and was just swinging a baseball bat at home, my elementary school daughter wrote down that my job was a baseball player."
Known for his close friendship with actor Hwang Jung Min, Kim has collaborated with him in several projects. Their strong bond, both personally and professionally, has contributed to Kim's success in the industry.
In August 2020, it was reported that Kim tested positive for COVID-19 and was receiving treatment. He had recovered since September 2020.
