Yeon Jung-hoon

Yeon Jung-hoon (born November 6, 1978) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for generational epic East of Eden (2008), crime procedural Vampire Prosecutor (2011-2012) and the domestically popular weekend drama Pots of Gold (2013). Outside of acting, Yeon hosted the first three seasons of Top Gear Korea, the South Korean version of the BBC show, and is a cast member of the popular variety-reality show 2 Days & 1 Night. Early life Yeon is the only son and younger of two children of veteran actor Yeon Kyu-jin. He was sent to the United States as a teenager and lived with his aunt while attending junior high and high school. He spent his freshman year of college at the ArtCenter College of Design but returned to South Korea due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis and continued his education at Myongji University, majoring in product design. Despite his father being an actor, he never showed any inclination towards the entertainment industry until he was in college. He made his acting debut whilst a college student and eventually decided to pursue it as a career after graduating. His father had misgivings over his new career path out of concern; Yeon later stated that his father was finally convinced after he was named Best New Actor at the 2003 KBS Drama Awards. Career Early career and military service: 1999–2005 In 1999 Yeon made his debut in the drama Wave. After appearing in several dramas in minor or supporting roles, he first came to prominence with domestic audiences in the highly-rated 2003 daily soap Yellow Handkerchief and portrayed lovers with his future wife. They both went on to win the Best New Actor and Best New Actress awards respectively at the year-end KBS Drama Awards. He was cast in Sad Love Story as a last-minute replacement for Song Seung-heon, who was embroiled in a scandal involving his exemption from mandatory military service and forced to pull out. Yeon himself nearly did not get the role as his character's background story required him to film on location in New York City for several weeks and he had to get a visa at short notice. The drama received much attention as it was also broadcast overseas in Japan and other countries in the Middle East and Africa. Although domestic viewership was lower than expected, Yeon was praised for ably stepping into the role at the last minute and it led to a rise in popularity for him, especially in Japan. It was his last drama before enlisting for mandatory military service in November 2005.